3 month old jerking during feeds and refusing to eat

[Kangarruu]

Hi ladies,
I've been having some issues feeding my LO and I'm starting to get nervous about my supply. We had latching issues from the beginning (very sore nipples) but I met with a lactation consultant and those were sorted out. He was also very prone to gas an showed some reflux symptoms so I got off of dairy and chocolate and that seemed to help. I recently reintroduced them and he seemed fine for a bit but then started fussing more frequently so I stopped again.

In the last two weeks his feeds have shortened a lot and he has begun fussing and jerking at the breast after about 3-5 minutes. I burp him repeatedly but he then refuses to latch again, stiffens himself and grunts. I've managed to latch him again for short periods using some very creative positions but  even those don't last long. For a couple of days I was engorged after feeds but now I'm not anymore which is making me worried about my supply. Is it possible he had a growth spurt during which time he ate a lot and now his feeds are just shorter? The week before his feeds were much longer  but he was also spitting up a ton. In general he has always had short feeds but his naps have also started getting weird so I'm wondering if he's hungry. Weirdly his night feed is just fine. I've side by side position for other feeds but something is clearly bothering him then too.

Any thoughts? Should I pump and supplement with a bottle? I'm getting very frustrated during feeds and I know its not helping either of us

[deb]

Growth spurts are just....weird. Every baby is different.

From what you're describing I'd guess that reflux is a definite possibility. With my DD#1, it first showed up around 2 weeks but the worst of it was probably 10-20 weeks. Made it hard to tell when she was hungry, but she was always rooting. Turned out she wanted some milk to soothe the reflux burn, but then once that was done she wasn't actually HUNGRY and would break the latch and cry, from the pain. She also wasn't sleeping well because the burn would be worse when she was horizontal. It wasn't until we started treating with Zantac liquid that she got enough relief to return to normal nursing. We also fed her upright and kept her upright for maybe 15-20 minutes after each feed, which helped her stomach empty so she wasn't refluxing so much once she DID lay down.

[Kangarruu]

Thanks for the quick reply! I've always considered that he may be having reflux so he's been sleeping on an incline since about 2 weeks and I've tried to keep him upright and burp him frequently during feeds and before naps. He has had times when he would burp and have a very distinct pain cry, but those situations are so rare that I've been hesitant to put him on medication. He does spit up a lot after feeds though and sometimes he moans a little when he does, but for the most part it hasn't seemed to bother him all that much.  In fact, he's generally happy in between feeds. The jerking while eating just started out of no where. It seems almost as though he's having a sharp pain that causes him to kick his legs. At first I thought he just wasn't hungry and I should move him to a 3.5 hour easy. But I noticed that he was hungrier at the next feed and guzzle faster, which only caused more jerking and more gas.  He has also been chewing on his hand a lot, but I've just attributed that to...y'know...baby.

It is interesting that the reflux got worse with your LO between 10 and 20 weeks. I'd think it would just stay consistent the whole time. Perhaps I should reevaluate the medication.

[deb]

Might not hurt to investigate. By 4 months things were better spitup-wise (sh was throwing up FOUNTAINS of milk!), and by 5 months or so we were golden. Really, relieving the pain was HUGE for us.

There might also be a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance; I'm less conversant with that but some other mamas here might have more to say about that. I know it can cause tummy-aches, though, and can mimic reflux.

[calomamma]

Hello ☺ I bf my daughter for 2.5 years and I remember she did this too. For me, my flow was too fast for her as she too struggled with latching as a nb but even once she figured it out, she still had issues with my flow.

For me, when I nursed her I lent back slightly and made sure she was on a 45°  angle. So not completely lying down horizontal. Her head would be higher than her belly.

One of my boobs didn't have as fast a flow so I'd start her on that side

And I made sure I didn't take any deep breaths when my let down came as that would make my flow too strong.

[Kangarruu]

Interesting, I kind of navigated in that direction naturally as well. He feeds much better in football hold propped up on a bunch of pillows like a prince 
I also found that he eats much better when he's still drowsy from sleep. I try to catch him right when he wakes up and he eats with his eyes closed and gets less distracted.

[julia.north]

I have the exact same problem and actually started another thread on this!

In my case, the crying at the 4 min mark is caused by an overactive let down (milk is pouring out  in large quantities, causing LO to choke, gulp and swallow a ton of air which makes him feel miserable and full + he only gets foremilk = explosive poos, gassy baby).

Things did improve a bit when I started block feeding (offered only one side for 3 feeds in a row) and when I let the first letdown spray in a towel rather than into his mouth.

It is still difficult though.

[Kangarruu]

Isn't your other breast exploding though?? I definitely notice my LO swallowing rapidly but I can't really say that he chokes on it, that's why i was never sure if it was that. I was thinking to try the towel trick though perhaps ill do that and see if it helps. Thanks for the suggestion.

Im on thyroid medication from my pregnancy, which the dr kept intentionally high so that the sudden hormone drop wouldn't affect my milk supply. I recently started lowering the dose, which I thought would only help the overactive let down, but maybe it's lowing my supply instead. 

I actually just put LO on Xantac to see if it was a reflux issue was as suggested by deb. Anyone know if this is one of those "gets worse before it gets better" situations? The last couple of days have been awful. We're drowning in rivers of spit up.


And I leave you with that image 

[deb]

You might also be dealing w/3-month growth spurt.

No worries, many of us here, myself included, are familiar with the rivers of spitup. Here it was fountains and gushers.

Give it a couple of days, fake it as best you can in the meantime, see what happens.

[Kangarruu]

LO is currently in the swing, recovering from our last bout of eating 

Fake it I shall

[julia.north]

Isn't your other breast exploding though??

I was expressing a bit to get relief on the other side...
Also tried to keep feeding times as calm as possible.

It did improve a bit with the slower flow, but feeding is still a pain.
How are you progressing?

[Kangarruu]

Eeeehhhhhh so so
Some days it can seem like he can go through the whole day with 3 minute feeds, others he can go for 20 minutes on and off and on...and off...and on and off...oh...and on and off

Best feedings are still at night or immediately after naps when he's drowsy. The last couple of days we've had a ridiculous amount of spit up so I'm taking that to mean that he's taking more in...because that's what I want to think 

And I keep reminding myself that i'll miss this time when he's older (and I'm forgetful  )