He definitely doesn't cry all the time but he is more fussy than your average newborn. We originally thought it could be a dairy intolerance because he had a couple of yellow/mucous poops. But then the poops turned green which, according to our midwife, is more of a sign of a fore milk/hind milk imbalance. He is also gassy from both ends which is also a symptom of the milk imbalance. I am cutting out dairy just in case but my money's on the latter.
I did some research on the topic today and the reasons for imbalance can be: not feeding long enough on one breast before switching to the other or over supply. Again, my money's on the latter because I've only been offering one breast per feeding since the beginning and he eats for a long time. The best solution I found during my research today was block feeding. You use one breast every time your baby wants to eat for a set amount of time (usually around 2-4 hours) then switch and do the same for the other breast. I started trying to use this method this afternoon so I hope we start to see an improvement soon. It is so frustrating to know that something my body is doing is causing him so much discomfort. I know that once my milk regulates itself things will probably get better for him but I'd really love to help him sooner since it can take up to 6 weeks for things to level out. My heart just breaks for him whenever he's crying from discomfort and I can hear his little tummy gurgling away :(.
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| Wouldn't your heart break for him too??? |
David and I watched with avid interest and ever since have been trying to interpret Ayden's cries. Sometimes we hear it and get it right... but most of the time, it all just sounds the same. We are slowly getting to know or little man and what he likes/dislikes and what his cries mean. It's all part of the journey.
Have any of you ever dealt with a fore milk/hind milk imbalance? What did you do to remedy the evil problem?
I did not breastfeed, so I can't help with that. I wish you luck though!
ReplyDeleteI will say that listening for the different sounds in your son's cry will likely be very helpful for you. For my son the hungry cry was the most distinctive. Sometimes the other cries sounded muddled and were hard to make out the different sounds. I think parent's first instinct is to feed a baby that is crying and it helped us fight that urge since we knew when he was definitely crying for a bottle versus something else.
Good luck! I love reading your blogs. Hopefully you'll check me and my family out too. Our little one is 9 months old :)