My daughter favored the right side from birth but at 2 months old she outright refused to nurse on that side. She would not get into position and when even held on that side would scream and scream. I took her to her pediatrician to make sure she did not have an ear infection and was not in pain. The exam turned up nothing so I contacted my Lactation Consultant. She suggested many things and said that she may have been startled while nursing on that side one day or that she may be going through a partial nursing strike. Her suggestions were:
Nurse in the bath
Nursing lying down
Nurse in the football hold
Place her naked on by bare chest with her mouth above my right nipple so that she could find it on her own.
Praise her when she latches on
Nurse while walking and bouncing
Offer that brest first when she is just becoming hungry not when she's really upset and hungry.
She also informed me that I didn't need to pump that side because my left side would compensate. She also said she would be fully satisfied by just one breast.
After three months I was seeing a natural doctor for a second opinion on something unrelated and brought up the fact tha she was not nursing on the right side. He recomended that I go to a ciropractor in the practice that specialized in infants and children. I did so and she assured me that my daughter would not be recieving any sort of painful adjustment and she would only poke her. It turned out that she had tightening on her right side near her ribs which caused her pain when layed on that side. She now nurses on the right side after just 2 visits and only have one more visit until we're done. At the appointments she faces me and plays so that she isn't scared (she has seperation anxiety) and she never notices the poking it's so gental. This tightening can be caused by their position in utero or a long hard birth.
If this sounds like your infant please see a chiropractor it was the best move I made!
Alison - posted on 03/05/2009 ( 11 moms have responded )
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I've tried everything under the sun for my son's nursing strikes... It feels like that anyway. We've been having this problem off and on since the very end of January now. And I'm just assuming it is a nursing strike...I've made previous posts on here about this and most everyone seemed to come to that consensus. This is sorta my last stab for help before talking to the pediatrician at his four-month appointment on Tuesday and taking her advice-whatever it may be.
Here's his stats:
* My son will be 4 months old on the 9th.
* Very healthy weight gain at every checkup.
* Totally average in weight and height at his 2 month appointment.
* Has been breastfed since birth and didn't start having problems until end of January.
* Incredibly fussy and wiggly...kicks his legs, pulls on and off my breast, sometimes will cry.
* Doesn't want to stay latched on anymore.
* Still looks incredibly healthy and acts happy except for when I try to nurse him.
* Not dehydrated.
These are the sources I've looked at:
* La Leche League website
* Breastfeeding.com
* Kellymom.com
* AAP's book, "New Mother's Guide to Breastfeeding"
* "Bestfeeding: How to Breastfeed Your Baby" by Mary Renfrew, et. al.
After researching these websites and books, this is what I've found:
* I'm NOT filling him up on solids because he hasn't started solids OR rice cereal yet.
* He's not being bombarded by the bottle...he gets one pumped bottle a day in the evening from his Dad.
* I nurse frequently, every 2 hours, offering even if he isn't interested.
* I never wait until he demands to be nursed except for in the middle of the night (this was suggested by my pediatrician because he'd gained weight beautifully). Even then, he'll usually wake up every 3 hours and I am a light sleeper and will have him nursing before he can start crying to be fed.
* He has never been sick.
* I have not lost weight rapidly to effect milk supply.
* I am not taking medication/herbs that would effect milk supply.
* My son is not distractable...I nurse him in our bedroom where it is dim, quiet, no TV or radio.
* My son only likes to be nursed in the side-lying position...sitting in other positions only makes his squirming worse.
* I don't have an overly fast let-down (he's not choking and I'm not spurting) and my letdown doesn't seem too slow...he'll get fussy no matter the speed of the letdown.
* I've been drinking LOTS of water and eating LOTS of oatmeal just to boost my milk supply if that IS the case.
* I am choosing not to do fenugreek because it hasn't been evaluated by the FDA and I want to make sure anything I take won't have any negative side effects on my son.
* I've tried singing, talking, etc. during our nursing in case that would calm him.
* I always am in close contact with him...baby wearing, skin-to-skin contact, warm baths, etc. We do not share a bed because my husband is a sound sleeper, but he is in our room in his crib three feet away from me.
* I haven't changed my deoderant, soap, shampoo, etc.
* I haven't been pushing for weaning...I was planning on breastfeeding until 6 months.
* I'm a stay-at-home mother so the only stress I've had aside from normal adjustment to having a baby is just over these feeding issues.
Anyway.....none of this is adding up. I feel so frustrated...just want to know if there is anything I can do.
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