Baby gave up bf at 9mths

[saltador]

Hi, anyone had a baby who has just given up bf, enough is enough?
I bf my daughter for 8mths and decided to stop then. My son is 9mths and has just decided no more, he is eating well and is a good weight but since yesterday morning has absolutely refused bf. Have tried many times (was intending to bf for 12mths) but he just turns away. I expressed a small amount and he was ok with that from a cup. Is this unusual to stop so suddenly? I just wasn't prepared for this

I'm not an expert but I distinctly remember my DDs suddenly stopping. The looks she gave me when I kept on trying...

Hope you get some proper advice!

this is a nursing strike

it is not uncommon for babies this age to do this

see here

they can be coaxed back if you want to, the link should help with advice

good luck

meant to say this isn't the end of bf (unless you want it to be)

you could also call the bf helplines for advice

National Breastfeeding Helpline
0300 100 0212

National Childbirth Trust
0300 330 0771

Breastfeeding Network
0300 100 0210

La Leche League
0845 1202918

Association of Breastfeeding Mothers 08444 122949

hth

DS1 did this at 12m too, it made me . He's never drunk milk since, out of a cup or otherwise and not for want of trying. Maybe at 9m you could get him back on track if you wanted to?

My fella did this at nearly 10 months and I waited and tried and tried to get him back but to no avail. He started to stop gaining and I put him onto formula, much to my regret at the time, mainly because I had to get all the gear and couldn't give him a drink for free!!

Thanks everyone for your thoughts, experience and advice. Will look into the support (thanks for being so thorough and giving me all the numbers). Have also got formula which he won't take either. I'm so glad I'm not the only one this has happened to, the health visitor didn't seem to know that this happened to anyone before.

Thanks Chibi for the brilliant link, which explains everything. Definitely sounds like a nursing strike, have sent husband out for breast pump and will work at this, think we have been giving him too much solids.

It does sound like a nursing strike. I haven't read the links so I maybe repeating them but here is my (unfortunately experienced it myself ) advice:-

Try having a bath with DS after a light meal so he isn't ravenous but is a little peckish. Keep things low key and don't force baby on (I will admit to doing this in sheer frustration with 19 m/o DD2 during her [and her sister's] 2 week long nursing strike - it didn't work of course).

Offer through out the day but always in a very low key fashion and perhaps try when DS is sleepy.

Dial back on the solids. Breastmilk should make up around 75% of the baby's food intake at 12 m/o scroll down to 'how much should my toddler be eating' for proportions of bm to solids from 12m/18m/2y.

This page has some nice charts to show the introduction of solids into a baby's diet.

Once DS is back nursing always offer food after nursing not before as babies can wantfill up on the new exciting foods and not take the same old same old milk which is more important under a year.

I think we have got through this, thanks to all the support and advice from everyone who replied.

I didn't know he should have been having so much milk and have cut back on portion sizes for solids (he would just eat and eat).

Started feeding again yesterday morning and has been OK since then. I had almost given up after repeated rejection, and was offering beakers with formula but because he still seemed to be interested, and following advice I continued to offer bf but low key. It worked!

Thank you, I couldn't have done it without you!

Saltador - I'm so glad you got the outcome you wanted.

Just to add to this: I've just got through one of these with my 15 month old DD and was realy glad to read you had also managed it, saltador

I know the cause of ours - Madam kept biting me, seemingly to get the 'ouch!' response from me (she would make eye contact and study me very carefully as she sank her teeth in). Finally, I raised my voice, she bawled and then went on strike. From being a very keen feeder, she went to nothing during her waking hours.

She was still feeding at night (when asleep), which gave me some hope, so I expressed a little bit, kept an open mind and she finally came back to the idea. This coincided with an ear infection; I think that may have prompted it.

Anywya, that's incredibly boring and long (sorry), but I was actively looking for this topic tonight, in the hope of learning a bit more about it, so thanks.

Hope all continues to go well for you both, saltador