Is this a nursing strike?

[Helenemjay]

Tried reading and findong out what the problem is but i cant get to the bottom of it! dd (almost 5 months) feeds for about a minute maybe two and then pulls off and arches her back - she looks like a skydiver, almost doing a crab lol!! she doesnt have a blocked nose or anything and i havent eaten anything funny to my knowledge! she cant be getting enough milk as she feed like this about 5 times a day and its always no longer than a minute or two, im really really hoping she is not trying to wean herself, as i dont want her too yet ds2 did this too at exactly the same age - what could it be?? im pretty baffled...

Helen, sorry to hear about this. Babies usually behave like this for a reason - it doesn't come out of the blue. Sometimes, it's because they are being given solids a bit too early. Sometimes it's because they are cross or distressed for some reason - often illogically, but they are only babies

So I did a search on your nick to see what had been going on with your baby, actually expecting to see something about weaning or the baby being left with a sitter a lot, or you returning to work.....and I found you are suffering a whole lot of shit in your personal life.

A baby of five months old is certainly capable of responding to this, and my guess is that the behaviour at the breast is the result.....you can help your little one overcome it with the usual nursing strike tactics, all detailed on herwe.

Hope this helps and that things resolve at home one way or the other.

Hi helenemjay,
Sorry to hear you and your dd are going through this on top of everything. It's very upsetting when your baby won't feed. At her age though it could be to do with the pain of teething I think. Particularly as she seems to be taking the breast initially.

My ds went on nursing strike a couple of weeks ago. Here's the thread .

I had been unwittingly neglecting my baby because his brother had recently been diagnosed with diabetes. In retrospect I think this was the problem.

The advice here was very good.

Oh thankyou you lot make me cry sometimes you are all so nice! i will go and read that thread now SM thankyou! i never thought she might be picking up on other things, she is a very happy baby, she quickly went from being a fussy hard to feed and satisfy baby to being quiet, content and smiley ALL the time! she still is but she just wont take a feed from me without alot of persuasion! she doesnt cry or yell, she just throws herself off literally arms and legs out all over! I am having some shit at the moment tiktok, im trying to see the positives in my life and dealing with the negatives in the best way i can, i know these problems will affect my kids but im doing my hardest to keep it to a minimum, thankyou for your ever wonderful help, i hope you know how much you are appreciated!

I hope your ds is ok now spidermama! xx

All the stuff on that thread about helping the baby get back to normal feeding is worth trying, Helen.

I have no idea if your baby is picking up on 'stuff' but I can tell you, when I hear of this behaviour there is often a behavioural reason (not always).

There are so few ways babies can tell us when something is not right and that they are feeling stressed. I don't think babies can read minds. But they can be stressed by shouting, by other people's weeping, and they are aware when they are not getting the attention they need to develop and grow. Some babies 'switch off' and stop making demands. Others behave in the way you are describing, by rejecting the closest and most physical and loving relationship they know - at the breast.

The wonderful thing is that a responsive mum can help them overcome this and things get back to the way they were. It's a great lesson in life, I think - 'you were feeling stressed, but I was there for you because I recognised you needed me'. This builds confidence in babies.

I am not making this up, by the way. There is a good scientific literature on babies and stress response.

Hope today goes better for you, Helen.