# 6 mo flailing and spazzing while nursing to sleep...



## sarahtdubb (Apr 30, 2007)

Hi!

I nurse my 6 month old to sleep every night in bed, and it's been mostly uneventful. But this last week he has started totally spazzing out while he nurses--- flopping around, kicking, swinging his arms and grabbing and squeezing and scratching my breast, arching his back, etc--all with my nipple in his mouth (which as I'm sure you know can get a little uncomfortable), and all with his eyes closed. It's the kind of squirming he does if he has gas, but I don't think that's the problem because it never ends with him farting. A couple of nights I just hung in there and let him do it for 40 minutes (!!) before he finally fell asleep, and then he slept just fine ("just fine" for us means waking up to nurse every 1-2 hours all night long, but what can you do?).

Last night after 45 minutes I couldn't take it anymore, so my husband took him and wore him down in the carrier, then brought him into the bed, where I nursed him just enough to settle him down on the bed.

This is a real mystery to me, because he doesn't do this when he nurses during the day... it's usual for him to flop around a little as he falls asleep, but 40 minutes? I normally love nursing him down for bed... I feel like it's a special time for us (especially because I work out of the home) and it helps me unwind. I want that relaxing time back!

Any insights?


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## veganone (May 10, 2007)

No insight, but my six month old does the same thing to the point that she keeps herself awake until she's overtired and a mess. The other night it was over an hour. I find that holding her and walking are the only thing that works, but my back hates me for it...


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## halo8 (Aug 29, 2007)

my 4.5 month old also does this. I find keeping her in a semi upright position while nursing helps - sometimes. I usually just have to wait it out. I mentioned it to my doc, btw and he gave me the old i've got a fretful mother on my hands" look and basically ignored me. She seems so uncomfortable while it happens. and she cries or grunts a lot while still trying to nurse.


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## PatchChild (Sep 1, 2006)

There seems to be something about 6 months that causes sudden and often irritating changes. I link it to their increased movement, they just can't seem to stop.


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## Bunnybee (Jan 16, 2007)

My DS did that too. It should pass soon!


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## lynx0333 (Dec 8, 2007)

acrobatic nursers happen.







I think the increased ability and drive to move can effect falling asleep. I throw one leg over ds and hold his top hand... this seems to help a bit with the flailing when it's keeping him awake


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## readytobedone (Apr 6, 2007)

oooh! DD has been doing this off and on since about the same age. i think for us it was a developmental thing--increased movement like PP said.

what helps us is when she's flopping about during sidelying nursing, i get up and take her to the rocker and nurse cradle hold. i can hold her kind of tighter there, kwim? on the bed she's more free to flop. i like to think of the cradle hold during these times as a loving straitjacket























something about the pressure all around her with my arms around her body really seems to help settle her--kind of like a swaddle, i guess. so maybe try different positions.


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## purple_kangaroo (Feb 20, 2006)

My kids did that because they had reflux, I think. All 3 of mine had pretty bad reflux. Does he ever choke and gasp while nursing? My youngest turned out to be aspirating fluids. Does keeping his head higher than his stomach help him to be less wiggly? Are there any other signs of reflux or a swallowing problem?

Of course, it could just be an active wiggly baby trying to stay awake to get more of that yummy milk.


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## kikabean (Apr 22, 2007)

My 11-month old is doing the exact thing described in the original post. He just started crawling last week, and I wondered if it was related. Sometimes he does the arching as if he wants to get down and play, except he isn't awake.


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## thixle (Sep 26, 2007)

Oh gosh, I remember that "phase"








I would sit up in the bed, and prop up with pillows to nurse. I felt like as soon as I figured out HOW to nurse while laying down, she started acting like that and wanted to sit up a bit. It didn't last very long. And one time, it was because I had a hair on my boobie


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## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

I think if there's no other physical reason for it, it may be a stages thing. I agree with the PP who said it could have something to do with becoming more mobile. My 9 month old is doing it all over again. It seems as soon as I start to drift off to sleep he's squirming around again. He's recently started cross-legged crawling (he's been scooting himself on his belly since about 4 months), cruising and standing on his own for just a split second at a time. Add teething to that, 6 teeth since Christmas at 6 months, and that's a lot for one baby to take. It seems to go in spurts. He'll be really squirmy and fussy without being completely awake for a few days or a few weeks and then he'll sleep for longer periods for a few weeks and then the wakefulness starts again. It can be very frustrating after you've been pulled and poked and kicked and scratched so many times.

A handful of times I've actually told my babe to lay down and go to sleep and he's actually done it without crying! It totally shocked me. Last night he woke up around 3 am and was squirming. Nursing wouldn't settle him down. He sat up a couple of times and cooed like he thought it was time to get up. I gently told him it was the middle of the night and he needed to go back to sleep. He laid down and was quiet. It took a couple of times of doing this before he fell back to sleep and he didn't cry.


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## catters (Nov 20, 2007)

I'm trying to attribute this to increased mobility too. Just this past week DS has started pulling up on furniture, me, etc, started crawling!!!!!!! ACKKKK, and really has become incredibly curious and just, well, mobile! So, the last couple weeks he's been like a little feral animal flapping around while trying to nurse to sleep. Honestly, I've actually taken to swaddling him again sometimes... It has been the only thing that has calmed him down at all. Also, I'm STILL waiting for teeth, so I imagine he's feeling some pain in the gums right now too as he's taken to gnawing EVERYTHING. Today, he actually grabbed my foot and gnawed on my big toe. It was funny, and well, gross, but still kind of funny.


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## miraculousmilk (Feb 5, 2008)

My dd did that at 6 months for about a week. She's repeated it since then two or three times and it is always followed by some rapid advancement in her skills and abilities, so I agree with everyone else: it's definitely a developmental thing. Swaddling her helped hugely (most) of the time. Hang in there, it will pass . . .


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