Help...baby no longer interested in nursing at 7 1/2 months

[colorado52]

My little one is 7 1/2 months old and has breastfed up to this time like a champion. Within the last 2 weeks, I have tried to give him 1-2 bottles a day to lighten the load and let my husband do some of the feeding. Now, the only time my little one will take the breast is at the 7:00 am feeding. If I try to encourage hime to eat of the breast it only makes things worse. It is to the point where he arches his back in my arms when I try to hold him or rock him. I know I have caused this- my guess is because my let down is slowing, the bottle is easier to get milk from, and I have tried to "force" him to feed, and in my heart I am worried that if I follow his cues that he doesn't want to eat he won't get enough food as he is on the skinny side already. To make things worse, last night he clamped down on my breast and I pulled him off and yelled "ouch!" like the books recommend to avoid biting. I have tried to go to a quiet room and feed...he is just interested in everything butHe sobbed, now he won't take the breast at the DF either. How do I dig out of this mess? I don't want breastfeeding to end like this...any thoughts?

[momtoelise]

I don't have much advice - just wanted to say I understand where you're at...  I actually just wrote a similar post!  I totally understand not wanting to end this way, like you said!   

My only suggestion, if the problems are because he's gotten used to the bottle & prefers it, is to switch to a slow flow nipple so he still has to work for the milk in the bottle.  If that doesn't help, maybe even try a couple days without the bottle & then slowly work back into it.  As far as the df goes, maybe it's time to eliminate it?  My dd stopped taking it about a month ago & it's gone well.  Good luck!!

[GraceKellysmom]

This is actually really common, and yes you can get back to nursing. When I went through it with ds, a friend on the boards was going through it too - very common for 7-9 month olds to do this. The biting was "I don't want to nurse". And yep, the bottles may have encouraged it, but it probably would have happened anyway.

Best way to get through this is to nix the bottles temporarily. Only nurse. Offer solids like usual, but not more quantity then usual. Offer to nurse at all the regular times. Try to make it in a quiet place, alone, relaxed. No pressure. Offer several times, snuggle before and after if he will. Here are some other good tips for nursing strikes:

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/baby/back-to-breast.html

Kellymom.com is a great resource for breastfeeding related issues! I've tried so many of the suggestions with my babies. My ds (who gave me the nursing strike at 8 months) nursed to 16 months. So no, you don't need to end here. Merely a bump in the road.