Feeding FAQ: 8-12 weeks – Breast Feeding

At 8 weeks old my daughter will not feed long enough at the breast

During the day my 8-week-old daughter will not feed for long enough to keep her satisfied until the next feed. For the first few weeks she fell asleep after 10mins, then for the last couple of weeks she has been feeding for about 10mins then starting to struggle and jerk her head away, taking my nipple and stretching it (ouch), letting go, then frantically searching for it again, yelling if she can’t get it quickly enough, as if she’s ravenous. Then, after a swallow of milk, she wrenches her head away again, and so on, almost as if she doesn’t like the taste. This goes on until she loses interest altogether. I’ve tried switching sides (although the breast she’s on is not empty) but the same thing happens. Why is she doing this? Her intake is nowhere near what it should be, as within an hour she’s yelling for food again; daytime naps all have to be preceded by a top-up, otherwise she will yell for food before I’ve left the room. Even that doesn’t guarantee an uninterrupted nap. I’m very concerned that she has learned the wrong sleep association but she has always had this problem and I don’t know how to get her out of it. Incidentally, she is fine in the evenings, although is very hungry after her bath and is rarely satisfied after 45 minutes on both breasts, but will not take a bottle top-up from me (only my husband if he’s home in time). I usually have to give her a few more sucks on an almost-depleted breast at about 7.30 before she settles until the late feed: about 4-5oz of formula, which my husband gives at 11 o’clock. That usually takes her through until 4 or 5, although in the last 2 weeks she has slept through twice, waking and settling herself at around 3-4am, without my intervention. As we live in the USA, my daughter goes to the paediatrician every month, and we do not have a baby clinic or health visitor. The paediatrician, when I mentioned her eating habits, said that her feeding would get more regular between 8 and 12 weeks: I’m not convinced.
At present she feeds 7am, 10-15 minutes one breast, 7.20am perhaps 2 more minutes, 7.50am 2 minutes, 8.20am 5 minutes, 8.55am 2 minutes, 9.25am 10 minutes, same breast as before, 5 minutes second breast, 10am -6pm the same “snacking” every hour at irregular intervals until bath time. 6.15pm 20 minutes each side, 7.30pm 2 minutes on fullest breast, 11pm 4-5oz formula, 4-5am 10 minutes one. It impossible to know her overall intake but her weight gain is good. She weighed 8lbs 1 oz at birth and is now 11 lbs.
She naps at 8.50-9.20am, 12-1 pm, 2-2.30pm, 3.45-4.30pm and settles about 7.45pm.

There could be several reasons why your daughter is feeding in this erratic way. Firstly take her to the paediatrician and have her checked out for any signs of reflux. It can often result in this “bobbing” and pulling of the breast when feeding. She may not posset or bring back feeds for it to be present. If this is ruled out then you will need to look at other factors which may be causing this problem.
Look at your own diet and lifestyle to see if there is anything which could be affecting the taste of your milk. Garlic, chilli and curry [hot] and other strong flavours can affect the flavour, especially if eaten in large quantities. Keep a food diary of all you eat and drink and see if there is any relationship to the times when she is more fussy. It takes about 16 hours for the food you have eaten to be affecting your milk. Stress and too much exercise can, according to research, also affect the taste of your milk. Taking gentle exercise is fine but don’t try anything too strenuous until you have solved the problems you are having.
The rate of your “let down” reflex usually remains the same throughout the feed. i.e. if you have a fast “let down” your milk will flow quickly through out the feed. Your flow can slow down if you are very tense or anxious so make sure you are in a comfortable position before beginning a feed and make yourself relax by taking several deep breaths and releasing your shoulders. Sometimes a breast will not flow so evenly and releases the milk in “waves”. This means there will be a time when the baby receives no milk no matter how hard she sucks until the next “wave” flows. If the delay is long, perhaps as much as three or four minutes the baby becomes, understandably, impatient, cries, fusses and does not feed well. Moving across to the other breast can help, even though you know that the first breast has not probably emptied. You may have to move your baby from breast to breast throughout the feed as this is the only way they will receive a continuous flow of milk.
If you are regularly expressing you will be aware of your supply but also make sure that you daughter is latching on correctly each feed. If you have any soreness in your nipples [apart from them being pulled by her] whilst you are feeding it is likely to be caused by an incorrect latch. Seek advice from a lactation consultant who will be able to make any adjustments to help you. This in turn will help with your supply as your daughter will stimulate your breasts properly at each feed.
Keep trying to give your daughter a bottle yourself. Some babies will often not take it from their mother at first but it is well to preserve with this. There are a couple of things you can try to help her. Sit with her facing out from you rather than in the crook of your arm where she will be able to smell the familiar smell she associates with breast milk. Walking around whilst offering a bottle can also help as she will be distracted by what she sees around her. Keep the teat in her mouth even if she initially cries and keep “teasing” her tongue with it to encourage her to suck.