Lately my 3 month old niece has been crying (really shrieking) right after breastfeeding - she is crying with her legs drawn up and it's obvious she is in a lot of pain. Is this unusual? Doctor says some babies still have an immature digestive system at 3 months but it seems like it's getting worse, not better. Does anyone have any ideas about what could be causing this?
Her mom hates to see her in all this discomfort. Would appreciate any help.

Geesh, poor thing! The only thing I can figure is gas. Has she tried to give her mylicon? It might be worth a try if she hasn't. That's the only thing I can think of. Hopefully someone else on the board will have some advice. :(

Is her mother watching what she eats? She could be giving the baby gas based on her diet.

Usually when babies draw up their legs it is gas pains. A food diary might be something the mom can do. Try to write down everything mom is eating and see if something in particular might be giving the baby bad gas pains. I would have mom stay away from garlic, brocolli and other gases vegetables, and possibly dairy products. Try seeing if the baby still has pains after mom is eating a VERY bland diet. I knew a baby that had problems when her mom ate chocolate. Gas drops might also be an option if she hasn't tried them already. Hope this is helpful. Good luck.:angel:

Thank you everyone for your advice - I will communicate it all to the mom. Doctor didn't want to give the baby anything which bothered me because it's really a problem at this point - hate to see the baby in pain. You know, I think the only thing that the mom was told not to eat was nuts -I guess because of peanut allergies. The food journal is such a good idea because maybe she will begin to see a pattern. Also, she might be eating a lot of gassy veggies because her husband is a vegetarian and of course the various spices. Can't wait to share this with her. Thanks very much!

I have the same problem right now with my 7 wk old! I have 3 boys and this makes 2 of 3 that have the severe gasey type pains. I didnt learn much the first time but this time forced our ped to help us out. Currently we are using Gripe water and it does seem to help. Mine doesnt sleep during the day but about 10 minutes at a time.....sometimes 20 - all power naps nonetheless because he wakes in pain. And the shrieking is just so hard to take sometimes. My doctor also suggested acid reflux as an issue as well so he prescribed Zantac, which I can honestly say doesnt seem to help. My suggestion would be to try the Gripe Water or even Mylacon drops....both seem to help - even if it is just a little bit or for a little while.

Good luck! :wave:

The mom has to get the pediatrician to empathize a little bit with the baby's suffering - gas pains are very painful - will ask for the gripe water or mylacon drops - thanks.

(sorry if i'm getting repetative about this, but nobody ever told me this and i just feel the need to spread the word!)

when i was nursing my second baby, she did the same thing. she'd start shreiking her head off, and was fussy and uncomfortable, legs drawn up, etc. we used gripe water, which helped a little, but didn't fix the problem. her doctor said it was just normal infant behavior, didn't seem concerned, said she'd get over it eventually.... idiot.... after a lot of researching, i figured out that her problems were caused by a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance. for anyone who's never breast fed, the first milk that baby gets is foremilk. it's thinner, less fatty and is less satisfying. then comes the hindmilk which is richer, has more fat, more calories and is what satisfies babies hunger.

if baby gets too much foremilk and not enough hindmilk, this can cause a lactose buildup, which leads to fermentation, which leads to gassiness, colic, frothy green stools, fussiness at feeding times, refusal to feed, etc.

imbalance can be caused if baby switches breasts too soon during feedings, or if mom makes too much milk, or if baby doesn't latch on properly.

don't i sound like a regular encyclopedia??? sorry if i do! my baby and i just went through so much hell for her first four months, that could have been avoided if only i'd known about this!!!

anyway, hope things get better! :)

PS - if it's not an imbalance of fore/hindmilk, gripe water really IS a good product! it worked wonders for my niece who was just gassy all the time!

I was just about to post the same info. I made a post recently called "overactive letdown" where I discovered I had the problem of TOO much milk. So my 3 week old son was getting way too much to drink when I was still feeding him from both sides. Now I do 2 meals on 1 side then switch sides for the next 2 feedings. It is slowly slowing down my milk production and he's doing much better at feedings. Plus I also express some milk by hand before I put him to the breast otherwise it sprays him in the face which makes matters worse.