Thursday, 9 August 2012 12:00 p.m.
that decision is up to you but I really wouldn't offer him anything else but water to drink unless you're ready to give up bf. Nursing strikes can usually be resolved without too much trouble, but if you start offering alternatives it becomes much more difficult.
Check out kellymom.com for information on nursing strikes and how to get him back on the breast. Keep offering but don't try to push the issue, you can't make him bf after all. Try picking him up a little before he's due to wake and attempting to dreamfeed. Make sure you're in a quiet, dim environment if he's easily distractable (as they usually are at this age). Taking him into the bath with you and offering a bf often works, as does taking him into your bed for bf. Snuggle up in your usual bf possie and read a book together to try to rekindle bf associations.
As solids becomes more important in his diet he will want to bf less often, perhaps it's time to drop a feed or two. But milk really does need to be a large part of his diet for a few more months.
Sore ears and teething are fairly common reasons for babies to go off bf around this age.
Have you changed toiletries, perfumes or diet recently, or taken medication? Changes in your smell or the taste of your milk can trigger a strike. Has there been a change in routine?
Make sure you look after yourself until it's resolved one way or the other. Express frequently both for comfort and to maintain supply. Watch for heat, redness, spots and fluey symptoms as indications of infection. Good luck, just remember that despite what you hear babies under a year old rarely self wean unless assisted or encouraged.