Baby constantly crying in pain after breastfeeding...

[mama2connor]

As the title says I breastfed my 3 week old for the first week and half but everytime he fed he would be screaming for hours after in pain. I would be pacing the floor with him at all hours of the night/morning and it got to where my two other children weren't getting enough sleep for school due to baby waking them up.
He would arch his back, bring his knees right up to his chest and would fight against me it was heartbreaking to see him so pained that i actually cried and would dread feeding time.

I ended up giving him a bottle of formula as I had my husband and mum keep telling me I couldn't keep feeding him and making him so pained. I couldn't seem to get over the fact that I had to stop breastfeeding so I waited around 4-5 days and we tried again. He latched on straight away and had a good feed but again we were up all night with him in pain. My husband said that's it, you can't feed him anymore. Its now been a week and half since I last breastfed but he is still constantly rutting at my boob and wanting to feed. I really want to breastfeed I still can't seem to move on and everytime I think about it I want to cry. I was just wondering if anyone has any advice as to what may be causing him to be in so much pain? I hate the fact that he is drinking formula as I know it's not what is best for him but it doesn't seem to make him as pained as breast milk.

 

[angelandbump]

Hi, I didn't realise you had another baby... Congrats.
Does he pass wind okay after a feed? If you express for the meantime to stop your self from drying up till you can get advice. Also on a Monday at Horden and Tuesday at howletch there is a bf support group. Call your health visitor as you can hire ;for free) an elec breast pump and ask for a second attachment so you can double pump at once.

Good luck

 

[mah0113]

is there something n your diet that may be causing painful gas for him?

 

[wish4baby]

You could try changing up your diet. I've heard dairy, citrus and spicy foods are the most common culprits.
I've also heard to eat as bland a diet as possible, then start adding things in slowly to figure out what's causing it.
Good luck

 

[mama2connor]

Hi, I didn't realise you had another baby... Congrats.
Does he pass wind okay after a feed? If you express for the meantime to stop your self from drying up till you can get advice. Also on a Monday at Horden and Tuesday at howletch there is a bf support group. Call your health visitor as you can hire ;for free) an elec breast pump and ask for a second attachment so you can double pump at once.

Good luck

He's always been difficult to wind, we currently have to use infacol before his feeds to help him bring up his wind. When he breastfed he didn't really bring as much wind up as he does on formula but I gathered that was normal. I wasn't aware about the breast pump my midwife and health visitor has never mentioned it.

I forgot to mention that I did pump for 2-3 days after I stopped breast feeding with a manual pump but I only ever got enough for 1-2 feeds per day but I noticed that even when he was drinking it from a bottle he was still in pain after so that's when I reluctantly decided to stop all together.
I'm now thinking that maybe something in my diet is not agreeing with him but it's hard to know what it is.

 

[mama2connor]

Thanks to everyone who has responded. I may have to go on a bland diet and try again to see how we get on.

 

[mama2connor]

Hi, I didn't realise you had another baby... Congrats.
Does he pass wind okay after a feed? If you express for the meantime to stop your self from drying up till you can get advice. Also on a Monday at Horden and Tuesday at howletch there is a bf support group. Call your health visitor as you can hire ;for free) an elec breast pump and ask for a second attachment so you can double pump at once.

Good luck

He's always been difficult to wind, we currently have to use infacol before his feeds to help him bring up his wind. When he breastfed he didn't really bring as much wind up as he does on formula but I gathered that was normal. I wasn't aware about the breast pump my midwife and health visitor has never mentioned it.

I forgot to mention that I did pump for 2-3 days after I stopped breast feeding with a manual pump but I only ever got enough for 1-2 feeds per day but I noticed that even when he was drinking it from a bottle he was still in pain after so that's when I reluctantly decided to stop all together.
I'm now thinking that maybe something in my diet is not agreeing with him but it's hard to know what it is.

 

[angelandbump]

I struggled for my first few weeks too and to be honest, it wasn't till Alastair was 4months that I was advised they supply electric pumps for free... It may be worth calling your health visitor and asking.

I asked today in group and they said you you have a fast let down and your baby is gulping at each feed, that also can be causing issues with wind.
It must be hard having Connor and Gracie to deal with too.

 

[mama2connor]

My let down does seem to be quite fast, I noticed it seems to spray so that could be causing him to have wind too. To be honest, it's not been much different having the baby with Connor and Gracie. They are both amazing with him more so Gracie she is like a little mother hen with him and likes to help with nappy changes and likes to choose his outfits and helps to put his socks on, etc. Connor is at that age where he doesn't really bother too much with him. I have however noticed a huge change in Gracie's behaviour since Oliver arrived.
I will definitely have to ask my health visitor about the breast pump because breastfeeding is something I really want to do.
Congrats by the way on your newer addition.

 

[Rachel_C]

If it was dairy in your diet, you'd think formula would cause similar issues, wouldn't it?

I know people say that BF babies get less wind than bottle bed babies but I didn't find that at all with my two (one FF, one BF). With my second, I had to give her a good winding half way through each feed when she was little, then again for quite a while afterwards. A quick pat wouldn't do, it was 10+ minutes of trying to get her to burp. Infacol definitely helped at first, as did a vibrating bouncer - it just seemed to wobble it out

I know LO is only young but have you tried lots of weird and wonderful positions to BF? You could try sitting LO up on your knee facing you (obviously you'll need to support him) - the upright position might help. Or have him lying down your body while you recline in a chair/on lots of pillows. Maybe a carrier/wrap with him upright feeding rather than lying down.

I would put him back to the breast but maybe try after he's had some formula so he's not ravenous and hopefully won't guzzle it down. Just let him comfort suck a bit, getting a little milk (you may want to express before so he doesn't get a sudden fast flow) and if he's fine afterwards, you could let him have a little more next time. Keep winding him really well too!

 

[angelandbump]

That's great that Connor and Gracie have adjusted well. Mathew wouldn't speak to me for a few weeks but he's a lot better now lol.
I hope you get sorted soon

 

[Foogirl]

Cut foods out as a process of elimination. Try a week of really bland basic food and add in other stuff over time. For us it was the dairy that was a problem, but if it is. cows milk protein problem LO wouldn't like formula either.

 

[mama2connor]

If it was dairy in your diet, you'd think formula would cause similar issues, wouldn't it?

I know people say that BF babies get less wind than bottle bed babies but I didn't find that at all with my two (one FF, one BF). With my second, I had to give her a good winding half way through each feed when she was little, then again for quite a while afterwards. A quick pat wouldn't do, it was 10+ minutes of trying to get her to burp. Infacol definitely helped at first, as did a vibrating bouncer - it just seemed to wobble it out

I know LO is only young but have you tried lots of weird and wonderful positions to BF? You could try sitting LO up on your knee facing you (obviously you'll need to support him) - the upright position might help. Or have him lying down your body while you recline in a chair/on lots of pillows. Maybe a carrier/wrap with him upright feeding rather than lying down.

I would put him back to the breast but maybe try after he's had some formula so he's not ravenous and hopefully won't guzzle it down. Just let him comfort suck a bit, getting a little milk (you may want to express before so he doesn't get a sudden fast flow) and if he's fine afterwards, you could let him have a little more next time. Keep winding him really well too!

Maybe I wasn't winding him often enough because when he drinks his formula we have to wind him after every 1/2 - 1 oz where as when he was on the breast I wouldn't stop half way through his feed to wind him I would tend to wait until he had finished then wind him. The only positions we tried was the football hold, and cradle/cross cradle. I do have a baby carrier which he loves so it seems like a good idea to maybe try and give breastfeeding a go while he is in that!
We do use colief in his formula and it seems he settled that little bit more since we have been using it.
I feel bad and selfish for even wanting to put him back on the breast, especially as my husband seems reluctant due to how pained he usually is afterwards.
Thank you so much for all of your advice, I'll definitely take it all on board

 

[mama2connor]

That's great that Connor and Gracie have adjusted well. Mathew wouldn't speak to me for a few weeks but he's a lot better now lol.
I hope you get sorted soon

Lol bless him, luckily gracie loves baby's and got lots of practice in with her dolls before hand! Haha and thank you, I hope we get sorted too.

 

[Foogirl]

Do you use the colief when BFing?

 

[mama2connor]

Foogirl - I don't. How does that work? Do i have to put the colief in expressed milk? I'm willing to try anything.

 

[angelandbump]

This is a post from another thread about colief.

I used Colief and it does work! First I just mixed a few drops with a couple of teaspoons of my BM and fed it to my wee one via a spoon before I boobied him. That was a particular arse-ache, so I read somewhere that a mother just put the drops on her nipples when he fed her wee one. I tried that (2-3 drops) and it still worked.

I think.... perhaps it was all in my mind. All I know is that his nappies were less explosive, less green and he seemed in less pain.

Colief - could use some advice

P.S Well done for not giving up! Really think about attending one of the baby cafes. The one on Monday at 1:30 in Horden surestart has one or two mums a week max and its not a bunch of ladies with their boobs out (like I thought ) its just like a little playgroup for babies. Plus their there is BF support volunteers and a health visit

 

[Foogirl]

Foogirl - I don't. How does that work? Do i have to put the colief in expressed milk? I'm willing to try anything.

Oh jeez, there is your answer. If you are using formula and colief and that works then for sure it's colic that's the problem!

You can do it several ways, you can mix the colief with a wee bit of breastmilk and feed it through the bottle before a feed, or you can drop it on to their tongue before a feed. We found using the bottle was a much better option as the colief got spat out and it's expensive stuff.

If it is colic, also check the list of foods that can make it worse.

 

[mama2connor]

This is a post from another thread about colief.

I used Colief and it does work! First I just mixed a few drops with a couple of teaspoons of my BM and fed it to my wee one via a spoon before I boobied him. That was a particular arse-ache, so I read somewhere that a mother just put the drops on her nipples when he fed her wee one. I tried that (2-3 drops) and it still worked.

I think.... perhaps it was all in my mind. All I know is that his nappies were less explosive, less green and he seemed in less pain.

Colief - could use some advice

P.S Well done for not giving up! Really think about attending one of the baby cafes. The one on Monday at 1:30 in Horden surestart has one or two mums a week max and its not a bunch of ladies with their boobs out (like I thought ) its just like a little playgroup for babies. Plus their there is BF support volunteers and a health visit

Thanks so much for all of your advice. I have been trying my hardest to pump like mad for the past two days but unfortunately I'm just not getting enough milk so I think it's probably almost dried up. In two days I haven't even managed to get an ounce where as when I was breastfeeding him I could get around 2 ounces from each boob. I just don't know what to do now, I don't know whether to keep trying or to just give it up now. If i can manage to up my milk supply i will for sure take him to some of the groups as it would be nice for us to meet some like minded people!
It's tough when you don't really have that support there.

 

[mama2connor]

This is a post from another thread about colief.

I used Colief and it does work! First I just mixed a few drops with a couple of teaspoons of my BM and fed it to my wee one via a spoon before I boobied him. That was a particular arse-ache, so I read somewhere that a mother just put the drops on her nipples when he fed her wee one. I tried that (2-3 drops) and it still worked.

I think.... perhaps it was all in my mind. All I know is that his nappies were less explosive, less green and he seemed in less pain.

Colief - could use some advice

P.S Well done for not giving up! Really think about attending one of the baby cafes. The one on Monday at 1:30 in Horden surestart has one or two mums a week max and its not a bunch of ladies with their boobs out (like I thought ) its just like a little playgroup for babies. Plus their there is BF support volunteers and a health visit

Thanks so much for all of your advice. I have been trying my hardest to pump like mad for the past two days but unfortunately I'm just not getting enough milk so I think it's probably almost dried up. In two days I haven't even managed to get an ounce where as when I was breastfeeding him I could get around 2 ounces from each boob. I just don't know what to do now, I don't know whether to keep trying or to just give it up now. If i can manage to up my milk supply i will for sure take him to some of the groups as it would be nice for us to meet some like minded people!
It's tough when you don't really have that support there.