My 10 week old has been nursing great until yesterday morning. She refuses to take my nipple and screams and screams when it comes near her mouth but will readily take a bottle of expressed breast milk from my husband. We are on 24 hours of this feeding and pumping cycle (and have a busy 2 year old) and are at our breaking point! Is it time to wean to formula or will she just as quickly switch back to the breast????
Hang in there and get some good advise from www.kellymom.com Do a search or got o their forum and post. They really are helpful, and seem to really know their stuff.
You probably have a really smart baby who realizes drinking from the breast takes a LOT more work. You will probably just have to continue pumping for as long as you can stand it. Its nice though, you always know how much they are getting.
Best of Luck with that smart baby!
Stop giving her a bottle, pacifier, etc. She will suck when she is hungry. Here are some La Leche League leaders in your area. Call them...they will offer lots of ideas!
Kim: ###-###-####
Heather: ###-###-####
Sue: ###-###-####
DO NOT WEAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Check for thrush. (white spots in mouth, white coating on tongue - it's not milk, nipples sore) Take acidophillus. You can give her some of the powder on your tongue too (Culturelle is recommended by Dr. Sears). Try not to give a bottle on a regular basis. Ditto on kellymom. Could be gas? Try a different position. Have you switched soap? Body spray? Lotion? Ummmm, trying to think of more reasons she's stopped. If I think of anything else, I'll write. You should find some great advice on Kellymom.com Don't give up!!!
my daughter did the same thing and we went to a lactation consultant and she told us to try it in the bathtub and sit in the bath with her, but don't force her to eat, she will just lean towards your breast and eat on her own. it took a while but she eventually went back to breastfeeding and we contuied for until she was 15 months!
the other thing was try to reinforce the breast as something good and not bad. so try to just hold her near your breast but not for feeding!
good luck
C.,
Your milk might be coming down to fast or slow for her and a bottle allows her to be in more control. Babies don't strike for long, they won't starve themselves. My suggestion is that if you want to nurse contact a lactation consultant or la leche league, they are very helpful and supportive. A lactation consultant can be expensive, but think of how much you'll save if you don't spend the $$ on formula.
Good luck.
K.
I just went through this myself (although my son was much older - around 10 mths) and I didn't experience this with my first child so I didn't know what was going on. For some reason some children will take "nursing strikes" where they won't breasfeed at all but will happily take the bottle. This can be short-lived, for my son held his strike through the weekend and was back to nursing on Monday as if nothing happened. I was told that this is normal and while some babies (usually older) will permanently wean themselves, most babies will start nursing again after a few days. When it happened to me my son would scream as soon as I attempted to nurse, but was ok with a bottle. I checked his mouth for any sores or rashes, then I called the lactation nurse. The advice is to offer the breast at every feeding (no matter if she refuses or not). If she is adament about not nursing, try starting her off with a bottle and then slip in your nipple when she has established her sucking. Just don't give up! The important thing is to make sure you are pumping and emptying the breast if she is not nursing to maintain your milk supply. And if the stike lasts longer than a week or so, I would go in to see a lactation consultant and they'll be able to help further. Good luck and don't worry!
Trial and error my dear. All children are different. Maybe she still wants your milk but the bottle nipple is preferred. Nothing surprises me with children anymore. They're all wonderful surprises.
This happened with my 2nd son and he actually had sores in his mouth from a viral infection so he was in pain. Most of the responses are different from mine and more likely but thought I'd throw this out and you should check just to be sure!
It may be that your daughter is frustrated at how long it takes for you to "let down". Milk flows much faster from a bottle than from the breast. You might want to try skipping the bottle for a day or so and just offer the breast. If she's hungry enough, she will nurse. If after that time she still won't nurse, you might want to consider switching to formula, or mixing your milk with some formula so you don't have to pump as often. My heart really goes out to you, and I hope your situation gets better soon.
have you changed soaps? Maybe your nipple has changed it's taste and she doesn't like the new taste. Or have you started eating a new food? If you have, maybe it isn't agreeing with her.
There should be no need to wean to formula--drink more fluids and try to nurse her when she is half asleep--my daughter will still do this sometimes. Pump if she's refusing to keep up your milk supply too.
I nursed 3 children. Our babies are smarter than we think. It sounds like your daughter has a preference! You could consider removing the option of a bottle and she will eventually nurse again...it will be hard. Lots of crying.
It is pretty early for weaning. I would avoid the bottle for a day or so and only give her the breast. Once she is reasonably hungry, she will likely start again. Nursing is more effort for a baby and so some develop a preference for the easy bottle but if you can manage to get her back on, it will give her a lot of benefit from the breast milk for the first 6months.
Too early to wean!! Go to the experts at LeLecheLeague:
You will find other moms who've had similar problems on this site and resolutions to try. This is a MOST helpful website with forums of mom's questions and advice and you can post your own questions...please go...you WILL find help on the website....it has been a life saver for me and my 15 week old!!!
Good Luck
The La Leche League are a fabulous resource and support. I would imagine they will tell you to stop using a bottle/paci until she's nursing well again. I know this may or may not be possible depending if you work, but it will work if you can.
C., talk to someone from La Leche League or a lactation consultant asap.
C.
sounds VERY familiar,except my grandson refused to nurse once mom's milk came in.he was 3 weeks old Sat. and has to yet take back to the breast except on occasion. He will "lick" the milk when it's flowing or dripping but once it's "dry" he's ready for something else.We have yet to figure out why and even the doctor was somewhat stumped,but suggested a nipple shield. She has tried it,but bought the wrong size so is waiting to be able to get the "right" size and see if it works. Parker is very happy taking momma milk from a bottle which is good for daddy to be able to help,but frustrating to momma as she can't get enough ahead except for the next feeding pretty much. Good luck!!! and please let me know what you find if anything. I,too was a nursing mom of 4 and never had a problem like this. mamaw J.
My daughter did this around 11 weeks old. Turns out mommy was a bit stressed out about going back to work and having her mother-in-law move in for 3 months to help ease the transition and I'm certain that my baby picked up on those vibes. It lasted for several days and had me completely freaked out, includig a trip to the ped. when she refused both bottle and breast for almost a full day, but it did pass. What worked for us was to catch her when she was just waking up from a nap or during the night. This meant I had to turn the monitor up and bolt into her room as soon as I heard her stir. This way she would be too sleepy to protest.
You've received lots of good advice. Mine is to continue to try to get your daughter to breastfeed and many people gave you great suggestions. Just please don't be so "hard core" that breastmilk has to be from the breast as some folks advocate. Do not withhold breastmilk from a bottle. If you really try the breast and she doesn't want it, give the bottle, and then try again wtih the breast at the next feeding. All kids are different, trust your daughter, and trust your own instincts. It will all work out! Good luck.
My son went on a nursing strike right around the same age. I was determined to nurse so I didn't want to give in to the bottle and formula. However, when I took him to the dr. for something else about 10 days later he was -15% in weight. Then I got scared and gave him formula to get his weight back up. After this he refused to nurse ever (unless I could catch him when he was very sleepy and calm). I rented a hospital pump and tried to pump as much as I could, but it was hard to be home to pump with our busy lives and other kids who needed to be different places. SO HERE'S WHAT I WISH I'D DONE DIFFERENTLY... I think his refusal to nurse was due to my supply being low or maybe slow to let down (don't know if this is your problem--but it sounds like it could be because he redily takes the bottle). Rather than switching right to the bottle, I wish I would have tried the tubing that drops in extra milk while they nurse (have you seen this? your lactation center will know about it). This way he would have had better flow while still nursing, gradually building up my supply. Secondly, I would have bought a good electric double portable pump that I could plug into the car, into the bathroom, etc. so I could make sure to pump every two hours no matter where I was. I'd be vigilant for the first week or so about getting on the pump every two hours to try to build your supply.
My second son went on a nursing stike at four months which I had never heard of until that time. He was getting one bottle a day. It was explained to me that some babies start liking the bottle more because the milk comes so much easier. Sucking from the breast is hard work. I just gave in and gave him a bottle. I was keeping up with a three year old and I was in pain! Maybe your baby is not flexible enough to go back and forth. Their inborn tempraments are definitely a factor in all of this, I think. Whatever you decide, don't feel guilty! A.
