first the arching/spitting/pain/fussy symptoms that you are describing sound like textbook acid reflux. i am not his doctor and therefore am not able to diagnose reflux in him but from my estimation it is absolutely worth scheduling an appointment separate from his well baby appointment to talk about this possibility. and soon. it's not dangerous but the lack of sleep and general unrest that you've been having to endure is! secondly the hunger. this seems to have 2 probable roots - your body's lack of milk production during daylight hours and his inability to eat enough to stave off the hunger longer because he's likely in so much pain during feedings that he's cutting them short. the milk production issue should improve with time but in the meantime there are some herbal remedies that can help under the direction of a lactation consultant. if your pediatrician's office does not have a lactation consultant on staff contact the hospital where you delivered as most hospitals have outpatient lactation services. you can schedule an appointment for you and your baby to be evaluated by the lactation consultant and recommendations can be made from there to improve your daytime milk supply. the possible acid reflux issue can be addressed sometimes through medication if that indeed is contributing to his ineffecient feedings. in theory once that problem is fixed he will be able to tolerate feedings better therefore he'll eat more at each feeding and therefore he'll stay full longer. lastly the issue of a possible underlying milk/whey allergy. some babies with this type of allergy have obvious symptoms like blood in the stool but other babies just have what appears to be very bad acid reflux symptoms. there is a way to test for this in your pediatrician's office. even if the test is negative breastfeeding mothers who still have a high suspicion can go on elimination diets to determine which foods are causing the problem. these dietary modifications can be spearheaded by your local lactation consultant as well but most often include cutting out dairy eggs nuts and wheat. that's a tall order for most moms so don't try to take that on by yourself. contact a lactation consultant please!
my son is hungry fussy gassy arches his back and fights me during breastfeeding. what is wrong?