Problem with breast feeding.

I have been breast feeding my son since he was born in Sept.  He is going to be 6 weeks on Monday.  For the last week I have had a problem with nursing him.  He will latch on sometimes and there are no problems.  But sometimes he will latch on for 5 or 10 mins and nurse and then pull off and start screaming.  I burp him and try to latch him back on but he doesn't want anything to do with my breast but is still hungry and immediately start to suck on his hands.  I have tried giving him a pacifier to see if he isn't hungry and just needs to suck but he will spit it out and go back to his hand.  I bottle feed him my milk at night and not sure if he just likes the bottle better.  It's getting so frustrating.

Hang in there! Nursing struggles can be really frustrating. It sounds like maybe your baby is in pain of some sort if he is pulling off and screaming. He is a little early to be teething but it is not unheard of for a baby to get his first teeth on the early side. When you say he prefers to chew on his hands, it makes me think he has some gum pain and likes the stimulation on his gums when he chews his fingers. Gas pain is always another consideration but you said you are burping him after he pulls off. Does he burp well for you? Does he spit up large amounts of breastmilk? Reflux in babies can cause some pain while feeding if he regurgitates it. These are all things you could talk to your doctor about. I would call your pediatrician if this keeps up because your milk supply can dwindle pretty quickly if you aren't feeding as much as you normally would. Hope it all resolves itself!

Teething, possibly?  Although young...

What kind of bottle are you using too?  I use Dr. Browns when I pump with a  Level 1 nipple & it forces  him to eat slower than with other bottles, so he doesn't prefer the bottle to the breast....that starts to happen with some babies who are getting the milk easier & faster from a bottle than the boob.  So, you may want to try a different bottle, which forces him to eat more like he's at the breast...working harder for it.

Maybe he is impatient once the milk flow slows down. Does he do the same thing on both sides? Is there a particular time of day that seems to be related to this behavior?

I am using born free bottles with level 1 nipples.  I decided to just start bottle feeding him and pump.  I am going back to work in 3 weeks so eventually it would come to that.

Is that working out better for you? I hope so! I had a friend who pumped and bottle fed mostly but would breastfeed right before bed as a soothing thing for her and baby. Of course, if your little guy is not happy with it, then it wouldn't be too soothing for either of you! I hope your transition back to work goes well. :-)

It actually is working better.  It is making me pump more than before and so I have a lot more milk to freeze than before!

So when you feed him your milk via bottle he doesnt give you an trouble? Thats kinda odd. First I thought it could be something with your milk but seeing that he likes it from the bottle that cant be it. Anyhow, Im glad for you that its working better now.

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Glad to hear it is working better for you! It's such a guessing game, sometimes, trying to figure out what our babies need, isn't it? Hope all is continuing to be well for you both. :-)

Glad to hear it's working better; I had similar issues at first my daughter blistered my nipples and I would be in tears trying to breastfeed, also she started teething at 3 months (exhibiting the exact same problem you're having is what tipped us off). I use Breastflow bottles by The First Years they work awesome! I had no problem going between bottle to breast, even if doing so in the same feeding. the baby still has to use suction and compression in order to get milk from the nipple & gas hasn't been an issue with the bottle either.

I have been pumping and bottle feeding my breastmilk to my son for 2 and a half months now. my milk supply pretty much just stopped! my doc said it's because pumping doesn't create the same hormones as breastfeeding does and to try to get him to latch on to my breast at least once a day to help my body keep making milk. i agree it is easier, and everyone told me it was more work cause I pump every 3 hours. but it helps me keep better track of how much he's eating and he has reflux(it's getting better thank goodness!!) so I could monitor his intake and out put much more efficiently! So good for you for finding something that works well for you! Good luck and God bless!!!