Crying when feeding

[Barley]

My 12 week old has started a new thing in the last few days where he is crying at almost every feeding.  He will eat about half the bottle and then start crying. Usually if we wait 45 minutes to an hour he will take the remaining portion of the bottle. He started doing it with just the afternoon feedings, but this morning he did it with the a.m. feed which surprised me because he is not eating during the middle of the night so usually eats the most there.  Has anyone had this happen before?  We feel like we are force feeding him but he basically has dropped from eating 5-6 0z to 3 oz.

[mummypig]

Hi Barley

You could have a couple of things going on here.

First of all, your baby is 12 weeks you say, and this is one of the ages at which babies have a major development point, during which it's common to lose their appetite a bit.  Does he have any of the other signs, such as excessive crying, increased demands for attention, wanting to feed more often even though he doesn't really eat (sucking can be calming in babies of that age), wanting to be close to mum, seeming to be shy with others, sleep disturbances such as not napping well, taking ages to get to sleep, waking through the night for first time in ages?  If so, then his appetite will return as everything else calms down.

The other possibility, which I think is much more likely from what you've said, is what is known as lactose overload.  You say he cries during the feed.  Does he writhe or wriggle a lot, seem to be in pain, curl up, pull off the bottle and scream then want back on quickly?  Oh, how about his poo - has it changed lately and what colour is it?  Is it stickier or smellier than normal, or perhaps frothy or explosive?  Does he seem to have bloating, cramps or excessive gas?

Lactose overload can occur in a bottle fed baby when the milk flow through the teat is too fast.  The baby's digestive system can't cope with the volume of milk, which passes through the digestive tract too quickly for the lactose to be digested.  Feeding makes the baby's intestines contract, pushing the food through.  If fed too soon after the last feed, this can mean some milk gets pushed through into the bowel, where the undigested lactose then pulls in extra water and is fermented by the natural bacteria in the bowel, producing gas.  The gas is what can cause the cramping, bloating, pain, wind and acidic green poos, that can hurt your baby's bum.

Because the action of feeding provides the baby with temporary relief, they will want to feed more often and so you think they're hungry and feed them again, causing the problem to get worse.

The first thing to do is stick to regular feeding times, even if you think your baby is hungry sooner.  Then, when you do feed, keep the baby as upright as possible and the bottle horizontal, so the teat only half fills with milk.  Your son will be able to take only what he needs.

You should notice that the crying stops after a few feeds and that any other symptoms are relieved within a couple of days.

Good luck

[Barley]

Thanks for all this info. I think he could fit into either situation.  He is crying more and seems to need more attention, but is sleeping more and more heavily then he was before.  He has never slept through the night so nothing is different there but his naps seem to be much deeper which is what made wonder about a growth spurt. 

However, he also has be more consitapted lately so I am wondering if your second scenario may also be an issue.  We have kept him to his 3 hours time table and have not feed sooner but yesterday did push a couple of feedings out a 1/2 hour which helped, but also through off the EASY by an hour. By the end of the day he had eaten all that he needed for the day to make it through the night with out being hungry.  Sometimes it seems that as the nipple approaches his mouth he will start throwing a fit but once we get it in he will be quiet and start eating. We haven't been burping as much in fear that once we start he will not start back again only take an oz.  So we would let him eat until he decided he was full which for some eatings was only 4 oz and others were 6 oz.  It sort of went back and forth.

I think I will call the doctor today and see what they say, but this has been some great info!

Thanks!

[mummypig]

If he's constipated, it won't be lactose overload as that has the opposite effect

By constipated though, do you mean he's not pooing as much as he used to?  A lot of people don't realise that babies poo a lot initially because their digestive systems are immature.  Once they get going, they will poo far less.  Anything from a couple of times a day, to nothing for several days is normal.  Breast fed babies in particular can go 4 days or more (I've heard of babies go 10 days!) without a poo.  This is because their bodies are very efficient at removing all the nutrients they need from their milk, so there isn't really much waste.

If, when he does poo, it's still fairly soft and doesn't take the form of hard pellets, plus he doesn't seem to be in pain, or have any bloating, then he's unlikely to be constipated. 

Word of warning - when he does poo there will be a helluva a lot of it!!

If he's sleeping very deeply and more often, then a growth spurt is likely.  Physical development doesn't necessarily coincide with mental development, which is what I was referring to originally, but sometimes these stages happen at the same time.  Once this passes, you should see your son's appetite pick up and he is likely to be hungrier than before.

Babies can get very upset when things don't go well with feeding and nursing strikes are not uncommon when a baby starts to associate feeding with discomfort.  This is particularly the case with spirited babies, who can be pretty impatient when it comes to feeding.  My daughter was especially impatient when it came to breastfeeding.  If my letdown was in anyway slow when she was hungry, she'd pull off and start crying immediately, then she'd guzzle etc.  When it was really bad, she would just refuse to feed completely.   

I would think that things are improving regarding the feeding and by continuing to stick to a routine and not feeding early, your son should cease the crying and start to eat more consistently.

If you continue to be concerned, then of course consult your doctor.  Some doctors are not all that used to dealing with babies though and I've heard of tiny babies being prescribed laxatives by well-meaning doctors because they weren't pooing every day!

[Mum2Sam]

This also happened to me - around the 10/11 week mark - a big surprise as he was a big guzzler until this point.  Have you thought of reflux.  This was what was wrong with us.  He had first half of feed then refused second half - crying and dribbling.  We went to docs and got some Zantac and started him on anto reflux formula and things sorted themselves out about a week later.  Also feeding him upright - either in arms or in stroller or rocker was big help and gentle winding more rubbing than patting or bouncing to get wind up.

[Lolly]

That behaviour was very much like my refluxer too! Have a look at the reflux 101 and see if anything rings a bell.

What size teat are you using? If you haven't changed recently it could be he wants a faster flow. What EASY do you have him on? It could be that he is not hungry at the 3 hour mark and is starting to need to stretch to a slightly longer EASY to progress to 4 hours over the coming weeks.

http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=654.0

http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=63161.0

Laura

[Mellebags]

My 13wk old LO is going through exactly the same as your LO - all the signs of Lactose overload and having an incorrect feeding position certainly strike a chord with me

(We are on 3.5 EASY)

Hope all settles down soon for you Hun 

Mel.x