Infants sometimes refuse nursing, causing parental worry

“First off I have to say I’m so mad at myself for ever stopping bottle use.. I was triple feeding in the beginning and so hell bent on getting her efficient enough to only breastfeed that once she could I completely ditched the bottle.. I regret it so much because now I can’t get her to take a bottle at all! I’d like some tips here if you have it.. I have tried: Warmer milk than usual Warm bottle nipple Cold milk Fast flow Slow flow Sippy cup Straw cup Swapping bottle out during breastfeeding Sle”

“Has anyone been in this situation? Doctor seems to be concerned only about wet diapers which my LO has but he’s not keeping anything inside except breastmilk when I nurse him. He’s super hungry but pediatrician recommended to not give solids or larger quantities of milk. If he drinks larger quantities , sure he is puking, but otherwise he’s not satiated with smaller quantities. I am really at a loss here - has anyone faced anything like this? submitted by /u/Killer_queen2020 [link] &”

“My baby is breastfed when she’s with me but the last 2 nights at the babysitter is refusing bottles of breastmilk. I’m a single Mom and absolutely have to work to support us. She’s using the Dr. Browns bottles right now. I’m wondering if we need to change bottles or something? Please help!!! submitted by /u/One_Complex796 [link] [comments]”

“My baby will be 3 months next week. He latched onto me very easily from the beginning. I always said I did not want to breastfeed, just pump and give my milk in bottles but once he latched at the hospital (it was easier to latch him than give him my pumped colostrum) I loved it so much! It was a bond I felt instantly. However, I was always worried he would not get enough milk and I knew I was going back to work 2 months PP so I mainly gave bottles and he would breastfeed in between for comfort o”

“My baby doesn’t have flared lips, his head is somewhat tilted down/forward but he sucks for about 15 minutes and it doesn’t hurt. He doesn’t fuss. As long as he’s comfortable and I’m comfortable, does the rest really matter? I can’t be sure he’s getting any milk but if he isn’t fussing, I’d assume he is. I also pump and give him bottles but I try to breastfeed 1-2 times a day. submitted by /u/Belugawebkinz [link] [comments]”

“Until last week, my baby would do a meal at the boob once a day and then would comfort nurse whenever needed. It used to be an awesome tool in the arsenal to use when she was fussy or to feed if we were out and about and didn't have enough milk in the bottle. I always wanted to move more towards nursing vs pumping and bottles, but her latch has always been off and on with how good it is, though more on in the last few weeks. She's a preemie though 14w now and had a tongue tie that was ta”

“I just found out I’m about 4 weeks pregnant today and this last week I feel like nursing my 10month old has been a TRIP. He’s been extra fussy this week and the last 2 days has either bit me or tried biting me multiple times which is very abnormal for him. I’m wondering if it’s 10months developmental stuff / teething / pregnancy related / all of the above. My goal was to make it to 12 months of nursing but I’m not sure I’ll get there now.. I don’t have much of a freezer stash and not sure how mu”

“Baby is almost 4 weeks this week and he is my third. He is a very fussy baby and will latch sometimes and eat well, and other times struggles and screams and fusses when i try to latch him. He acts so hungry after nursing from me so i pump bottles throughout the day or I use the haka on the other side to collect an extra oz to give. He takes the bottle just fine. I haven’t seen a IBLC yet but I was told he does have a slight tongue tie by his ped. Would it help to get that fixed? I just feel lik”

“I have recently decided to start combo feeding and eventually hope to switch to just breastmilk if my supply allows, my LO is 1 month on Sunday and has breastfed in the hospital when he was born and then has been on formula since. The last two days I have started to latch him and he will latch really well but he seems to give up within 30 seconds of sucking when milk doesn’t appear instantly. I think this is because he’s use to the bottles and the milk dribbles out right away from them. Any advi”

“Hi, FTM to 10w old LO. She is EBF. I have been very lucky in my breastfeeding journey so far as have had very few issues (except 1x bout of mastitis in Lt breast at 3 weeks and some difficulty with marathon nursing sessions up until around 7 weeks). She is roughly 90th percentile now, weighing approx 6.5kg (if not more), and has been consistently putting on roughly 0.4kg every 10 days (sometimes more). She’s been in 3-6m clothes since 7 weeks. No issues with weight gain or wet or dirty nappies.”

“For some reason, my 5 week old is refusing to latch on both breasts. Some background; she was bottle-fed from week one up to 4 weeks then I started to exclusively breastfeed. I was having trouble with coming to terms that I won’t be able to know how much she’s getting per feed, so I booked an appt with a lactation consultant. The appt was today, and I was told that I was doing great, and baby was transferring milk well. She’s not getting the 3oz she was getting from the bottle but she got around”

“My 3 week old will fuss and suck his fists and root around my breast and trying to line up an open mouth at the right spot and guide him on is like trying to solve several equations at once. Even when he is in the right spot and I gently try to bring him on like the LC showed me, he'll hold his body up with his elbows. When he finally latches he'll initially have a wide mouth but after a couple of sucks he'll bring his lips in around the nipple and it's so incredibly frustrating.”

“Hi. Like the title says, my LO(currently almost 16 weeks) has been on a breastfeeding strike for about 2 months. It started with unlatching and fussiness after a few minutes and quickly progressed into refusal when awake. I have tried everything. Baths, dark room, different positions, nipple shields, etc. nothing has worked. was able to feed him right out of a nap for a long time but now that isn’t even working. He still feeds fine during middle of night feeds but this is stressing me out so muc”

“Hi all, FTM here. My baby (f, almost 8 weeks, combo-fed) has started latching irregularly - she'll happily latch on and feed in the early mornings and periodically throughout the day (sometimes dozing off and sleeping on me after nursing a while), but these past few days, she'll suddenly go from happy to screaming and refuse to latch, only taking a bottle to calm down. Sometimes my husband and I can give her a bottle for a second and move her over to me once she's eaten a little, but”

“My girl is 3 months and she is the SWEETEST except with eating. I feel like she’s getting fussier and more and more impatient as she gets older. At least half of our feeds are her crying or screaming and popping in and off so much it’s making my nipples sore. She gets mad when my let down is too slow then she pulls off after I let down cuz it’s too fast. Then she’ll eat fast and then be looking around disinterested even though I don’t think she’s had a full feed, so then she’s hungry an hour lat”

“My baby is 7 weeks old and exclusively breastfed, and I’m trying to understand a sudden change in his nursing and sleeping behavior. Until recently, he would nurse for around 20 minutes, then fall asleep at the breast. I could put him down in his bassinet and he would usually sleep for a few hours. Over the past week or so, things have changed completely. He now nurses for only about 3–5 minutes most of the time, but he seems very effective during those few minutes. I can hear him swallowing and”

“To preface this post, I have an appointment with an LC tomorrow, so I will hopefully get help. I am curious of others’ experience with latching issues. My baby is almost a month old. About a week ago, feedings became slightly uncomfortable. Not painful, but definitely overstimulating on my nipples. This is due to the fact that, for some reason, she seems to have a preference for the nipple. Even if the latch is nice and deep at first, she eventually just goes to fluttersucking. I miss when she w”

““Obsession” is an understatement. He will nurse for hours. He’ll sit up and look around from time to time, or play for a couple minutes, but then he’s scaling the recliner and pulling up my shirt. Non. Stop. He’ll scream and cry to nurse. And “nurse” isn’t even the right word probably since there’s no milk left after the first half hour. But he still nurses. It’s been this way for a little over a week. He eats plenty of solids. He’s a bottomless pit when it comes to solids, actually. He LOVES to”

“My 3 month old has a sloppy latch during my letdown. Idk how else to explain it. She goes from having a good latch to just not being able to grasp the nipple properly. Is there any way to correct this? It started a few weeks ago. She is 5 weeks post tie release and has been doing pretty well overall, it’s just the initial letdown that she seems to struggle with. I usually latch her again to try to get a deeper one but that doesn’t typically help. submitted by /u/Natural-Hour1467 [lin”

“Sudden Feeding Issues Baby was born early at 35 weeks. She is 18 weeks (13 weeks adjusted). Currently at a phase where whatever is in her hand goes near her mouth (still learning to put it inside her mouth). So she caught a viral from us and has been severely congested for over 3 weeks now. We checked with ER, pediatrician and currently they all say her lungs are ok and no ear infection. She has CMPA which led to change in formula at 9 weeks and after that she has been a happy and healthy child”

“Hi all, my 2.5 week old tends to have a painful latch. If I gently break it with my pinky, he won’t latch again. He’ll just lay there until I try to set him down. I’ve tried expressing some and rubbing it on his lips/nose, holding my nipple to his lips/nose, etc. I know he’s still hungry but IDK why he won’t re-latch. Any advice??? submitted by /u/BeLynLynSh [link] [comments]”

“Hi all, our baby girl is almost 2 weeks old and we’ve been struggling with breastfeeding. In the initial days we were giving formula and attempted breastfeeding. We would like to go off formula eventually, but it seems like baby is still not getting enough from breastfeeding. I nurse her several times over a 1.5h period and she’ll still be hungry and we end up giving her formula. She does seem to latch properly, but I have no idea if she’s actually drinking efficiently. I pumped for 30min last n”

“My newborn wants a nipple in his mouth 24/7 which is fine don't get me wrong. But I can't even burp him. The second I hold him in any way that is not on my boob he will have a crashout searching for nipple. Even if he is not hungry. He gets tummy aches but even then I can't lift him up or help him in any way because he immediately wants to get back to my Boobs. What do I do? 😭 submitted by /u/Schmeganovic [link] [comments]”

“I am sick and have now a cold sore, last time I BF was 3 days ago. I pump, and my mom takes care of my month old LO. I avoid my LO, wear a mask around and wash my hands, but I am so scared she might get my cold sore, that I would rather stop bf for now. I was EBF w the occasional night bottle w pumped milk/formula, but now I am worried she might just forget how to suck on my boob :/ what are the chances she rejects my boob in a week? Edit: typo submitted by /u/chanelism [link]”

“My LO is 3 months today (yay!) Over the last couple of days she has been fighting naps and sleep, HARD. I used to be able to nurse her to sleep but lately she’s been getting mad whenever I have a letdown because she’s already full from the bottle. I have been pumping right before nap time so she has an “empty” boob to nurse on to fall asleep, but this is getting exhausting. Last night I found a binky that she will actually take and we have been using that for nap time today. I guess I just wante”

“Hi all, just after some advice if anyone has been through similar? Apologies in advance for quite a long post, I guess I’m just organising my thoughts on this as I keep flip flopping between “she’s fine - she’s just the higher end of the ‘normal’ range” and “no, something isn’t quite right”, so massively appreciate anyone sticking it out until the end. UK based for context so relying on NHS, and UK products. Have paid for some private treatments but we don’t have an endless supply of cash to kee”

“My EBF 2 month old constantly unlatches during feeds. He doesn’t cry when he does, he just pops off and then opens his mouth looking for it again. I put him back on and he’s fine until it happens again. He does this every single feed multiple times, it’s quite inconvenient having to keep putting him back on. He also kicks his legs almost the entire time. I stop to burp him and he’ll burp but then do the same thing. I saw a lactation consultant and she said my milk flow is too fast for him, so th”

“My baby is about 11 weeks old, and I think we’ve hit the dreaded 3-month breastfeeding crisis. It started around 10 weeks with just one evening feed where he suddenly started getting fussy, pulling off, and refusing to nurse. I thought it was just a one-off. But it has gradually progressed, and now he refuses or struggles with most daytime feeds . The only feeds that consistently go well are overnight and the feeds right after a nap, when he’s still sleepy/drowsy. He otherwise seems happy and al”

“Has anyone else experienced a persistent shallow latch no matter the positioning? My little one is 8 weeks old and has always had difficulty latching on no matter what way I position or use props to support him. What makes it frustrating however is that once in a while he has amazing feeds where he latches perfectly and I haven't been able to recreate it. There's a constant clicking sound and he swallows a lot of wind each time which leads to pain. My lactation consultant told me to cont”

“My ebf baby will only nurse when super sleepy or asleep (dream feed). It’s been a few weeks now and I don’t know why. Has anyone else gone through this? I have tried all the tips and tricks but nothing seems to help. submitted by /u/Neither-Bat-1624 [link] [comments]”

“My baby was feeding really well up until 4 weeks where he suddenly started making a clicking during feeds, he also gets frantic at the breast, pops on and off, basically wrestles my boob, growls etc. He’s gaining a tonne of weight, around 300g per week. I definitely have plenty of milk and my right side literally sprays out so I have to take him off when I have a letdown as he chokes and coughs. He is VERY gassy and spits up a little after feeds. I keep him upright 20 mins after feeds. What coul”

“My baby is almost 12 weeks old. He is EBF. This week he has started being really distracted at the breast-sometimes not wanting to latch, or latching for like a minute then pulling away but cueing like he is hungry. This will happen for a bit then eventually I’ll get him to do a longer feed at some point. This pushes the intervals between his feeds from 2 hours to sometimes 2.5-3 hours because I’m not going to force him to drink if he doesn’t want it. Is this normal or something to be concerned”

“I really don’t like breast feeding, baby is now 3 weeks old and my nipples are small/ inverted too so it’s been hard to get a latch. being premature too she was given high calorie milk on the ward as soon as she was born. i’ve been pumping and feeding roughly 3 times a day and 3 times on the high calorie formula. i think my milk supply is reducing, can only pump up to 50ml at a time and now she’s starting to drink 65-75ml. I can’t pump enough to feed her. I’ve tried the soft plastic nipple shape”

“My LO is exclusively breastfed, and we have been practicing giving her the bottle since 3 months old. At 5 months old, she finally took the bottle and took one/two for 3 whole weeks!!!! BUUUUT she suddenly started refusing the bottle last week 😭 We were trying 75% formula and 25% breast milk before she suddenly started refusing (Started with 100% breast milk and slowly reduced the amount). She only takes refrigerated breast milk, hates frozen. As she took more formula, my breast milk was stored”

“Baby is 3 weeks 2 days. Baby started latching and unlatching constantly and rooting. Usually just on one side. Being too engorged has been a problem before but that isn’t the case now. She just started this yesterday. I don’t understand why she’s doing this as she’s been good about latching . I will take the baby off the boob when i think she’s done (not sucking anymore, fell asleep, unlatch herself) but not even 30 mins after she has her hands in her mouth constantly eating at them and usually”

“5w old baby has started fussing at the breast this week. At first I thought it was because of my strong letdown, but now he will do it later in feedings as well. I switch him to the other breast and this seems to fix it. I’m a little concerned it could be because he was relying on my fast letdown and once it slows down he doesn’t want to work as hard and fusses. We were seen by LC every week since he was born and his latch is good and he transfers milk well. He gets 1-2 bottles of pumped milk pe”

“i’m having some random issues with my baby fussing at the breast after the initial let down ends. She sucks and swallows great for the first 10 or 12 minutes on the first breast, and then she seems to get frustrated and start pulling off. I believe it’s because my flow has slowed down on that side, so I burp her and switch her to the other side. She typically again eats very well for the first 5 to 10 minutes on the other side, but then gets really frustrated and cries and pulls off over and ove”

“I’m in a bit of a predicament with my 12-week-old and things haven’t really been improving at all. He has literally never unlatched himself in his lifetime. When he was a newborn he would fall asleep on the boob all the time but that’s as close as we got to an unlatch. Now that he’s more awake and aware he basically does not unlatch ever. Feeding on demand for him would basically just mean walking around for 20 hours a day with him latched to me. I did see a LC who did a weighted feed and said e”

“My daughter has had nursing issues from the beginning. We tried it all, tongue tie release, body work, several lactation consultants and all their tips and the most I could do is get her to latch 2-3 times per day, usually after a nap or sleep. With work, I’m mostly pumping, but was still able to latch her once per day even if it was only a few minutes. Since starting solids, she wants to latch less and less. I’ve been getting like 30 seconds at most and she wouldn’t even latch the last 2 days.”

“I have a two month old who during every feed, gulps down for like 5 minutes and wants to take a break for like 20 minutes before feeding again. During the 20 minutes we play, like tummy time, board book reading, cooing at each other. Then she eats again until she's sleepy. Every baby is different but I thought most feed goes like - eat all at once, play until tired, sleep. I guess my baby wants to play first because of the burst of energy she gets from the initial feed. Does anyone else have”

“I have a nearly one year old coming up in three days, out of nowhere though he’s absolutely refused to nurse PERIOD for the last two days almost which is very unlike him, he just wants to bite my nipple as soon as he tries to “latch”. Most of the time he goes full banana and arches his back and cries. He currently has a cold so I chalked it up to maybe ear pain or sore gums from sinus pressure (we just went to his Pedi, who gave us some treatment for his nebulizer and some allergy meds to help s”

“My LO is 16 months old and for the past few months has only nursed once a day. This past week, as soon as I try to nurse her, she would latch and then get very frustrated and start crying. She would then refuse to latch again, so here we are. I haven’t been getting a letdown the past few weeks so I’m wondering if she’s just now figured out that she’s not going to get any milk and gets really upset, but we’ve gone an entire week of no nursing and she’s fine. I honestly don’t know how to feel thou”

“Does skin to skin actually help to overcome nursing strike? My 15 weeks old baby completely refused to take breast for the past 3 weeks. I have tried everything (Nursing at night, nursing in different position, nipple shield, paced feedung) but no luck. The moment she sees my breast, she cries uncontrollably. I really wish she could feed atleast until 6 month but I am about to give up due the frustration on her and on me. One thing I haven't tried so far is skin to skin. I wonder if it realk”

“Does skin to skin actually help to overcome nursing strike? My 15 weeks old baby completely refused to take breast for the past 3 weeks. I have tried everything (Nursing at night, nursing in different position, nipple shield, paced feedung) but no luck. The moment she sees my breast, she cries uncontrollably. I really wish she could feed atleast until 6 month but I am about to give up due the frustration on her and on me. One thing I haven't tried so far is skin to skin. I wonder if it realk”

“As the title says it seems my 20 week old may be on a nursing strike. Up until now, we have had zero issues breastfeeding and she's always eaten like a champ. We do one bottle a day usually, and had switched to medium flow nipples months back because she had been getting frustrated with the slow flow. So about 3 days ago now, our nanny gave her a bottle and mentioned how fast she drank it. Turns out the nanny was not pace feeding like we had asked. Then when I tried doing her last nursing se”

“Seven months in and my baby no longer cozily falls asleep while nursing. Nursing has become an endurance sport. Standing, kicking, Downward Dog, headstands, slapping me, tiny kitten razor nails, weirdly sharp toothless gums... I miss nursing when it was this sweet, cozy thing that we shared instead of a cage match. For parents of older babies and toddlers who also experienced this, did it ever go back to the old way for you? 😭 submitted by /u/aelfscinu [link] [comments]”

“My newborn was latching and feeding great the first few days. Then she started looking jaundice and was barely feeding 5 minutes each breast because she was so sleepy. Jaundice was high so doctors recommended double feeding with breast then formula. After a couple days she is quickly improving but has been refusing the breast more and more. She will take a bottle of breast milk or formula without issue but pushes me away and seems so uncomfortable to nurse. I pump when she doesn’t nurse and I am”

“Not sure if there is a solution for this, but boy oh boy, this is driving me mad. So only side nursing work for my baby, because and no matter how hungry/tired baby is, he won't last more than 5 second nursing before he rolls onto his belly and tries to crawl away. While fully and strongly latched onto the nipple. This hurts like crazy and he gets so frustrated once he notices that he cannot snack on the go. This has been going on for a month and doesn't look like it will stop any time s”

“My daughter is currently 11 months old and has always had issues with eating. Whether it be the bottle or solids she’s always acting like eating is something that’s being inflicted upon her. Not something she enjoys. We recently started speech therapy with someone who specializes in eating and it’s been helping. She never used to put food in her own mouth but now she’ll put a cookie or cracker in her own mouth. Progress is slow and the volume is just not there. She’ll eat maybe one bite and she”

“My 7 week old has had zero issues latching or feeding her whole life, our only issue before was extended cluster feeding which I posted about here before. The last week or so however she has started refusing to nurse in the evenings from about 5-10 pm. All day we nurse just fine but at night she fights me, pulls off, cries with the nipple in her mouth. She is showing me all her normal hunger cues and is crying wanting to eat. I offer repeatedly, have tried different positions, switch breasts, ma”

“My baby just started latching after 3 weeks and I am triple feeding but looking to transition to just breast. After sucking on both breasts for over 30 mins each, she still wailing for food. She seems to be latching well but she only ever flutter sucks and never transitions to the longer sucks. I've never seen the suck swallow breathe pattern with her. Is there any way to encourage the proper pattern? submitted by /u/rachiem10 [link] [comments]”

“My 11 week old is going through a nursing strike, I think. My supply regulated, previously a moderate over supplier, he's been refusing to nurse awake and it's freaking me out. We had a rough bf journey so far, he had jaundice and my milk took a while to come in so I was triple feeding him for a few weeks and he also had a tongue tie release at 4 weeks old. My oversupply also caused him a lot of distress and I did every trick in the book to get him latched. Things were finally starting t”

“My baby is now 3 weeks old and she has a good latch when she’s eating despite having a lip tie, but my issue is when we start the nursing session, she refuses to open her mouth wide even when I do the nipple to nose and lips trick nothing works, she insists on sucking my nipple into her mouth like a straw then she fixes her latch. It is extremely painful and I have no clue how to solve this 😭 submitted by /u/Lemon1Drop1 [link] [comments]”

“Am i giving my baby the boob too much ? First time mom and she will be 3 weeks old tomorrow for context. Anytime she’s whining, unless she just ate a few minutes prior, i give her the boob. She calms down and will go to sleep after usually or will just chill for a while. Scared I’m over feeding her something. Is too much boob even a thing ? submitted by /u/Old-Kitchen-5377 [link] [comments]”

“Is there a way for me to be less over stimulated while breast feeding my one month year old? It seems like we have a 3 day period every now and again where he is constantly kicking his feet, flailing his arms and then getting on the nipple, pulling away 3 seconds later just to cry to get back on. Repeat this cycle for hours and make me lose my absolute f***ing mind. Eat or don’t but damn I need him to get it together, I know im asking a lot from a baby while I barely have ad a REM cycle since gi”

“My baby is 11 weeks old. She’s generally easy going, gets fussy during the day when she’s hungry, tired, or has a dirty diaper but calms down as soon as the need is met. Lots of smiles, cooing, etc. Happy spending time playing and sleeping with both me and her dad. But every night for the last week, she has about an hour of intense inconsolable crying before bed. I mean shaking, screaming, tears flowing, horrible horrible crying. She sounds like she terrified, in pain, and sad all at the same ti”

“It seems like all my 7mo wants to do from when I get home until she goes to bed is nurse (with a break in between for family dinner in her high chair). I try to play with her and she’ll be entertained for a minute then start headbutting my chest, clawing at my shirt, then fussing/crying to nurse again. I try to show her our garden, she’s doubling over trying to grab/headbutt my boob. My husband even gave her a bottle right before I got home today so she wouldn’t be hungry but she was still just”

“Hey all. My 3 month old within the last week has started refusing her bottle. Went to the DR and they said she was just being stubborn. Suggested a sensitive formula or probiotic drops but may not make a difference he said. Any thoughts or words of advice? She’s been on her same formula for over 2 months now. I’ve tried a faster flow nipple, different bottles etc. sometimes starts fussing before I even put the bottle to her lips. Thanks. submitted by /u/truecoconut_ [link] [com”

“Hi! My LO is 12 week today. She’s always been on breast milk but recently we switched from pumped breast milk to exclusively breast feeding (thank god) but the last 4 days she’s been very gassy, and pooping almost immediately after every feed. Her poop is also much less seedy and she hasn’t been sleeping great. I’m wondering if she developed an allergy or something?? Poop is “mucousy” but tbh it has always been and we have never had any issue. submitted by /u/Playful-Attorney-163 [li”