4 month old bf baby screaming every time i try feed him - help

[Pesha]

16 wks old, exclusively bf, getting distraught soon as he starts feeding. have calmed him twice by walking round. screams again as soon as feeds. crying now cos hungry and tired. whats wrong???

does he pull off and twist his head a bit as soon as he starts to suck? - this could be a sign he's starting teething if so, as the sucking hurts their gums when teething. - if you think this could be it, could you maybe try expressing and try and give him some milk from a cup / spoon etc.? just to get over the hunger for now. if this is it, teething powders can help, i use Ashton & Parsons, you pop them on their tongue and it calms them, I've also seen on here others recommend nelsons too.

how does his mouth look? could he have thrush?
not sure what else to suggest but am sure others on here will have more ideas.

Pesha - do you have any pain while feeding? Does he have any white spots on tounge or in mouth? Could be thrush which can be very painful

Mouth looks fine, is calm again now but soon as he starts feeding he just screams like in real pain. Dp just tried giving him some calpol from a spoon which when he's had before he laps up but he just sat there and let it dribble out his mouth. Very unlike him. doesnt seem like teething.

Has he just had jabs?

You don't have any pain while feeding?

no jabs. i got no pain. hes arching backwards flinging arms out kicking legs

my DS2 went thru this when he was teething before he showed any other outward signs of teething ( red cheeks dribbling etc )Calpol takes 15mins to kick in so you need to time it right ...try Calgel or similar a few minutes before feed to see if helps although we ended up feeding with a syringe for 24 hrs or so .. then it wore off

Has he been given supplemental feeds using a bottle at all? If so, How often?

Do you have a powerful letdown?

Went through something similar with my ds when he was 12 weeks, and read somewhere that bfeeding skin to skin may help. It really did the trick - to this day I don't know what was wrong with him, but he calmed down and was as right as rain the next day.
Mind you, felt really daft sitting topless on the sofa and him with just a nappy on, and got a funny look from dh till I explained!

My baby fusses or cries during nursing - what's the problem?

Could be an ear infection or sinus congestion causing him pain when he sucks.

I had this off and on with dd and it was because ( I think) my milk came out really fast. Have you been feeding more than normal (maybe a growth spurt) and have maybe got more milk than usual?

Pesha. Is he otherwise well? What is his colour like.

I don't want to alarm you but DS2 did this at 10 weeks old, crying/grizzling but seeming hungry and it turned out to be viral meningitis.

I called a doc at 1am who called an ambulance. He seemed OK, even smiled at the ambulance crew, but was pale and (although I didn't realise at the time,) dehydrated.

The docs said that he was crying when trying to B/feed as the position and movement was worsening what must have been a very painful headache.

Thank you all for advice decided it wasnt teething as his fist in mouth and me touching gums didnt hurt him. Not let down - he does sometimes fuss with my slow let down but nothing like this.Anyway rang nhs who referred to out of hours who said go in. Checked him over and all well apart from slight touch of thrush but not enough to need treating apparently. And now he's feeding fine as if nothing was wrong. He just likes to keep his mummy on her toes!

Was really horrid not being able to feed him though, very scary, never eperienced that with the other 2. Abit of fussing and faffing but never anything like this. So lovely to have him feeding ok now though

Right, now off to look up why he could be getting thrush for first time now at 16 weeks and see what I can do!

Thanks again