nonstop nursing and frustrated at the breast

[Anonymous]

My 5 week old has been “diagnosed” with reflux. He is on Zantac but it seems to be getting worse. He wants to eat ALL the time and when he starts to nurse he gets frustrated and pulls back but still keeps my nipple in his mouth and tries to nurse again. First of all.. ouch… and when he is not nursing he is crying and rooting around. This is literaly ALL the time if he is not sleeping. Any ideas? advice? Is nursing soothing to the reflux? He also seems to prefer using a bottle when I pump.

He is been on Zantac for a little over a week. Thanks for any help.

[hellbennt]

any chance you have OAL?

anyway, https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=10133&PID=87611#87611 this link has a post of mine where I post what my advice is to do about breastfeeding a refluxer

[Anonymous]

I was going to guess OAL too.

Also, is he in pain? If so, it might be time to move to a PPI. Check out http://www.marci-kids.com for info on PPI’s and infants. Welcome and good luck.

[Anonymous]

That sounds like when Hailey would try to nurse. Our lactation consultant said OAL, which I think was only part of it. The other part was that she was trying to avoid the pain she got from feeding. So when I got a letdown, she’d pull off with my nipple in her mouth, and then come back for more, and this would go on and on. I’d try a PPI if the problem persists with the zantac.

[Anonymous]

How do you know if you have OAL? You can tell that he is in pain. But sometimes he acts like he is not getting enough milk. He is gets real mad and frustrated Like he is starving when he is trying to latch on. He takes a bottle just fine.

[hellbennt]

there are a lot of resources to help a breastfeeding mother of a refluxer, although it can seem like there’s no help in sight…

I always like to recommend to breastfeeding mothers to seek all the help they can manage to find such as:

la leche league:

The La Leche League Breastfeeding Helpline w/access to toll free breastfeeding help 24 hours a day. Just call 1-877-4-LALECHE (1-877-452-5324).

moms breastfeeding allergy babies on the LLLI website:
http://forums.llli.org/forumdisplay.php?f=37

& to find a local internationally board certified lactation consultant (IBCLC):

http://www.ilca.org/falc.html

I also found that the Dr. Sears Elimination diet

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/T041800.asp

really helped me to know what exactly it was that I was eating that affected my baby & his reflux

I hope this helps,

~laura

[Anonymous]

There is also a yahoo group that is for breastfeeding moms of reflux babies. What is that one Laura?

Justice did the same thing and for me it was not a supply issue or oal. For him it all went away as soon as his zegerid kicked in. Justice also wanted to nurse all the time. I ended up with very sore, cracked, and bleeding nipples. If that happens to you or you find yourself getting sore try burn patches. The patches look clear. You can go to any pharmacy and they should have them. I always cut mine in half since you don’t need the whole thing.

I would also check out marci-kids.com for more info on meds and correct dosing. I think most of the time if your baby is medicated correctly that does go away. The zantac usually wears off in a week so that is more than likely what has happened. Now all that being said it still could be oal or a supply issue, but if your baby has reflux I would definantly work on getting that under control anyway.

If your baby has over active letdown he will usually gulp very quickly and then choke because he is getting too much milk all at once. I’m not an expert though so like the other ladies have said I would contact a La Leche League leader in your area. Keep up the good work.

[Anonymous]

OAL for me was indicated by a forceful letdown that would literally shoot across the room. It was just too much for him to gulp and swallow all at once. I would also letdown several times during one feed.

[hellbennt]

here’s the yahoo group:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/breastfeedingreflux/

[Anonymous]

I just wanted to add that my daughter DID find comfort from eating. Many babies refuse a bottle from pain, but it actually made Sarah feel better. She wasn’t happy UNLESS she was eating. I had a little porker for quite a while until she was properly medicated. Well, she’s still on the chunky side…but not off the charts like she was as an infant! So it is possible that he is constantly rooting so he can feel comfort from the reflux pain with milk. And maybe the combination of OAL isn’t allowing him to eat the way he wants…

[Anonymous]

That was my little stinker too. She comfort fed for a long time, and, like Sarah was up in the 95% for a while, but now she’s leaning out a bit! Dagney also had a terrible time with Zantac, she actually had a rare adverse reaction to it, it could, in rare cases cause tummy aches, so she was actually worse on it than off of it. She was thne switched to Axid, which, although not sure it did much, at least it didn’t hurt her. Axid and Zantac are the same type of meds, although most little ones only find real relief once they’re on the PPI.

[Anonymous]

I have the exact same issue with my DS. He wants to nurse ALL the time. My LC said that it is comforting to their throats. He didn’t get any relief from zantac either and is trying prilosec but still nothing. I think that it may be OAL, formilk imbalance and MPI….I just wanted to give you a pat on the back because I know how hard this is!

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