New fussiness when breast feeding

[@llli*momtohailey]

I am a first time mom to a 6 week old and over the last 4 to 5 days she has had increased fussiness when breast feeding. She will pull off come back on she will cry and fuss and wiggle. There is no specific time it just happens with at least 2 feedings. Prior to this she was eating without any issues. I have read about foremilk and hindmilk and slow and fast let downs and I don't know if I have an issue with that but I am not sure if that is why she has increased fussiness. Is this normal from anyone else's experience?
I try and burp her a couple of times when feeding she doesn't burp every time. She doesn't spit up often but every once in awhile and she is very gassy. Her stools have been more yellow green than anything so I am not sure if that is telling me anything either.
At times when I think she is done she starts to cry even after almost an hour.
Any advice would be appreciated again it began about 4 days ago.
Thank you!

[@llli*mommal]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on the new baby!

If you've made it to 6 weeks with such minimal fussing, I think you're doing really well. 6 weeks is often when fussiness and colic peak. Both my girls would cry nonstop for 2-5 hours in the evenings from 6-12 weeks, so just a few periods of fussiness sounds awesome to me! And very normal, and not necessarily a sign of something you are doing or not doing.

Yellow-green poops and pulling off the breast in order to fuss sound like baby may be expressing her dislike of a fast letdown. You might want to try using some reclined nursing positions, since those do no harm and can reduce the flow speed to the baby and result in a more comfortable experience for her. Long feedings are very normal, and as long as a baby is growi at a normal rate and producing adequate wet and poopy diapers, long feedings are nothing to worry about.

[@llli*maddieb]

Congrats on your new baby! I have a new baby who turned five weeks old today!

This is probably normal. Babies fuss in general, and babies fuss when nursing, just as part of their normal behavior. They are babies! If we adults have a gas pain, or feel tired, or feel scared, or feel hungry, or feel lonely etc, we can think "Oh, I need to find a restroom, or" I really need a nap" or "I need a snack" or "I am going to call my friend" or whatever. A baby just knows they feel not content for some mysterious reason at that particular moment, need to be comforted, and they cry or fuss so mom or another trusted adult will take care of things.

When you say baby is gassy, you must mean toots-lower intestinal gas-as you say she only burps sometimes. So, lower intestinal gas is normal, it is part of the normal digestive process. Burping is normal too. Some breastfed babies burp a lot, many need very little burping, and everything in between. If your baby needs to burp, she will, with a little help from you (patting her back, holding her upright against your shoulder, etc.) A baby may cry during nursing or for a while after nursing due an air bubble in the upper digestive tract and thus, needing to burp.

A baby this age may want to nurse more than once an hour. It is normal and healthy. She may actually be hungry, she may be thirsty, she may want the closeness to you and comfort of sucking that breastfeeding brings. All normal and fine, just nurse her.

I have read about foremilk and hindmilk and slow and fast let downs and I don't know if I have an issue with that but I am not sure if that is why she has increased fussiness.

slow and fast letdowns are only problems if they are causing a problem. All milk is good for your baby. "Too much" so called foremilk due to constant, very fast letdowns, if it's a problem, causes baby to not want to nurse/sputter and cough at the breast due to the fast flow, and/or to be in a great deal of gastrointestinal pain. It’s an obvious (if often misdiagnosed) issue. A little gas and fussyness is not a problem.

Sometimes forceful letdown and oversupply just happen, but often they are caused by something mom does or does not do. Here is how to help avoid forceful letdown or overproduction from becoming a problem: (Assuming you are exclusively nursing.) Nurse frequently (at least 10 times per 24 hour day) and on cue. (That is the minimum amount of times more is fine.) Don’t worry if it’s only been an hour or less since the last feeding. Babies tend to cluster nurse, which means very frequent feedings part of the day and longer sleep stretches other times. Let baby nurse on one side until they are done, even if that means they only nurse at one side per feeding, (in other words, do not switch breasts at one feeding unless baby wants.) Do not set a time limit for feedings. Don’t encourage unnaturally long sleep stretches -babies this age need to nurse even overnight. And don’t pump except due to separations from baby.

And for a little forceful letdwon, what mommal suggests above should do the trick.

[@llli*debbers]

When baby is doing great with nursing and diaper volume, fussiness can sometimes be a growth spurt. When I read this kellymom post it felt like it had been written for me! http://kellymom.com/bf/normal/growth-spurts/

[@llli*momtohailey]

I really appreciate all of the responses! I truly feel better about what I am trying to do. Everything makes sense and it really helps me not feel crazy! I will try a reclined position an let her feed on one side as long as she needs to see if it will help. Thank you so much for your fast replies! Congratulations lllmeg on your new baby as well. This is a great forum and I have been reading a lot of the information.

[@llli*niccie]

Properly a growth spurt?