As a new mother you try to do everything right for your new little bundle of joy.
Breast feeding is a natural and enjoyable part of motherhood, but sometimes especially in the first few weeks, things happen that throw you off balance.
When your baby refuses to breastfeed and you are not in the process of weaning him/her, this is called a nursing strike.
You will have to do a little detective work to find out what the problem is.
Sometimes it can be fixed and other times it must be waited out.
You have to backtrack to when the little one stopped feeding.
What you did differently that day, what did you eat that was out of the norm, did you change anything, and what was it.
Possibilities that could have caused the nursing strike.
Your little one could have an ear infection and the pressure causes pain while feeding.
There could be mouth pain from teething, or a cold sore, or an infection (like thrush).
A cold or stuffy nose causes difficulty in breathing.
There could be a reduced milk supply.
There could have been a major disruption in your baby's nursing routine.
Something as simple as a change in soap that you used could make you smell different to your little one.
It could also be a hormonal change, for example from your pregnancy or period.
The best thing to do is take a deep breath.
A nursing strike can be tricky but with a lot of patience and support you will get through it.
A nursing strike differs from between 2 to 5 days but it can be longer.
Remember that while you try to encourage your little one to feed, you will need to express (pump or by hand) every few hours, or as regularly as your baby feeds.
This keeps up your milk supply and will prevent engorgement.
Try and offer your baby the expressed milk, via a sippy cup or spoon or even a syringe.
The best advice I got was to try and nurse your baby when they are sleepy, either just before they go to sleep or right after they have woken up.
This works very well and it helped me overcome this difficult situation.
You can also try nursing in motion, either by waking or rocking and nursing.
It takes a lot of patience to see this stressful time through but you do get through it and your little one will be back to nursing as usual if not with a little more gustier.
Keep calm and good luck