DD would not BF at all yesterday, what should I do?

[GoodGollyMissMolly]

DD is nearly 7mo and is ex BF and BLW. The weaning has been going great and she loves all food put in front of her.......but yesterday she would not BF. Luckily I have quite a bit of EBM frozen so I was able to give her that. DD took the EBM fine from a bottle but would not feed from me.

The trouble is I only have enough EBM for half a day now as DD takes approx 7 ounces from a bottle and has about 6-8 bottles a day. I only have enough left for 3 ish bottles.

I don't know what to do, am I going to have to give her some formula?

I'm quite worried now. Don't want to ring HV as she is useless and has told me before to stop BF when I had thrush.

[GoodGollyMissMolly]

Sorry that should read 6-8 feeds/bottles a day.

[tiktok]

Molly - this sounds like a nursing strike, of which there is a lot in the mumsnet archives.

No need to even think of stopping, or to think she is really stopping, either.

Sometimes, strikes are an expression of some frustration/confusion/upset in the baby - did something unusual happen, or did you need to leave her for some reason (even if you have done so with no problems before), or...well, you may never know what it was!

You can encourage her back to the breast in many ways, but mostly by not fighting, and just letting her/enabling her to do so when she wants (holding her a lot and just enjoying the cuddle is one way).

No reason to give formula - she can have water to drink and she is already having solids, so she is not going to suffer with a day or so with no milk.

Hope this helps.

[tiktok]

Just seen from your post on another thread that your dd has had times in the past when she fought at the breast....she's obv quite sensitive and responsive, so if you are patient and gentle, she will 'return' to you all the sooner

[nellieloula]

Hello - I don't know much about the BLW, so not sure how much solids she is getting but that seems like a lot of milk for this age....my 7mth old is on 3 day feeds and 2 night feeds (mix of breast and formula) and to be honest it's hard to get that into her (well, during the day it is, night she seems more than happy ). IME, they do get more distracted and less interested in milk as they got more involved in the world around them , develop more motor skills and eat more solids. Maybe up the solids ratio - and often a very quiet, calm environment is the only way to feed for us!

I would see what today brings, offer lots of water so she is getting some liquid and unfortunately she may be more interested in formula....does happen. And make sure she gets lots of calcium in her food....sorry, I'm sure you know all of this and are doing it but I know how stressful it is when they go on breast strike! My DS did it in a big way and he did eventually come back after a day of trying to permamently latch him on but it was the beginning of his self weaning. Sad, but much better that it is to LO's agenda than mine IYKWIM. Good luck with it all.

[GoodGollyMissMolly]

Thanks tiktok. I haven't had to leave her recently so I don't know whats brought it on.

So do I just keep offering her the breast lots in the day to give her lots of oppourtunity to feed?

I have just tried now and she still wont take it , DH is giving her a bottle of EBM.

[nellieloula]

x posted with tik tok, who gives much better advice

[GoodGollyMissMolly]

nellieloula, I feed her on demand, she has always fed loads. I didn't think she was being fed too much.
DD has 2 solid meals a day with probably a banana in between as a snack, she loves bananas.

tiktok DD went through a period of being very finicky (if that is a work ) at the breast and was very distracted. Then I got mastitus(SP?) and then thrush. But all has been sorted and things have got better.
I think I may just hole myself and DD up in bed today and have lots of cuddles and try to latch her on frequently.

[tiktok]

Molly - instead of trying to latch her on, just enable her to do so herself, on her own terms. Don't wave you nipple in front of her but just cuddle her in a way that she can latch on if she wants and when she wants.

I think giving her a bottle of ebm or formula may intefere with this, to be honest - if she wants sucking comfort, she can have it at the breast.

Clearly, you will make sure she gets fluids in a cup - but worrying about calcium intake is not necessary at all at this stage!

[GoodGollyMissMolly]

Thanks tiktok, we have had a better day and DD has latched on a couple of times, if only for a short while, but I suppose it is better than nothing.

Should I stop giving her the EBM then and just concentrate on enabling her to latch on?