Baby screams like he’s in pain when I try to nurse him
My son is nearly 10 weeks old. When I first had him, he nursed really well. We introduced a bottle (with expressed breast milk) so I could get some sleep, and breast feeding has been failing since then. He has no problem latching. The issue is that he will nurse well for about 5 minutes and then just start screaming like he is in agony. He does this regardless of what breast I try to nurse him on. Left breast undersupplies and right breast has an oversupply and aggressive let down. I have tried to use an SNS on my left side and he still screams. I have tried nipple shields to mimic the bottle and he still screams.
I really really want to be able to breastfeed my son and am willing to put in a lot of effort. I have met with a lactation consultant and she suggested the above strategies. She said that it is nipple confusion/bottle preference. But sometimes he will randomly have a successful nursing session?
Of note, he will not take any pacifiers. He acts like he is choking on them and he cries.
I’m confused and want to know if this is a lost cause and if I should give up and just exclusively pump/bottle feed him. Has anyone successfully navigated this and gotten their baby back on the breast? It’s really taking a toll on my mental health and we both end up crying.
TLDR: 10 week old with nipple confusion/bottle preference. Has anyone gotten baby back on the breast? How?
Posted Oct 11, 2025, 7:48 PM UTC