Is this the end? 10 month old on 'breast strike'.

[Cruze]

My 10 month has been EBF, refused to take milk from a bottle/ cup & would only breastfeed. She has always loved feeding, it's always been on demand with not a single issue since day 1. I have loved & enjoyed every second, even the at times hourly wake ups!! I struggled massively with my first child and stopped at 4 months. So am over the moon that I have been able to stay off work longer this time & successfully breastfeed.

I started weaning at 6 months but she still took 6 feeds per day/night until Monday. She refused to feed. No warning. I tried to get her to latch but she just bit me. She's never done this. I presumed she wasn't hungry & didn't think much.

She had been whiny with an on/off temperature for a day or so, so I thought that maybe she was sick & didn't want milk. However this has continued now for 3 days & she is back to her usual happy self, except for total refusal of my breast, arching her back away from me & biting me if I persist!

She is taking water from a sippy cup (she started doing this a few days before the breast refusal started) & I have just managed to express 2 oz (only one breast would let down). She couldn't drink it quick enough & got very frustrated when it finished.

I am absolutely devastated, I'm not ready to stop! I know that sounds awful and selfish but it has happened so suddenly with no warning. My OH has made it clear that we will not be having anymore children so maybe that has made this sudden refusal worse.

Has this happened to anyone? Is it just a quick phase? Or has she self weaned? Any advice on how I can get milk from the breast that won't let down? I have a Medela Swing electric pump.

I don't really know what I'm asking I'm just feeling really horrible and hoping someone can give me a miracle solution!!! Or tell me (nicely) that my baby wants to grow up!

Thank you for reading, I didn't expect this to be so long!

[MoreSkyThanWeNeed]

Is she drinking a lot of water from her sippy cup? Maybe she's filling up on that?
I have no idea - but well done for getting this far, even if she does stop, you've done great.

[dinkystinky]

I posted on here a month ago with the same issue - except DS3 is 8 months old though is otherwise v similar to your 10 month old. Others posted to tell me their stories and said its often pain stopping them feeding - either teething or ear ache - and to just practice lots of skin to skin, not to push nursing (offer the boob but dont force it), pump to keep up supply and get milk in them however you can (cup/syringe/whatever). It turned out DS3 had a bad bilateral ear infection - one course of antibiotics and 5 days later he started to feed again one morning while having a morning skin to skin cuddle and is happily feeding again. Kellymom.com has some good articles on nursing strikes and suggestions of things to do.

[Gen35]

My dd did exactly the same, Everytime I tried to drop feeds before 10 months, she'd go crazy and then at 10.5 months that was it, she completely lost interest one day! Same bottle refusal too. I think my dd had a sore throat that triggered it for her and then she was just done. It made me feel sad for a week or so - read about the hormone crash.

[Cruze]

Thank you so much for the replies. It's definitely not an ear or throat infection as I took her to the doctors yesterday due to on & off high temperature (google suggested the refusal & high temp could be one of those reasons but no, she is fine!)

I am giving her water from the cup after she rejects the breast.

I will have a look at Kellymom now, try some skin to skin over the next few days & not force her and hope I can re-establish but I think like Gen95 she has had enough!

Hopefully my pumping can improve, I have never pumped before today as I haven't left her alone for longer than an hour since having her. It was horrible watching nothing come out! She won't even latch on the other breast to let me pump!

Thank you again for replying, I definitely need to read up on the hormone crash! I feel like my world has ended but know I should be happy I lasted this long!!!

[Coldweatherbaby]

My dd gave up at 10 months. She'd never really been a star nurser, unlike my other dc who bfed almost to 2 years old. At 10 months she was eager to eat food with the family and I guess she just filled herself up. She's not really much of a cuddler either so any attempts I made to instigate BFing was met with a withering look and a wriggle to get down!

I did feel upset as she is my last baby but I can't halt progress if that's what she wants.

[Gen35]

Dd also loves food! You should be really proud of getting this far, it is hard on you when they just stop but she's set up for life now so take pride in that. I felt down for at least a few weeks, that's why I looked it up. One of my favourite memories, and dh's, was seeing dd's smiling face when she was fast asleep with a full tummy after a long early morning feeding session. There are many other compensations as you go along though but this was one of the first and best!