Nursing Strike at My House :(

ashleyb0604

DD has not nursed (knowingly) since Friday afternoon and I don't know what to do. We went out of town for the holiday weekend and she nursed for the last time at the airport before getting on the plane. That night when we got in town she screamed, threw back her head, and arched her back when I tried to nurse her. She is such a good baby and never screams or fusses really, so this was very out of the ordinary. I went to Wal-Mart, got a hand pump and pumped her bottles all weekend. I tried to nurse her a few more times and was never successful unless she was asleep or halfway through a bottle. I thought maybe it was flying or even being out of her element, but now that we're home nothing's changed. I can only nurse her when she wakes up to eat in the middle of the night/early morning b/c she's never fully awake.

I have continued pumping, but I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to keep up with her. I really don't want to have to EP, but I also REALLY don't want to switch to formula. Has anyone had a similar experience? Is there anything I can do to coax her back to the breast?

AlisonLynn

Sometimes DS refuses to nurse but takes a bottle just fine. I think it is just easier for him. The screaming and arching her back could be a sign of acid reflux. DS has had it from the first month and takes meds for it. He sometimes does better taking a bottle since he is sitting up a little rather than laying down when nursing. Just a thought. Hope things get better!

adkhiker

I went through a nursing strike last month.  It lasted 5 days and was so stressful.  DS was not taking a bottle so I was very worried about his intake.  Luckily it ended after 5 days.  I had a lot of luck nursing at night when he was sleepy.  Also, any time he cried during those 5 days I put him to the breast.  He would usually only last a little while before pulling off like your LO.  Keep trying and try to stay as calm as possible.  Good luck.

Charlotte525

I am by no means a seasoned vet or expert, but we had a nursing strike here a week and a half or so ago. It was the most stressful thing I had encountered since LO was born. I ended up meeting with a LC and she strongly advised to avoid bottle feeding, because the baby can develop a preferance to the bottle, since it's easier to feed from. She told me to not force the issue, wait until my DD was clearly very hungry, and then feed her in a quiet, dim room. She said only give a bottle if it has been around 5 hours. (This made me a mess!)She also said to try and nurse laying down, which is what ultimately saved us. I had never really done that before, and my daughter seemed to be so thrown by the change of position that she ate like a champ. So alter your position if possible. For me, as soon as I'd lower her into the cradle hold, the wailing and arching would begin. Good luck and hang in there. Ours lasted about 5 days, then got better... Then returned for a random day. It's forgotten now though!  

jlpaul03

We just survived a 3 week nursing strike.  My LO would do the same thing, arch back and scream like a mad man which was really hard for me, my LO never crys.  He would go almost 6 hours between feedings, then he would finally give in and nurse.  I think that there were a few things that caused this.  We were out of town for 1 1/2 weeks and going out and about alot when we were home.  He also started to get really distracted by his big brother.  I started just nursing him in the morning, at night and if he would wake up at night.  Then gave him bottles during the day to get him eating every three hours during the day again.  I did that for 2-3 days, then started slowly nursing him again during the day.  If he yelled then I would try to nurse him laying down and iif that didn't work I would give him a bottle.  He is now back to completly nursing and no bottles (unless we are out somewhere), but I have to nurse him in a room by myself with the door closed.  Good luck!  It is a really hard time, but stay strong there is a light at the end of the tunnel!  I had plenty of breakdowns during our "strike".  Just have a good cry and push through.