Latching is so vital in breastfeeding at least until your little angel knows how to hold his own bottle.
Not only does proper latching allow the milk to flow better, but it also lessens discomfort for mums, such as nipple cracks and soreness.
Thus, if you are stuck in the situation of your baby latching and unlatching repeatedly or the baby acting hungry but won’t latch, you should not skip this post.
Follow us now to understand further the causes and some ways to address this state.
Why Is Your Baby Latching And Unlatching Repeatedly?
From Your Babies
Fussy
When an infant is crying or too fussy, they would not like to keep breastfeeding. If your baby is overstimulated, overtired, or hungry, breastfeeding might also be more difficult.
Thus, mothers should breastfeed babies when they are calm, awake, and before they feel peckish. If your kid is crying, attempt to comfort them before giving suck to your baby.
Swaddling and holding your infant or stepping lightly to a quiet space and switching on the light at the dim mode might also help.
Gently dribble some drops of mother’s milk onto mom’s breast just before trying to breastfeed the baby.
The taste and smell of breast milk might encourage kids to feed properly. Also, you can change sides or positions to get a comfortable feeling for them.
Sleepy
Once newborns want to sleep, all other things might mean nothing to them, even latching or breastfeeding. Sometimes, some medications offered to the birthing mother during birth can provoke extra sleep.
In some cases, infants are just weary. If your kids do not up to suck the breast of their mother, get them up at least once every two or three hours.
Try to rouse your babies by speaking softly, uncovering them, and changing the baby’s diaper.
All you need to do sometimes is, take your kid in another breastfeeding posture. If they’re comfortable and warm, they will have a great faculty for stopping up to feed.
Silent Reflux
According to many specialists in childhood illnesses, silent reflux might usually impact the way infants nurse, especially unlatching.
Your kid’s doctor may diagnose the situation related to some medical problems, such as intestinal issues, and suggest an appropriate prescription.
Stuffy Nose
Try a cup of water while holding your nose, then you can feel how hard babies breastfeed with a nose plugged is.
If infants are sick and can not breathe properly and easily through their nose, this might be making them need to unlatch to take their breath.
So you can’t avoid your newborn latching and unlatching when he gets a stuffy nose.
Gas
Another cause of newborn latching on and off is gas. The infant might have gas which is some puffed-up stomach or any form of gut discomfort. Thus, they might need parents to burp them frequently.
From Mothers
Fast Letdown
Generally, your milk often tends to gush out simultaneously, especially in the first period. This is quite familiar with most mothers, especially if moms have not pumped or nursed in some hours.
You can comprehend how extra milk might be frustrating and uncomfortable feeding babies. They’d likely unlatch, as they don’t have to get all the food that’s gushing out at the same time.
Suppose you assume that a rapid letdown might be the root; pump some minutes before breastfeeding the baby.
This works to sit down to milk the fore-time, which couldn’t be filling them up as much as the hind time would.
Also, you might attempt nursing on your recline and the infant lying on you. This posture safeguards against the gushing out once, and some excess milk they do not gulp down simply overflows the two sides of their mouth.
In this way, they will not feel like they are swallowing too much of this food.
Slow Flow
A slow flow is also a possible cause of baby keeps unlatching during breastfeeding. Your babies might tug at their mom’s nipples in the hope of catching more breast milk, especially when they are hungry.
One simple option to correct the situation of the baby latches on and off is to change sides.
If newborns did well when sucking their mother’s breast on one side yet suddenly begin unlatching, see wonder if they will keep down if their mums put them on the other chest.
Another way is that mothers should keep the peak of their breasts as if they are pushing the natural food down the nipple.
Inverted or Flat Nipples
A flat or inverted nipple will make a newborn find it hard to latch, as they can not keep nipples very long, and then the baby latches and unlatches frequently.
Suppose most babies can not latch on properly because their mother’s nipples do not protrude from their breast, attempt pumping for a few minutes before beginning breastfeeding.
The power of breast pumps might draw out or lengthen mom’s nipples enough to latch on for their kids. If this remedy does not work, see doctors to ask about nipple shields.
Engorged Breasts
Most mums get breast engorgement, especially on the first time breastfeeding. Yet this issue will improve gradually after three or five days; in that time, colostrum will turn into mature milk.
Then the next stage, the mother’s milk production rises. When her breasts are filled quickly, it could make them swell and become harder.
It gets worse when your skin’s breasts flatten out and the nipples become tight; your newborn might be more difficult to latch on.
You might take a hand expressing or pumping a little your own milk to soften your skin around the areola and nipples before you start to breastfeed. This will restrict baby latching on and off and allow them to latch on more easily.
Big Breasts
It could be hard and awkward to help your newborn latch on correctly when your breast is quite big.
The large breast size can ward off you from seeing your newborn’s mouth and your nipple. This makes positioning breasts and holding them become harder.
In this case, the good method to prevent the “baby keeps latching and unlatching” issue is to ask someone to help you right from the start.
When you feel relaxed then, and your newborn knows how to latch and breastfeed properly, you can have a great facility for doing it by yourself.
Big Nipples
If you’ve big nipples, it isn’t easy to latch on for your infant, especially premature newborns.
It would be best when the newborn can take the whole nipple and the right amount of your areola into the kid’s mouth.
If the nipple fills your newborn’s mouth, they will not be able to catch any of the areolae. Thus, they will not be able to correctly and effectively withdraw breast milk.
In this case, nipple shields might be helpful. Once it is put on your nipple, the form of this shield is easier and smaller for an infant to hold in their lovely mouth.
What To Do When Your Baby Latching And Unlatching Repeatedly?
In the above section, almost every excuse comes with a resort. Yet, to help you have better experiences in nursing and avoid your baby keeps pulling off breast and relatching, we will list some recommendations below.
Use Pacifier
Utilizing a pacifier will help you forget all worries about “why does baby pull off breast and cry”, and your infant will not feel uncomfortable anymore and keep receiving breast’s milk as they are done.
Don’t Change Everything Too Quickly
Because the nipple and breast size differ, babies tend to prefer one breast over the other. Thus when you breastfeed a child, you should not switch the infant dramatically from this side to the other side.
Particularly you just switch sides when the kid feels annoyed or has some signs of being done or full on the breast. In this way, they will not need to readjust or re-position to the new nipple.
Don’t Despair Or Be Upset
The work went for nothing, so there is a certain reason why babies behave the way they do. In fact, no one wants to face the issue, neither yourself nor your baby.
If you get frustrated, your newborn might be frightened and start crying more.
Thus, always keep calm while getting appropriate answers to tackle the problem.
The Wrap Up
Getting these final words, you might completely understand how challenging breastfeeding a kid is. Also, you will no longer worry seeing your baby latching and unlatching repeatedly.
We hope you all will have a great experience taking care of your kid’s thanks to our helpful tips. Lastly, thank you and see you in the coming content.
