New Here -- In need of help!

Hi, I'm Julie, and I found out about this group through a search engine. My 9 month old baby girl is on a nursing strike. She has a cold, and the first day she had it she tried eating and couldn't breath. She ended up biting me really hard, and my mom had told me if she does that to say OUCH so she would know. Well, instead of it preventing her biting, she's not eating at all. She absolutely refuses to nurse, and throws a fit when I try. I could deal with that, but she is hardly drinking anything. She doesn't like bottles, and doesn't drink enough from a cup. She's been SO FUSSY for a couple days now, and I don't know how to get her to nurse again. Can anyone help????

--
JULIE WEST

I also wanted to mention, she only had three barely wet diapers yesterday. I know she's not getting enough fluids. I try to give her a cup of breastmilk every chance I get, but its obviously not enough.... I don't know what to do..........

--
JULIE WEST
"Julie" wrote in message et...
Hi, I'm Julie, and I found out about this group through a search engine. My 9 month old baby girl is on a nursing strike. She has a cold, and the first day she had it she tried eating and couldn't breath. She ended up biting me really hard, and my mom had told me if she does that to say OUCH so she would know. Well, instead of it preventing her biting, she's not eating at all. She absolutely refuses to nurse, and throws a fit when I try. I could deal with that, but she is hardly drinking anything. She doesn't like bottles, and doesn't drink enough from a cup. She's been SO FUSSY for a couple days now, and I don't know how to get her to nurse again. Can anyone help????

--
JULIE WEST

On Nov 10, 11:24 am, "Julie" wrote:
Hi, I'm Julie, and I found out about this group through a search engine. My 9 month old baby girl is on a nursing strike.


I'm so sorry. That must be really tough for both of you.

Have you tried nursing her when she is asleep? Try to pick a time
when her nose is as clear as possible and see if you can latch her on
when she stirs.



She has a cold, and the first day she had it she tried eating and
couldn't breath. She ended up biting me really hard, and my mom had
told me if she does that to say OUCH so she would know. Well, instead
of it preventing her biting, she's not eating at all. She absolutely
refuses to nurse, and throws a fit when I try.



The OUCH thing seems to work well with some babies, but can be
traumatic for others. Often they can't seem to help biting when they
are trying to nurse and have plugged up noses. Babies often
understand more than we think. Have you tried talking to her about
what happened, explaining that you didn't mean to upset her when you
said "ouch" and telling her that you are sorry and won't do it again?

Have you tried lots of skin to skin contact and cuddling without any
pressure to nurse? If you can get her to feel calm and relaxed with
skin to skin contact and cuddling, it may help her to get over the
trauma and be ready to nurse again.

Are you able to get her nose clear enough for her to nurse if she
tries?

Some breastfed babies who won't take a bottle seem to do well with the
"Avent Magic Cup" with the softer white spout option. If you try this
you can tell your daughter that it is OK for biting.

It sounds like you are pumping now, which is good. If you don't have
a high quality pump, and she doesn't go back to nursing quickly, you
may want to rent a really good one.

--Betsy

Julie wrote:
Hi, I'm Julie, and I found out about this group through a search engine.
My 9 month old baby girl is on a nursing strike. She has a cold, and the
first day she had it she tried eating and couldn't breath. She ended up
biting me really hard, and my mom had told me if she does that to say
OUCH so she would know. Well, instead of it preventing her biting, she's
not eating at all. She absolutely refuses to nurse, and throws a fit
when I try. I could deal with that, but she is hardly drinking anything.
She doesn't like bottles, and doesn't drink enough from a cup. She's
been SO FUSSY for a couple days now, and I don't know how to get her to
nurse again. Can anyone help????

don't worry that you saying OUCH is what has put her off, it will be the
cold, if you couldn't breath through your nose, you wouldn't want to
nurse. She's fussy because she's ill - there are no magic solutions to
this, you can help her to breath more easily, either by having her in a
steamy room, or by dropping saline in her nose to try and clear it up
before offering a feed. You can play with the times you offer her the
breast, offering when she's just waking up, or maybe even still asleep.
I'd be inclined to try a nice warm bath with her, both of you get in,
have some skin to skin contact, the steaminess should help her breath
more easily and she may initiate nursing. You should try and maintain
your supply by pumping, so it is available for her when she wants it -
my mum lost her supply when my sister had a severe cold at this age, she
had no advice or help about how to maintain a supply and encourage
nursing. Keep offering her the cup, but make sure it's one that doesn't
have a valve, if it does, the action will be very similar to bottle or
breast and she'll probably struggle. Chances are she'll be absolutely
fine, but do keep an eye on her, babies need help for simple illnesses
sooner than older children or healthy adults.

Cheers
Anne

Julie wrote:
I also wanted to mention, she only had three barely wet diapers
yesterday. I know she's not getting enough fluids. I try to give her a
cup of breastmilk every chance I get, but its obviously not enough.... I
don't know what to do..........

I already replied including watch her carefully, babies need help sooner
than older children with simple illnesses. I think with only 3 barely
wet nappies, you should alert you pediatrician, they may want to see
her, or they may be able to suggest other observations to determine
whether she needs the help of IV fluids or not. There is also pedialyte,
it's a drink with all the right salts and minerals in to rehydrate a
child, I'm not sure at what stage you should give that instead of
breastmilk.

Cheers
Anne

Thank you so much! Yes, she nurses in her sleep just fine... I hope she will
when she wakes up, now... I'm so relieved... TYTY!

--
JULIE WEST
"betsy" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Nov 10, 11:24 am, "Julie" wrote:
Hi, I'm Julie, and I found out about this group through a search engine.
My 9 month old baby girl is on a nursing strike.


I'm so sorry. That must be really tough for both of you.

Have you tried nursing her when she is asleep? Try to pick a time
when her nose is as clear as possible and see if you can latch her on
when she stirs.



She has a cold, and the first day she had it she tried eating and
couldn't breath. She ended up biting me really hard, and my mom had
told me if she does that to say OUCH so she would know. Well, instead
of it preventing her biting, she's not eating at all. She absolutely
refuses to nurse, and throws a fit when I try.



The OUCH thing seems to work well with some babies, but can be
traumatic for others. Often they can't seem to help biting when they
are trying to nurse and have plugged up noses. Babies often
understand more than we think. Have you tried talking to her about
what happened, explaining that you didn't mean to upset her when you
said "ouch" and telling her that you are sorry and won't do it again?

Have you tried lots of skin to skin contact and cuddling without any
pressure to nurse? If you can get her to feel calm and relaxed with
skin to skin contact and cuddling, it may help her to get over the
trauma and be ready to nurse again.

Are you able to get her nose clear enough for her to nurse if she
tries?

Some breastfed babies who won't take a bottle seem to do well with the
"Avent Magic Cup" with the softer white spout option. If you try this
you can tell your daughter that it is OK for biting.

It sounds like you are pumping now, which is good. If you don't have
a high quality pump, and she doesn't go back to nursing quickly, you
may want to rent a really good one.

--Betsy

On Nov 10, 10:29 pm, "Julie" wrote:
Thank you so much! Yes, she nurses in her sleep just fine... I hope she will
when she wakes up, now... I'm so relieved... TYTY!

--

I'm very glad for you. If she isn't ready to nurse while awake yet,
experiencing some slow, gentle, natural wakings while nursing will
probably get her over the trauma enough to begin nursing while awake.

--Betsy

Thank you, Betsy. I've been trying this today, and it seems to be helping.
She's doing a little better, but still not perfect. Thanks for all your
help...

--
JULIE WEST
"betsy" wrote in message
oups.com...
On Nov 10, 10:29 pm, "Julie" wrote:
Thank you so much! Yes, she nurses in her sleep just fine... I hope she
will
when she wakes up, now... I'm so relieved... TYTY!

--

I'm very glad for you. If she isn't ready to nurse while awake yet,
experiencing some slow, gentle, natural wakings while nursing will
probably get her over the trauma enough to begin nursing while awake.

--Betsy

Thanks, Anne...
I know that she was frustrated because she couldn't breathe, and that's why
she bit me. Maybe it was a combination of both things, I don't know. I know
I won't say OUCH again, though... I might try the bath thing, though. Thanks
for the suggestion! I'll do anything I can to get her to eating again.
:-/

--
JULIE WEST
"Anne Rogers" wrote in message
...
Julie wrote:
Hi, I'm Julie, and I found out about this group through a search engine.
My 9 month old baby girl is on a nursing strike. She has a cold, and the
first day she had it she tried eating and couldn't breath. She ended up
biting me really hard, and my mom had told me if she does that to say
OUCH so she would know. Well, instead of it preventing her biting, she's
not eating at all. She absolutely refuses to nurse, and throws a fit when
I try. I could deal with that, but she is hardly drinking anything. She
doesn't like bottles, and doesn't drink enough from a cup. She's been SO
FUSSY for a couple days now, and I don't know how to get her to nurse
again. Can anyone help????

don't worry that you saying OUCH is what has put her off, it will be the
cold, if you couldn't breath through your nose, you wouldn't want to
nurse. She's fussy because she's ill - there are no magic solutions to
this, you can help her to breath more easily, either by having her in a
steamy room, or by dropping saline in her nose to try and clear it up
before offering a feed. You can play with the times you offer her the
breast, offering when she's just waking up, or maybe even still asleep.
I'd be inclined to try a nice warm bath with her, both of you get in, have
some skin to skin contact, the steaminess should help her breath more
easily and she may initiate nursing. You should try and maintain your
supply by pumping, so it is available for her when she wants it - my mum
lost her supply when my sister had a severe cold at this age, she had no
advice or help about how to maintain a supply and encourage nursing. Keep
offering her the cup, but make sure it's one that doesn't have a valve, if
it does, the action will be very similar to bottle or breast and she'll
probably struggle. Chances are she'll be absolutely fine, but do keep an
eye on her, babies need help for simple illnesses sooner than older
children or healthy adults.

Cheers
Anne

"Julie" wrote in message
et...
Thanks, Anne...
I know that she was frustrated because she couldn't breathe, and that's
why she bit me. Maybe it was a combination of both things, I don't know. I
know I won't say OUCH again, though... I might try the bath thing, though.
Thanks for the suggestion! I'll do anything I can to get her to eating
again. :-/



Hi Julie, glad she seems to be doing better now. Just an idea on the Ouch
thing - I read in one of my books that when the baby bites to pull their
head in close right squashed up onto the breast so they are uncomfortable
and push themselves away through natural reflexes. This seemed to help with
my DD although it's hard to make sure you dont' flinch at the same time due
to the biting!