So today's conundrum: One or both boys will start screaming in the middle of their nursing session. He'll be eating away, happy as a clam, then suddenly start wailing. I have to sit him up, do a little burping (though a gas bubble doesn't seem to be the cause- he'll still cry after a good burp) and give him a nice long break before he'll eat again without crying. And he's apt to repeat it a time or two before finishing eating. It's been going on for several weeks now. It probably happens 75% of the time.
What do you guys think is going on? Do they dislike something I'm eating? Are they getting overwhelmed with milk and need a break?
I'd love your thoughts on the cause and solution. I want feeding time to be peaceful again!
*This whole post has been created one-handed. I am awesome.
Caleb does the exact same thing!!! I always thought it was mainly caused by the fact that he has an oral aversion (just from always having a tube down his throat in the NICU, and having a lot of bad oral experiences), but that wouldn't be the case with your boys.
ReplyDeleteDo they spit up much? They could have reflux. Caleb doesn't show signs of reflux, but he still has it and prevacid helps a ton. In fact, the last few weeks he hasn't been on prevacid and he absolutely refuses to nurse more than once a day. We started the prevacid again today to see if it helps. Try holding them so that their head is higher than their legs while nursing to see if they seem more comfortable.
Caleb also had problems coordinating his breathing, sucking, and swallowing while eating. He literally had to detach every few seconds to breath, and sometimes he would forget that that's what he needed to do, so he would just cry instead of eat. That was a preemie problem, too, that he eventually grew out of.
If this problem just started a few weeks ago, I'd guess it's most likely to be reflux. I'd ask your pediatrician. Just remember--they don't have to be throwing up a lot to have reflux! It may be worth a try on the medicine.
Aw! So sorry to hear this! Have you called the doctor on this? It could be related to your diet. I googled this and it seems like the most bothersome foods to avoid are cow's milk, onions/garlic, fruit juice (particularly orange), chocolate (especially dark) and caffeine. I also read that it takes two hours for your meal/drink to make it into your breast milk. So, if something is bothering them you can look at what you last ate. Since cow's milk is a common problem, you can try drinking rice milk (not soy milk, which isn't good for boys - it is estrogren promoting).
ReplyDeleteIf that doesn't work, you can try the hardcore elimination diet - which your doctor/nurse can help you with. Take luck!
Those boys are so cute! I'm sorry that they're having problems eating. Sometimes Addie would be really fickle with wanting to nurse and would be very against it, so I just had to be patient until she was ready for it again. She was such a demanding nurser, that we finally stopped and her and I have been much happier ever since... although many people would be outraged that my child is bottle fed at such a young age, it works better for us. We figured out that she doesn't like to be reclined across my lap to eat, but to sit up and eat, which nursing doesn't allow. Just an idea.
ReplyDeleteAnother thought would be to (if you're not against giving them a little bit of formula) to feed them a bottle to find out if it's your milk that's making them upset or if it's something about eating in general. This way you won't have to make any diet changes if it's just a problem dealing with eating in general. Hope this helps. Good luck!
Those boys are so cute! I'm sorry that they're having problems eating. Sometimes Addie would be really fickle with wanting to nurse and would be very against it, so I just had to be patient until she was ready for it again. She was such a demanding nurser, that we finally stopped and her and I have been much happier ever since... although many people would be outraged that my child is bottle fed at such a young age, it works better for us. We figured out that she doesn't like to be reclined across my lap to eat, but to sit up and eat, which nursing doesn't allow. Just an idea.
ReplyDeleteAnother thought would be to (if you're not against giving them a little bit of formula) to feed them a bottle to find out if it's your milk that's making them upset or if it's something about eating in general. This way you won't have to make any diet changes if it's just a problem dealing with eating in general. Hope this helps. Good luck!
Wow...reading this brought me back to a faint memory from so long ago...was it really only 7 1/2 months ago?? I'm pretty sure Ty was about 6 weeks when he did the exact same thing. I found all sorts of foods in my diet (well, mainly I pinned it on chocolate) that I was sure was the problem. After it continued, I called the lactation consultant from the hospital (she knew everything thing I could ask when I was there). She said it was definitely not anything I was eating (they should be used to everything from when they're in the womb) but that boys are sensitive little tykes and around 6 weeks, your milk starts coming in stronger/faster. They just don't like it! That was why it didn't happen as soon as Ty started eating (takes a bit for the milk to come in). Ty got over it I think by 8 weeks-hopefully Dash and Liam will soon!
ReplyDeleteKatie, check out www.mylicon.com!!
ReplyDeleteI dunno... I'm no expert :( BUT I love the new look of your blog!
ReplyDeleteAh, I am not alone. Kaylee did (and does) the same thing. I think it started around 1 or 2 months. We had asked the pediatrician about it and he didn't really know. Just in case it was reflux, we gave her that for a couple of months (the medicine won't do anything bad if they don't have reflux), I never noticed a difference. However, if your boys are trying to swallow/gulp and they aren't eating from you, it probably is reflux.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I never tried cutting milk out of my diet, but I still don't think that was the problem because now we are starting a little rice cereal made with formula and she still will be super happy then cry the next minute.
For us, I think Kaylee just doesn't like to sit still for very long unless she is tired. That is the only time I can depend on her to not cry sometime while feeding her is in the middle of the night.
I thought maybe if it wasn't the reflux maybe she just cries when the "easy milk" or letdown milk is gone and doesn't want to work for the good hind milk. That wasn't it either. But I know some babies get frustrated with how the speed of milk flow changes. (Too fast, too slow. If you have ever pumped you will be able to tell a big difference in the speed of flow)
I started pumping since I have a VERY difficult time feeding her in our very busy mother's room at church because of this issue. This has been a big help, but I can't pump ALL the time and I wasn't ready to start formula. But it works great for feeding her when we are out.
I have just learned that for her (and your boys may be different), when she cries, I sit her up, try to burp her, let her look at the world, try again...and if she cries I just go through the process again. Whenever I would try harder to get her to eat it would just make her more mad.
So...at least know you aren't alone! All I know is that crying is not a way for babies to say they are full in anything I have read...so if you do find out what it is for sure let us know because like I said Kaylee still does this. Not as often, but still does it.
Anyway, there are a lot of things it could be and unfortunately sometimes it is hard to pin down what it is (like with Kaylee, the pediatrician didn't really know what to do). Hopefully that isn't the case with you guys. ...hope this comment is long enough for you... :)
Ah, I am not alone. Kaylee did (and does) the same thing. I think it started around 1 or 2 months. We had asked the pediatrician about it and he didn't really know. Just in case it was reflux, we gave her that for a couple of months (the medicine won't do anything bad if they don't have reflux), I never noticed a difference. However, if your boys are trying to swallow/gulp and they aren't eating from you, it probably is reflux.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I never tried cutting milk out of my diet, but I still don't think that was the problem because now we are starting a little rice cereal made with formula and she still will be super happy then cry the next minute.
For us, I think Kaylee just doesn't like to sit still for very long unless she is tired. That is the only time I can depend on her to not cry sometime while feeding her is in the middle of the night.
I thought maybe if it wasn't the reflux maybe she just cries when the "easy milk" or letdown milk is gone and doesn't want to work for the good hind milk. That wasn't it either. But I know some babies get frustrated with how the speed of milk flow changes. (Too fast, too slow. If you have ever pumped you will be able to tell a big difference in the speed of flow)
I started pumping since I have a VERY difficult time feeding her in our very busy mother's room at church because of this issue. This has been a big help, but I can't pump ALL the time and I wasn't ready to start formula. But it works great for feeding her when we are out.
I have just learned that for her (and your boys may be different), when she cries, I sit her up, try to burp her, let her look at the world, try again...and if she cries I just go through the process again. Whenever I would try harder to get her to eat it would just make her more mad.
So...at least know you aren't alone! All I know is that crying is not a way for babies to say they are full in anything I have read...so if you do find out what it is for sure let us know because like I said Kaylee still does this. Not as often, but still does it.
Anyway, there are a lot of things it could be and unfortunately sometimes it is hard to pin down what it is (like with Kaylee, the pediatrician didn't really know what to do). Hopefully that isn't the case with you guys. ...hope this comment is long enough for you... :)
Sorry my last comment was posted twice. I just was thinking of something else it could be. It may sound weird, but Kaylee gets mad when Bryan or I talk when I am feeding Kaylee. Just another thought. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteditto to reflux... Ava wasn't spitting up but had silent reflux and even being put in the nursing position bothered her. Baby zantac made our life sane again :)
ReplyDeleteAs for your diet, I highly recommend Wendy's Double Cheese with extra mayo and extra bacon. It may not change a single thing regarding feeding time but boy will you taste buds dance with joy. This, in turn, will help you forget all your troub...Whoa, daydreaming there, sorry.
ReplyDeleteMylicon may help as well. Janisen flared her nostrils whe she had something in her guts so if you see nostril flaring, get it. I also can use some Simethicon for the times Niki eats tacos.
The positioning and option of bottle feed are excellent suggestions as well. I think gas, acid, and comfortability are all good probabilities. Now for Master Darren's own experience in nursing Janisen. Er, um, well, Niki actually did the feeding; kinda sorta with her.
To this day Janisen is very much a wanna be by herself type of person. At times she's absolutely most content when left alone. When she nuresed she would suddenly throw a fit. It was clearly feeding time but she would eat a little and then scream. But it didn't take long to see a pattern.
After a few screams, Niki would put Janisen on the floor to think of what to do. Onthe floor, Janisen behaved perfectly content but cry in intervals. She would not scream but cry. Who could blame her? She was a hungry girl. I'd cry too if I was hungry with food only a couple feet away but could not physically get to it. I would cry so the food would come to me. Hey, it works in a baby's world, no? Janisen was obviously content on the floor. This coincided with Janisen's lack of desire to cuddle for a long time. She was more cheerful on the foor alone but with her people in viewing range.
So our goal became to feed our bundle of joy on the floor. I think Niki tried to position herself in a way to accomplish breast feeding (far and away the best food for babies) and Janisen laying on the floor. That was awkward so what came the best solution was for niki to pump her milk out, place it in a bottle and give it to Janisen to drink from. At first we had to hold the bottle but she, no doubt in part to being the genius she is, learned very quickly how to hold up the bottle and point it downwards to her mouth. She got her momma's milk but best of all, NO-MORE-SCREAMING. Niki began a pumping routine that when she got full, she'd pump out some mlik and freeze it. When Janisen got hungry we simply took out the bag the pumped milk was in, turned the milk's state of matter back to liquid form through steamy hot water, placed the bag in the bottle it was made for, gave the bottle to Janisen and wollá (I've no idea how to spell that expression): a happy and well fed playful baby appeared.
Be patient, strong, and thoughful about what may work best. Be prayerful as well. You have an enormous amount of patience in you Katie and it suits you well. Use it to discover and all your resources to help decide how to best raise the Ninja Babies. Afterall, they're adorably cute.
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