Baby In Pain While Feeding

by natalie
(australia)

I have a 7 week old, bottle fed baby and every time he feeds he is in pain. It takes forever to get him to burp and his stomach you can hear gurgling. His poo is also dark green.

I never had this problem with my other 2 children and they were bottle fed as well. I don't know what to do anymore.

Baby Help Line:

Painful Feeding For Baby

I would check with your public health nurse or doctor on this one, since he appears uncomfortable. All babies are different and he may not tolerate the kind of formula he is on the way your other two babies did. The formula ingredients may have changed too.

Green poo is actually fairly common, sometimes the iron in formula can make poo greenish. But when you can hear gurgling and you think he is in pain then definitely get it checked out.

Some babies are sensitive to dairy based formulas, so soy formulas can be an option, but some babies also have sensitivity to soy so there are special formulas available for those babies - I think you have to have it prescribed here Australia.

You could try a soy formula to see if he is more comfortable, but I would still get him checked out by a professional.

All the best,
Annie

Find answers and comments below.

Find more Breastfeeding or Formula Q&As and other Baby Feeding Tips here:

Comments for
Baby In Pain While Feeding

Click here to add your own comments

Apr 10, 2010

baby in pain whilst feeding
by: miss lissi

hi Natalie, My baby Julian had similar behavior,your baby might suffer from reflux or colic or he could be intolerant to the formula. To start with in the supermarkets they sell products to reduce the pain( In the baby section) , if that doesn't work go to the doctor and there are prescription medication. good luck.

Feb 06, 2011

Help
by: Anonymous

Did you ever find a solution on this? My son who is going to be 3 months next week is going through the same thing right now. He was drinking fine 6oz every 3.5-4 hours and now maybe only 2-3 oz. Sometimes he would be in pain from the beginning of the feeding so he won't drink much and sometimes he would drink fine but when I burp him In between he will not take the bottle again. He looks like he wants more and sucks on the nipple but once he swallows he pushes the nipple out and cries. He has been on the same formula he started with and was tolerating it fine before.

Mar 10, 2011

discomfort when feeding
by: Anonymous

Hi, can anyone help, my baby is 8 weeks old and really struggling when feeding,he is fine with the first 1-2 oz but after that he goes red in the face twists his head side to side he arches his back its awful.im starting to dread feeding time cause he looks so much in pain.my son is also tongue tied, but i got told his tongue wouldnt cause this discomfort when feeding. any advice would be really helpful.

Mar 10, 2011

Burp him
by: Paula (Baby Help Line)

Hi,

Have you tried to burp him immediately when he starts squirming? I've seen many babies react like that when they are about half way through their bottle, and it is usually because they have swallowed enough air by then to make the feeding painful.

You can also try to feed him in a slightly more upright position, as well as invest in a bottle that is designed to reduce air bubbles, such as Dr. Brown's Natural Flow Bottles.

Another thing, if your baby has a tendency for acid reflux, then do not try to feed him large amounts at one time, rather less and more frequently.

Hope this helps,

Paula

May 16, 2011

Reflux
by: Danielle - Australia

My baby was the exact same from birth. I breastfed for a short while then went to formula. He has reflux and at 4 months we're still trying to find a solution. He's medicated, on prescription formula and thickner. Find a paeditrician that will help you.

Jul 28, 2011

Answer to colic babies
by: Laress

When my bub was round a month old ( now four months) she would hold down her burps so I went to chemist n bought infacol which has helped wonders, they do tend to start burping easier as they get older, it would take me n hubby up to an hour to burp her, try burping her also every quarter through her fed helps keep less wind in the belly

Click here to add your own comments

Return to Breastfeeding Q&A.