Angry Breastfeeding...what could explain?

[NeivaKai]

M ds is almost 4 weeks old, and we have been BF good. He never lost weight and he gained 2lbs 10 oz in his first 3 1/2 weeks. We had some issues with his latch, especially on the right boob but it was resolved with avisit to a cranial sacral therapist-i really recommend you allvisit one if you are having issues with latch, it could resolve things.

My problem-he often will get in the position to nurse, be obviously hungry (he sucks on his fists, has since birth) but lies there and pounds my boob with his fists or face, and mouthes my nipple...then latches on, but only for a few seconds and bounces off, cry, and repeat the whole thing. He is getting really strong, in the begining I could hold his head on my nipple and he would just cry on my boob, but now I feel like I am going to hurt him if I force his head there. Sometimes he even holds on to the nipple and yanks his head back OUCH!!! I can't figure out any pattern, if he does it when he's really hungry, or tired...and he will do it in the middle of nursing too...but I think that is my let down. Its like he is pissed at the breast, i just can't figure it out! Any ideas?

He also often puts his hands in his mouth and sucks verociously, making it impossible to get my nipple in there! He gets himself all worked up and really does a number in my nipple, Another thing he does randomly is cough off my nipple, like he's choking. All very odd behaviors. I thought maybe it was something I'm eating so I cut out a bunch of foods but he's still doing all of the above...

At night it is especially frustrating because it can take him 10 min to establish a good latch...and I have to sit up with him so I can hold his head and my nipple and unite them effectively. Sometimes he finds it on his own but then he's taking in not very much of my areola. And I must re-adjust....help!

[mommyfied]

Is it possible you have overactive letdown or oversupply issues? Try googling that and see if it sounds familiar. LLL and kellymom have good articles about it. I had those issues with my DD. The choking and biting at the nipple sounds like overactive letdown. Lying down to nurse is one thing that helps with that because it decreases the pressure.

Thinking about the part you mentioned about him sucking on his hand and having trouble getting latched reminds me of some times when DD was really hungry. I wonder if that's part of it? Maybe you can try offering the breast a little sooner so he's not so frustrated from being hungry?

It's hard to tell... I'm just trying to offer suggestions that may be worth a try.

[Dabble]

Oh how familiar this all sounds! I could have written your post about my DS about a year and a half ago.

I second overactive let-down, which was my problem. Correcting that fixed DS's nursing issues. PP is right that Kellymom has some very informative articles about it. That's where I got basically all of my info.

When you are nursing, have you ever noticed your breasts actually SPRAYING milk? My letdown was so fierce that I often made a mess of the wall a good foot away from the rocking chair! What happens is that the milk comes out with such speed that it's hard for the baby to swallow it all, so they back off, or get fussy at the breast, trying to figure it out.

I actually had both an overactive letdown and a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance, which meant that DS was filling his belly very rapidly with the thinner, less nutritious foremilk, and getting none of the rich, satisfying hindmilk. It made him a very frequent, fussy eater. I had to modify my diet and my nursing habits a bit in order to correct it.

Good luck momma, and stick with it. Soon this will all be a distant memory!

-Mandy