Baby Screams at the Sight of the Boob... WHY??

My third child did the same thing. My doc said that perhaps the milk was not coming fast enough for him and he was frustrated. He said I could either fight it out with him, or just give him a bottle, which I did.

Hi H.,

Sounds like a nursing strike...I'm so sorry this is happening to you! Know that you are not alone. This happened with my daughter right at 3 months as well. She had taken a very occasional bottle, but quit taking them ever and started screaming at the breast. It was so disheartening. My pedi and everyone else said she'd eat when she got hungry, but that didn't help me!!

A couple of questions...Has supply ever been an issue for you? I only ask since you say she took the bottle just fine. Honestly, I would try to avoid the bottle if possible to encourage nursing, if you are planning to BF for awhile yet. I saw in your other post that you suspect early teething. DEFINITELY a possibility. My daughter got her first tooth at five months, so looking back, I wonder if that was part of it. Could your daughter have an ear infection? It could be that she is having ear pain when she's in the nursing position and sucking.

To get my daughter to nurse, I would try nursing when she was still almost asleep to get her to latch before she thought about it too much. Other times, we'd walk around (I used a Brestfriend, and it was a LIFEsaver during this phase) since she seemed to nurse better when i did this. I'd swaddle her up tight and sometimes that would work. During this phase, we ended up dropping a feeding. I think that may have been part of it...I was thinking she'd eat more often, and she was kind of working out her little routine. She started taking longer naps and spreading out feedings a little more, and I just thought she wouldn't do that so early. But, she seemed more content when I didn't force the boob on her! LOL! Oh, also, she liked her paci, so sometimes I'd give her the paci and then try to switch her from that nipple to my breast...sometimes it worked and sometimes she was too smart for me! There were definitely days I wanted to quit, but since my daughter also wouldn't take a bottle, that wasn't an option...we just had to power through!

H., she was my first, and I think if this ever happens to me again, I will take the baby to a pedi to check for an ear infection.

I will tell you...it was a phase, and it passed!! I had surgery just after she turned 4 mos. and she HAD to take a bottle while I was under anesthesia. She screamed for Daddy for 2-3 hours and barely ate, slept for 3 hours, then woke up and ate voraciously from that bottle! She liked to hold it herself. :) Then, because of my scar, I really couldn't do the walking around to nurse thing, and she really started to quit the fussing so much. After that, she did have the occasional striking day or just a single striking feeding from time to time. But it was much better. And we are just now finishing the weaning process at almost 17 mos...so it really did get better.

There's a lot of info out there on nursing strikes, it could be that. Sorry this got long, but hopefully there's something in there that will click with you. I know when you are in the middle of a phase, it seems like it will never end. And then you get to the other side of it and realize, wow, that was only five weeks, that wasn't so bad!
Feel free to email me, even if you just need a pep talk.

Blessings!
R.

PS - remember, if you decide not to nurse, it isn't a failure on your part. A friend reminded me during my "strike time" that having a good relationship with my baby was WAY more important than nursing. If it is too discouraging, it is okay! You've still given her a GREAT start.

I would check with a doctor like SH said. Can you pump and put it in a bottle until you figure out what is is happening. She needs to be fed on demand like SH said. I hope baby will breast-feed if not please feed her with a bottle.
Sue

It could be many reasons... even teething because nursing from the breast is harder than drinking from a bottle. Thus, when teething it can be more uncomfortable. But, your baby is young... to be teething.

My son, did that too... and he would actually slap my boobs away too. For him, he just wanted a bottle. It was easier for him and quicker, and he had a ginormous appetite... and then from close to 1 year old, he just weaned himself.

Ask your Pediatrician... and see if she has Thrush or anything. It can cause discomfort in the mouth. Look for white patches in her mouth....

Ultimately, ask your Doctor and yes, you don't want to use a bottle only, or it will affect your milk output... but at the same time, she has to eat and get enough intake. So its a hard balance. Try nursing first... but if she won't take it then a bottle... no matter what, a baby HAS to get enough intake... or it will affect them and their development/well being/behavior and they will always be hungry. Don't "deny" nursing... try. But, don't just go all or nothing. She has to eat. And you have to watch out for dehydration....

Or, is your milk output still going strong? Maybe check your output too... and her latch. Or, are there certain smells she doesn't like when at the breast?
Again, it could be many reasons and hard to pinpoint. But make sure she gets fed on demand since she is still so young... and babies need a certain caloric/nutritional intake everyday.

All the best,
Susan

Sounds like a nursing strike to me, too. My third son had a couple of these. It is possible to work through it. I found that the best thing was to get him sleepy and then pop him on before he could think about it--his instincts would kick in and in a few feedings we were back to normal. However, it took some patience on my part and we had a few false starts. Good luck!

My daughter weaned herself at 3 months too. She saw a tommy tippy cup and set her mind on that and would not drink from anything else. LOL She's 35 and still stubborn!

My situation was a bit different because she didn't latch on until 4 months but up until 4 months, I pumped and then would try the boob periodically. It KILLED me not to nurse, but I spent hours with lactation and all and then took the pressure off and pumped. Lo & behold, right before 4 months she latched!

Since she did latch on already, I would try the soap that you are using and then I would make a appt. with lactation or your pediatrician so see if they see what is going on.

Good Luck!

Could it be that you have a really hard let-down? There's not enough info in your post to tell.

Here's some links on Over Active Letdown:

http://www.kellymom.com/newman/02colic_in_bf_baby.html#fa...

Would it be possible for you to get in and see a lactation consultant?

Good luck!

My first guess would be ear infection, then thrush, then acid reflux, then teething. AKA...time to head to the ped to rule out the easily fixable.

After that, there could be a bunch of reasons...but I'd rule out the easy ones first.

Hi H.,

It's possible your baby has some congestion in her ears or an infection that's making nursing uncomfortable. Step is a trip to the ped to check this out, especially if she is also cranky and running a low-grade fever, or if she's vomiting.

In the meantime, try nursing her in a more upright position. This can be a little tricky, but using the "football hold" may shift her position enough to ease ear pressure, if that's what's going on.

One mom suggested a hard let-down as a possibility. By now, your let-down should pretty much match your baby's sucking habits, but if this is the case, try nursing her lying on your back, which will ease some of the flow.

Good luck!

Could be that she doesn't like the soap that you wash your body with. I rinse my breasts off in the shower but do not use soap because my newborn will not nurse if he smells the soap on them.
Just an idea for you to look in to.