detaches and crys after few minutes HELP!

[@llli*tstrange]

Hello,

This is my 1st post. After 5wks of good nursing my baby girl will now nurse for a few minutes, detaches, and crys. Then refuses to try to again. Will sometimes take the other side with the same issues. I wind up pumping and giving her a bottle which she takes just fine. There are times she'll nures maybe 6-7 mins on one side and not cont. to the other. This has been going on for a wk and am getting fustrated and not sure what to do. When I pump I am getting out about 2oz. She's been starting to get green poo every now and then. I thought maybe it was gas so I got drops, seemed to help sometimes...Just wish we could have the simple nursing sessions like we had in the begining. Please any advice? I can also be reached: bluefairymyst@yahoo.com
Thank you for your time, Tina

[@llli*mommal]

Welcome to the forum!

When a baby unlatches after a few minutes of nursing, here are some possible explanations:
- Milk flow is too fast, and baby is upset by the fast flow. If this is the case, you may observe milk streaming or squirting from the breast when baby pulls off, and have other symptoms of milk oversupply (e.g. green poops, extreme gassiness, fast feedings, frequent feelings of fullness or engorgement, intense letdown sensation, etc.).
- Milk flow is too slow, and baby wants it to be faster.
- Baby has come to expect a bottle at the conclusion of every feeding, and is letting you know that she wants one NOW!

I think fast letdowns are a very likely culprit here. You have the fast feedings, you have baby unlatching while nursing and resisting going back to the breast, you're seeing occasional green poops. The way to deal with this is to start by adopting reclined nursing positions, enlisting gravity to slow down the milk flow, and step far, far away from the pump and the bottles. The pump will only exacerbate fast letdowns and the oversupply which is their likely cause, and the bottles mean that you're risking baby coming to prefer bottle so much that she rejects the breast.

Let us know if you feel like oversupply may be the issue- we'll be happy to help you troubleshoot that since lots of us have struggled with that particular issue.

[@llli*tstrange]

thank you for the response! I will try this during our next feeding and will let ya know how it goes. She seems to feed better at night for what ever reason maybe too tired to try. I keep thinking that about the bottle scared we may have gone too far. It's hard not to offer a bottle when she's screaming her head off poor thing <3

[@llli*aphimama]

If it's oversupply she may be feeding better at night because the breast is less full and the flow of milk isn't too fast for her. Hopefully the laid back nursing Mommal suggested helps, and as pp mentioned, there are a number of other ways to troubleshoot it if you begin to think that oversupply or a fast let-down may be the culprit.

[@llli*tstrange]

Well we did a little over 10 mins on one side this time. She let go and had troubles getting back on. Started to fuss. Thought maybe that side was done. Offered the other and the fit got worse. Calmed her down 2xs, soon as I layed her near she cried. Winded up giving her an oz in a bottle that I had left in the fridge. Still fussed some, gave a pacy and rocked her to sleep. Can't have her crying too much at night Hubby is in a turn around working 7 12hr days for the next 2 wks.

[@llli*phi]

My baby was very fussy at the breast for awhile too. I had really bad overactive letdown, and nursing in a reclined position helped with that. However, as my son got used to the fast flow he started to get fussy after the letdown too when the milk started to slow down. Here are some things that I would do (other than reclined nursing) that helped with the second bout of fussiness:

1. Latch/nurse while walking with my baby in a sling/carrier or my arms.
2. Latch/nurse while bouncing my baby on my knee.
3. Latch/nurse while rocking back and forth.
4. Nurse with music on or while singing.
5. Nurse outside while on a walk with my son in the sling/carrier or sitting on the deck.
6. Nurse in the bath.

Nursing while in motion (walking, bouncing, rocking) was absolutely necessary to keep him calm enough to nurse for a few weeks when he was a newborn. He just needed that extra soothing to keep him calm enough to latch and get the milk flowing again.

Giving bottles right now is a potentially dangerous road to take. Bottles tend to overstuff babies and can lead to less frequent nursing which is bad for milk supply (both oversupply and low supply) and some babies develop a flow preference which can be disasterous for nursing (that may be at least partially responsible for the fussing at the breast, in which case the best way - perhaps only way - to resolve the fussing is to stop giving bottles entirely for awhile). Also, pumping is really terrible for oversupply and overactive letdown, and if you can avoid pumping entirely this early on, it will only benefit your nursing relationship.

I know it's hard, but it does get much easier if you can stick it out for a little while.

[@llli*aprilsmagic]

Try to avoid those bottles. Walk her around and try again. Giving the bottles is counterproductive if she is finding that your supply is lower a little slow. It's very possible that it comes out fast and she likes it that way, and when it slows down, she gets mad.

It's also possible she is getting enough in 10 minutes and doesnt need any more. I have a fast letdown myself, and my second and third kids could fill up in nothing flat, even as newborns.