nursing strike, all my fault, v upset

[salander]

hope someone has some advice but i have majorly screwed up. ds is nearly 8 months and EBF. past few days he has been really bitey and bit me 3 times in 1 feed yesterday. i let out an involuntary yelp and pulled breast away quickly and he looked horrified, started crying and has screamed hysterically if put anywhere near the boob since

i am so upset, cursing myself for a fool but the bite was really sore. also i think he has a bit of a temp and isn't quite himself and normally i would feed him more to comfort and get fluids in to him but he is having none of it. does anyone have any advice. i really don't want BFing to end like this.

Poor you and DS, sounds like you are both having a tough time of it.

First thing I'd do is take his temperature and if its raised give him some painkillers. Check for teeth coming through too as it sounds like he might be teething. Some Mums find that feeding lying down may help to stop biting and if he is teething try offering foods like chunks of cooled cucumber.

As for the nursing strike Kellymom has some good advice and on biting too.

I'd try giving one of the Helplines a call though as a BFC can offer information and support on both of your problems.

Hope it gets sorted soon.

thanks for replying. his temp is up a bit actually so given him some calpol. heading off to kellymom to check things out there.

How long is it since you've given the Calpol and how is he now?

Oh poor you and DS.

Kellymom has excellent suggestions. My DS had a partial nursing strike from 4 months to about 5.5 months. It was tough but I did manage to convince him to feed when he was drifting off to sleep. It did mean rocking him until he was almost completely asleep and then offering him the breast and feeding a lot during the night (we still co-sleep so that made feeding at night less traumatic). I also found that a lot of skin-to-skin helped. I would bath with him every night and he would be quite keen to feed then, worth a go if you can. It might also be worth giving a mini baby moon a go. Maybe take a day out and stay in with him having lots of skin-to-skin and no pressure to feed (hard I know, but maybe a little easier in terms of stress if he is also taking some solids)

Good luck, and please keep us updated.

DS went on strike at 13 months and it lasted 12 days so don't worry if it takes a few days to get over it.

I'd get him checked by a GP if you can. My DS turned out to have an ear & chest infection, then also came down with v&d bug and conjuncitivis. The strike ended when the antibiotics started working.

I'd agree with the Kellymom advice. Please don't beat yourself up about it. We've all yelled when we've been bitten - you can't help it. Nursing strikes are horrible and it's hard not to take it personally, but can be overcome with patience & persistence.

Thanks everyone. He settled a bit after the calpol but been up a couple of times since, def doesnt seem right so think need to head to gp tomorrow. However did just manage to get him to latch on as he was dozing off which made me feel better. Like the idea of the mini moon. I am not long back to work so maybe that has affected things. Thanks again.

Just wondering how you got on last night salander. Its good news that you managed to get him to latch on and I think going to the GP to get him checked and the Babymoon are both good ideas too.