LO is 20 weeks old and is on a nursing strike!!! Over the weekend, DD decided suddenly she no longer wants the boob. Every time I offer it to her, she would SCREAM AND CRY HYSTERICALLY. She doesn't even try to latch it. As soon as I put her in nursing position she freaks out. I've tried other nursing positions but same thing. I don't think she's sick or anything because she seems fine otherwise. She takes the bottle so I've been pumping like a manic! I'm not sure why this is happening because we've never had any breastfeeding issues. Since going back to work, I nurse once in the morning and once at night and she takes 3 bottles at grandmas during the day. On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, I nurse. It's like she woke up from a nap and suddenly decided the boob is the enemy and is going to poison her. I cried yesterday (mother's day) in the bathroom, because I was just SO exhausted and heart broken my little peanut no longer wants me. I read online that this could be just a phase and things will get back to normal. I'm hoping that's the case! Did your LO go on a sudden nursing strike?
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My LO goes through phases where she gets PISSED if milk doesn't come out immediately as soon as she starts sucking. As hard as it is to fight with her I fight and fight until I can get her to latch. I worry that if I give in during those times and give her a bottle (aka "the quick and easy way to eat") it will just reinforce her behavior of freaking out at the boob. When she goes through these phases I find the best position is to lay her on her back on the bed and dangle my boob directly over her. If it gets really bad sometimes I'll pump for a minute to get the milk to let down so that it's easier for her to get started.
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i don't have any advice regarding the nursing strike, but i just wanted to say that i'm sorry you're going through this. i know what it's like to cry over breastfeeding issues--it feels very personal, like your baby is rejecting you or that you aren't providing for them. like you said, it's heartbreaking. but you're not doing anything wrong, and you both will get through this just fine.
from what little i understand of nursing strikes, this will pass. has there been anything in her routine that's changed lately?
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My LO went through this but she's fine now, so it could definitely be a phase. I know how much it sucks though!!!!!! So frusterating and heartbreaking, even though I'm sure it's nothing personal.
Things to try:
-switching to the slowest flow possible bottles.
-follow these bottle feeding tips: http://www.kellymom.com/store/freehandouts/bottle_feeding.pdf
-nurse her when she's sleepy, before she figures out she's getting a boob!
-try nursing before she's really hungry. If that doesn't work, try to see if she'll nurse from you when she's really hungry.
-start her with a bottle and then switch her to the boob (this worked well for me)
-keep trying different positions
-nurse in the dark with soothing music/white noise - minimizes distractions and calms baby
-keep your muscles loose and try to relax. Take deep breaths and try not to stress out (that will make things worse, even though it's totally understandable.I'll let you know if I can think of anything else to try. Good luck!
ETA: As for a cause, could be a cold (ear ache or sore throat), could be teething, could be developmental/distraction - wanting to look around at other things, could be that nursing is too much work compared to bottles??? Have you changed perfume or laundry detergent? Scolded her for biting? I've heard those things can cause strikes as well...
ETA: My LO is 5 mo and has had 2 strikes. Totally back on the boob now though! It will pass! Promise!
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Kellymom has great info on nursing strikes, getting back to breast, & bottle feeding tips for the breastfed baby.
For us, the only strikes we've had we're after P was bottle fed so making sure we were mindful of HOW she was being fed usually remedied it. Also, I would shift to nursing to sleep & really nursing right when waking... I would literally go in AS SOON as I'd hear P stir & nurse her while she was still groggy. Occasionally I would give an ounce in a bottle first before trying again to latch but generally I tried to refrain. I know that it's rare for infants under 1 to wean themselves if the breast is their source of nurishment so I really just tried to remember that.
Hope your lo breaks the strike soon! GL
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Yes! Right around 20 weeks too, it was on and off for a week and fortunately he would take a bottle. I was super stressed about it, but I thought about the worst case scenario that I moved to exclusively pumping (which didn't seem so bad) and once I calmed down a little he seemed to calm down too. I would lay down in the dark on the bed and do skin to skin. Eventually he got sleepy enough and started nursing again.
Good luck, remember that this will pass.
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thanks for all your advice ladies!!! i'll definitely try some of these tips tonight. i'll start with a small bottle first and see if i can do a switch-a-roo on her. sneaky sneaky! yes, it's been a hard few days. i love nursing her and it's sad when the sight of my boobs is making her cry hysterically! it's especially exhausting fighting with her during night wakings. fingers crossed her strike will end soon. interesting how this seems to occur around 4-5 months for a lot of moms.
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Check out the webinar on this page - scroll down to May 31, 2012: http://www.isisparenting.com/page/webinarsbreastfeeding
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@mrs. tictactoe: Thanks for the link! I'm going to listen to it right now!
@runsyellowlites, @78H20: I tried giving DD a small bottle(.5 to 1oz) last night and quickly switched her to my boob and it worked! It was so nice to be able to nurse her again! Of course when I tried to nurse with no bottle this morning, she wanted none of it. Baby girl is still on strike but at least I know how to kinda get around it until it's over.
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@Mrs. Chen: Awesome! It could just be that she is too hungry to wait for your letdown. I know that giving P that oz would settle her just enough to not be so ravenous! Hopefully she gets back to boob soon!
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Uggh, I have been having that problem lately and totally cried over it. I think maybe mine just wants to eat less often and I have tried to be accommodating. I hope it improves for you soon!
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