The identification of a strike, versus weaning, is simple.  Weaning is something that happens gradually over several weeks or months with baby or child dropping a single nursing at a time.  A strike is something that happens abruptly.  Baby or child is nursing several times a day and suddenly stops completely.  Sometimes it is impossible to ascertain the cause of a strike, but the solution is the same regardless of the cause.


Things that can cause a strike:

-A separation from mother that is longer than the child is typically accustomed to having between nursing sessions
-An illness that is causing a stuffy nose, making it difficult to breath while nursing
-An illness causing a sore mouth or throat
-Nipple confusion caused by artificial nipples and/or pacifiers
-Teething Pain, while in the nursing position, due to an ear infection or injury
-Too many distractions in the nursing environment, such as other children, phone, etc. drawing the baby's attention away from nursing
-A dramatic reaction to baby having bitten you while nursing


Tips for surviving a strike to nurse again:

Don't force it. Offer the breast OFTEN but don't try to force baby to nurse if he doesn't want to. Remain cheerful. Say "Ok, we'll nurse later then."
 
Do NOT offer any bottles or artificial nipples!!!! This is VERY important. If you want to offer some water or EBM, do so only in a sippy cup.  By keeping nursing as the only means by which they can meet their sucking needs, it will help to draw them back to nursing.
 
Offer the breast when baby is sleepy or even asleep. Sometimes "unconsciousness" allows them to forget why they refused to nurse.
 
If baby likes baths, get in with him and offer to nurse in the bath. Often times a change of pace/place will encourage a baby back to the breast.
 

DO NOT REPLACE NURSINGS WITH SOLIDS OR ABM (formula). He will not starve and he will not dehydrate in the few hours to couple of days it takes to break a strike. If you replace his nursings with other things, he has no motivation to return to the breast. He must grasp the message that his needs MUST be met at the breast. Your supply will not be irreparably compromised in the time it takes to break a strike, but you must commit to break it if you want to emerge on the other side nursing.
 
Sling him. If you don't have a sling at least carry him often. Keep him close to you and close to your breasts. Try to sing to him to keep him calm and comfortable. Try walking with him in your arms/sling and nursing him while walking.
 
If your baby's nose is stuffy, use a few drops of breastmilk in the nose prior to nursing. It will help to clear out the congestions by loosening it as well as provide some of the wonderful antibacterial qualities in breastmilk to fend off a sinus infection. A baby that is stuffy feels like they are being suffocated when they attempt to nurse. Alleviating that feeling that they will smother will help them latch on with less fear.

If you suspect teething is the cause for the strike, you may want to consider a pain reliever. Acetaminophen or Ibuprofen  (for babies older than six months) or a combination of the two in alteration may give enough pain relief that baby can latch on. There are other ways to get some pain relief, like putting a wet washcloth in the frig or freezer and giving to baby to suck on prior to attempting to latch. Some babies like their gums rubbed. Experiment and find a way to give some relief.

Try other positions. Avoid the usual "nursing chair" because if he's upset, he'll associate you sitting in that chair with whatever's hurting/uncomfortable about nursing.
     

Remember that a striking baby is no happier about the situation than you are. They want to nurse but for some reason can't or won't.
     
Try not to worry. This is HARD!!! You can feel rejected, hurt, scared, and confused. It's normal. But remember - he's uncomfortable - he's not rejecting you. If you help him he will return to the breast. He wants you to help him through this. You must be more stubborn than he is.

This is not weaning. It helps to remember that. Weaning is a slow and gradual cessation of nursing. A strike is sudden and abrupt. He needs your help to return to the breast. He wants to, he just needs a lot of reassurance that it's ok. It's your job as a mother to know that it's too early for him to wean and is in the best interest of his health and emotional welfare to return to nursing.
 
You may need to pump to keep yourself comfortable if baby won't nurse at all. If you do, that's ok. Just pump and store your milk, or hand express it if you don't have a pump. You can offer it to him in a sippy cup or freeze it for an emergency stash. This will also help if you're concerned about supply. But you'll need to take care of yourself so you don't get engorged and end up with plugged ducts or mastitis. Take ibuprofen or acetaminophen for any discomfort and don't forget to keep drinking your water.
 
Try to nap/sleep with baby. A strike is an exhausting time for you and baby and you need to be well rested physically and emotionally to get through it.

Author Cheryl Taylor, CBE

Permissionto use this article was made possible by Dr. Jay Gordon and his website.
www.askdrjaygordon.com

Symptoms of thrush may include:

If you or your infant contract thrush and present yourself to your Pediatrician, you are likely to be sent home with a prescription for Nystatin. It is the most commonly used medication when dealing with thrush. There is a liquid medication for giving to the baby, and a cream that can be placed on your nipples. Other treatments used are Gentian Violet and Diflucan.

My reservations with beginning with the above medications are that the Nystatin liquid contains sugar to make it palatable enough that baby will swallow it. However, yeast feeds on sugar. This may be the reason why it is often not effective. Gentian Violet is effective, but stains skin purple for several days. I have some lovely photos of my twins with purple faces! Diflucan is very effective, but can cause intestinal distress in mom and/or baby. For these reasons, I prefer to begin with Grapefruit Seed Extract as the first line of defense. I have found that the use of Grapefruit Seed Extract as recommended almost always brings rapid relief and an elimination of the yeast imbalance.

Grapefruit Seed Extract is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial compound synthesized from the seeds and pulp of grapefruit. It is an extremely potent and effective broad-spectrum bactericide, fungicide, antiviral and antiparasitic compound. Tests have shown that GSE is dramatically more effective than Colloidal Silver, Iodine, Tea Tree Oil and Clorox bleach against five common microorganisms. In studies performed by Dr. John Mainarich of Bio-Research Laboratories in Redmond, WA, samples of each of the common antimicrobials or sanitizing agents were evaluated for effectiveness against Candida albicans, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi, Streptococcus faecium and E. coli. The other antimicrobials tested were considerably less effective than the GSE.

GSE is extremely effective in the treatment of thrush. I also find it to be the easiest place to start. If used diligently, it typically will clear up thrush within a couple of days.

Treatment of thrush with GSE

Make a mixture of 10 drops of Citricidal Grapefruit Seed Extract to one ounce of water. The use of distilled water to make your solution is very important.  The chemicals placed in your local tap water to kill bacteria can reduce the effectiveness of the active ingredients in GSE.    

IF thrush is not markedly improved by the second day, increase the mixture to 15, or even 20 drops of GSE per one ounce of distilled water.   If after reaching up to at least 20, and a full day of hourly treatment with it, you see no improvement, I would consider using Diflucan.  If you are prescribed Diflucan, continue to treat topically with GSE during the course of treatment.   

If diaper area is affected, put the same strength solution into a spray bottle or swab as above at every diaper change.
  
If the infection is particularly rampant or you are having difficulty getting rid of it, mom may need to take acidophilus or GSE capsules to get rid of it systemically.  
 
GSE solution can also be used in laundry or as a surface cleaner to kill yeast hiding and waiting to multiply again. 

It may be necessary for Mom to eliminate sugar from her diet until the yeast infection is gone.

If treatment with GSE seems to leave your nipple area dry, I suggest applying a light coating of Vitamin E oil in the following manner: First apply the GSE solution, allow that to dry or use a hairdryer to dry it completely, then apply a light coating of Vitamin E oil.  I would suggest doing this 3 to 4 times a day until the dryness is gone.  It should only take a couple of days to show significant improvement.  The Vitamin E oil should absorb into the skin thoroughly prior to the nursing following the application.  I'm a big fan of Lansinoh, but do not use it when dealing with thrush, because it provides a moisture barrier that is counterproductive to getting rid of thrush.  

Since learning of the powerful antimicrobial that Grapefruit Seed Extract is, I have always kept a bottle in my home for many uses.

For more information on GSE:

For prevention of thrush while taking antibiotics:

There are times over the course of nursing when a nursing mother needs to take antibiotics.  While taking antibiotics, good bacteria are destroyed  along with the bad. The absence of the good bacteria, which usually keep yeast in reasonable balance within the body, is what can leave a nursing dyad with thrush.   There are several options that may help to avoid this imbalance:

Take acidophilus/bifidus capsules with doses being as far away from the dose of antibiotics as is possible.  There is dairy free acidophilus available for those needing dairy free products.  Check labels for ones requiring refrigeration.

Take Florastor, which can be taken with the antibiotic dose.

Eat yogurt with active live cultures.  Make sure you get unsweetened yogurt as you don't want to feed the yeast with sugar.

All of these probiotics help to reintroduce to the gut the good bacteria that will help to regain control of the yeast overgrowth in the system.  

If the infant or child is the one taking the antibiotics, they usually fare better at avoiding thrush while taking antibiotics because breastmilk has a bifidus factor.  It promotes the growth of Lactobacillus, a harmless bacterium, within the gut.  Growth of this bacteria helps to eliminate the overgrowth of yeast.  A toddler or child can also take acidophilus.  The powder itself has a pleasant creamy taste and most are happy to lick it off your finger, take it with spoon or you can mix it into a food.

Author Cheryl Taylor, CBE

Permission to use this article was made possible by Dr. Jay Gordon and his website www.askdrjaygordon.com

In the first 24 to 72 hours after birth babies tend to lose about 3-10% of their birth weight and then regain that weight over the next 2 to 3 weeks. If a mother receives lots of IV fluids during labor, the baby could be born "heavier" because of the increased water. The somewhat higher weight could be measured if a baby were weighed right before it peed for the first time. The difference of this extra fluid retention might only be a few ounces, but some parents are told to be concerned when, at their baby's two week checkup, the baby is a few ounces under birth weight.

Another common problem at early checkups is a baby that is not gaining what the practitioner considers to be "normal weight gain." There is not general agreement on normal weight gain and the range in texts are from 4 to 8 ounces a week. Some babies are genetically destined to be a lot smaller or larger than others. As I mentioned in the first paragraph: Easy concept, isn't it?

If you have been told that weight gain is not acceptable, look hard at this list of questions:

If you have answered yes to the above questions, you may want to progress on to two important questions which the "charts" seem to ignore.

How tall is mom?

How tall is dad?

If someone were to ask you what weight a 33 year old man should be, you would laugh. The range of possibilities varies according to height, bone structure, ethnicity and many other factors. Yet babies are expected to fit onto charts distributed throughout the country with no regard to genetics, feeding choice or almost anything else.

There can be nursing problems that can cause slow weight gain; an inadequate "latch-on" is probably the only common breastfeeding problem in the first weeks. This is an easily remedied problem with the right help. In the best of circumstances, breastfeeding should be assessed within the first day or two after birth by a skilled lactation expert. Good hospitals have these LC's and IBCLC's on staff and, if not, please line up a consultation within the first 12 hours of life. Your pediatrician can help you with this. If not, call La Leche League and ask them whom they recommend in your area. This is a crucial step in becoming a parent and must not be skipped.

If there are nursing problems, the first answer should never be supplementation but must be to find the best advice and help available. Find quality help in person if possible and online if needed. There is nothing better than having an experienced breastfeeding expert watch you and your baby and give you the help and encouragement and support you need and deserve.
Too many mothers and babies lose the breastfeeding experience and the lifesaving and illness preventing benefits because we doctors are trained to look harder at the scale than we are at the baby.

A few notable examples:

Baby, birth weight: 9 lbs. 12 oz.

Weight 36 hours after delivery: 9 lbs. 2 oz.

I have seen mothers encouraged to supplement because "they have no milk, the baby is hungry and losing weight." The baby looks good and is nursing every 1 to 3 hours and mom's nipples are not getting sore. There is no need to do anything but nurse often, switch breasts every 5 minutes or so and wait another day or two for the milk to come in. A thirsty baby nurses strongly and is in no danger. A baby given water or formula might not nurse so strongly and mom's confidence (and milk supply) will suffer for it. This mom only needs the support of an expert who can be sure that she knows how to latch her baby on to the breast.

 

Same baby, two week checkup: 9 lbs. 6 oz

Forgetting that this represents a 4 oz. weight gain from the 36 hour weight, some docs might recommend supplementation. Again, watch breastfeeding and if everything is going well, don't worry. A dry, jaundiced baby with darker yellow urine is a different case and needs more help with nursing. This baby still should not get formula. Make sure mom is drinking enough water, nursing often without a set schedule (every 1 to 3 hours) and make very sure that she gets help latching her baby on, especially if she has sore nipples.

In summary, babies who are nursing, peeing clear urine and wetting diapers well in the first weeks of life are almost always all right. I cannot recall seeing a baby for whom slow weight gain in the first 2 to 6 weeks was the only sign of a problem.

Older babies, 2 to 12 months of age, grow at varying rates. Weight gain should not be used as a major criterion of good health. Developmental milestones and interaction with parents and others are more important. Do not be persuaded to supplement a baby who is doing well. Get help with breastfeeding and use other things besides weight to guide you.

Authors, Dr. Jay Gordon and Cheryl Taylor, CBE

Permission to use this article was made possible by Dr. Jay Gordon and his website www.drjaygordon.com 

Growth spurts happen. They happen with all nursing dyads. Some babies protest more about them and others seem to sail through them with the greatest of ease. Some books will tell you they happen at so many weeks or months. They may tend to, but the truth is, they can happen anytime.

Signs of a Growth Spurt

These signs are all signals to the mom's body to "MAKE MORE MILK NOW!" Our bodies listen very well if we will merely respond to the baby's needs. The extra suckling will stimulate your body to make more milk.

Often Observed After a Growth Spurt

Growth spurts seem to throw new moms for a loop. Just when they thought they were beginning to understand their baby's signals, they abruptly changed. The frequent requests to nurse can be confusing as well as the frequency with which growth spurts happen within the first few months. The key is purely and simply to go with the flow (pun intended!) If you respond to your baby's signals to nurse during a growth spurt and do not interfere with them in any manner, your body will quickly respond and increase supply. Typically it happens within 24 to 48 hours. Sometimes growth spurts seem to drag on for a week. This would be a good time to make sure you're drinking plenty water.

Don't allow a growth spurt to rob you of your confidence in nursing. Instead, allow it to instill confidence in your ability to read your baby's cues. Your confidence will be further rewarded as your supply increases and your baby settles back down into a happy breastfeeding baby again, with a smart mommy who knew that sometimes baby really does know best and our job is to listen.

Author Cheryl Taylor, CBE

Permsission to use this article was made possible by Dr. Jay Gordon and his website
www.askdrjaygordon.com