Wriggling around when breastfeeding

[FutureHKmom]

In the past two days, all of a sudden, my little one has been furiously wriggling about when I breastfeed him. He is ok for the first 5-10 minutes of the feed on each breast and then he just starts wriggling about non-stop and pulling at my nipple. Could it be that I all of a sudden don't have enough milk? Feeds have been shorter than usual because he has been moving around too much. But at the end of the feed, he does not cry for more, so I guess he has had enough. His pees and poos have been normal in the past two days. I'm just worried about whether or not my milk supply could all of a sudden be decreasing. Anybody come across this before? Thanks. By the way, my baby is 3 1/2 months old.

 

[nicolejoy]

Sometimes I think babies do that because they're getting faster at eating and they've already had enough. My daughter started eating much faster around that age too. These days (8 months old), she feeds for less than 5 minutes, only about 5 times a day!! But she's still really fat, and she's peeing and pooping enough so I know she's getting enough even though she's not taking as long. It's definitely more convenient now!! But on the negative side, if I keep trying to feed her and she's not hungry, she bites me!! And that really hurts now - she has 8 teeth!! So I try to stop as soon as she starts wriggling.

 

[FutureHKmom]

Thanks for your reply nicolejoy. I hope that that is also the case with my baby and that he is getting enough. In the past two days when his feeds have been shorter, he has peed and pooed enough times. It would be great for me if he starts feeding for shorter periods of time...I just hope he continues to thrive as well as he did before!

 

[Shenzhennifer]

Just wait, it gets worse, hehe! I cannot really feed my baby in public anymore (almost 6 months) as it`s too distracting for him. Also, even if my husband walks by, my son pulls off and stares at him. Like nicolejoy, he feeds for about 5 mins most of the time, except at night when it`s all business.
Though I did notice (before I started solids) that when my baby became hungrier, he would pull at my nipples and then go off. I just offered him the other and if he was still hungry, he would go for more. but you said he feeds on both sides already. He could just be more efficient at feeding and ready to conquer the world~

 

[FutureHKmom]

Shenzhennifer - I know what you mean about him pulling off when your husband walks by! My son does the same thing! He does it also if someone talks to me while I am feeding him. Soon I'm going to have to lock myself in a dark room to feed him in order to cut out all the distractions!

 

[joannek]

or use a nursing cover.

 

[Shenzhennifer]

Mine won`t let me cover him up anymore - there`s too much to be missed

 

[csj]

My son is the same age and i've been having similar problems. Here is what I do to tackle the wriggly worm:
1/ burp him, then try to feed him again
2/ make him eat upright (sometimes the milk flows too fast)
3/ feed him laying down
4/ wait, check his nappy if he needs a change and try to feed him again
5/ if none of this work I just quit because he may just be full already and my levels of frustration is too high then !

I also normally cover him when I feed him in public but he's getting more difficult as well now as he wants to see what's happening around and it's also very hot below the nursing cover (even if it's a very light one)... ah well, the joy of breastfeeding, right ? :tongue:

 

[FutureHKmom]

Thanks for all your suggestions csj - I tried laying down to feed him tonight but had the same problem. I've tried the burping and I always change his nappy before a feed too. As the day has wore on today, each feed has just gotten worse and worse. I feel like he is getting frustrated because the flow is too slow or there may not be enough? Anyways, my husband ended up supplementing him with a bit of formula tonight at the last feed before his bed time because he just didn't seem satisfied after I breastfed him. Hopefully, the problem will fix itself soon.....

 

[Shenzhennifer]

But if you`re worried about whether you have enough milk for him, feeding him the bottle won`t help you out - supply and demand and all.
How often is he eating?