3 Month Old Won't Nurse

An abrupt stop in nursing is a strike, and it will pass. He may be stubborn and hard headed but right now you need to hold out and not give a bottle. He's looking for the instant gratification, and at around 3-4 months is when your milk rreally stabilizes and doesn't have the forceful letdown, its a nice easy flow, and he has to work for it, hence his frustration. GIving him a bottle will only feed this need for fast flowing milk, since babies don't have to work much to get the milk to flow.

Keep offering througout the day at his usual nursing times. Before you nurse, try to get 'in the mood' by thinking of him nursing, that should help stimulate your letdown as well.

But mostly you'll just have to stick it out, he'll settle down soon enough, nursing strikes are common this age and its NOT weaning, its a strike. He'll come back, just keep offering. Your milk supply will be fine, just don't offer bottles in place of nursing.

With my first it took a tearful month before she would even latch on. I was hard headed about bfing so I consulted a lactation consultant twice. I think it's a free service just contact your local hospital. You may want to go in with your son for a feeding. My daughter got sick and I tried to bf her for three weeks before I gave up. We made it 9 months. Usually, they can make a choice at a year from what I hear. 3 months...I'm not sure what the issue would be. Maybe. Have you had problems at all with latching on? I bought a plastic nipple thing at Target and would have her latch on that and I would take it away fast and put my own in her mouth. This is what finally worked, but it took a month like I said. Just watch the bottle thing. Mine got so used to the instant gradification and quick drink she refused me. Your baby will be fine if you skip a meal. I wouldn't use the bottle if you can help it. I'd be worried about him not getting use to your let down timing. A let down can happen differently for poeple. You might be able to make the let down happen faster by massaging your breast from top down in sections. I found it helped get things going faster. It will ensure you don't get clogged either. Let me know if you have any more questions.

When my daughter was a newborn, she refused to nurse if I didn't let down immediately. It was so bad that I had to give her formula the first few days before my milk came in. She had a very poor latch which probably contributed to me not letting down as quickly. We were given nipple shields (sold by Medela - I think you can even order them directly from their website) to use and it was a lifesaver for us. The shields force your baby to latch properly. We used them for every feeding up until just a few weeks ago (she's now 5 months old). Not sure if this would work for you or not, but thought I'd throw the idea out there for you.

Pump some milk before you start to feed him, that worked for me, I experienced the same thing.

Never had this problem, but I would strongly recommend seeing a lactation consultant. We had excellent luck with the lactation specialists at United Children's Hospitals in St. Paul at the Birthing Center.
Best of Luck.
M.

Since he has been a great nurser up until now, my first instinct is that he is teething. My son went through this at that age, and sure enough, he got his first tooth right when he turned 4 months. See if a little Tylenol an hour before you nurse him helps him out. Also, I agree with the others that a bottle won't encourage him to nurse. Good luck! It's all just a big guessing game!