# Nursing Strike in a 6 wk old!? Allergy? Reflux?



## LadyCatherine185 (Aug 12, 2008)

My DS is 6 weeks old, and for the last 2 weeks he has been on a sort of "nursing strike." And since he is EBF, this has been VERY difficult to deal with!! It is like a fight everytime he needs to eat.. He cries because he is hungry, then cries harder when I try to feed him, usually arching his back and clawing trying to get away from the boob. Usually if I hold him upright for a few minutes he will calm down, and I try to feed him again and he will maybe eat for a minute and begins the crying/clawing/arching again.. We repeat this a few times until he is finally full and/or exhausted and he falls asleep. The other night it was so bad he would not take the boob at all, and I ended up having to give him a bottle of EBM! It brings me to tears and I don't know what to do!!!! I feel like he is rejecting me, though I know I should not take it personal. I just want to know what is making my little man so unhappy! He has also been very needy these last couple weeks, more so than ever before.. crying almost everytime I put him down.. he used to be so easy-going.. so i know that SOMETHING is definitely wrong!

I have read on other's posts that it could be from gas, or reflux, or an allergy. He did have a very bad rash all over his face/scalp/shoulders/chest a few weeks ago, and I cut out dairy and that has since cleared up (it has been about 2 weeks since I cut out dairy). I read about possible silent reflux, because he does not spit up at all but he could still have the burning. Has anyone else had this problem?? What can I do to help calm him and get him to nurse?? If it is the 'silent reflux' what can I do to help that?? Could it be another allergy other than the dairy that may be just upsetting his stomach but not causing a rash?? His poops are normal BF baby poops. Should/could I take him to the Ped, would they be able to do any sort of tests or anything to find out what is upsetting/hurting him so much?

Thanks in advance for any helpful comments!

ETA: He WILL nurse fine if he is very sleepy, and we do co-sleep and he nurses much better during the night. However if I try to side-lie nurse during the day he still screams... UGH!


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## mytwogirls (Jan 3, 2008)

Oh mama. How frustrating. My girl was 11 months old when she went on a nursing strike, much older I know but I remember those feelings of frustration, anger, helplessness and sadness. Try going topless, nurse in a new position, like standing, nurse while he is sleepy or sleeping, try to co-sleep with him if possible, and try to avoid a bottle if you can. It is hard to avoid, I ended up with a bottle in the end because she would not take it any other way, was getting dehydrated so I gave in. Your little one is young and at least he is nursing some, mine refused to even latch so at least he is latching and trying to suck. It could be allergies. I might give the ped. a call? See what they have to say. Good luck mama and keep it up, don't take it personal, he is not rejecting YOU, just remember that. And if he is not nursing enough, remember to pump every 2 hours to keep the supply up as well. Keep us updated!


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## kalamos23 (Apr 11, 2008)

Have you tired cutting out soy as well? Many dairy intolerant babies are also intolerant of soy - mine is.

ETA: DD's poops never looked really off either, but she was a much different baby once I cut out dairy, soy and later eggs and tomatoes. She would act like your DS and also screamed for 6 hours every night when we tried to get her to go to sleep until she fell asleep exhausted. It was around 6 weeks that she started this behavior - she was fine upuntil then.


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## maeby (Nov 4, 2007)

we went through something very similar when ds was 6 weeks. i think it was that he was finally waking up to the world and didn't want to be curled up into my body. he would arch his back and fuss everytime i put him to my breast. now i have to put him to sleep/calm him down with the pacifier before we nurse. he nurses very well asleep. i think the issue was also that i had a fast let down that would overwhelm him and when he sleep nurses he can regulate the flow better. i usually give him the pacifier now for about 15 minutes, when he drops it from his mouth he starts rooting and then he will nurse for 30+minutes. it also helped to nurse him side lying. also, make sure not to hold the back of his head because it can cause him to arch his back or force him on the breast. when we went through this i read all the stuff about nursing strikes on kelly mom and it helped a lot. hope this helps! good luck!








also! i don't nurse him unless he asks for it. at first i would try and force it when i thought it was time and i would get so frustrated by being turned down. but now, i wait until he gets sleepy, pop in the paci and we are nursing before i know it. i miss my cuddly newborn but its good that the world is so interesting to him and he is too busy learning to be preoccupied with eating!


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## KristyDi (Jun 5, 2007)

Have you tried different positions to nurse in? If it's the reflux maybe a position that's a bit more upright would help. Maybe the football hold?








I'm so sorry you're having so much trouble.


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## LadyCatherine185 (Aug 12, 2008)

Thanks mamas for all your help! I have tried some of your suggestions.. different positions, nursing when he is sleepy, etc. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't..









I think I may try a TED, to see if this is all allergy related, seeing as how nothing else is seeming to consistantly work..

ETA: I think he may be allergic to tomatoes too.. I had spaggheti (sp?) for dinner last night, and he has a horrible eczema-looking rash on his arm this morning, and his face is starting to break out again as well!

Thanks again!


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## Llyra (Jan 16, 2005)

In your position, I'd probably discontinue the bottles until the problem is resolved. It's hard to do that, when you can see your baby is hungry and know the bottle will help. But that's the path of weaning, and your baby is too young for that! I would consider the possibility of a developing nipple confusion problem. Two of my three went through that, and the only way to resolve it is to stop giving bottles.


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## Mosaic (Jun 20, 2005)

Is he drooly? My DD did that whole routine at about 8 weeks, and it was _awful_... We thought it was nipple confusion because I had just gone back to work and she would take the bottle just fine. Then 2 teeth popped out at 3 months and we were golden after that! I had no clue my DD was teething already! But her behavior was just like your DS's!

I did figure out that she ate pretty well half-asleep, so I'd sneak in some dream feeds and try to feed her more when she was sleepy. That at least helped me feel better that she was getting something in her tummy.


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## samuelsmom (Nov 27, 2002)

It sounds a lot like it could be oversupply or a forceful letdown... Have you ever tried pumping before a feeding? Sometimes taking off the first letdown makes it easier for them to handle the flow. She might seem like she likes the bottle better because she's not getting so much all at once. Is dhe gaining weight well? Pooping and peeing well? Just a thought...


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## LadyCatherine185 (Aug 12, 2008)

Thanks mamas! It could def be the let-down.. it just seems like it has to be more because he really seems in pain/distress. We have had some good peaceful nursings today, so hopefully that is a good sign!!

I don't think it is nipple confusion, he has had *maybe* 5 bottles total and they've been really spread out so I dont think that's the issue. I did give him that one night because he was clearly hungry and NOT taking the boob.

He is gaining WELL, and has lots of pees and poops.


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