Relactating Advice?

[Deleted]

My son is 7 months old. He was a preemie, so for the first month of his life, I EPed.  We then were able to work up to doing some feeding directly.  He was a slow, slow eater, so I still pumped most of his feeds (he was also really small and gaining weight was important).  We finally had gotten pretty good at the whole nursing thing when suddenly about a month ago, he developed a strong nipple preference for the bottle to the point he will not breastfeed. 

At this point, it has been a month. Has anyone relactated?  Any tips?

[Shoe Crazy Me]

Have you stopped pumping completely then? I would talk to your OB, I believe there are meds they can give you to help relactating.

[cgab36]

What if you give him a small amount in a bottle and then switch to breast? Or maybe a nipple shield will give him a better latch?

[brandiewine11]

You may get more input if you change the title of your post as re-lactation means to reestablish a supply after you have none.

In any case, I'd seek out the help of a qualified LC to see if you can get him back to the breast. Good luck!

[Shoe Crazy Me]

I EPed for the first 4 months after LO was born and we were able to get back to the breast. It was frustrating and hard but we did it! When LO would become really frustrated at the breast, we would stop and I would do something to soothe him like sing a song. Then we would try again in a few minutes.

We also started out using the nipple shield, but were able to wean off that eventually too.

I second seeing a good lactation consultant. If you aren't on a grandfathered plan your insurance should cover it. Good luck!