>I have a mom with a very well fed 5 month old who is pulling away from the
>breast and causing mom what she calls "torture"  with each feeding.  We
>treated them both for yeast from the phone call I got but about 1- 1/2 weeks
>later she was calling back saying the diflucan helped for about 3 days but now
>the pain is back and that is when she described the torture as she calls it.
>This baby definitely gets enough to eat and at 5 month weighs 17 pounds and is
>26 inches long.  while observing a nursing session this baby latches on with
>an apparently good latch but at any noise  or talking this baby pulls her
>nipple from his mouth and stretches it until he lets go and then looks around.
>Mom says he does this with every feeding even if she is by herself and there
>is no stimulus around (even at night in bed).  The baby has a normal palate
>and mom describes his suck as that related to a "vacuum cleaner".  In looking
>through my resources from Linda Smith and Alison Hazelbaker I have determined
>from these descriptions that he possibly has a dysfunctional suck.  Although I
>don't know how to fix it or who to refer him to.  Mom is about ready to give
>up nursing because it hurts so bad!!

Hi Toni,
This seems to me to sound like an extreme case of 'the age of distraction'
(classically at about 4 months). I find it hard to believe that this baby
could have done so well up to now if he had a dysfunctional suck. But then
I haven't had the advantage of actually seeing what is going on.

Could it be that the baby doesn't want to feed as frequently any more and
is trying to tell mum that at some feeds? If he is getting heaps and
packing on the weight, then perhaps mum should end the feed as soon as he
starts playing up, and put him down. If he is really hungry, she can try
again, but each time he starts to hurt her, she stops. Hopefully, he will
learn to either feed properly or he doesn't get it.

I get the feeling that this is behavioural rather than physical. The yeast
treatment may still have been useful, as she may have had this as a
complicating factor if baby had damaged the nipple with his carrying-on.

Just my thoughts from a distance.

******************************************************************
Joy Anderson B.Sc. Dip.Ed. Grad.Dip.Med.Tech. IBCLC
Nursing Mothers' Association of Australia Breastfeeding Counsellor
Perth, Western Australia.   mailto:[log in to unmask]
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