Wtf...nursing strike!??
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Topic: Wtf...nursing strike!??
Posted By: Plushie
Subject: Wtf...nursing strike!??
Date Posted: 29 June 2011 at 6:33pm
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Do they have them this young?
DS is being IMPOSSIBLE to feed - for the last week he'd suck pull off suck look around suck talk etc. I started dragging it out longer between feeds (from 2.5 hourly - 3 or 3.5 hourly) which seemed to solve the problem until yesterday and today when he's just flat out refusing to nurse! He's had his ears checked today and he is fine physically. Hes only had around 3 10min feeds today under duress and refused a bedtime feed and has gone to bed on an empty tum, though i will attempt to feed him in a few hours hopefully when he is sleepy and calm it'll go better. He is literally pulling his head as far away from me as possible and grizzling. If i really persevere he cries or bites which is stressful for him and no doubt doesnt make him want boob more so i switched tactics to just hanging out topless and hoping he'd latch on in his own good time. But a no go, he grizzles and pushes away from me. He is still eating his solids but i hesitate to continue offering them without liquids as he doesnt have much if any water but don't want to remove them if he needs the substance... What to do? |
Replies:
Posted By: Nothing
Date Posted: 29 June 2011 at 6:40pm
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Hugs Bowie. I had this for 3 days when DD was about 8 months old. She would refuse to feed during the day but would feed overnight. I had to rock her to sleep during the day then just as she fell asleep I would put my boob in her mouth and she would feed, then after 3 days she came right.
Keep offering in a non stressful way, if he refuses then try again in 10 minutes. He also might be getting much better at feeding and 10mins may be enough. DD used to be a 45min feeder at birth, she is now 4/5m a side. Have you tried an osteo? He may be out of alignment? ------------- 
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Posted By: Plushie
Date Posted: 29 June 2011 at 6:54pm
I just read your thread when i searched  . I didnt think they got this whole thing so young though...
He saw an osteo when he was wee and was all fine though if he still has this problem i'll take him back for sure in a couple of days. He doesnt seem to prefer one side or the other though. He self settles well for naps, i wonder if i put him to sleep on my bed then sneak in when he's asleep to feed him. I think if i took him out of his cot he would wake up fully and refuse. Thanks for the reply. |
Posted By: 1st_Time_Preggies
Date Posted: 29 June 2011 at 7:15pm
| Have you checked out kellymom.com? It has HEAPS of info about feeding/nursing strikes etc and lots of good advice. Hope you find an answer quickly. |
Posted By: Plushie
Date Posted: 29 June 2011 at 8:34pm
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Yes - i found the link in an old thread i found when i searched. Will try some of the ideas tomorrow, though i snuck in an hour ago and he had a decent feed while mostly asleep so obviously my milk is poisoned he just doesnt want boob right now!
ETA: is it possible i'm over feeding him on solids so he's not hungry for boob? Though i always give him a hearty feed then offer solids after. But perhaps they are making him fuller for longer and he doesnt want feeding 3 hourly anymore? |
Posted By: CJsays
Date Posted: 29 June 2011 at 8:49pm
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copuld very well be that BOwie, they are meant to start dropping a feed or 2 at this stage as well and only doing 4-5 a day, how many does Max do? ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: Plushie
Date Posted: 30 June 2011 at 8:38am
Wow really, only 4 or 5? I had an epiphany in bed and concluded perhaps now he's a big grown up boy (sarcasm plus) he doesnt want feeding all the time. I guess atm he has about 10 feeds a day though about half are those are offered because i think he might like a snuggle and a wee feed and i guess its just not cool to snuggle with your mom these days  
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Posted By: newme
Date Posted: 30 June 2011 at 10:07am
Not exactly true. All babies have different stomach capacities, mothers breasts hold different amounts of milk etc so the amount of feeds can be dramatically different between babies. I feed on demand and my baby who is 7 months would be having about 8 - 10 feeds in a 24 hour period. I had a look in The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding and it said it is very common for babies around the 4 - 5 month age to become distracted. It is just an age where they start to notice everything else that is going on, so they often pull of the breast to be nosy. Just wait it out, keep offering the breast as often as you need to, and he should grow out of it soon. |
CJsays wrote:Posted By: Plushie
Date Posted: 30 June 2011 at 10:14am
Thanks Newme...it started with the distraction a few weeks ago so i've been feeding as soon as he wakes up in the dark, sometimes with a blanket over us so there is nothing to see at all but now he just refuses to feed full stop, won't even take a nipple. Though having said that he did feed once overnight and again this morning so perhaps he's getting back on board! Not helped by mother this morning telling me he will be self weaning soon 
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Posted By: Bexta
Date Posted: 30 June 2011 at 1:48pm
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If it's not a distraction thing maybe he just isn't hungry? I find with DD now she's stretched her feeds out to about 3 to 3.5 hourly and if I try to feed her before she's hungry she screams like I'm trying to poison her. I keep thinking that surely she must be hungry by now but it turns out she's not. Bout 10-15 mins later she'll be screaming the house down like I'm starving her Can't win really!
Although a bit different to you as we're not on solids yet and she's on formula ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
Angel Baby June 2010 
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Posted By: Emmi_
Date Posted: 02 July 2011 at 8:06am
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I would be careful about giving him too many solids, after all "food is for fun till after 1", and they need those nutrients from milk, they get bugger all out of solids...
if it is a nursing strike, dont stress him out, your doing hte right thing by having your boobs out, increase skin to skin time with out pressuring him to latch. Have you tried to express a little so the milk is right there when he does latch on? ------------- 
+1 May 09 Angel
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Posted By: Plushie
Date Posted: 02 July 2011 at 9:39am
| I had that brainwave last night Emmi, he has a decent feed in the morning, some pear, a play, a nap then when he gets up again (approx 2.5 hours on that cycle) he isnt interested in a feed and i wonder if its because he has a tummy full of slow digesting but nutritionally useless pear still. So he's eating more but getting less if that makes sense. I wondered if it was contributing to his night parties too. So yesterday he only had breakfast and while he woke like 4x overnight for breastfeeding he actually WANTED feeding for the first time in a while. My god, so confused! |
Posted By: CJsays
Date Posted: 02 July 2011 at 8:52pm
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sounds nuts bowie, no wonder you are confused, these babies do such odd things sometimes. E hasnt had any of those probs and we are feeding her prob close to the same as you are feeding M. not too nutritionally useless tho, our specialist said we can take E off her vitadol supps once started solids, and can take her off her iron supps when she has 3 meat meals a day, so they are getting some good stuff from them that we cant provide (they dont get much iron from BM i know for a fact). ------------- http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: Emmi_
Date Posted: 03 July 2011 at 3:03am
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Bowie, if I was you (which Im not, so feel free to leave the advice) but I would cut his solid meals back and see if that helps? if it doesnt you can always increase them again in a couple of days (but I would give it a go for 2 or 3 days just to rule it out) either way I hope it ends soon, babies can be so stressful! Im looking forward to when DD can tell me when shes hungry, thirsty, sore etc! -------------
+1 May 09 Angel
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Posted By: Spacette
Date Posted: 03 July 2011 at 10:12am
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Remember reading in 'Womanly art..' that day feeds can be tricky at this time (as mentioned above) and that they may feed more at night cos there's nothing else at all going on and it's a chance to reconnect with you. I find blocking with a blanket doesn't work if A's fussy in the day, cos it's just another thing to play with. Hope you can figure it...I reckon he'll come round.
Entirely off topic, but was amused that your bf ticker appears to go to 12 years Emmi (small things small minds..) - that would be impressive.. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  
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Posted By: Emmi_
Date Posted: 03 July 2011 at 11:14am
It would be Spacette!! I think it counts the months past a year tho, not years  12 years... I wonder if I could go that long? Prob not!!-------------
+1 May 09 Angel
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Posted By: Plushie
Date Posted: 03 July 2011 at 12:18pm
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Well, maybe YOU could but i think youd have trouble convincing a 12 year old to come latch!
I thought about the solids thing, i think you're right. I've drastically cut down the amount of food he's getting and he's feeding more but not as much as before this kicked off. He's also wickedly constipated. Trying to pump as much fluid into him as poss. |
Posted By: freckle
Date Posted: 03 July 2011 at 12:25pm
Fullterm babies get enough iron stores to last about 6 and up to 12 months... but they get them mostly in the last trimester so full term babies don't generally need the extras at this stage :)... ------------- mum to 3 lovely girls :D |
Posted By: MamaT
Date Posted: 03 July 2011 at 3:15pm
And iron in BM is more readily absorbed than any other iron, therefore far more beneficial than a slab of steak  -------------  
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Posted By: Plushie
Date Posted: 03 July 2011 at 4:02pm
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Could i give him a steak in a bag though? In a nuby nibbler thing i mean. I dont think it would blend well but surely he could slurp some juice out of it.
Anyway - he's still sort of refusing but if i sit there with nipple out long enough he'll stop thrashing and feed as fast as he can with crazy eyes then pop off and start squirming again. Weirdo. Makes it really awkward to feed in public...won't be trying that again. |
Posted By: Spacette
Date Posted: 03 July 2011 at 7:41pm
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Ah, that does make more sense Emmi .
A refused the evening feed tonight, all archy and screamy if I put the nipple anywhere near her, so doesn't bode well for a long stretch. I wonder if she's been reading here and getting ideas. Didn't CJ just blend steak for E recently? I think it's definitely doable if you're concerned although bm should still be fine if he's getting some. Or just let him suck a piece of steak outright. The BLW book says most of the iron is in the juices...mmm, bloooood. ------------- http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: Plushie
Date Posted: 03 July 2011 at 7:54pm
| Haha, yeah not worried about the iron, but thought he might like the experience! Ahhhh, no, A, don't be at that! He refused his bedtime feed to, last ate at 3, went down at 6 still adamantly refusing and getting a bit tetchy when i tried to force it. Sigh. |
Posted By: Emmi_
Date Posted: 04 July 2011 at 12:54am
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the constipation might not be helping since he is feeling a little sore in the tum?
I found that when DD finally worked out what food was for (we did BLW) abnd she ate a TONNE of food she got really constipated, so cut back the food and then she came right. Then I let her build up the amount she ate gradually and she hasnt been consipated since... I really wouldnt try to force it, you dont want him having a complex about boobs, you want it to be a nice comforting place rather than stress and anxiety etc... -------------
+1 May 09 Angel
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Posted By: Plushie
Date Posted: 04 July 2011 at 8:31am
| Bahahaha imagine! Him in his 20s, complex about boobs. Yeah, try to avoid forcing it but sometimes i can't help but try get a nippe in his mouth in hopes he'll be like oh, ok, since its right here and all...suck suck but no game he just pulls away or bites. *sigh* |
Posted By: CJsays
Date Posted: 08 July 2011 at 9:12pm
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hehe bowie yeah you might look abit weird waving your nips in max's face in public for ages before he latches hehe. yeah they just wont take it when they dont want it eh cheeky beggars. I try feed E to sleep but some mornings she just stops after 8 mins and then keeps pulling of and gummy grins... weirdsly she still goes to sleep tho when i put her in the cot after a 5 min burp, cant figure that out. Have you tried him on expressed milk in a bottle? or does he not like bottles either?
and yeah E got fillet steak blended up (DH thought that would be the easiest for her to eat with stuff all fat), she still cant eat it tho, lumps are still too much it doesnt puree very well... and even mixed with pumpkin etc is not a goer for her. garr still stuck on the iron meds for now! the joys of premmies. ------------- http://lilypie.com">
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