I agree that this is concerning...mainly because of how long it is going on by now. I wonder what happened in those "first precious days." How much forcing to the breast .....in the presence of a headache and a tummy full of mucus. The negative response could be from this....and I'd do exactly what you are...skin to skin, naked, nothing to suck on but mom, supplement with cup or dropper. CST is a good idea, OT/PT for suck could be also. If you can find someone who does both...that would be the best. Does baby need a neuro. workup? Probably not..... because, from what you say the suck on the finger is physiologically correct. If you decide that suck training would help (after you do a good suck assessment), you could go with a finger feeding plan or a Haberman at that point. To me this would depend partly on how much more the mom can take....if she is at the end of her rope, I'd go with the Haberman. Would a shield work? Hmmm...maybe but, I bet not. I've not found that "breast refusers" like them. I'd be more inclined to think of a shield as a possible option down the road after I've established good, calm suck patterns with a Haberman. Then I'd use it to transition to breast. This is just my .02 worth, mostly anecdotal. Good Luck. Susan Keith-Hergert RN, MS, CPN, IBCLC Mercy Health Partners Cincinnati, Ohio *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html