Coming to the close of day 5 of Leah’s nursing strike.

She is continuing to get better and pretty much is just left with some congestion. She has her fussy moments but I think it is because she is hungry and secretly wanting to nurse.

I’ve learned a bit more about nursing strikes. It’s a real thing. I thought I’d even made up the term but when I checked out the La Leche League website they had a plethora of articles, advice and stories on the subject. I was both comforted and frustrated at the same time. So many women had very similar stories. One thing is for sure. This is not weening. A baby shouldn’t all of the sudden quit nursing. There is almost always a reason for the strike.

Here are some of the common triggers for nursing strikes.

• You’ve changed your deodorant, soap, perfume, lotion, etc. and you smell “different” to your baby.
• You’ve been under stress (such as having extra company, traveling, moving, dealing with a family crisis).
• Your baby or toddler has an illness or injury that makes nursing uncomfortable (an ear infection, a stuffy nose, thrush, a cut in the mouth).
• Your baby has sore gums from teething.
• You’ve recently changed your nursing patterns (started a new job, left the baby with a sitter more than usual, put off nursing because of being busy, etc.).
• You reacted strongly when your baby bit you, and the baby was frightened.

I think that Leah and I qualify for 3 of these triggers. She’s had an illness, she bit me and I screamed, and I’ve also been leaving her with a sitter more than usual. (Those fresh powder slopes were calling for me!)

Great so now what? La Leche suggests getting medical help for the illness (check), get extra help with household chores and older children so there is more time to spend with baby (uncheck),  try to relax and concentrate on making breastfeeding a pleasant experience (depends on the moment), make time for extra cuddling, stroking, and skin-to-skin contact (half check), try nursing when they are sleepy or in a dark quiet room (check but didn’t work), and put away all bottle nipples to avoid nipple confusion (tried super hard but gave in this afternoon because of all the crying and a super tired mommy.)

I guess the number one thing to do is be patient and persistence. This has been super hard for me. I have major moments when I want to just give up. It’s not easy but apparently babies will and should come back. I get the feeling that they just need to get over whatever made them strike in the first place.

Are there any types of organized unions for babies? Maybe Leah needs to get together with some friends and talk about her issues. Oh ya, I’m suppose to remember that it isn’t me she is rejecting. But apparently we need to “re-connect” somehow.

The amount of time I have spent pumping has been insane. My cheap pump and low supply have made it difficult. Ridiculous! But tonight I finally got my hands on a hospital grade pump and have finished the chore before this post was even finished. Yea! That’s a big difference compared to the hour and half it was taking before.