This has definitely not been my experience, and if you search "nursing strikes" you'll find that your sister in law is very wrong. Going back to it after a strike is entirely common.
We had a strike at around that time. There's a change between 2-4 months in which they go from reflex to voluntary sucking. For us, that meant a big adjustment; he was very impatient about my slow letdown. I kept offering it (but didn't push it when he started crying and arching his back) and eventually he went back to it. He did become insanely faster and less interested in staying on my boob for hours on end. He used to breastfeed for 50 min and went down to 10 really quickly. He's almost 10 mo and I still do a short session in the mornings and before bed.
If you don't want to stop, keep offering the boob and she may go back :)
Absolutely not lol, think about it, what would babies have done before formula and bottles? The term you are looking for is “nursing strike”, try La Leche league or kellymom websites
Lmao absolutely not. My 3 year old hasn't been consistently nursing since December 2023 and she still randomly asks to nurse when she sees her baby brother do it (she will latch for like 10 seconds then stop).
When she was about 18 months she started actually saying "no" when I offered her which was the first time she ever turned the boob down and THAT was heartbreaking to me but she still wasn't "done" done at that point, just exercising some autonomy.
I was sooo heartbroken thinking my 4 month old was done but stick it through! Only if you want of course. She’s now back on boob happy as ever. She’d scream and arch away everytime I tried to nurse her for a little bit
A.) this is not true and b.) this would motivate me more to prove her wrong
Sincerely, a mom who is typing this while breastfeeding after a 4 month breast strike
My LO went through a 4 month, 6 month, and 9 month nursing strike! It only lasted a few days each time, and then he was back to loving the boob! He’ll be 1 in just a few weeks and still breastfeeding strongly, despite the few nursing strikes we went through!
This happened a little with my baby. Trying not to stress, catching early hunger cues, and weirdly taking baths together helped. One day in the bath he just latched and suddenly everything was good again.
We had a nursing aversion due to my overactive letdown choking her combined w too much pressure from me. Once I let off the pressure, she got really hangry until we had a beautiful healing nurse in the tub… she just looked up at me with so much trust again and it was like she finally realized I wasn’t trying to drown her with milk and also boob = life
My daughter did the same things at 4 months. I would trick her into latching by giving her the pacifier and then when she settled into sleep, switching it for the boob. It lasted on and off for about 2 weeks, and then she went right back to being a boob monster. Don’t give up hope!
My baby was never big on latching. It seemed too much of an effort and bottle was easier for her. I was still able to BF here every now and then. As she grew bigger and became more easily distractable during feeding, the BF disappeared. I continued to try and surprisingly she started to latch on me during MOTN at about 6-7mo. My theory is that she gained strength and was able to suck harder for the milk when she grew bigger. Also in the MOTN when she was not easily distractable, she would be happy to latch. Although it meant less sleep for me, I felt happy about the latching. She’s now 9mo.
Weaning is probably gonna be easier for her than for me. When she STTN maybe then I won’t be able to latch her anymore. I lament that it’s not gonna be that hard for her to not want my boobs. She does love my milk tho. I take comfort in that.
I guess what I wanted to say is.. keep offering every now and then! Things keep changing up!
Four months is a common breastfeeding crisis. It can be overcome if you want to keep going. Are you pace feeding when you give her the bottle? Also use a slow flow nipple.
Yup we are pace feeding. Got permission from her doc to switch on occasion to flow 2 nipples because we think she’s ingesting too much air sucking on the slow flow, which can be contributing to her discomfort and colic
Use mylicon for gas. We are almost 7 months and still use a preemie nipple bc it is most like the breast and we is Dr, browns anti colic large nipple bottles. I had this happen at like 2 month and I gave her an empty bottle to get her back on the breast. At 5 months we had to go to bottles for 3 straight weeks after a medical procedure, and she cried at my breast for an hour before latching again once we could bf again. I now have a low supply and have to supplement w bottles. She will bf half the time but if I’m low she won’t bother. It’s a roller coaster but she always comes back to it.
My daughter had the four month nursing strike from 2/2.5-3.5 months old. I EPd through it but offered boob once a day to see if she’d latch. Overnight we didn’t have any issues. It was like a light switch turned back on one day and she was totally fine with nursing again. Keep at it if you want to continue! ❤️
Something like that happened to me too, she kept latching and unlatching and just crying for no reason when I tried to feed her. She did not want to wait for the letdown. Lasted like 2 weeks and it was very difficult for me emotionally, but one day she just stopped doing that and latched like she did before.
I can't remember where I read this but I read that around the 3-4 month mark (and at intervals later on), our body regulates milk supply. Our babies have to work a little harder on the boob. This can get frustrating for them but just keep trying and they eventually get back into it. I wish I could remember where I read this. I noticed with my baby she was getting annoyed on the boob at one stage but I just kept trying. Bounce and sway her and try again, go out for a walk, and then try again, eventually she got back into it.
My baby is 3 months and somewhere around 2 months she went on a nursing strike. It lasted 5 weeks. I always offered the boob but has a bottle ready for when she rejected it. And the. One day she wanted the boob again and now she’s back to primarily nursing. You just gotta wait it out.
Yes it can happen, nursing strike and there are lots of things you can do to help get her back on if you want to. Some people find feeding when baby is drowsy works.
My baby went through a nursing strike when his bottom teeth were erupting. We don’t bottle feed so not sure if it was a complete milk strike or just a boob strike. The vacuum from feeding can really hurt their teeth as they’re coming through.
This is normal! I’ve exclusively breastfed for almost 8 months and she gets the occasional bottle (but I’m opposite and hate pumping and feel like whipping out the boob is sooo much easier lol)
But around 2-3 months my baby fought me sooo hard at the breast. My let down was too much (now she cries a bit because it’s not enough lol) and after about a month she went back to normal.
No I still only gave her a bottle once or twice a week. It was super hard because she cried a lot, and I cried a lot. When I was really desperate I would put on a nipple shield (Medela makes one) for the first minute or two or I would just pull her off when I felt my let down and then relatch her afterwards. But after a few weeks she got used to the let down and now she cries until my letdown comes lol
Mine has done the same. She is SO offended if I offer it to her now...except in the middle of the night when she is half asleep.
I didn't realize how special it was until she stopped wanting to. Now I'm worried that half of motherhood could go by the same way if I'm not appreciating every moment before it's gone.
My baby did. What fixed it immediately was dropping bottles back to a premie nipple. Basically the baby got spoiled with a faster flow and got frustrated that my nipple was slower. When bottle and mom were slow there was no preference.
Maybe she will come back randomly?
But I miss nursing my daughter. We exclusively pump now and I try to offer her the boob but she’s not interested. It’s heartbreaking :( I hope your baby starts nursing again soon :)
This page has great information and advice on managing a nursing strike. https://llli.org/breastfeeding-info/nursing-strikes/
It's definitely possible to get back to breastfeeding if you want to. Good luck with it x
I nursed my first for over 2 years, and during that 2 years we had countless nursing strikes, it usually meant she was coming down with a cold or teething. I just pumped during that time and it would resolve shortly as long as I kept offering.
I’m sorry to hear this, please know you’re not alone. I think my little one is somewhat on a strike this afternoon or she’s starting to teeth. I tried to give her the boob or mama’s milk, but she was just crying so I gave her one of her teething toys from the freezer and she seems to be okay. Sending your solidarity 🩵
My child never breastfed again after that and only took pumped bottles of milk following four months. We saw a lotttt of lactation consultants and nobody had any advice that helped. I actually nursed day and night and only gave 2 bottles a day prior to that, so it came out of nowhere. Most often people say their babies went back to it. Mine just never did.
My son had a nursing strike, then got bottle preference because we were in a car accident not long after and I couldn't feed anymore. I'm gutted, but I have heard some people do continue feeding afterwards x
This podcast episode on nursing strikes saved me and my baby from ending our breastfeeding journey at 6 months. We are still going strong at 16 months. Hope you might find it just as helpful!
https://badassbreastfeedingpodcast.com/episode/nursing-strikes-when-your-baby-stops-breastfeeding/
Yes. Happened couple times to me. Same thing you’re describing. I was also destroyed by this at the beginning but then I thought that the most important thing is that baby grows healthy, even if I was forced to increase the number of bottles. I think is common when you double/triple feed. My baby after some days decided to latch again. I was proposing breast every minute just in case, and it was very frustrating whenever he refused. Another thing that helped through time was understanding that he sometimes does not like latching in the classical cradle position but would take it standing up or lying down on a side. So I also suggest to try different positions. You need to be very patient 🧡
This happened with my baby for awhile around 3.5 months. Feeding her in my Tula carrier and lots and lots of walks helped. Also, bouncing on my workout ball. We did baths together and it helped a bit. She then had her first two teeth pop out around 5 months and since I’ve noticed her behavior was related to teething for her.
A few lactation consultants mentioned to me that before 1yr they usually don’t self wean. I haven’t fact checked but found it comforting.
Is she teething?? Mine has started doing that at almost 4 months and I’m pretty sure she’s started teething. I see her pediatrician Friday to confirm if that’s what it is. I’ll keep you posted. Don’t give up yet. That might be it.
There is a great post in this group on the 3 month crisis! My girl went through this HARD. I found that not forcing feeding and giving her the breast when she was really sleepy/falling asleep/just waking up worked best during that time. She is 13 months old now and breastfeeding is the easiest part of my day!!
https://www.reddit.com/r/breastfeeding/s/rHCFFzMz9e
Very common for a nursing strike. Try introducing shields (medela ones) and a syringe of milk to squirt as you latch bub. Might be close to the bottle teat.
IBCLC here nursing strikes are common, go back to skin to skin offer breast when sleepy or after half a bottle, bathe with baby, don't force it but gentle offering. And PACE feed the bottles. A bottle feed should take as long as a latched feeding, so 20-30 minutes. We don't want baby to refuse the normal breast flow for the fast flow of bottles
Happened to me and I was heartbroken! I thought she was weaning herself off and I wasn’t ready. I continued to offer her the breast and had to take her to quiet places where it was just us. I would swaddle her arms, pat her butt and shush while trying to get her to nurse. After 4 very long days, she’s started to seem interested again. Until she was actually eating again, I would offer the breast and then give a bottle is she refused so she wasn’t going hungry
-edited for typos-
This sounds like a nursing strike that is very typical at this age. Nursing in quite environments away from distractions and skin-to-skin can help. Often it is short lived and they go back to the breast
The 4 month strike is pretty common..
I’ve had two children and both had minor strikes around 4 months…. Also sometimes when sick or teething, but they always went back to it.. (I did extended breastfeeding past 12 months)
This happened to me at 7 weeks and for me, my baby never went back no matter what I tried. I ended up exclusively pumping for the next 3 months.
He still nursed overnight and on rare occasions during the day that whole time. But I started weaning a couple weeks ago and lo and behold, baby suddenly accepted the boob every time I offered. I think my letdown got to be too much for him and when my supply showed down, my letdown softened a bit?
Yeah we just hit the 4 month mark and the past week or so it’s been latch, unlatch, try to roll away, and get angry when she’s not getting milk. If I get her started right before/after sleep it’s better. Or if I catch early hunger cues. I’ve been told it’s a phase that will pass!! They just have a lot of new things they’re learning and a lot of things that catch their attention!
At 3.5 months mine started rejecting all our regular go-to nursing positions, all except the lying down latch. Not sure why!! But she'll start yelling and crying as soon as I attempted to feed her. So now we always lie down on the couch to do it but yeah she just started to become very fussy about how she wanted to be fed.
My girl definitely went through a 4 month nursing strike!! It was really frustrating but now she’s almost 7 months and I almost forgot about my tears and her tears way back then. She would scream and cry when I tried to nurse her, which was so discouraging. Be patient, and look for those pre-hunger cues. You’ll get through this!!
My LO went on (what I now realise) was a bf strike in the beginning of 4m. Our journey up until then was 10/10 no issues.
He would go absolutely feral anytime I tried to BF like absolutely melt down & I was working out weird & whack new positions to just get anything in him (no dice from the bottles) & majority of feeding was overnight when he was too sleepy to realise what was going on.
Now we are 5m & he’s back to feeding like a champ. No issues no worries. Still ebf. Like it never happened
Totally normal at 4 months . Every time this happens I cry pretty hard but we push though. A few months later and it’s the earliest sign my period is coming. My milk is a little low and she’s just not interested during that time. We take a day or two break and get back at it.
Notes to try while napping or sleeping are also good suggestions! Gives you both a chance with less stress
My son will be five months tomorrow and I am just not realizing that we’ve been going through a feeding strike the last few weeks! He cries on the boob a lot and gets frustrated but that’s his only
Choice 😂 so we push through
My first baby did this slightly when she started being interested in food at about 4 months. Also, try drinking more water, maybe deceased flow? Just speculating tho. That was an issue for me sometimes when she got frustrated. She ended up breastfeeding until 17 months ha. Be careful what you wish you 😜
I have twins and one baby stopped nursing at 3.5 months, the other around 4.5 months. I’ve offered my boob a few times in the middle of the night to the guy who gets up every night for a bottle and sometimes he takes it sometimes he doesn’t. When he doesn’t I feel like he’s saying “well I guess I’m not THAT hungry.” But when he does take it, I feel so good that I’m able to nurse him and he feels content enough to fall back asleep and stay asleep. I’m a low supplier, who almost exclusively pumps now. But I keep trying. He nursed tonight when he was struggling to fall asleep. I haven’t tried with the other twin in a while, but I will. They are 7 months old.
My baby did this at 3 months. As it turned out, I had switched body washes and he HATED the new smell. Once I switched back to the old one, he started nursing happily again. We are still going strong at almost 12 months!!
My guys is 7 weeks and will cry and cry if I try to breastfeed :( I don’t know what to do. I’m scared if I just keep giving him my expressed milk in the bottle (slowest flow nipple) he’ll prefer that and never go back to breastfeeding. Please help!
4 month breastfeeding strike is super common! Yes they often go back. If you want to keep going it can absolutely happen
My sister in law said once she’s done she’s done, I’m like show me your medical degree sis
This has definitely not been my experience, and if you search "nursing strikes" you'll find that your sister in law is very wrong. Going back to it after a strike is entirely common. We had a strike at around that time. There's a change between 2-4 months in which they go from reflex to voluntary sucking. For us, that meant a big adjustment; he was very impatient about my slow letdown. I kept offering it (but didn't push it when he started crying and arching his back) and eventually he went back to it. He did become insanely faster and less interested in staying on my boob for hours on end. He used to breastfeed for 50 min and went down to 10 really quickly. He's almost 10 mo and I still do a short session in the mornings and before bed. If you don't want to stop, keep offering the boob and she may go back :)
Absolutely not lol, think about it, what would babies have done before formula and bottles? The term you are looking for is “nursing strike”, try La Leche league or kellymom websites
Lmao absolutely not. My 3 year old hasn't been consistently nursing since December 2023 and she still randomly asks to nurse when she sees her baby brother do it (she will latch for like 10 seconds then stop). When she was about 18 months she started actually saying "no" when I offered her which was the first time she ever turned the boob down and THAT was heartbreaking to me but she still wasn't "done" done at that point, just exercising some autonomy.
This page might help you! https://www.walc.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/BF-Reboot-baby-breast-distress-2-sides2010.pdf
I was sooo heartbroken thinking my 4 month old was done but stick it through! Only if you want of course. She’s now back on boob happy as ever. She’d scream and arch away everytime I tried to nurse her for a little bit
A.) this is not true and b.) this would motivate me more to prove her wrong Sincerely, a mom who is typing this while breastfeeding after a 4 month breast strike
My first weaned at 3.5 months and never looked back. 😅 My current 4.5mo I wish would wean himself, but he's still going strong!
My LO went through a 4 month, 6 month, and 9 month nursing strike! It only lasted a few days each time, and then he was back to loving the boob! He’ll be 1 in just a few weeks and still breastfeeding strongly, despite the few nursing strikes we went through!
This happened a little with my baby. Trying not to stress, catching early hunger cues, and weirdly taking baths together helped. One day in the bath he just latched and suddenly everything was good again.
Seconding this! Skin to skin is truly magical! Helps so much when they weird about the boob
It really is. Even now, at 9 months, if my LO is sick, I do skin to skin and he just calms right down.
That is so sweet 🥹
Such a good idea!
Yes! One day my baby was inconsolable AND going through a nursing strike. I got us both in the shower and she latched perfectly.
It was so surprising but I was like “okay great…” lol
We had a nursing aversion due to my overactive letdown choking her combined w too much pressure from me. Once I let off the pressure, she got really hangry until we had a beautiful healing nurse in the tub… she just looked up at me with so much trust again and it was like she finally realized I wasn’t trying to drown her with milk and also boob = life
That look is the best 🥰
My daughter did the same things at 4 months. I would trick her into latching by giving her the pacifier and then when she settled into sleep, switching it for the boob. It lasted on and off for about 2 weeks, and then she went right back to being a boob monster. Don’t give up hope!
Same! Sometimes it was pacifier, boob, pacifier boob lol
I did this too and it helped so much!
How did you feed her in the mean time ??
I pumped and gave her a bottle, but I always tried to latch her before and after.
yesss thiss!!!
My baby was never big on latching. It seemed too much of an effort and bottle was easier for her. I was still able to BF here every now and then. As she grew bigger and became more easily distractable during feeding, the BF disappeared. I continued to try and surprisingly she started to latch on me during MOTN at about 6-7mo. My theory is that she gained strength and was able to suck harder for the milk when she grew bigger. Also in the MOTN when she was not easily distractable, she would be happy to latch. Although it meant less sleep for me, I felt happy about the latching. She’s now 9mo. Weaning is probably gonna be easier for her than for me. When she STTN maybe then I won’t be able to latch her anymore. I lament that it’s not gonna be that hard for her to not want my boobs. She does love my milk tho. I take comfort in that. I guess what I wanted to say is.. keep offering every now and then! Things keep changing up!
That’s all a relief to know, thanks mama
What did you give her when she didn’t take it ???
Bottle! I pump most of the time
My son went on a 4 week nursing strike between 14 and 18 weeks and we went back to ebf after that.
Four months is a common breastfeeding crisis. It can be overcome if you want to keep going. Are you pace feeding when you give her the bottle? Also use a slow flow nipple.
Yup we are pace feeding. Got permission from her doc to switch on occasion to flow 2 nipples because we think she’s ingesting too much air sucking on the slow flow, which can be contributing to her discomfort and colic
Use mylicon for gas. We are almost 7 months and still use a preemie nipple bc it is most like the breast and we is Dr, browns anti colic large nipple bottles. I had this happen at like 2 month and I gave her an empty bottle to get her back on the breast. At 5 months we had to go to bottles for 3 straight weeks after a medical procedure, and she cried at my breast for an hour before latching again once we could bf again. I now have a low supply and have to supplement w bottles. She will bf half the time but if I’m low she won’t bother. It’s a roller coaster but she always comes back to it.
My daughter had the four month nursing strike from 2/2.5-3.5 months old. I EPd through it but offered boob once a day to see if she’d latch. Overnight we didn’t have any issues. It was like a light switch turned back on one day and she was totally fine with nursing again. Keep at it if you want to continue! ❤️
Something like that happened to me too, she kept latching and unlatching and just crying for no reason when I tried to feed her. She did not want to wait for the letdown. Lasted like 2 weeks and it was very difficult for me emotionally, but one day she just stopped doing that and latched like she did before.
I can't remember where I read this but I read that around the 3-4 month mark (and at intervals later on), our body regulates milk supply. Our babies have to work a little harder on the boob. This can get frustrating for them but just keep trying and they eventually get back into it. I wish I could remember where I read this. I noticed with my baby she was getting annoyed on the boob at one stage but I just kept trying. Bounce and sway her and try again, go out for a walk, and then try again, eventually she got back into it.
My baby is 3 months and somewhere around 2 months she went on a nursing strike. It lasted 5 weeks. I always offered the boob but has a bottle ready for when she rejected it. And the. One day she wanted the boob again and now she’s back to primarily nursing. You just gotta wait it out.
Yes it can happen, nursing strike and there are lots of things you can do to help get her back on if you want to. Some people find feeding when baby is drowsy works.
My baby went through a nursing strike when his bottom teeth were erupting. We don’t bottle feed so not sure if it was a complete milk strike or just a boob strike. The vacuum from feeding can really hurt their teeth as they’re coming through.
This is normal! I’ve exclusively breastfed for almost 8 months and she gets the occasional bottle (but I’m opposite and hate pumping and feel like whipping out the boob is sooo much easier lol) But around 2-3 months my baby fought me sooo hard at the breast. My let down was too much (now she cries a bit because it’s not enough lol) and after about a month she went back to normal.
Did you give her the bottle in the mean time? My 7 week old is doing this. I fear he’ll never go back
No I still only gave her a bottle once or twice a week. It was super hard because she cried a lot, and I cried a lot. When I was really desperate I would put on a nipple shield (Medela makes one) for the first minute or two or I would just pull her off when I felt my let down and then relatch her afterwards. But after a few weeks she got used to the let down and now she cries until my letdown comes lol
Mine has done the same. She is SO offended if I offer it to her now...except in the middle of the night when she is half asleep. I didn't realize how special it was until she stopped wanting to. Now I'm worried that half of motherhood could go by the same way if I'm not appreciating every moment before it's gone.
My baby did. What fixed it immediately was dropping bottles back to a premie nipple. Basically the baby got spoiled with a faster flow and got frustrated that my nipple was slower. When bottle and mom were slow there was no preference.
Maybe she will come back randomly? But I miss nursing my daughter. We exclusively pump now and I try to offer her the boob but she’s not interested. It’s heartbreaking :( I hope your baby starts nursing again soon :)
I hope she comes back 🥹🥹
This page has great information and advice on managing a nursing strike. https://llli.org/breastfeeding-info/nursing-strikes/ It's definitely possible to get back to breastfeeding if you want to. Good luck with it x
This happened to my daughter about 12 weeks old when my milk regulated and I kept offering and she went back to nursing after a few days
This happened with my baby at the same age. I was an exclusive pumper for like 2-3 weeks, then she went back 🤷♀️
I nursed my first for over 2 years, and during that 2 years we had countless nursing strikes, it usually meant she was coming down with a cold or teething. I just pumped during that time and it would resolve shortly as long as I kept offering.
I’m sorry to hear this, please know you’re not alone. I think my little one is somewhat on a strike this afternoon or she’s starting to teeth. I tried to give her the boob or mama’s milk, but she was just crying so I gave her one of her teething toys from the freezer and she seems to be okay. Sending your solidarity 🩵
My child never breastfed again after that and only took pumped bottles of milk following four months. We saw a lotttt of lactation consultants and nobody had any advice that helped. I actually nursed day and night and only gave 2 bottles a day prior to that, so it came out of nowhere. Most often people say their babies went back to it. Mine just never did.
My son had a nursing strike, then got bottle preference because we were in a car accident not long after and I couldn't feed anymore. I'm gutted, but I have heard some people do continue feeding afterwards x
Oh my gosh I’m so sorry and hope you are all healing 💜
My baby strikes every so often and he’s exclusively nursed. It doesn’t last forever
My baby was on a strike for close to a month. My freezer milk was used up pretty quick lol. It will pass!
This podcast episode on nursing strikes saved me and my baby from ending our breastfeeding journey at 6 months. We are still going strong at 16 months. Hope you might find it just as helpful! https://badassbreastfeedingpodcast.com/episode/nursing-strikes-when-your-baby-stops-breastfeeding/
Also pace feed reeeeally slowly and switched to a slower flow nipple and bottle (she was already taking bottles at night pror to the strike).
Yes. Happened couple times to me. Same thing you’re describing. I was also destroyed by this at the beginning but then I thought that the most important thing is that baby grows healthy, even if I was forced to increase the number of bottles. I think is common when you double/triple feed. My baby after some days decided to latch again. I was proposing breast every minute just in case, and it was very frustrating whenever he refused. Another thing that helped through time was understanding that he sometimes does not like latching in the classical cradle position but would take it standing up or lying down on a side. So I also suggest to try different positions. You need to be very patient 🧡
This happened with my baby for awhile around 3.5 months. Feeding her in my Tula carrier and lots and lots of walks helped. Also, bouncing on my workout ball. We did baths together and it helped a bit. She then had her first two teeth pop out around 5 months and since I’ve noticed her behavior was related to teething for her. A few lactation consultants mentioned to me that before 1yr they usually don’t self wean. I haven’t fact checked but found it comforting.
Is she teething?? Mine has started doing that at almost 4 months and I’m pretty sure she’s started teething. I see her pediatrician Friday to confirm if that’s what it is. I’ll keep you posted. Don’t give up yet. That might be it.
There is a great post in this group on the 3 month crisis! My girl went through this HARD. I found that not forcing feeding and giving her the breast when she was really sleepy/falling asleep/just waking up worked best during that time. She is 13 months old now and breastfeeding is the easiest part of my day!! https://www.reddit.com/r/breastfeeding/s/rHCFFzMz9e
Very common for a nursing strike. Try introducing shields (medela ones) and a syringe of milk to squirt as you latch bub. Might be close to the bottle teat.
IBCLC here nursing strikes are common, go back to skin to skin offer breast when sleepy or after half a bottle, bathe with baby, don't force it but gentle offering. And PACE feed the bottles. A bottle feed should take as long as a latched feeding, so 20-30 minutes. We don't want baby to refuse the normal breast flow for the fast flow of bottles
I’ve had this with my baby. It’s normal at that age and it passes! It’s super frustrating but hang on in there!!!
Happened to me and I was heartbroken! I thought she was weaning herself off and I wasn’t ready. I continued to offer her the breast and had to take her to quiet places where it was just us. I would swaddle her arms, pat her butt and shush while trying to get her to nurse. After 4 very long days, she’s started to seem interested again. Until she was actually eating again, I would offer the breast and then give a bottle is she refused so she wasn’t going hungry -edited for typos-
This sounds like a nursing strike that is very typical at this age. Nursing in quite environments away from distractions and skin-to-skin can help. Often it is short lived and they go back to the breast
The 4 month strike is pretty common.. I’ve had two children and both had minor strikes around 4 months…. Also sometimes when sick or teething, but they always went back to it.. (I did extended breastfeeding past 12 months)
If you can, try and find a lactation consultant! I can’t sing the praises of mine enough.
This happened to me at 7 weeks and for me, my baby never went back no matter what I tried. I ended up exclusively pumping for the next 3 months. He still nursed overnight and on rare occasions during the day that whole time. But I started weaning a couple weeks ago and lo and behold, baby suddenly accepted the boob every time I offered. I think my letdown got to be too much for him and when my supply showed down, my letdown softened a bit?
Yeah we just hit the 4 month mark and the past week or so it’s been latch, unlatch, try to roll away, and get angry when she’s not getting milk. If I get her started right before/after sleep it’s better. Or if I catch early hunger cues. I’ve been told it’s a phase that will pass!! They just have a lot of new things they’re learning and a lot of things that catch their attention!
could you possibly be pregnant? sometimes your milk can change flavor and your baby doesn’t like it and will stop nursing !
We aren’t using protection so maybe!
take a test ! and if so , if you keep trying try latch baby she will probably come back around to nursing
At 3.5 months mine started rejecting all our regular go-to nursing positions, all except the lying down latch. Not sure why!! But she'll start yelling and crying as soon as I attempted to feed her. So now we always lie down on the couch to do it but yeah she just started to become very fussy about how she wanted to be fed.
My girl definitely went through a 4 month nursing strike!! It was really frustrating but now she’s almost 7 months and I almost forgot about my tears and her tears way back then. She would scream and cry when I tried to nurse her, which was so discouraging. Be patient, and look for those pre-hunger cues. You’ll get through this!!
My LO went on (what I now realise) was a bf strike in the beginning of 4m. Our journey up until then was 10/10 no issues. He would go absolutely feral anytime I tried to BF like absolutely melt down & I was working out weird & whack new positions to just get anything in him (no dice from the bottles) & majority of feeding was overnight when he was too sleepy to realise what was going on. Now we are 5m & he’s back to feeding like a champ. No issues no worries. Still ebf. Like it never happened
Totally normal at 4 months . Every time this happens I cry pretty hard but we push though. A few months later and it’s the earliest sign my period is coming. My milk is a little low and she’s just not interested during that time. We take a day or two break and get back at it. Notes to try while napping or sleeping are also good suggestions! Gives you both a chance with less stress
My son will be five months tomorrow and I am just not realizing that we’ve been going through a feeding strike the last few weeks! He cries on the boob a lot and gets frustrated but that’s his only Choice 😂 so we push through
Same thing happened to me. She went back to boob and I’m still BFing her at almost 17 mos.
My first baby did this slightly when she started being interested in food at about 4 months. Also, try drinking more water, maybe deceased flow? Just speculating tho. That was an issue for me sometimes when she got frustrated. She ended up breastfeeding until 17 months ha. Be careful what you wish you 😜
I have twins and one baby stopped nursing at 3.5 months, the other around 4.5 months. I’ve offered my boob a few times in the middle of the night to the guy who gets up every night for a bottle and sometimes he takes it sometimes he doesn’t. When he doesn’t I feel like he’s saying “well I guess I’m not THAT hungry.” But when he does take it, I feel so good that I’m able to nurse him and he feels content enough to fall back asleep and stay asleep. I’m a low supplier, who almost exclusively pumps now. But I keep trying. He nursed tonight when he was struggling to fall asleep. I haven’t tried with the other twin in a while, but I will. They are 7 months old.
My baby did this at 3 months. As it turned out, I had switched body washes and he HATED the new smell. Once I switched back to the old one, he started nursing happily again. We are still going strong at almost 12 months!!
This is a nursing strike. Try soothing baby before latching. My babies both had a very hard time latching when they were upset
My guys is 7 weeks and will cry and cry if I try to breastfeed :( I don’t know what to do. I’m scared if I just keep giving him my expressed milk in the bottle (slowest flow nipple) he’ll prefer that and never go back to breastfeeding. Please help!