So I've rarely had issues breastfeeding Xander, but tonight has been totally different. When I tried to nurse him this evening like I always do, he would pop off the boob almost immediately (maybe he was on for one whole second) and then cry. Then he'd try again, pop back off immediately, cry. I tried switching sides, I tried changing positions, nothing worked! I finally just gave up.
Has your baby done this before? What does it mean? What did you do?
GOLD / pomelo / 5737 posts
I havent been there personally, but could it be teething? I know I've seen babies (not mine thankfully) refuse at least bottles because of that.
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
@googly-eyes: Well, I'm not sure. He JUST popped up his first two teeth about a week and a half ago, but he didn't have any trouble nursing when he was teething for those, so I'm not sure...
clementine / 918 posts
@Adira: My LO (4.5 months) has done this exactly once. He was really upset and refused the breast, which he usually will ALWAYS take. I had to give him a bottle. I was scared he wouldn't want to breast feed anymore, but it was a strange, isolated incident. I could imagine him doing it again if he was sick or teething, something that throws him off enough.
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
@Ms.Badger: I'm hoping it's just an isolated incident! I'm scared it might be the beginning of a nursing strike! I've put him down for a nap and will try again soon...
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
I think my son went through something similar a week or so before AF showed up. I just kept trying since he's EBF and won't take a bottle.
cherry / 190 posts
My LO did that for a day or two around 10 month, it turned into a bad cold for her, but once she was better she ate like crazy again.
GOLD / wonderful coconut / 33402 posts
Is it when he is laying on both sides? Will do that when she has an ear infection. Will only lay on the good side. Otherwise I was thinking teething.
nectarine / 2019 posts
@Adira: This has happened to us 3 times. There' was one entire night where he did this. I would wake up to nurse, latch for a few seconds and then cry. It was awful. It never lasted more than 10 hours or so for us though
honeydew / 7811 posts
Hello old friend. 
C actually did this last night. It was so strange. I ended up giving him a small bottle (2oz) after which he did latch on for a few minutes and he fell asleep. I chalked it up to him being really tired.
pomegranate / 3729 posts
The bottom teeth are less effected with nursing since the tongue covers them when latched. If he is about to get top teeth, then the pressure on his gums from latching might be,hurting him. It should pass soon if that's the case.
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
@Adira: yup M has gone on a nursing strike a few times. Just keep offering but don't force.
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
@Smurfette: I originally thought that, but I tried both sides, tried side laying, and even tried football hold so that he wasn't putting pressure on his ears and nothing worked!
@maybebaby: I would have thought that maybe he was impatient, but he was never even on the boob long enough! He'd only be on it for MAYBE a second before popping off!
@junebugmama: Did you ever figure out what caused it??
@bpcmarj: Ugh, he JUST got his bottom teeth - I'm not ready for him to get more!!
@locavore_mama: When M goes on nursing strikes, do you end up giving a bottle? How do you decide when to give up offering the boob?
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
So I DID get him to nurse, but it was a struggle! After his nap, I got him up and tried again. As soon as he was on the boob, he popped off and started crying. Then he continued to cry hysterically and nothing I did could calm him down! I finally passed him off to Hubs who tried to calm him and was eventually successful. Once he was calm, I took him again and tried again to nurse him, but once again the crying started immediately! He FINALLY got calmed down listening to Hubs just talking to him and so Hubs sat next to me on the couch and Xander was looking at him and I finally got him on the boob. But as soon as Hubs tried to leave us alone, Xander would pop off again! Hubs had to sit next to me until Xander actually started drinking and he FINALLY nursed. Xander drifted off and Hubs was able to go back to whatever he was doing and when Xander finished one side, I was able to put him on the other side no problems. I'm about to go nurse him again for his 9:00 p.m. dream feed and I'm HOPING that it goes smoothly...
nectarine / 2177 posts
@Adira: How strange!! Any time that LO has been fussy nursing, it usually doesn't happen when he is super sleepy or during a dream feed. Hope it goes well.
cherry / 206 posts
Just keep offering. You could also try using some distractions to get him to relax while he tries to latch like music, a video (this was what finally worked for me), etc.
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
So his 9:00 p.m. dream feed ended up going fine, though at first, he was resistant to the boob, which is so bizarre!! He went on, popped off, started crying, but then I switched to cradle-hold (from cross-cradle) and he seemed to like that better. And then this morning went totally smoothly! So yay!! I have no idea what the problem was yesterday, but I'm glad I was able to get him to eat without having to resort to pumping and giving a bottle!
GOLD / wonderful coconut / 33402 posts
@Adira: babies are weird! At least this morning went normal!
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
@Dandelion: I would have thought that he was tired, except he had gotten three decent naps at daycare already! And when he wouldn't nurse at 5:30, I put him down for another nap (he NEVER has four naps!!!) and still had trouble nursing at 6:30! Though it's possible he's sick - I know I am - so maybe that's part of the problem?
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
@Dandelion: Really??? I thought he'd want to nurse MORE through a growth spurt? Or is he just sleeping more because of it? Any other growth spurts he may have gone through, I never noticed any difference (except all the ones before six weeks - he nursed more during those), so I don't know the signs for growth spurts!
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