Refused Bedtime Feed, Teething - Do I pump to Maintain?

[tstasko]

Hi,
My DD refused her bedtime bf for the first time ever.  It was such a shock.  She has NEVER refused a feed completely.  She's had just a tiny amount before like when she was ready to drop her 11am feed, but never just wouldn't take it... .
She did fine w/her AM and afternoon bf, and ate her solids pretty well, then after her bath and book we went into the nursery and she first bit me which was also a shock - she has only done that ONCE when she first got her bottom teeth a couple of month's ago!  I was surprised and yelped and she looked up very startled, I told her not to bite mommy that it hurts.  Did I scare her maybe??   Then she absolutely refused the breast!  I'm so shocked.  She was whiny, so I sat with her and she clung to me and hugged me (it was soooo sweet and kind of sad) and she is in the process of getting her 2 top teeth, plus I just got my period this morning - could it be a combination of all these things?
Should I pump tonight to keep my supply up?  Should I perhaps try a DF type deal to make sure she's gotten enough milk?  I did give her some Hylands teething tabs and a half a dose of motrin because she was crying. 
Any feedback would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Tari

[Erin M]

Personally I would pump just because your supply tends to be lowest at night anyway.  I wouldn't worry about a DF sort of thing, if she's truly hungry she'll wake at night anyway.  Hope she's feeling better (and like nursing again) tomorrow!

[tstasko]

Thanks Erin.
Yeah, I ended up pumping and then went to check in on her and she was standing up (she knows how to get down) and just seemed very restless.  Then about 15 min. later started screaming crying.  Tried to get her to take the breast again but she wouldn't but continued crying so I put the milk (only 2 oz) in a sippy for her and she drained it in about a minute.  Put her back down and she mantra'd for a little bit and I think she is out now.  So strange.  I really hope she is nursing tomorrow too this is kind of freaking me out.
Thanks again for your reply.
ts

[Erin M]

Could definitely be teeth if she'd take it from the sippy and not from you.  If you use any sort of pain relief for her for teeth (medicinal or nonmedicinal -- even something as simple as chewing on a semi-frozen washcloth -- always Katie's favorite) it might be worth trying to do it right before she nurses so she's not in as much pain.  In the meantime I'd definitely keep pumping as I totally lost my supply around 10.5 months when Katie and I were both sick and she wasn't nursing for a few days and I didn't have my pump with me. 

[jbepko]

Depending on her personality- your yelp might have scared her a little. So I would do lots of hugs/kisses/cuddles tomorrow. Some LO's also go through a nursing strike with teething. Here's some tips- http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/baby/back-to-breast.html. I wouldn't get too concerned about one missed nursing especially with everything that happened in one day! I would just be flexible tomorrow in case she is still out of sorts. 

[tstasko]

thanks - that link is great. 
i definitely think my reaction scared her.  thank goodness this morning she did nurse again - not as much or long as usual, but every couple of minutes she would pull off and look at me and clap!!   it was so funny.  so hopefully her other 2 bfs go smoothly. 
'm just so NOT ready to stop nursing!!!
thanks again!
 

[Erin M]

Yay!  Glad to hear it