# my 5 month old doesn't want to nurse during the day!



## hkrose (Mar 21, 2003)

I have been exclusively bf my daughter since she was born. It takes a long time for my milk to let down and she now gets very impatient. She hasn't had any solids yet nor does she get a bottle. She has recently stopped wanting to nurse during the day- with the exception of her nursing before naptime. I know she has to be hungry becuase she isn't nursing frequently or eating anything else







: But I will let her go a few hours and then try to feed her and she will arch away, or latch on and off, and not really want to eat. (she doesn't seem upset though mostly just not interested) She does fine nursing at night and in the morning. Is this normal?

Am I wrong in trying to "force" her to nurse? Is it ok to just wait like 4 hours or more and see if she'll eat on her own? I don't want to start her on solids early but it just seems like she'd prefer food at her 12ish and 5ish nursings? (those are the times when it is a real struggle to get her to eat)

Any ideas?

Thanks


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## myrrhmaid (Aug 20, 2002)

I'm going through this with my 6 mo. old dd right now. She isn't interested in nursing much during the day but is nursing what seems like every 1/2 hour at night. (i haven't actually looked at the clock to time inbetween, but that's what it feels like). She is so interested in everything around her and the activities of the day. I'm thinking she is just distracted during the day with all the newness of the world about her.
I think it is good for you to offer her the breast during the day, but I'm not sure if it's even possible to 'force' a child to bf. If she doesn't want it that's o.k., maybe just offer it a little more often. I have began to tell her little stories, talking to her softly to captivate her attention when i am nursing during the day. I love the little milky mouth smiles she gives me when shes 1/2 latched and listening to me.
Have you considered having a glass of wine or a beer to help your letdown?
Probably there will be other moms that know more about it than I do.


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## Momtwice (Nov 21, 2001)

It may sound odd, but I would try nursing more often. If she has gone several hours without nursing she may be too tired (low blood sugar) or fussy to eat. (Although you say she's not fussy....)

Or maybe she nurses so much at night that she really doesn't need to nurse in the day. It is possible.

You might try taking a bath with her or taking a nap together (with shirt open or topless) in order to encourage her to nurse while relaxed or sleepy. This might also help your letdown since body contact with your baby can help your letdown, and also your sleeping helps your letdown (while a nursing mom is sleeping she often makes more milk; it's hormonal and also has to do with being relaxed I feel.)

But some babies do this , "reverse cycle nursing" where they nurse more at night. I wonder if there is anything about that phrase on the web or at the great bf website
http://www.kellymom.com

You can also look there for "nursing strike."

But if it's the "schedule" she wants and she is healthy thriving has wet diapers etc., it may be just fine (as long as she's not a newborn that is!)

As for solids, some babies can handle them that early, but many 5 months olds cannot handle them yet and are at risk for allergies, rashes, asthma etc. if they are not ready for solids....and adding solids will only make her nurse LESS.
(You can look up solid food at Kellymom also.)










Kellymom, how do I love thee, let me count the ways!


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## IslandMamma (Jun 12, 2003)

Just wanted to say that I'm in a similar situation-- in fact, I'm about to start a thread that's related to this, but different (DS will only nurse during the day, in a dark room, laying down...)

Anyway, DS is 6 months in 3 days, and barely nurses during the day... at least, compared to what he used to do. Used to be every 11/2 to 2 hours, tops... now sometimes he goes 4- hours, and I'm feeling frantic, and he's fussy, but just won't nurse. I'm offering the breast damn near constantly, but to no avail... he just arches away

He's not nursing as much at night as he used to, either.. baybe every 3 hours or so. I'm getting worried.


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## hkrose (Mar 21, 2003)

well she nursed very enthusiastically all day today. maybe it was just all the stimulation from thanksgiving and seeing so many people? I don't know! It is tough for me when she refuses to nurse during the day though, because she is night weaned. so if she isn't nursing during the day-- she isn't nursing! She night weaned herself, so I guess she just is an independent little lady. I imagine that when I start solids she will want to nurse even less? I probably won't give her anything until early January.

IslandMamma- sounds like a similar issue as mine. Maybe they are just overstimulated during the day? Anyway, hoping the phase passes!

Also, my cutie pie learned how to say "Mom" today


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## bilbo333 (Aug 13, 2003)

I posted on Islandmama's thread, but I'll repeat here. I use a nursing necklace to keep my dd (6 mo next wk) interest. I only use the necklace during nursing, so she isn't getting bored with them at other times during the day (I have 3 now to rotate). I got mine from lorisnursingnecklaces.


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## myrrhmaid (Aug 20, 2002)

hkrose, I'm glad your baby girl is eating better now! What a relief, huh? That's so neat that she said MOM today! YIPEE! That is so gratifying.
I think Neva's dificulties are from teething. She had a little fever and was restless all day. She felt a little better after some hylands teething tablets but her face was flushed and she slept a lot more than usual. Babe's change so fast it's hard to keep up! Just as I get use to one routine we are off into another!


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## hkrose (Mar 21, 2003)

myrhhmaid, have you checked out teething necklances for your baby's teething? I have one for my daughter and it works great. I got it at greenbaby.com. It is a necklace made of amber- when it sits next to baby's skin the amber naturally relieves the symptoms of teething. I see that you are a no-vaxer, and thought you might be interested in a non-medical route to teething relief


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## Colorado (Dec 4, 2003)

Hello,
This is the first time I have used this forum but the subject caught my eye enough to convince me to register. My daughter and I recently went through a very similar situation, she wanted to nurse primarily during the night and would arch away when trying to nurse during the day. One weekend we went camping and she was so fascinated with everything around her that she hardly ate all weekend long. She was happy though and I thought well she will nurse when she needs to... Then on the way home she cried in her carseat, when we stopped to nurse she arched away. Luckily there was a little rustic restaurant near by and we stopped in there to try to nurse in a quieter environment. She did not want to nurse but she was clearly hungry. I was worried and trying all the tricks I knew to get her to latch on. But as someone mentioned you can not force a nyone to eat. So my husband suggested we try some food. The owners of the restaurant came out and made some applesauce which she gobbled up like you would not believe. I was a wreck feeling that I had been replaced by applesauce and that this was the beginning of the end. I could not have been more wrong. Our daughter was telling us that she was hungry for other food than just breastmilk. Once we finally listened to her clues, she happily went back to nursing. After this experience we continued feeding her solids periodically and she completely stopped arching away from the breast and is a better nurser now than before!! My instinct tells me that this time is difficult because it is the beginning of the transition from having breast milk as the only source of nutrition into a time when they are experimenting with food for the first time. I believe they will hold on to the nursing because what my daughter taught me is that she loves it just as much as I do. Now, I hope we have several years more to nurse together. I hope this is helpful.


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