baby is lazy to suck milk

19.03.2010

Breastfeeding is not only about getting food for the baby, it is also a lot of mother’s work, the closest gentle relationship and interaction within the mother-child pair. And since feeding is a two-way process, we will talk about breastfeeding crises from both the baby and the mother.

What is meant by the terrible word “crisis” and is it necessary to fear and prepare for it in advance? Of course, there is no need to be afraid, but being prepared in advance and knowing how to act in a given situation is very useful. This will help not to get confused by the whims and unusual behavior of the baby at the breast, and will help the mother to be patient, cope with irritability and fatigue, find the most optimal and quick way out, and make the right decision. Sometimes even information that the current situation is not unique, that many mothers and their babies have faced feeding crises and, most importantly, successfully overcome them, can be a great help in giving confidence and finding hope in difficult days.

What do we mean by the term “breastfeeding crisis”? This term may mean:

• lactation crises (when, due to a sharp growth spurt or for other reasons, the child experiences a temporary lack of milk)
• child's refusal behavior
• Around-the-clock or night-time hanging of an older baby on the chest
• mother's irritation and fatigue.

In short, these are situations that result in disharmony in the symbiotic unity of “mother-child” and jeopardize the continuation of successful breastfeeding.
Let's first look at the questions that arise in a mother-baby pair due to the child's "bad" behavior at the breast. So:

“My newborn baby does not want to take the breast, turns his head from side to side and refuses to suckle. Is this a refusal?

In fact, a newborn baby may simply not be able to latch onto the breast right away. The baby turns his head, pokes his nose, licks the nipple, and the mother, due to inexperience, takes this behavior of the baby for refusal to breastfeed. This behavior of a newborn is called searching

, the baby wants to, but just doesn’t know how to latch onto the breast yet, he needs his mother’s help and support. In this case, the mother needs to be patient and gently but persistently help and teach the baby to latch onto the breast correctly.

“My baby is 12 weeks old and lately he has been arching and crying at the breast or doing a few sucking movements and releasing the nipple while crying. What is the reason for this and what could cause this behavior? And how to convince the baby to continue breastfeeding?

Often mothers encounter this problem precisely at the age of 3-4 months, and it is expressed in the fact that a successfully and happily fed baby suddenly begins to show signs of refusing behavior, writhing and crying at the breast.

According to perinatal psychologists who study the behavior of infants, at the age of 3-4 months there is another growth spurt, the baby’s brain and nervous system are actively developing, the baby moves to a qualitatively new stage of development, and for the first time declares itself as an individual. And he does this to the best of his abilities: the baby may begin to get distracted during feeding, react to external stimuli, and become interested in what is happening around him; while in her arms, rests against her mother with her arms and legs, turns away and resists when a breast is offered to him, or after several sucking movements she turns away crying, prefers one breast to the other, and may become more capricious, irritable, sleep worse at night or worry during the daytime .

The child, as it were, provokes the mother, tests her reliability: how will she behave in this situation? The world around the child is rapidly changing, and only the mother remains a constant, unchanging guide and reliable support. Therefore, the baby expects that the mother will provide him with “proof” of her reliability: she will not stop offering the breast, feeding the baby at night, will not use bottles and pacifiers, offer water and complementary foods, is ready to feed the baby in positions that are comfortable for him, without limiting feeding time.

And if the mother knows about the peculiarities of the child’s development at this age, then the refusing behavior quickly passes. Therefore, it is worth being patient and helping your child get through difficult days. It helps to create a calm and intimate environment for feeding, for example, being alone with the baby for feeding in a dimly lit room, and if this is not possible, then covering the baby with his head in a diaper, feeding around the dreams of a half-asleep baby, feeding in motion, rocking on a fitball, etc. Many children calm down well when turning on “white noise” (hair dryer, washing machine, sounds of nature: rain, sound of the sea surf, etc.). Remember that any surges in growth and development can be successfully “treated” with mother’s love and attention, perseverance and patience.

Another common reason that can lead to breast refusal is

Improper organization of breastfeeding and errors in care

This can be represented in more detail, for example, by the following points:

• using bottles and pacifiers
• supplementing with water or other liquids
• early unreasonable introduction of complementary foods
• feeding according to the schedule, limiting feeding time
• too large volume of introduced complementary foods (for children over 9 months)

The baby may refuse to breastfeed due to the use of bottles and pacifiers. After all, a child sucks a breast and a bottle very differently, completely different movements are made with the tongue and jaw, and breathing and swallowing are organized differently. Sometimes a child is tuned in to what he last held in his mouth, fed from a bottle several times, reinforced the movements with which the child sucks milk from a bottle, and now the child does not know how to suck the breast. Only a small percentage of children can use two sucking techniques at once: breast and bottle. The situation is approximately the same with the pacifier. According to studies conducted in Sweden, due to the use of a pacifier, 65% of infants refused to breastfeed by 3 months (if the mother had milk).

Therefore, if, while using a bottle and pacifier, the child shows restlessness at the breast and other signs of refusal behavior, it is better to refuse these items, using alternative methods of supplementary feeding if necessary

(spoon, cup, syringe, etc.).

Mom feeds

This is a real sloth!

Many mothers are faced with such an alarming situation: the baby is at the breast for 5 minutes, then releases the nipple, but does not calm down, after a while he takes the breast again - again for five minutes, and so on in a circle. The child, apparently, does not eat enough, is capricious, and has poor weight gain. Pediatricians call such children “lazy suckers” and suggest supplementary feeding as a solution to the problem. Who are lazy suckers, why are they “lazy” and how to cope with such a situation?

Lazy sucker?

In my opinion, this is a very offensive name for a child. What kind of laziness can we talk about in relation to a newborn baby? Let me remind you: laziness is a human vice, meaning a lack of hard work, desired idleness. Can a child be lazy? Mothers sigh: “he’s so lazy, he doesn’t want to breastfeed well,” thereby justifying their inability to establish breastfeeding. At the same time, the mother seems to be programming the child’s entire future life; you can imagine her words a couple of years later: “mine is a bad student, well, yes, he’s been so lazy since childhood, before he didn’t want to breastfeed properly, now he doesn’t want to do his homework... That’s how he is.” I was born."

Having realized the absurdity of such definitions, I propose once and for all to accept as an axiom the fact that a baby, in principle, cannot be lazy. Let’s try to figure out why he sluggishly sucks the breast and how to help the baby.

By the way, the second meaning of the word “laziness” is the need to save energy. In this sense, the child’s lethargy is a sign that the body, for some reason, has switched to “saving mode.” Lethargic sucklings from weakness and malnutrition are little awake, mostly sleep, and are reluctant to take the breast due to lack of strength. The changes are especially noticeable if the child suddenly turns into “lazy”, and was previously active.

Sucks sluggishly from birth

So, if a child is weakened from birth, due to a difficult birth or other medical problems, the mother should not label the baby “lazy”, but should try to establish sufficient nutrition so that the child gets stronger and gains strength. If it is difficult for him to suck milk from a tight breast, express the milk and feed the baby from a spoon or syringe, helping with your finger, directing drops of milk in the right direction in the baby’s mouth. You can also use the technique of “squeezing” the breast while the nipple is in the baby’s mouth. This technique is as follows: you place your thumb on one side of the mammary gland, and the rest of your fingers on the other side, at a short distance from the nipple. By rhythmically (but not forcefully) squeezing the mammary gland, you facilitate the passage of milk through the ducts, and as a result, you hear swallowing sounds. Yes, this is not very convenient, but it is much more harmful to transfer a child to IV, thinking that he is just being lazy. The period of such feeding will not last long, soon the baby will get stronger, and you will be able to breastfeed him in the usual way.

How to help your baby

If the baby suddenly changes the nature of his sucking, begins to suck sluggishly, pulls away from the breast, is capricious, the number of urinations decreases, and his weight gain worsens, you should carefully look for the cause of such changes and eliminate it or correct the situation. The first step is to rule out the need for medical attention. If symptoms of illness such as fever, rash, diarrhea, etc. missing, please note the following.

1. Check whether the baby is attached to the breast correctly. Incorrect attachment must be excluded first of all, since it is often the main reason that the child sucks poorly at the breast . Simply, he may feel uncomfortable. Or, due to improper attachment, the child swallows air, which causes colic, and as a result, the child cannot sleep peacefully, often wakes up, and is capricious.
2. Check to see if your baby's nose is breathing. If the nose is stuffy or breathing through the nose is difficult, the baby cannot suckle normally, arches, and screams.
3. It may be painful for your child to touch his gums due to teething. In this case, you can relieve the discomfort with the help of special medications.

Before you panic about frequent latching, try to understand: frequent feeding in small doses is part of the norm for breastfeeding. All children are different, some eat rarely and in large quantities, others often and little by little. It doesn’t happen from day to day: today the child eats often, tomorrow – less often, the day after tomorrow – again often. Do not remove the breast from the baby until he releases it himself. Carry your baby in your arms or in a sling so that your breast is always available. Arrange for co-sleeping. And - most importantly - try to stop counting the number of attachments and time the time the baby spends at the breast. If your baby is weakened, he needs your milk to get stronger. Nothing else will help. And switching the “lazy sucker” to a formula will relieve you of the symptoms (small weight gains will become large ones), but not the causes of the situation. In the end, weight as such is just weight, a very important, no doubt, indicator of health, but not an end in itself.

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You can also read on this topic:

Is it possible for a nursing mother to smoke?

Hyperlactation: too much milk

Webinars from the author of the blog MomFeeds!

“Why did my baby suddenly start suckling constantly?”

A fairly common question, especially among mothers of older babies who nursed at fairly regular intervals. There are many reasons why a baby begins to latch on to the breast more often. This may be due to the fact that the baby is experiencing another growth spurt and development. A child can fight an advancing disease in this way, and in this case the mother will not be able to offer him anything better, because by receiving milk, the child will receive antibodies and immune factors that will help cope with the disease or even avoid it altogether.

It should be remembered that breastfeeding should be considered not only as nutrition, but a unique opportunity that nature gave the child to relieve stress and normalize the functioning of the nervous system. With any discomfort, the baby feels the need to suck. When sucking, the nerve endings that saturate the baby’s oral cavity are stimulated and the child’s body begins to produce hormones of love, joy and happiness (serotonin, endorphins), thanks to which a rapid and effective reduction in the level of stress hormones occurs. This is why children, especially in the first year of life, feel the need to breastfeed frequently. Not for nutrition, but for calming, relieving stress and receiving positive emotions.

Regardless of the reason why the number of feedings has increased, do not limit the child’s need for sucking and live contact with the most necessary person in his life now - his mother, do not interrupt the flow of the most valuable liquid for him - breast milk - materialized mother’s love. And remember that the increased number of attachments is not forever, several days will pass and the child should return to the previous regime. And mom should definitely praise herself for her patience. After all, she met the needs of her baby and strengthened his trust in her.

Now let's turn to those aspects of the breastfeeding crisis that a mother may face.

How to teach a baby to suckle?

The newborn learns well. The sucking reflex is something that the baby has mastered since birth. Nature itself gave such an opportunity. Once we understand the reasons why a child refuses to breastfeed, it is much easier to solve the problem.

How to get a baby to suckle? You can instill in your baby the habit of latching on the breast using the following “tricks”.

1. Limit your use of bottles, pacifiers and pacifiers from the start. Yes, it’s convenient: I expressed milk and solved the problem of feeding during my absence. The price of this, of course, will be very high - the child may simply not latch onto the breast after a bottle. For such purposes, use a spoon or syringe without a needle;

Do you give your baby a pacifier or pacifier? You'll have to give them up if you want to breastfeed. If the baby is capricious and calms down only with them, it’s time to change tactics. Rock him in your arms and nurse him when he is calm.

2. Perseverance is the key to success. Let the offer of the breast to the baby follow him everywhere: when he cries, whims or restless behavior. 24 hours a day. Even while sleeping. Be calm and do everything without irritation. If you are nervous, you will achieve the completely opposite effect. You should not force him to take the breast. Only positive emotions and patience;

3. Spend more time with your child. The more the baby communicates with his mother, the better for breastfeeding. A prerequisite for resuming breastfeeding is co-sleeping. The native smell and voice should be present in the baby’s life every day and hour. Let the child feel the safety and calm that comes from communicating with his mother. In this case, it will be easier for him to latch onto the breast;

4. The positions in which you feed your baby greatly influence the result. Try to vary the conditions: stand while feeding. Lie on your side, sit down. Place your baby on your lap. Eliminate irritating factors and sounds. Give your baby a taste of the milk by squeezing a few drops onto his lips.

If these methods do not work, contact a specialist. Only he will be able to accurately determine the reasons why breastfeeding is impossible or problematic. Based on this data, you will receive recommendations and, if necessary, treatment.

Very useful information from a pediatrician on how to properly feed a newborn with breast milk.