baby in pain while bfeeding?

[Guava]

my 3.5wk old is exclusively breastfed with one bottle of breastmilk for her 2am feed.  While on the breast she is either entirely content, or, more recently and more frequently, squirms and cries - sucking frantically and then pushing away at the breast with her hand, sometimes panting.  At first I wondered if she was frustrated because I didn't have enough milk, but that is not the case.  Then I thought it was just gas, but she rarely burps, although there seems to be some sort of pain as she brings her knees up and cries, grunts and squirms uncomfortably most times I try and burp her, other times she brings gas up real easily, but it seems if she is only able to do this immediately we try and only if she is relaxed.  It seems to be more a problem with flatulence and her poos have gone from seedy to just yellow mustard and more watery - also explosive.   I don't thik I eat anything that would contribute to gas, but would appreciate any list of things I might avoid.  Also she feeds, dozes,feeds, dozes and what should probably be a 20-50min session can turn into a marathon hour and a half, and then she misses activity as she is already overtired.  Any ideas? PLEASE.

[deb]

We discovered when Josie acted that way as a baby that she wasn't hungry but tired, and she was also looking to comfort-feed for her reflux. She'd take a few gulps and then bob back off the breast, then on and off, crying most of the time. Even if I switched to a bottle, same deal.

So maybe try putting her down for a nap instead in case she's tired instead of hungry. Her eating schedule will evolve over time. This might also solve the time length problem: if she wakes properly hungry, she might not take so long to eat. Ad if she IS taking too long, I'd end the session for a while and try the nap thing.

BTW, Natalie's poops sort of evolved too - went from seedy to mustardy to explosive poop-fests once a day, then after a while she pooped after EVERY feed, and now we're down to usually once a day but not so much explosive. Just keep an eye on it and if it starts to look REALLY strange, then ask about it, but blowouts aren't too unusual.

HTH!

[GraceKellysmom]

At 3 weeks old, a lot of things could be going on. Has she had a growth spurt yet? And gas seems to be awful around the 3 week mark, it peaked for us at 6 weeks and then started improving. Gas drops can help with that.

Also, you could have a overactive letdown. Or she could be getting too much foremilk. Or a host of things.

Do you have access to a lactation consulant to observe a feed and give you some tips?

[joannec]

I'm thinking along the lines of GraceKellysmom, an overactive milk ejection reflex can cause the bobbing off and on, squirming, crying, increased wind and poo change you describe. Poo can change throughout the day without it being a problem though. I have the same letdown issue and a huge supply. My DS is 11 weeks old today and I do the following with good results. Express off the initial letdown or part thereof into a cloth nappy/towel and finish the first breast first. I even do breast compression to make sure he gets at the fattier hindmilk. This also prevents snacking. If he gets sleepy due to the oxytocin, I let him rest a few minutes on my lap but then straight back on or proceed to A or S. I burp him several times during a feed and find a position change often helps with recalcitrant air pockets, i.e. lying him face up on my lap and then raising him up high over my shoulder with a combination of rubbing his back , bottom to top and a few pats and repeat the cycle for a few minutes. Cycling the little legs while he's on the change table sometimes help evacuate things that end. He has definitely gotten better at letting the wind go as he gets older too. Hope this is helpful.
Cheers, Jo

[Guava]

Thanks everyone for the tips and I will try what you suggest. 

Another question though - my baby is on EASY - except for growth spurts she is eating every 2.5 to 3 hours, with a cluster feed around bedtime, a dream feed, one feed during the night and a quick 10 minute top up at 6am which lasts her through till 8 when we start again.  Throughout the day in particular, I notice when it is around the time for her feed, regardless of the time interval, or if I even think about feeding her, I often get quite an uncomfortable, even painful wave of tingling/burning accross my breasts,  This can also happen when I am feeding her.  And it is always both breasts.  I feel more of a tight feeling when this happens also.  Is this just associated with let down?  Could this be something else? 
  I find myself having to push against or hold my breasts to get it to calm down.  This is particularly cosy in public, as I am sure you can imagine.  Today it spread higher up than usual and I have more milk than usual, but then again baby ate more often yesterday.  I try and feed one breast per feed, although I am pretty lousy at remembering which one should be next sometimes, only offering both breasts if she seems really hungry.

 BTW her poos seem to be getting a bit more seedy again, although she still has a lot of pain with flatulence and explosive poos.  We are better at getting gas up.  Please keep any suggestions coming.  I like the idea of working with a lactation consultant, however the nearest one to me is a boat ride and flight away, so it will have to wait until the end of the month when I will be closer to her. I will let you know how it goes.

[deb]

Throughout the day in particular, I notice when it is around the time for her feed, regardless of the time interval, or if I even think about feeding her, I often get quite an uncomfortable, even painful wave of tingling/burning accross my breasts,  This can also happen when I am feeding her.  And it is always both breasts.  I feel more of a tight feeling when this happens also.  Is this just associated with let down?  Could this be something else? 
  I find myself having to push against or hold my breasts to get it to calm down.  This is particularly cosy in public, as I am sure you can imagine.

That sounds like how let-down usually works for me. It's very handy being able to do it mentally when one has a really frantically hungry cranky baby who wants it NOW!!!! And yes, I also have to clamp my arm to my chest once in a while for the same reasons.

I found that the intensity of the sensation gradually diminished as my first got older; we'll see if it does the same for #2.