Talk to me about "Nursing strikes"...

Jen3016

My LO is about 11 weeks old.  She has been doing awesome at nursing up until the last week.  She will latch on great when we first start to nurse or when we switch sides.  She will nurse for about 3-5 minutes, unlatch and need to burp.  Then when I try to get her latched back on, she pushes her head back, cries, flails her arms, and generally fights latching back on.  I have been literally holding her head against my breast, and she will eventually latch on and nurse for an additional 5-7 minutes with no problem.  I thought maybe she had just become super efficient over night, and let her be done because she seemed satisfied and didn't nurse again for about 2 hours, but her next poopy diaper was green, so I know that she just got foremilk and not enough hind milk.  The only thing that has changed in the last week is that she is staying home with my niece while I'm at work and she has been getting bottles 2-3 times per day.  But last week it was only 2 bottles on Wed, and 2 bottles on Fri. 

I looked online and see that there is a growth spurt at around 3 months, but this just doesn't fit the "normal" growth spurt behavior.  Could she be on a nursing strike?  Or could she have developed nipple confusion so quickly with the bottles?  She got one bottle nightly from 2-6wks old to help her gain weight, and the occasional bottle during the week from 6-10 weeks, so she's had the bottle before with no problems.  Thanks for any insight!!

natty08

I am having the same problem, except he nurses better overnight or when he is extremely sleepy.  And he just took a bottle of pumped milk very easily.  I am chalking it up to reverse cycling due to being distracted.  He isn't distracted when he takes the bottle because he can still look around. 

Jen3016

AmyG*:

she may be not wanting to nurse after the initial high flow/mostly foremilk passes, and she has to work harder to get the hindmilk.

 

so yeah, I'll lean toward the nipple confusion--which isn't really confusion--it means baby prefers the bottle nipple because the milk comes pre-mixed (not separated into foremilk and hindmilk), and it's faster flow.

 

are you using a slow flow nipple?

do you think you have a fast let down or high supply?

 

 

I am using slow flow nipples...I checked BRU for Medela brand preemie nipples and they did not carry them.  I definitely don't have high supply, but the LC at my BF support group told me she thought I might be dealing with a faster let down because LO does need to stop and burp after the first 5 minutes and she gulps quite a bit.  I nurse last thing before I leave for work, and then again at lunch, and first thing when I get home from work.  Last week I left 4oz bottles, and thought maybe she was just full when I got home, so this week I am going to try for 3 oz bottles and see if she nurses a little better.  

I would prefer not to transition to EPing, so is there anything other than EBF that can help with the nipple confusion?  It is not an option for me to EBF during the day.  We tried having her at my office with me, and it was much too distracting for me and my niece about died from sheer boredom, and so did LO.