"reverse cycling" ~ how long will it last? how do I make it stop?

[mollyrryan]

DD2 is 3 1/2 months old. I went back to work three weeks ago, and I think she has been protesting ever since! She used to sleep so well at night, and now she is sleeping worse than she did even as a newborn! She refuses to eat more than 8 oz during the day, and she even refuses to eat when I try to BF her at 6:00 when I get home from work. Most of the time, she also refuses to eat when I try to BF her right before bed. I have to get her to sleep first, and then I have to try to feed her after she has fallen asleep. She then wakes up every 2-3 hours to eat. I am way too exhausted!!!

Will it improve if I stop BF'ing completely? I would still pump full-time until she is 6 months old, when I am going to stop BF'ing regardless.
What will help to get her off this crazy reverse schedule?
Any idea how long it will last?
Please help!!!

[lizzywednesday]

First, BRAVA for making nursing work with returning to the offie.

Second, it sounds like your LO is combining reverse cycling with a nursing strike.

Nursing strikes are hard to weather; my DD got a little strike-y at around that age, too, but it had less to do with the fact that I wasn't around and more to do with the fact that she was REALLY interested in the world around her.

It might help to read this section on KellyMom:

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/baby/back-to-breast.html

HTH!

[eh613c]

No advice here but I just wanted to let you know that the same thing happened to DS1 after I went back to work. Although I was telecommuting 3 days of the week, it was still hard. I think babies know that there is something off in their routine. I only worked 2 months and then decided to be a SAHM.

I know I'm not much help but whoever is taking care of your DC when you're at work, make sure they stick to the routine that you had when you were at home.

[new_mom_mry]

We've been dealing with similar issues ever since I returned to work, so I wanted to contribute my input for what it's worth.

Nursing strike--DS went through something similar where he would refuse to nurse when I would get home from work, and it began just around the time when I went back to work (~ 12 weeks). It was really silly...I would have to pump and then give him the bottle just to get him to eat. The bad news...it was really frustrating and I would have to feed him when he was sleepy and was either due to wake up from a nap or during the night when he was too sleepy by default and would nurse without any issues. In our case it was a nursing strike triggered by nipple confusion. He learned that milk flowed faster from the bottle and he decided that he prefers the bottle. The good news...his nursing strike was pretty short-lived and ended after 1-2 weeks at most. Interestingly, after roughly a month of having no trouble switching between bottle during the day and breast in the mornings/events/nights/weekends, he decided that breast is best after all, because our nanny has been struggling with getting him to drink the requisite three 5oz bottles while I am gone ever since he was about 4 months old (he is 8.5 months old).

Reverse-cycling pattern--still dealing with this issue! Our nanny has a rough time feeding him bottles during the day, and he loves to nurse in the evenings and all night long. I was truly hopeful that introduction of solids would help him sleep better at night and start drinking more milk during the day. The fruit and veggie purees did nothing of the sort for him...HOWEVER, I started feeding him protein/fat-rich foods for dinner at the suggestion of his pediatric nurse (gave him Earth's Best Sweet Potatos + Chicken last night) and he ended up sleeping for 5.5 hours, which is just about the longest stretch he's ever slept. Sorry, I have no real advice for you unfortunately, but just want to explain that you experience with your DD is very, very typical of babies whose moms work full time!