One morning, out of the blue, my baby stopped 
nursing. And I don’t mean she gently weaned herself, hesitantly cocking her head to the side when offered a sip of my liquid gold as babies sometimes do. I mean – possessed, arch-backing, pterodactyl-screeching, boob-slapping refused. I was baffled.
The night before, she had sipped with satisfaction, drifting into a milk coma as babies often do when suckling mama’s sweet milk. But the following morning, it was as though I had yanked candy out of the hands of a spoiled toddler. Suddenly, my offerings elicited epic head-spinning tantrums. Even holding her in a cradled position with her head near my clothed chest set her off. I was so puzzled, what had I done wrong?
I had promised myself that I would nurse my third for a full year like I had with the first two, so I wasn’t going to let her win the battle of the boob. While she continued through the day, satisfied with the solid foods she had recently learned to ingest, I painfully pumped, and took it to Google.
Is It A Nursing Strike?
After browsing through stories of moms who proclaimed that their babies had just suddenly self-weaned, I came across an article on Nursing Strikes.
What the what? She was just over 6 months old, how the eff could my sweet little baby decide to go on strike? And what did I do to deserve it? I thought.
A baby who refuses to breastfeed (and is not in the process of being weaned) is said to be on a “nursing strike.” A nursing strike is your baby’s way of telling you that something’s wrong. (BabyCenter)
Maybe it was because she was teething. She had been fussier than usual. Or maybe it was because she had chomped down during her last feeding, and when I squealed in pain she burst into tears. Perhaps that scared her into a nursing strike?
How I Got Through It
I pumped 2-3 times a day, and fed the milk to her through a sippy cup (which for some reason she suddenly took a liking to). Every day I would offer her a sip from the main source, and every day she continued to arch her back and turn her head. So I continued pumping, and offering. Pumping and offering. This went on for a week, and I’m not going to lie – it sucked.
And then suddenly one morning, completely out of the blue, she crawled over to my lap, climbed on, and pulled herself up so that her face was in line with my breast. She began banging her head on it, and slapping it with her hand. Doubtful, I opened my top and let it hang out.
My stubborn little striker opened her mouth, settled into my lap, and nursed like nothing had happened over the past week. Her strike was over and nursing has been smooth sailing ever since.
Fact: NO ONE is a parenting “expert”.
There’s always something new to learn when you’re a parent. Whether you’re on your first baby, or your fifth, new experiences, discoveries, challenges and fears will arise – it’s just part of the evolution of parenthood.
As a mother of three, I tend to be a bit overconfident when it comes to parenting woes. Like having a trifecta of littles automatically makes me a mothering guru – a master ninja of mamas. Which of course is completely unrealistic. As my third child transitions through the sequential milestones of her first year, this reality is becoming more and more apparent to me: I still have lots to learn.
