Help -- sudden BF refusal at 11 and 3

[Arwyn's mom]

My DD is refusing her 11 am and 3 pm BFs. Sometimes, she will not take very much at her 7 am too. Why is she doing this?

She does have one BF during the night. But, I think sometimes it is for comfort rather than nutrition. What worries me is that she will not take any EBM either. She is not a bottle baby... won't take to it. She will drink out of a cup but I can't get more than 1 oz. into her.

This has been going on for a couple of days. I thought at first that it was teething... she was biting me for a few days prior to her refusing these feeds. Now, I am plain worried. Should I take her to the doctor? How much longer should I wait before doing this?

Also, today, she refused solids at 12 pm and 5 pm too. Do I have a full on hunger strike on my hands?

[FrasersMum]

Ankie, is her night sleep getting any better?  Perhaps illness?  Fraser always goes on a hunger strike when he is ill, it's a sure bet that if he goes off his food we need to get to the doctor.

I've got other tips too if you don't think it's illness (read: been there, done that, wearing the t-shirt!)

[Arwyn's mom]

Jo... her night sleep is getting better. She is only waking 2-3 times now. and has not been awake every 45 -1 hour for about 5 days now.

She is kind of on and off. Just after I posted, the very next day... yesterday?... yup... yesterday, she ate at every single meal, at least 2 oz. That is pretty much her usually intake and she didn't even want to fill up on Cheerios. She just was happy eating what I was feeding her.

BUT... very poor BFs still at 11 and 3. She pretty much only wants a sip and that's it. I am very concerned about her not getting enough milk... I have been told that it is supposed to be their primary source of nutrition until 12 months of age. I don't think this is the case lately.

Also... this not BFing is causing her to be constipated.  :roll: Just can't win.

I would be interested in any tricks you have though. I am waiting for her nursing necklace to get here. I have been using another necklace but it is not very exciting so... hopefully that will help.

BTW, I do have an appointment wiith the doctor on Wednesday just for a well-baby check-up. It is near impossible to get a friggin' doctor here in BC. There is a shortage of doctors and absolutely no openings with pediatricians. They only accept special needs children now... "normal" babies need to go with a regular GP.  :roll: Another headache I don't need.

Thanks, Jo... looking forward to trying some of your tricks... hopefully I don't have to wear the T-shirt :wink: .

[FrasersMum]

Hi Ankie

OK we are noticing that Fraser's 11 and 3 feeds are also not as good as they used to be.  We have an idea because on my work days he takes EBM in a bottle - they have dropped from about 220ml to about 180ml (that's 8oz down to 6oz).  When I breastfeed he is super quick at those two feeds, and is dreadful if there is distraction around.  I usually stay in the lounge at home but DH is not allowed to speak  :lol: I know others who go into a quiet, dark room.

Other ideas I know of/have tried:

Nurse immediately upon waking when Arwyn is still sleepy
Pat her bottom firmly and rythmically to give her something to focus on
Stand/walk while nursing (this always works a treat for Fraser)

Hopefully the nursing necklace may help.  In the meatime, could you offer water to ease the constipation?  Other things we did was mix EBM through Fraser's solids to increase the intake that way (I just mixed a little through everything - obviously cereal but also through veges etc)

Glad you have a doctor's appointment organised - it's good just to get her checked out. 

Does she feed when she wakes those 2 or 3 times?  I am still feeding Fraser most of his wakes (also 2 or 3) so when his daytime intake is down I'm not too concerned.  Although he is not taking much at night anyway, I think it's more of a comfort thing.

HTH
Jo

[Arwyn's mom]

Jo... we are trying the water, EBM, prune juice thing via bottle, sippy cup, cup, etc. It is not helping the constipation very much... she is still having little rabbit poos.

Arwyn was up every 2 hours last night and I offered the breast each time. At 5 am... I gave up, put her on my breast AND lay down with her. She then gave me until her normal 6:30 wake up.

I don't know what is causing this other than developmental stuff. She is able to walk around in her walker now quite well and is also able to pull up to standing on everything! Right now, she is zooming around in her walker in all directions. It is quite cute but I think it is causing her to wake. Sometimes when I go into her room, she has got herself stuck in the corner of her crib, or is sitting, or is turned completely in the opposite direction.

Anyhow... I'll see how today goes with the 11 and 3. I did notice though yesterday that I was very full at the 3 pm feed and within seconds, she had softened it... so, I wonder if she has become even more efficient at BFing than before and I am still expecting her to nurse longer??