11 week old rejecting breast

W

woodstock07

Registered User
My 11-week old baby has refused to nurse the last 2 days. He is on 100% breast milk since week 3 and usually feeds 50% on the breast and 50% on EBM using the bottle. I haven't made any change to our daily routines nor ate anything out of the norm.

I'm going back to work in 2 weeks and will definitely have fewer and fewer opportunities to nurse and it saddens me that he doesn't want to nurse in the final days before I return to work. Any advice will be appreciated.
 
Could he be teething? Some babies do get their teeth very early. Also, check to see if he might also have an ulcer in his mouth or may be coming down with a cold. Just keeping putting him back at the breast. Don't give up!
 
And for your bottles maybe you can use the newborn or 1 month + nipple to make it more difficult for him to suck, therefore not making it more attractive than your breast.
 
Hi woodstock, I'd agree that it may be a nursing strike like the previous poster's mentioned, alternatively it could be that your baby is mentally so much more active and is so eager to take in everything that nursing seems to be less interesting. I read in Baby Love that three months or so is the 'age of distraction' for babies. I experienced something slightly less drastic with my baby boy starting from about ten to eleven weeks. He'd nurse for a couple of minutes and then pull off and turn his head to face the opposite direction! This happened at every feed, I was frustrated to no end that he was more interested at looking at the curtains than feeding! This continued for sometime, but as the other poster says, persist and don't give up. It will pass ! I picked my baby up n fed him whenever I could especially when he was sleepy. He did it for a few weeks n is better now, just much more efficient at nursing than before.
 
Thanks for all your replies. He's still rejecting my breast today and also extra fussy with the bottle (lots of wriggling).

Like some of you suggested, he may be teething. I saw a teeny tiny white bit on the inside of the lower gum. Is that teething? I ran my fingers over it and it felt hard.

I'll continue to offer my breast at each feed and see if the strike continues.
 
Hi,

It does sound like a nursing strike. Especially as you mention he is much more fussy then usual.

You may be interested in the LLLI article My Baby Is Suddenly Refusing to Nurse. Does That Mean It's Time to Wean? at LLLI | FAQ on Nursing Strikes

There are also a number of stories from different mothers with nursing strike experiences taken from New Beginnings, LLL's publication for mothers, at LLLI | Nursing Strikes

Good luck with this situation,
SARAH
 
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