7 month old nursing strike & losing supply

[fireant]

Hi!

My 7 month old DD refuses to nurse and screams and twists her body when I try to turn her in towards me. She has been refusing for about a month. So I pump for her.

I work out of the home and my DH is home all day with her. I have to work and I cannot be home with her during the day.

She is a preemie and I wasn't able to nurse her for her first 2 months.

When I pump I am not getting as much as I was before and I've dropped a cup size.

I am really worried about losing my milk.

Does anyone have any suggestions for having her enjoy nursing again?

[alegna]

To get her to nurse you will have to eliminate bottles when you are with her.

-Angela

[pazerific]

aww mama! my heart goes out to you! yesterday was 2 months to the day that dd went on strike. it's so very hard and devistating! have you tried different positions, in the tub, while DC is sleeping? how about with a nipple shield? what about when there's already a letdown going? i'm just throwing some of the suggestions given to me out there...you've probably tried them all already if you're a month into this totally crappy thing.

what kind of pump are you using? i started pumping 10min on, 10min off, and 10 on again, and it's really helped to increase my supply! also mother's milk tea and lots of water helps me to bump up my supply. i have to do breast compressions once my milk stops squirting on its own, and that also helps to make sure i'm all the way empty. another thing that helps me is to eat lots of soup, and beet soup in particular (let me know if you would like the recipee). i think it's just the extra liquid intake, although a lot of the common soup veggies are supposed to be lactogenic. hope we can get this figured out with you!

[CathMac]

Try Kellymom.com. http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/...to-breast.html

Some of the tips for coaxing the baby back involve trying when baby isn't hungry perhaps even when they are tired and using "instant reward" techniques. They even suggest "re-birthing", nursing in a tub. Of course you would want to have someone with you if you try that, especially if you are tired. I know it sounds kind of wacky but I remember reading about a woman whose husband forced her to wean her 3 month old and she was really sad about it. Sometime later when taking a bath with her daughter the baby playfully latched on and, if I remember correctly, she was eventually able to resume nursing her.

"Rebirthing
Another technique used to get babies to accept the breast is known as rebirthing. Rebirthing can be very helpful for preemies (or any baby who spends time in the NICU), even if nursing is going fine. Mom gets into the bathtub, full of warm (not hot) water with baby. Place baby on mom's tummy, in the water. Stroke baby, talk to baby. This may take time, but baby may begin to work his way up to the breast, search it out, and begin to suckle. It's important to have a support person with mom when doing this, for the safety of the baby. See Rebirthing: Help for Latch-on Problems for more information.

Unfortunately the link noted at the end of the re-birthing section is no longer working but if I remember correctly it didn't give that much more info.

Good luck.
~Cath