3.5 month old fussy at breast

[leoeps1982]

Hi,

I have been EBF my LO, who is 3.5 months old. He gets an occasional bottle of expressed BM when I'm out or want to sleep in. Lately, he has been fussy at the breast, its not colic, which he has more or less outgrown. Sometimes, he would just stop sucking and coo and smile at me, which is adorable, but then I try to get him to suck again, and he does for a few seconds and lets go. Other times, he is trying to put his fists in his mouth, while he is at the breast. Also, he gets distracted by everything and stops sucking.

I end up giving up these battles, and pump out the rest of his feeding, usually 2-3oz and bottle feeding him. Which he takes, its easier since the bottle can follow him around better then my boob can.

Any advice? Should I just switch to expressed BM?

 

[Shanoa]

My LO is 4 months and started doing the same thing a few weeks ago. I have just started to express too because I am worried my supply will drop because she definitely seems to be eating less.

I have read that LO's getting distracted at this age is normal and that they might not eat as much during a feed. That's one of the reasons why it is recommended we don't feed to a schedule and just feed on demand (because they might need more frequent feeds to make up for the milk they miss out on). One suggestion I read was trying to feed in a place with few distractions. Ive tried that and my LO still manages to find something to be distracted by. The only time she doesn't seem to fuss is at night so I think she's making up for the missed milk during the evening which is not ideal.

Sorry I can't be of more help but just know you are not alone! I think I will stalk this thread to see if anyone else has some suggestions.

 

[lanaross]

Don't switch Hun, it's double work - pumping, washing bottles, warming up milk, sterilizing yikes. Of all three bf, ff or pumping, it was the most time consuming and unpleasant.
Now as far as timing in breast goes, they just become more efficient getting milk out so when a newborn took an hour to feed, a four months old will be done in 5 minutes. That's why they say bf gets much easier
Pulling from the breast could mean many things - not hungry just wants to suck, too hungry not fast enough flow (during growth spurts), burp stuck, gas and my favorite he is just playing with you

 

[leoeps1982]

Well, yes, pumping and feeding is twice the work, and I would rather avoid it. The timing on breast is very tricky. Sometimes he would happily suck 15-20 minutes on each boob. So when he sucks for 5-8 minutes and starts his shenanigans, I am concerned he didnt get enough. I try burping, changing diaper, suctioning nose boogers, and then on boob again, which sometimes works and sometimes doesnt.