Trouble Staying Latched On- Advice?

Jillian - posted on 07/25/2009

my daughter did the same thing and i read somewhere about another mother having this problem and how she dealt with it and it worked for me. when my daughter starts pulling off like that and i know she is hungry it is usually a gas bubble. i will hold her on her tummy with her head by my elbow and her *crotch* (sorry can't think of a better word) in my hand so that my arm is putting pressure on her belly and i rub or pat her back for about 5 minutes, she usually screams through this because she is hungry, but it does relieve the gas bubble causing her pain enough to nurse comfortably. i found that this piece of advice really helped me and i hope it will help you too!

Christine - posted on 07/24/2009

This sound EXACTLY like acid reflux. My 8 mo old did the same thing. My pediatrician immediately prescribed some meds for reflux and she did sooo much better. I would go back to the doctor and as him to prescribe reflux meds. Tell him you would like to try them to see if they help. If they don't, then you'll know it's not reflux. If he still won't prescribe them, I'd switch doctors. What pediatrician won't do something to help a baby (and mom) who is in pain??

Rebecca - posted on 07/24/2009

Im in the same boat with you ladies, my daughter is 11 weeks and has acid reflux. She has had it since birth and she also does the crying, and latching unlatching arching thing when she nurses. I have taken her to the drs so many times because she isnt gaining all that well. My Dr had her on Ranitidine (zantac) for a week then took her off of it because he said it wasnt doing anything for her. She throws up ALL the time, even hours after eating. This week she only gained 1oz! She was born 9lbs 7oz and is now only 12lbs 1.5oz. Im so frustrated with my dr so I totally know how you feel!

Mary - posted on 07/22/2009

During the weeks that I was just "dealing with it" I did my internet research and thought I had a hind-milk/fore-milk imbalance and that was the problem. Turns out that wasn't the real issue. My son has never had any problem with weight-gain, which is a common problem in infants with reflux. And the doctor says that they ususally outgrow it by around 9 months. Not all babies with reflux have the pain associated with excess stomach acid. But if she's crying and seems in pain, then its quite possible she does. If she seems to be having so much discomfort you should see what you can do to make her feel better.

Mary - posted on 07/22/2009

This sounds EXACTLY like my son!! He has bad acid reflux. He did the arching and pulling off my breast, crying like he was in pain, spitting up ALL the time, only eating little amounts and needing to nurse like every hour or so around the clock. Around 9 weeks old he was always fussing, sometimes having crying fits like he was in pain. I wasn't sure what was wrong, if anything, so I kept just dealing with it. I finally took him to the doctor when he was around 3 months old. He said that it sounded like reflux. I asked if that would explain the crying fits and he replied "How do you feel when you have heartburn?" Duh! My poor baby had been suffering and really did have pain and discomfort this whole time!! I felt awful that I hadn't taken him to the doctor sooner! He was started on Prevacid at bed time (we've since had to up the dose to twice a day) and Malox (up to a teaspoon) if he gets real fussy with no consolation for immediate relief.
I tell you it has worked WONDERS and he is like a whole new baby!! He is so much happier!! And nursing is so much better and easier.
Shame on your doctor for diagnosing your baby but not doing anything to treat her!! I would be seeing a new physician or at least taking your daughter back and ask them what you can do for her reflux.
Best of luck to you!!!

Sarah - posted on 07/22/2009

She may or may not need prescription medication to keep it under control. Keep her upright after feeding for at least 1 hour. You can also have her sleep on a slight incline by placing a book or pillow UNDER the mattress then having her sleep with her head at a 30 degree angle. Try smaller feeds more often rather than larger feeds further apart. If it is reflux, most babies will outgrow it. Hope this helps!

Minnie - posted on 07/22/2009

I agree with Paige. My first was exactly like that, and I had an imbalance.

http://www.llli.org/FAQ/oversupply.html

http://www.llli.org/llleaderweb/LV/LVSep...

Belinda - posted on 07/22/2009

Trust your motherly instincts! Ask your doctor if they could do an upper GI just to see if it is reflux. I believe this is the test where the baby drinks a certain liquid and they do a scan to see if she refluxes.

My baby is 8 months old and she has been very sick with acid reflux. It went undiagnosed until she was 2 1/2 months. All during this time, I knew something was wrong with her. She would not stay latched on to my breast, and she refused to take a bottle. At two weeks, she got what we thought was a cold and we were never able to get it to go away. Her peditrician, whom I adore, prescribed antibiotics, breathing treatments, & many other medicines but nothing worked. She was very fussy and I didn't think her weight gain was what it should be, but I was told that everything was fine. This is my fifth child and my intuition told me something was wrong! To make a long story short, at 2 1/2 months she stopped breathing while sleeping and turned completely blue. She was hospitialized for 12 days, it took them a long time to find out what was causing all her problems. She currently takes prevacid twice a day and a medicine to help her food digest quicker, 3 times a day. She now breastfeeds excellent and takes a bottle also. She has gained so much weight now! She is no longer fussy and looks so much healthier. Her congestion is gone! They are telling us that she will probably out grow this, I'm praying she does.

I hope this helps in some way! Also, they had me start her on cereal at 2 1/2 months to help her milk stay down.

Kimberly - posted on 07/22/2009

my daughter is exactly like that, i go thru numerous burp cloths a day due to spitting up. And lots of frustration wiht her as well. I have found that if donna starts fussing after a few seconds of nursing, pull her up and burp her til you get something, either a burp or spit up either one works, then give her a few minutes and try again, after a few tries she is hungry enough to latch and eat what she can, just keep trying to burp because gas bubbles are painful, if you have trouble getting bubbles up try infant gas drops, they have saved my sanity and donna is only 11 weeks old.

good luck!!!!!!

Paige - posted on 07/22/2009

An oversupply of milk or overactive letdown reflex leading to foremilk-hindmilk imbalance can mimic the symptoms of reflux. That's what it sounds like to me, based on the pulling off and arching back. http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/fast-l...

Katie - posted on 07/21/2009

Louise- I'm getting ready to contact a LC about it; it's obviously not a horrible thing that's happening since she's growing adequately, but it's bothersome to me and it worries me.

Sarah- I think it sounds like reflux too so we've been keeping her upright as much as possible and getting her to burp whenever possible. Other than that I don't know how to treat reflux in babies! I feel like we should have been given an rx for zantac to see if it helps her... it wouldn't hurt to try.

Sarah - posted on 07/21/2009

It sounds like reflux to me.

Louise - posted on 07/21/2009

Maybe try seeing a Lactation consultant as they are trained in the art of breast feeding as aposed to doctors who have no training in this feild. My child does something similar to this when he is not really hungery and just sucking for comfort, it is like he is getting frusterated because he doesn't want milk he just wants to suck. Maybe its not the same thing, just thaught I would mention it...