Why would a breastfed baby randomly refuse to nurse...

[Radosti]

I had trouble getting breastfeeding going with A, but once we got good at it, there were no issues except that he ate a huge amount and mostly at night. It got to the point that he wouldn't even need me to be fully awake. I'd raise my shirt, he'd pop on, eat and pop off ) rinse/repeat.

Fast forward to J. Nursing within 3 hours of birth, like a champ! Got sent home a little more than a day after he was born because things were going so well. Then, on day 5, he forgot how to nurse and screamed bloody murder for 3 hours, but refused to nurse. I pumped into a bottle and he sucked that down. Went to sleep, and when he woke up, things were back to normal.

This pattern has been ongoing for 3 months now. Except, I don't always end up pumping into a bottle. But he'll randomly refuse to nurse no matter how hungry he is. Sometimes, he is really tired and hunger loses to sleep, so he refuses to nurse. Sometimes, he can be distracted and when I offer again, he'll eat. But most times, no matter what I do, he won't nurse. A couple of days ago, he refuses to nurse for 4 hours. But he was starving (I know that cry). So, I finally pumped and he ate all 4 oz I offered. Immediately after eating, he knocked off to sleep. When he woke up, things were hunky dory and he nursed like a champ.

I have no idea what could be causing this. I don't mind feeding him milk from a bottle, I just wish I could figure out a pattern.