One morning this week I met with a mom because her baby (around 3 months) had suddenly gone on a nursing strike over the weekend. Then, later in the afternoon another mother of a near-12 week old came in to see me for a nursing strike! In the morning, nothing was working until we swaddled the baby. Then, he calmed down enough to get back to nursing! Same thing with the little baby in the afternoon. NOTHING was working. So, remembering what worked earlier in the day, I suggested a swaddle. And it worked! What?! Both babies were GREAT nursers before this sudden strike. Neither were sick with ear infection, stuffy nose, oral thrush....nothing obvious anyway. We went through all of the usual suspects....but no obvious cause. My guess is that something developmentally just changed in these babies and they decided they preferred the bottle. But both mamas were persistent, not ready to give up on breastfeeding quite yet, and found a way to keep their babies calm and convince them it was OK to nurse.
If you are intimidated by or unsure about swaddling, check out the brilliant work of an entrepreneur from Grand Rapids who has developed the world's first 3D knit escape-proof swaddle (full transparency, I didn't use the Swaddelini for my mamas because I didn't have one with me....but I've seen and felt them before, and LOVE them). Swaddelini is engineered with arm tubes to protect against Moro reflex. Because the swaddle is stretchy, the baby can still knead the breast when breastfeeding, but they can't scratch the breast. There is an easy access diaper opening at the bottom so the feet stay warm but you still have easy diaper changing access so there is no need to take the swaddle on and off in the night!
Hug Technology ® provides the sensation of a hug all night long which helps baby calm down before feeding or going to sleep. The owner of this business is offering $5 off if you use the code: Babybeloved. Check it out at https://swaddelini.com/