Nursing Strike!!!! Help Me!!! UPDATE!

My son is a little over 10 months old and has been breastfed up until this past week. All of a sudden he just stopped. He had been slowing down, but I didnt expect him to just stop completely. I am worried that it might be my fault. The last while he has been putting my nipple between histeeth and biting down just hard enough, then looking up at me. The other day he chomped down and I patted his bumb and said no. He just started to scream!!! I thought I might have scared him or maybe I hurt him. I didnt hit him or anything. I barely touched him. That was the advice the health unit here gave me and now I am worried that I have caused an aversion or something. My parents dont think that I did anything wrong and that that would not make me stop breastfeeding. I just cant find any other reason why he would just stop cold turkey. Please help. If you have any advice on how to ease him back in, or if I should just wean him. Please help me!!!!!

Yes, I've survived several nursing strikes. Keep offering the breast. But they will be CRANKY until they start nursing again. Pump to keep up your milk supply. Hopefully it will be behind you in a couple of days.

oh yeah, they say sometimes something is bothering the baby, like teething, on the verge of an ear infection or a cold, you never quite know. One time, I was late half an hour, not that we were on a time schedule or anything, and my daughter started a week long strike after that!!!

you could do a supplemental nursing system. You can buy one from Medela online. It will give him formula at the breast so that you can still put him on your nipples and get him to suck them for prolactin stimulation, as well as keep him from getting fussy or mad at you for not producing. Don't worry... your milk will come back in. It takes forever to dry up. Months literally. And I think babies go through phases of rejecting the breast. Not terribly uncommon, but there is no reason you have to stop BFing. If you have a Lactation Consultant at your local hospital,...I would call her Monday as well for good support and further advice that is reputable.

He has cut several teeth and has always been fine before. Last week I thought he was getting an ear infection so I took him to the hospital and they told me that he was fine. He migth have a bit of a cold. So I dont know....

Quoting Cal's Mommy:“ you could do a supplemental nursing system. You can buy one from Medela online. It will give him formula ... [snip!] ... Consultant at your local hospital,...I would call her Monday as well for good support and further advice that is reputable.”

I'm guessing she has the milk, she won't need the supplement, not at 10 months. Usually in a nursing strike, they won't even latch on!

I know he doesnt need to supplement and we were going to wean him in a few months, it just came as such a shock and I feel like its all my fault. Like a scared him away from it. Maybe I should just wean him.... I was just so unprepaired.

The SNS is recommended by Lactation Consultants for nursing strikes. It will entice the baby to latch. Sugar water can be used instead or of course you can put your breast milk that you have pumped in it. It is not necessary to use formula.

Medela.com has them on there for 40 bucks... that is if you wanna keep BFing and he won't latch on any other way. I used it to relactate for my son after I had "dried up".

Quoting Lane's Loving MaMa:“ I know he doesnt need to supplement and we were going to wean him in a few months, it just came as such ... [snip!] ... and I feel like its all my fault. Like a scared him away from it. Maybe I should just wean him.... I was just so unprepaired.”

I know what you mean. I survived 2 nursing strikes with my daughter, and then when she started her 3rd the day she turned 1, I was like, "OK, that's it!" even though I had wanted to nurse her another 2-3 months, until the cold/flu season was over. But I felt rejected!!! I didn't know what I had done wrong. I think if I could go back and do it over again, I would have pumped and got her to take the bottle, at least for the antibodies and the benefits of breastmilk, and then slowly weaned using the pump. But do whatever's right for you!

Maybe we should just wean him, but I just keep going back to when I startled him and feel like I did it....

I did read that it is possible for a child over 9 months to wean themselves. It is uncommen, but it happens. He was gradually slowing down and nursing less and less, so maybe this was just it. So when he cries in the middle of the night (he still gets up 2-4 times) I dont know how to get him back to sleep without nursing. He hates the bottle....

No- it was not your fault. Babies are much more resiliant than that. With persistance you should be able to get him to re-latch. It's just a matter of time. But don't feel bad. I can't imagine that causing the issue as youmay think. I would definitly pump and give him your milk in the meantime just as Angela mentioned the importance of antibodies. You are blessed to have had him on the breast this long. Don't feel bad whatever the outcome, but there is no reason you can't keep trying anyway.

Quoting Lane's Loving MaMa:“ I did read that it is possible for a child over 9 months to wean themselves. It is uncommen, but it happens. ... [snip!] ... of the night (he still gets up 2-4 times) I dont know how to get him back to sleep without nursing. He hates the bottle....”

Yeah, I've read BOTH. That no baby ever weans themself...and some baby's do wean themselves. There are 2 very opposite schools of thought out there, just like everything else to do with child-raising!

That's tough that he's up 2-4 times a night. Does he take the breast then?

It is a bit of a fight, but he will. I am wondering if I move him to homo milk if it will help him sleep and he will have weaned himself. My friends went back to work and did that with there babies and they started sleeping through the night.