Breastfeeding strike

**Dollyroux** · March 25th, 2014, 06:22 PM

Hello,
My 10mo girl twin has been on a feeding strike for 8 days now (with one feed in the middle). She stopped feeding 4am Monday last week and was diagnosed with hand foot and mouth on the Tuesday arvo. She was really quite ill and lost a fair bit of weight (at least half a kilo).

She is now back to herself but is still refusing boob. I've tried the bath, quite room etc but no go. She has been quite dehydrated and now constipated. I've been giving her lots of water.

I haven't been expressing, as I have her brother twin to keep up supply. I have hand expressed a bit into a straw-cup for her.

So her hydration seems to be improving and I've been feeding her dates today and the poo seems to bit easier for her.

I'm after all tips for getting her back on to the boob as well as any advise. Do you think I should withhold breast milk to make her more enthused or offer it to her in sippy-straw cup?

To add insult to injury, tomorrow we are getting pics done. I was going to get a professional shot of me feeding them both - a little devo on that one :/.

**Joeve** · March 25th, 2014, 06:28 PM

My DD did 7 days at 11 months. I was sad then bang she was back on and we now feed once per day.
She would scream and carry on if I even got changed and she saw my boob!
I just kept offering. You have done an absolutely amazing job!!

**onthefly** · March 25th, 2014, 06:39 PM

Sounds like you're doing really well.
Good to hear she's doing better - illness can really throw them

Have you tried not offering to see if she'll come to you?
It is the sort of age where this can tend to happen (combined with the illness), but if the breast is available they generally come back for it when still this young. It's a good job you have boy twin being such a trooper keeping things going. He must think he's had a second Christmas

Hang in there. Hopefully it's not much longer

**Dollyroux** · March 25th, 2014, 06:42 PM

She can't crawl yet, and I have been holding her a lot and attempting to hang out with no top etc and still no go. I'll keep offering...

**wysiwyg** · March 25th, 2014, 06:55 PM

There couldn't be anything else going on e.g. with ears, or crick in her neck or anything that might be making feeding uncomfortable?. Will she be held in a feeding type position easily by someone else?

HFM is a real pain of a virus.

**Dollyroux** · March 25th, 2014, 06:58 PM

Ears were checked out by the pead during the week and they were fine.

Good thought re neck -I'll get DH to hold her in a feeding position and see what happens. May take her for a visit to the Chiro just to cover all bases. Any one have thoughts on the offering expressed Breast milk or withholding?

**ladybirdflies** · March 25th, 2014, 06:59 PM

This happened to me once, with my first baby... I put a smidge of honey on my breast at the time, it worked a treat... I am sure people will disagree and I am not sure if I would do it again, I just remembered the whole thing reading your post!! (i have had three more and never had that issue again)

Goodluck!

**Dollyroux** · March 25th, 2014, 07:00 PM

Hey I'm willing to give anything a go! LOL.

**wysiwyg** · March 25th, 2014, 07:21 PM

Ears were checked out by the pead during the week and they were fine.

Good thought re neck -I'll get DH to hold her in a feeding position and see what happens. May take her for a visit to the Chiro just to cover all bases. Any one have thoughts on the offering expressed Breast milk or withholding?

Personally I would offer in a sippy cup - I wouldn't have thought it would lead to breast refusal (if I don't have chocolate in the house and don't see it I could go without it for ages, but if I see it and smell it and taste a little then I return to guzzling it down pretty quick :-) - so nothing scientific at all in my answer but I would offer expressed.) Could there be anything else going on with your hormones and combined with the illness she is just more sensitive to it than your DS?

**Dollyroux** · March 25th, 2014, 08:18 PM

My period could be returning, no signs but that could be it...
I can't imagine anything bothering my DS when it comes to boob!
DD twin has always been all business on the boob - no comfort sucking, no hanging around to chat, just eat and go, so if one of them was to go on strike due to taste, she'd be the one!

**wysiwyg** · March 25th, 2014, 08:26 PM

My period could be returning, no signs but that could be it...
I can't imagine anything bothering my DS when it comes to boob!
DD twin has always been all business on the boob - no comfort sucking, no hanging around to chat, just eat and go, so if one of them was to go on strike due to taste, she'd be the one!

I thought that might be the case with DS - but didn't want to be stereotypical :-)

**Dollyroux** · March 28th, 2014, 06:23 PM

After TEN days, DD twin has had two massive feeds today. She really has gotten her spark back in the last couple of days and it makes it all the more obvious how ill she was. The last two days she has consented to being cuddled against the boob (skin to skin) or having a nipple in her mouth. So I thought we might be getting close.

This lunchtime I sat down with her in a semi football position and distracted her and played lots and let my nipple sot in her mouth. I squeezed my boob to get some milk and she started drinking, semi latched, more squeezing and on she jumped.

A few sucks and she seemed to remember that this was a good deal. She fed for over 40 minutes and switched sides a few times (she used to be a 5 minute business eater!).

I offered a few more times during the day (in not usual feeding times) and she was not interested. I was a little worry it was a one off. I offered again at
Bedtime and she latched straight on and fed again for over 30 minutes. I'm pretty confident we are back in business! Yay!