Nursing Strike or Weaning?
I was really hoping Baby E would nurse until she was 2 or so for the immunity, allergy-moderating and nutritional benefits. The last week or two she's been occasionally refusing feedings, but was still nursing at bedtime and waking, once or twice during the night, and usually every 3 hours or so during the day.
On Friday night she refused to nurse after dinner until breakfast the next morning--going 9 or 10 hours between feedings, which is longer than she's ever gone before. Then she nursed as normal all day, from when she woke up until after dinner that night. After dinner she again adamantly refused to nurse, clamping her mouth shut, shaking her head no, and throwing a tantrum if I offered again.
She went 15 or 16 hours before the next feeding, which was after church around 11:30 this morning, and has only nursed twice today.
She's going through a sudden stage of extreme independence, where anything she does has to be HER idea and she wants to do the opposite of whatever she thinks we want her to do. If I try to get her to walk one way, she'll run the opposite direction. Above all, she does not want to be carried or made to do anything at all that she's not doing of her own initiative under her own power. Anything like getting dressed is suddenly a humongous battle.
The two times she did nurse today, it was something she initiated on her own. She nursed quite happily and normally those two times--at least until the possibility of solid food came up, and then she was immediately done and wanting solids instead.
Any time I offered to let her nurse was met with adamant refusal. Expressed breastmilk in a bottle and in a sippy cup met with strong protest as well. She wanted water.
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I did notice that she has what looks like a little blister on her tongue, and she appears to be cutting a tooth. She's also tugging at one ear (one of her common allergy symptoms--she does this all the time but has never actually had an ear infection). She's wanting to be held and cuddled a lot, rubbing my hand or elbow and sucking on her lip.
I don't know whether she's on a nursing strike because of something like mouth pain, or if the taste of my milk has changed somehow (I haven't changed anything that I know of).
I've read that 14 months is a very common age for a nursing strike, because of the teething and the developmental stage, but that babies under 2 will usually start nursing again in a few days--supposedly it's quite unusual for babies under 18 months to truly self-wean.
According to popular breastfeeding site kellymom.com, "When babies abruptly stop nursing, it's a nursing strike - not weaning. Babies rarely wean on their own before 18-24 months, and self-weaning is almost never abrupt."
I suppose she could be just exerting her independence. Or maybe she is actually ready to wean. If she is really ready to wean, that's ok, but I want to make sure there isn't something else going on.
For the time being, I'm pumping to try to keep my milk supply up and offering her the opportunity to nurse every few hours. But I'm wondering if my offer of milk is counterproductive at this point, given her sudden and intense desire for complete autonomy.
I'm hoping pumping will keep the flow going enough that if she suddenly decides she wants to nurse as normal again in a few days, I'll still have some milk for her. I pumped 8 ounces in 20 minutes or so this morning, but have gotten very little milk since then.
Has anyone dealt with something similar to this? Any thoughts?
At this point, I'm not sure what to do other than wait it out. If she moves up to completely refusing to nurse and it lasts a week or so, I guess I'll just consider her weaned.
I must admit, the thought of being able to eat anything without worrying about her allergies is somewhat dazzling.
On Friday night she refused to nurse after dinner until breakfast the next morning--going 9 or 10 hours between feedings, which is longer than she's ever gone before. Then she nursed as normal all day, from when she woke up until after dinner that night. After dinner she again adamantly refused to nurse, clamping her mouth shut, shaking her head no, and throwing a tantrum if I offered again.
She went 15 or 16 hours before the next feeding, which was after church around 11:30 this morning, and has only nursed twice today.
She's going through a sudden stage of extreme independence, where anything she does has to be HER idea and she wants to do the opposite of whatever she thinks we want her to do. If I try to get her to walk one way, she'll run the opposite direction. Above all, she does not want to be carried or made to do anything at all that she's not doing of her own initiative under her own power. Anything like getting dressed is suddenly a humongous battle.
The two times she did nurse today, it was something she initiated on her own. She nursed quite happily and normally those two times--at least until the possibility of solid food came up, and then she was immediately done and wanting solids instead.
Any time I offered to let her nurse was met with adamant refusal. Expressed breastmilk in a bottle and in a sippy cup met with strong protest as well. She wanted water.
###########################
I did notice that she has what looks like a little blister on her tongue, and she appears to be cutting a tooth. She's also tugging at one ear (one of her common allergy symptoms--she does this all the time but has never actually had an ear infection). She's wanting to be held and cuddled a lot, rubbing my hand or elbow and sucking on her lip.
I don't know whether she's on a nursing strike because of something like mouth pain, or if the taste of my milk has changed somehow (I haven't changed anything that I know of).
I've read that 14 months is a very common age for a nursing strike, because of the teething and the developmental stage, but that babies under 2 will usually start nursing again in a few days--supposedly it's quite unusual for babies under 18 months to truly self-wean.
According to popular breastfeeding site kellymom.com, "When babies abruptly stop nursing, it's a nursing strike - not weaning. Babies rarely wean on their own before 18-24 months, and self-weaning is almost never abrupt."
I suppose she could be just exerting her independence. Or maybe she is actually ready to wean. If she is really ready to wean, that's ok, but I want to make sure there isn't something else going on.
For the time being, I'm pumping to try to keep my milk supply up and offering her the opportunity to nurse every few hours. But I'm wondering if my offer of milk is counterproductive at this point, given her sudden and intense desire for complete autonomy.
I'm hoping pumping will keep the flow going enough that if she suddenly decides she wants to nurse as normal again in a few days, I'll still have some milk for her. I pumped 8 ounces in 20 minutes or so this morning, but have gotten very little milk since then.
Has anyone dealt with something similar to this? Any thoughts?
At this point, I'm not sure what to do other than wait it out. If she moves up to completely refusing to nurse and it lasts a week or so, I guess I'll just consider her weaned.
I must admit, the thought of being able to eat anything without worrying about her allergies is somewhat dazzling.
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Posted by purple_kangaroo at 9:29 PM[Permanent link]
2 Comments:
I tend to think that E's asserting her independence by choosing other options. I would let her do her own thing -- let her decide in her own time whether or not to continue to nurse or not.
Whatever you all decide together is what you should do. Don't feel pressured by any website or any one person. Baby E knows her own mind, and she's the best expert on HER and her wants/likes.
I tend to think that the lip sucking is her own way of getting the oral gratification part of nursing, and as long as it makes her happy, I wouldn't stress over it.
Like you said, it's intoxicating to think that one day soon, you may be able to eat without worrying about contaminated breastmilk!
Thanks, Klee. She seems much more content today, even without nursing, so I'm much less concerned about how it all works out now. I think it will be okay, either way.
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