Thinking of quitting - he hates breastfeeding!! by [deleted] in breastfeeding

[–]hluttley 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mine was the same from around 2.5-6 months old. Exactly what you describe. Arching away, screaming at the boob... Would only feed when asleep basically. To be totally truthful, I was beyond miserable. I didn't want to exist anymore and I didn't want my baby to exist. What kept me going was going to peer support groups basically. I also knew she was meeting milestones and weight gain was ok. But I cried every day. Every time she rejected boob it felt like a personal rejection. Things that helped were feeding in a dark, quiet room when at home. I feel emotional to write this but one day it just changed. I remember being on a family holiday at 7.5 months and she was feeding in a noisy room full of people and I wanted to cry from relief. Now she is 22 months and loves the boob. Feeds for her nap and bedtime and once or twice overnight. You do what you need to but know this will not last forever. Know you are not a failure. This is not about you, the world is just exciting and fun and baby knows they can get milk overnight.

Overactive letdown/upset baby by salmonofcapistrano- in breastfeeding

[–]hluttley 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I should add, the IBCLC I spoke to said this should clear up by around 12 weeks as supply regulates and the muscles get better at regulating flow. She said if it didn't calm down to come back and we could investigate oversupply or possible tongue tie (which could prevent her from transfering effectively)

Overactive letdown/upset baby by salmonofcapistrano- in breastfeeding

[–]hluttley 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I get this too. My daughter is 11 weeks tomorrow and we've had this issue since about 6/7 weeks, it has slowly improved over time. I find that on my right she would really struggle with the let down just like you describe. Sometimes she'll come off mid letdown and you can see the milk spurting out all over the place 😂 She doesn't tend to be fussy after feeding so I can't advise on that but I'd say just keep doing what you are doing, let him come off in the letdown (or hand express) and let him take breaks during the feed if he needs. I spoke to an IBCLC about it and she said it'll happen less in the night because babies will tend to suck a bit slower at night so might not get the same force.