Screaming at Breast at BT?

[echohush]

Hi there,

For the past three nights DS has started to scream and cry at the breast during the bed time routine. The two nights before this night I believed it was because I fed him after his cat nap at 6 and then was trying to feed again at 7 and was out of milk.  So tonight I didn't feed him after his cat nap but waited until after the bath when I'd be properly full and we'd be 3 hrs from the last feed at 4pm, but nope as soon as my husband handed him off to me to nurse he started screaming and crying.  Eventually I gave him back to DH and he calmed him and we tried again, still crying.  I managed to squeeze some milk into his mouth and this got him to latch on and he settled but boy was I unsettled.  I certainly don't want to force him to eat if he doesn't want it. But what could be causing this?  There have been no changes to our routines and my diet.

Thanks for any thoughts!

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

Has anything changed about his routine lately? Any chance he is more tired than usual at bedtime? DD3 would sometimes get worked up and refuse a feed and I think she was tired.

[*Ali*]

Could he be teething or getting sick?

[echohush]

There have been no changes to the routine, which is why I am so confused. If it is teething wouldn't he be crying more at the breast than just at bedtime?

I am wondering if this cluster feeding after the cat nap and then feeding again at BT was part of the growth spurt he had a few weeks ago. Now not needed?  I do miss the bed time feed. It was such a lovely part of our routine.

Tonight, given the BT issues I fed him when he woke from the cat nap and he did really well.  I offered the breast again at BT and the same thing happened- hysterical crying. I decided not to force the issue and he continued to cry in his swaddle and didn't really settle until he fell asleep in my arms about 20 min later.

Another weird thing happened- last night at our 1am feed I couldn't get a let down. He got really frustrated and started crying. Eventually- after what felt like an eternity- it happened.  It was really scary for me because I have normally a very strong let down and an oversupply.  The supply has started to even out a bit but the let downs are always really strong- I can even feel multiple ones normally beyond the first one.  I'm not sure I mentioned but about a week ago he stopped nursing well on the right side and my supply on that side is way down. I'm trying everything I'm reading on KellyMom and other sites to keep supply up but it's about 1 to 2 oz less when I pump on that side than on the left.

My ideas are- ditch the cap nap and do an earlier bed time with the final feed, go with this and stop offering the breast at BT, or push BT out- maybe will be more hungry and tired?  Any thoughts on which way to go?  Thanks so much for listening! It is just so sad when they cry at the boob 

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

What does your day look like in terms of feeds, naps, etc? Hmm another thought is maybe he is undertired at that point and knows bedtime is coming with that feed and he isn't ready for sleep yet? Grasping at straws here but had to throw it out there!

[echohush]

Here is our typical EASY- although he's been waking earlier and earlier   You could be right- under tired at bedtime.

E 7:00 (sometimes 6:45 or 7:10)
A 7 to 8:15
S 8:15-9:50 (normally always wakes at 45 min mark and I have to resettle)
Y
E 10
A to 11:15
S 11:30  (normally always wakes at 45 min mark and I have to resettle)
Y
E 1:00
A to 2:15
S 2:30  (wakes around 3 and sometimes I spend the whole hr resettling)
Y
E 4:00 (or sometimes 3:30 if he doesn't do a good nap)
A to 5:00 or 5:15 depending on last nap
S 5 cat nap
Y
E  6- this is the tricky one- I was offering when he woke up but am trying to move it out now to see if that helps
A - bath
E - 7 bedtime feed top off (the screaming one) Did not offer last night- he woke up 2 hrs earlier than normal.
S - In bed by 7:15 normally truly asleep by 7:30

Then he normally wakes at 1am and 4am for a feed.

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

Usually around 4 months they drop to 2 naps and a catnap so UT is probably a culprit. 45 min naps are usually a sign of UT as well so I would try pushing out A times and see if that helps.

[echohush]

Still no go at bedtime. He really is very upset with the idea that he is going to be fed.  I pushed A time and did get one longer nap today.  I just don't want him to be hungry.  He did wake 2 hrs earlier last night and 3 times in the wee hrs.  Very unlike him. Growth spurt?

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

Very well could be a gs, they usually are combined with other leaps! I suppose it could be teething but somewhat early for that.

[echohush]

Thanks so much. I'm not sure what phase we are in now but we have revised BT to happen without the feed. He eats when he wakes up from the cat nap and 30 min later has a bath and then goes back to bed for the night.  I think we are in a funky place trying to consolidate naps.  Does this take awhile or do you just start forcing them to stay awake. I've got him now to 1.5 hrs awake which is a big deal for him but we're still on 3 naps and a cat nap.

Feeds are really short- any reassurance that he truly is just sucking down the breasts in less than 10 minutes!  When he has a bottle of expressed milk from my husband he can eat 6oz.

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

My oldest did all her feeds in 5-7 min from birth! They are more efficient as they get older so 10 min can be a full feed. Don't compare what he can take from a bottle it is just not the same thing.

I think 2 hrs is the average A for around 4 months but some babies need a slow push to get there in small amounts and others do fine on big leaps in A time.