Hello all

Fisrt of all, sorry for anonymous posting...I have registered a username and been accepted but I am unable to post under my user name for some reason.
This is my first posting on here and hope you can help. I gave up b/f about two months ago as I was ill with PND. I feel much better now and would love to give my 5 1/2 month daughter at least one b/f a day. I have been pumping for last two weeks and taking domperidone and fenugreek and am now managing 4oz a day from nothing at all. However laura refuses to suckle from me and I don't want to try too hard in case it distresses her. Please can any of you ladies who have 'been there' offer me any advice? ( I live in England by the way)

Kind regards

Jane Pennick

Hi Jane,

Welcome! No need to feel sorry about anything here. These darn forums can be difficult sometimes. Glad to see you. If you'd like to email me your user name I'll be happy to see what I can do. I'll email you a password to get you in and then you can change it once you're in.

You're best bet for getting your baby to the breast is to try a lot of skin to skin contact without any breastfeeding. If she goes in that direction, fine, but don't make an issue of it. Bathing together is wonderful for promoting breastfeeding behaviour. Once she's aclimated to the skin to skin contact you can begin to offer the breast. There are steps that you ar are best off doing with a lactation consultant present.

If you haven't done so already, now is the time to get in touch with a board certified lactation consultant. You can find one here www.iblce.org just click on the international registry and locate one near you.

Getting baby back to breast takes time but it can be done. We usually begin with the nipple that baby is used to, held over your own breast with some of your expressed milk inside. If your own milk doesn't flow fast enough you may have to use a Lact-aid supplmentary tubing device or SNS to assist you. Your LC can show you how to thread the tubing through the artificial nipple. Tubing goes against your skin and exits the nipple just barely (1/4 cm) and into baby's mouth. As baby latches you'll need to use breast compression to assist and promote the desired behaviour. You'll need a Medela newborn small, nipple shield (not a shell) which you can replace the bottle nipple with. You'll have to go back and forth until she takes the nipple shield and then gradually offer your breast without the shield. It may take about 2 weeks, sometimes longer, sometimes shorter.

Warmest regards,

Hey there....5 1/2 mos is not half as bad as me! I only started relactating at 6 mos...then it took me about 3 weeks just to get her to let me hold her and give her a bottle she was too used to rolling around on the floor with it....BUT it can be done...I had a lot a blood sweat and tears both of us did then I met Lenore and actually was able to work with her and Carole for a week....she was 11 mos old by then but we did it! I have pics of well not her first latch as none of us were prepared for that one, but I have pics of her second latch lol...and she was 11 mos old! So you can do it trust me. Just be persistant.