Nursing strikes/when your baby suddenly refuses to nurse

 I am grateful to the folks who reached out to me after last week's post. Thanks to your input we added a few new sections of breastfeeding related topics that we hadn’t initially thought to cover.

We also realized that we aren’t quite ready to wrap it up.

Our goal is to have a breastfeeding resource that shares information and opinions without being dogmatic. We also aim to be data driven, without losing sight of valuable anecdotal wisdom from moms and lactation professionals.

 So since we aren’t completely ready to publish the entire resource, this week I am going to share one of the new sections that we just added.

Nursing strikes /when your baby temporarily refuses to nurse

(not the kind where nurses are demanding better working conditions)

What is it: If your baby or toddler has been breastfeeding well and suddenly refuses to nurse, it is possibly what is called a “nursing strike.” I am happy to assure you that nursing strikes are usually temporary.

Here are some of the biggest culprits and things to try:

Change in your supply

Have you been ill? Out in the hot sun and possibly dehydrated? On any new medications? Some antihistamines can have a drying impact on your supply.

What can you do?

• Make sure you are drinking plenty of healthy fluids

• Minimize optional medications that could be the culprit. If you are dealing with allergies, try nasal irrigation rather than antihistamines.

• Do lots of skin to skin contact.

• Try nursing while moving (using wrap or carrier)

• If there is one feeding that is especially frustrating, consider pumping for that one and having a partner or support system offer a bottle.

Baby’s health

If the baby is uncomfortable it can interfere with comfortable feeding.

Is there any congestion or signs of illness or ear infection?

What can you do?

• Try different positions to see if some are more successful. 

• If the baby is teething, you can try some of these remedies.

• If the baby is fussier than normal for several days it is worth getting them checked.

Is the baby distracted?

Right around four months is a common age for this. There are enormous developmental changes going on. You might find that they pop off the breast or bottle more frequently to pay attention to their surroundings (god forbid they should miss anything!)

What can you do?

Try nursing in a quiet, dark room. Put on some soft music or white noise.

Personal note: I feel for you if you are dealing with this. Don’t give up like I did. I stopped nursing my first child at 4 months because I didn’t have support getting over the hump. Most of the time this is temporary. If you want to keep nursing, don’t let this stop you.