Jennifer, I've had quite a bit of experience with nursing strikes, both
with my own babies and with moms.

My own Janene had the worst strike ever.  She was 5 months old, a premie
who was always a bit (ok a lot) small and who we were doing weight
checks on every 2-3 days.  Any other ped and I would have had to give
aritifical milk but I managed just barely to keep her growing at her own
very off the chart curve.  At five months she got her first tooth and
bit me.  It caused me to have an open cut which bled, but that was not
the problem.  The problem was I yelped, loudly, and she is/was such a
sensitive child that she was afraid to nurse because she was afraid to
hurt me again.  She didn't nurse for I think it was 10 or 11 days (how
soon we forget).  She had always refused any liquid, even my pumped
milk, in any other container--and we tried them all (as I was woh from
10 weeks).  I basically came home or my dh brought Janene to me every
few hours.  I tried all the tricks--nursing when we were moving, nursing
when we were still, nursing only in a dark room, nursing when she was
half asleep, nursing while other babies were nursing, pumping to get the
milk to let down then nursing, but she would NOT latch on.  She did
latch on occassionally during the middle of the night when she was
asleep but any daylight nursing or nonasleep nursing just didn't
happen.  She lost weight.  She would NOT take a bottle or cup or
anything, regardless of the type of mommy milk (fresh, cold, warm, stuff
frozen a few weeks before, etc.  I was so worried, my ped (actually my
still great nurse pract.) was worried, formula wasn't even an option,
only because she simply wouldn't take mommy milk, let alone ABM.
Finally, I decided to take drastic action.  I sat down with her in a
quiet, dim familar place (our comfy nursing chair) and apologized to
her.  I told her I knew she didn't mean to bite me, and that I forgave
her for doing so.  I told her how important it was to me and to her for
her to cuzzle again and how I knew that it was likely she might bite me
again and that I would do my best not to yell out.  I told her that we'd
handle the bites together and that I still loved her and that I wanted,
needed her to nurse.  And she did.  Really, just like that.  After I
finished talking to her, I offered my breast and she latched  on like
there had never been a strike.

I do not think that we can underestimate the value of talking to our
babies, because while they may not understand our every word, they most
certainly will understand our intent.

On a side note, this child did not drink from a cup or take any form of
liquid, including water or mommy milk, until she was 14-15 months old.
Before then the only liquid she would take was BM right from the
source.  She was willing to nurse from a friend, and did so once or
twice, but we didn't have someone who lived close to us whom I trusted
to act as a wet nurse... She did eat solids early at just under six
months of age, her first solid was a Ruby's French Fry she grabbed from
my plate and stuffed in her mouth, gumming it happily until it mushed up
and went down.  After that she gladly and enthusiastically ate homemade
baby food, quickly graduating (by 8 months) to eating slightly mushed or
cut up table food.  By a year she was eating everything we ate,
including, I remember specifically, garlic shrimp I made one day and
could not peel fast enough for her.  (Never give a child shrimp or
lobster or expensive sea food, cause if you do they will be ordering off
the adult menu and not be satisfied with popcorn chicken and fries (Same
child as above, at four "I'd like a lobster tail, please, with garlic
butter, and crab legs, and garlic mashed potatoes.") )

Back on topic, I think often if we can determine the cause of a nursing
strike (teething pain, trauma (as with Janene), sore throat or other
illness, distractions, etc.) then the strike can be more easily solved.
I've seen some serious strikes, ones that lasted a week or longer, and
I've never seen one where the mom was driven for the baby to return to
nurse where the baby did not do so.

Joylyn

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