Help, nursing strike? My 5 month EBF baby seems to hate deeding

[SolemnStollen]

I had hoped it was a phase, but my 5 month EBF DD seems to really hate feeding, unless it is nighttime or I can grab her as soon as she wakes up from a nap. She cries a lot, wriggles away & just refuses to feed, sometimes all day if we are out, meaning she gets dehydrated and I get really uncomfortable, & have also had blocked ducts. Sometimes she just refuses one side all day, sometimes the other... Feeding in a darkened room and sometimes persevering through the crying when I know she is hungry eventually works, but it just feels like such a battle. Today for example she fed at 8.30am, 12pm and then basically nothing until bedtime at 6.30 despite many offers & tears (from both of us). It's really getting me down as I don't feel I can go out anywhere as I know she won't feed. Her weight gain is steady but she's a small centile so there's not much margin of error. I on the other hand still have a ridiculous oversupply of milk & fast letdown which she can generally manage nowadays. Overnight she feeds at 6.30pm, dreamfeed at 9.30pm, then wakes to feed normally 1 or 2ish and 5 or 6ish. She doesn't normally want anything when she gets up for the day at 7ish. Does it sound like she's getting enough? Does anyone have any tips? Will solids change things? I wanted to carry on BFing but it's not getting any easier & I'm feeling pretty dispirited Though saying that, she won't take a bottle so not sure I have a choice!

Oh poor you, it's hard when they refuse to feed... My DS did exactly that at 5 months, I felt really rejected. My lactation consultant who helped me through oversupply and fast let down said not to worry. It's a combination of dropping naturally a feed around that age and starting to be interested in everything that is around them. As long as you manage to get 5-6 feeds a day, she'll get what she needs esp. as night time feeds are super good for your lactation and her nutrition. I was told to let my DS be and that if he was very hungry, he would let me know (he does). I also bought a breastfeeding necklace on Etsy, it focuses him.
Weight wise, don't forget that EBF babies have a different gain from formula fed ones and their curves often "break" at around that age too (as in their gain is much slower). As long as she seems happy, playful, don't worry.

Same thing here except my LB feeds at 7pm, midnight, 2am, 4am, 5am - 6am then just stops. I called HV and she said that he's getting all his feeds at night because he's more comfortable (I'm in bed) and less distracted so for the next few days I plan to try to get home for feeds so that I can be comfortable (no covers or cafe seats or anything) to see if I can just reset the habit.

FWIW weight gain is fine and he's a jolly little chap. For me the issue is sleep (or lack thereof!)

My pfb dud this from about 3 months on and I reacted just like you! With hindsight and a lot of panicky reading on kellymom, it was s combination of distraction and efficient feeding. His weight gains continued to be fine, despite the ultra short daytime feeds. And yes, like the pp found, he started taking all his proper feeds at night when there were no distractions.

What I did was try to get a decent couple of feeds in pre-morning and afternoon nap time, and nap myself with him at least once a day. We got through it and carried on nursing until he was nearly three. He's a strapping 7 year old now, and sleeps just fine!