Too much milk and/or baby has reflux...very confused, need help.

[bettyoh26]

My baby is 7 weeks old and 12 lbs...we have been on EASY since the beginning.  He bobs off and on, sputters and chokes during feeds, sometimes vomits.  During the dream feeds, he is just fine and he has gained 3 lbs. since birth.  I called several people and always thought my milk was coming out too fast for him, or "forceful letdown".  I tried lying down while feeding and hand expressing or pumping at the begininng of the feed. I can get engorged and stopped pumping after morning feeds becasue I was so full all the time.  I have been pumping in the middle of the night (so husband can do the dream feed) instead but they are still slightly uncomfortable.  One day, I pumped excusively and bottle fed but he still got a little agitated during the 2 and 5 pm feeds, bobbing off and on.  I burp frequently but will stop patting and just try rubbing to prevent reflux, as he has the cottage cheese like spitup sometimes.  Do you think that when he is tense he can't feed becasue the "sphicnter is closed" and/or is milk coming out to fast?  Feeds are very stressful most of the day.  If he is not agitated, he still bobs off and on dozens of times with milk flowing everywhere.  Help!

[NatDav]

I have the exact same problem.  My little one is 10 weeks and has always eaten about 10 minutes on one breast.  He was 7.9 lbs at birth and now he is 14 lbs.  He actually now refuse to eat at all from the left breast (which is now engorged).  He also sputters and caughs on the breast if I try to have him feed on the left breast.  The only way he will feed is lying down with a pillow propping up his head so it is slightly higher than his tummy.  He still does not enjoy a full feed as I know he is still hungry after he is finished.  It is now affecting his sleep because he has now started sleepong only half an hour at a time during the day.  I have to keep him upright and have taken to giving him feeds whenever he shows an interest.  He used to sleep well at night but last night he started waking every hour from three onwards to have a small feed.  I have booked an appointment with my pediatrician, however, as he is gaining weight and otherwise happy I don't want to put him on medication, but I also want him to enjoy nursing.  I read somewhere else that someone used gripe water.  Can anyone explain what that is and if it is safe.

Thanks! 

[Alison_3]

I also have the exact same problem with my almost 7 week old.  He was diagnosed with reflux.  (my older son had it too so I wasn't too surprised.)  I don't think he ever takes a full feed.  He feeds maybe 10 minutes on each side or just 15 minutes on one side.  It definitely affects his sleep, but with reflux I know it's better for him to have smaller, more frequent feedings. 

I know Charlie is hungry because he's bobbing all around, but it's almost like he won't latch on because he knows it's painful.  I'm not sure if your lo has reflux, but it's certainly worth checking in to.  Charlie's pain level has decreased since going on meds, but feeding is certainly a challenge.  I thought of doing what you tried, pumping exclusively.  I really don't want to, but with my older one whose reflux was really bad we ended up thickening his feedings too. 

How does he sleep?  What position works?  Charlie is only truly sound asleep comfortably if he's on his belly.  I have been holding him at night so that we can both get some sleep. 

I would definitely check with your pediatrician.  Good luck.  I know how frustrated you feel!

[Samuel's mum]

A forceful letdown certainly sounds like your issue. There are lots of ways to help an overactive letdown be more manageable. I would really suggest you chat to your LC or a local LLL leader or phone a helpline - did the people you call actually have any useful advice for you? One positive thing is that even without any help oversupply issues and overactive letdown issues do sometimes resolve as your supply settles anytime after the first 6 weeks. Pumping before a feed is often recommended as you have been doing but obviously too much pumping can just stimulate supply further.

There are some tips here too:

http://www.lalecheleague.org/NB/LVSepOct95p71NB.html
http://www.breastfeeding-basics.com/html/oversupply.shtml

They include suggestions like block nursing (remaining on one breast for a block of the day) or even drinking sage tea to level out your supply. However I would hold off on the sage tea and see how things develop. I also had oversupply issues which resulted in more spit up than you could possibly imagine but it did really settle down after the first 2 months.

BTW - gripe water is used by a few people on these boards. It's quite commonly used in Europe. You can read more about it here:
http://www.babyslumber.com/articles/baby/what-is-gripe-water-and-how-does-it-help-infant-colic/

Ingredients used in gripe water do vary from product to product. Some argue it isn't a great idea to introduce sugars into the digestive tract of an exclusively breastfed baby or herbs. Others say it changed their lives and made all the difference and has been used happily for centuries. I think our bf mod daisymelan has used it so ask her. (I'm mentioning it in response to natdav's query - it doesn't have any particular benefit in the case of oversupply/overactive letdown.)

[bettyoh26]

Thanks all for your imput.  I have switched to pumping except for night feedings and made sure he is more upright during feedings.  I have switched to a different bottle and things are going ok.  He still will pull off and scream during the feed, so I think he has silent reflux for sure. Combined with my forceful letdown (I tried everything you mentioned, including gripewater) it has been changelling.  I will mis breatfeeding but neither of us really enjoyed it at all. We are both happier although pumping is a little bit of a pain, but will have to do it constantly when I go back to work soon.  I will talk to my doctor next week, thanks all for your advice.  Feedback is welcome as I am hoping I have figured it out ... for now

[yaya]

I had the same issues with my DS and eventually stopped BFing as got 5 bouts of mastitis (hard to get hold of a LC where I was so not much input) I really wish i'd carried on so I urge u to get some advice. That being said DS did/does have severe reflux so that was an issue too

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

With forceful letdown problems, it often gets better by around 8 or 9 weeks or so as your baby matures and can just cope better! They get used to it and are better able to go with the flow, IYKWIM.  That might be the case with your lo too.  Let us know what the doc says about reflux too.  Keep in mind that a lot of docs aren't as familiar with bf'ing and it's problems as we'd like...any chance you could go see a LC?

[bheemeryck]

I also had a forceful letdown reflex, and my dd had a lot of issues with bfing up until she was about 16 weeks, now she seems better able to handle it and only has a lot of spit up problems in the evening. I went to a LC and she recommended having a towel handy and letting the milk after your letdown run into it until it slowed, that seemed to help dd. Feeding right after she woke, or right before sleep worked well, as did smaller meals. I gave up pumping entirely until my supply evened out, that seemed to make it worse. I have a girlfriend with a lo with reflux, and she bfs with the baby on an incline instead of laying flat, she uses a pillow or her arm to prop her up so her head is higher, it's the only way she will feed. I also swear by gripewater... I gave it before a feeding and at night before bed, I had to experiment with kids becaise they all contain different herbs, and some have alcohol... but it was a godsend. Good luck with everything.... I too thought I was going to have to pump to feed her.. but I personally could not handle the time needed to do it, it was making me crazy, so I just decided to try and stick out bfing...it's my last baby and I'm not ready to quit!! She better appreciate it someday....

[Erin M]

Hi, I had a forceful letdown with both of mine -- had the same spitting up after every feed issue, choking, coughing, sputtering, etc.  I will tell you that by about 2.5 months it had really started to even out with both and the spitting up was pretty much gone not too long after 3 months - it seems like it will never end, but it does.  If you wanted to go back to trying BF, I would just feed and not pump at all as that stimulates your supply more.  Just wanted to let you know that it does get better! HTH!

[daisymelan]

Great advice offered!  I too know how it feels to get drenched after a feed or a half hour after a feed.  With ds1 it evened out around 3 months as Erin mentioned. 

With ds2 I had an over supply which has just recently evened out and he's 8 weeks tomorrow.  Hang in there!