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9 month old nursing strike

thedashthedash member
in Breastfeeding
DD completely refuses to latch! This has been going on for two days and I'm really scared we are not going to recover. She has four teeth and had been biting me lately. The other day when she bit hard I really jumped and used my finger to break her latch. She was scared and cried really hard. I calmed her and got her back on but ever since then she will not nurse at all. I've tried a few different positions but she just screams and turns her head away. I have read the suggestions I've found online but they are not really for older babies. Any suggestions?
DS: 2/17/11          DD: 9/4/13
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Re: 9 month old nursing strike

  • amichelle723amichelle723 member
    DD will be 8 months next week and we went through this last week. She also had recently bit me harder than usual and I yelped which probably scared her. I found the La Leche League information very helpful. I believe it stated that nursing strikes typically last 2-4 days. Ours lasted just over 2 days. I just tried to offer her the breast as much as possible, like every hour. I also did skin to skin, wearing her in the baby ergo with no shirt on. I tried to be casual and not force her to nurse. Eventually she just went back to normal and has resumed nursing like nothing ever happened.

    Hang in there and keep trying. It was really hard on me and I ended up just sobbing while feeding her the bottle, but she did get over it. I think it was even harder because it occurred over 2 days that she was home with me the whole time. If it had been during the week when she was at daycare it would have been easier on me because she would have been getting bottles anyway, but we typically do no bottles at home.
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  • RDK24RDK24 member
    We went through something very similar at 9 months but I think my LO was scared to nurse bc she had a cold and it was hard to breathe while latch.

    I had to travel so I was away for a whole day and night and she took bottles with the nanny. When I got back she went in for the boob and then pulled away fast, like she'd remembered what happened/that she no longer wanted to nurse. So I basically just hung out with her topless for a while and did NOT force the issue (I did this before traveling and it made things much worse). After a few tentative attempts, LO latched on her own, sitting in my lap facing me -- a different position for us, as LO still usually lays on her side on the Boppy. 

    The next few sessions she was tentative at first again, but I made it a point to stay calm and relaxed and let her come to me. Within a day we were back to normal.

    Nursing strikes are so hard -- I remember taking it really personally even though it obviously wasn't. Keep offering and keep your chin up! From everything I've read, the vast majority of babies get through it and go back to nursing. GL!
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