Is It Too Late to Breastfeed?

You can definitely try it! Its actually possible to relactate month after stopping breastfeeding (although this takes a lot of effort and time). My son will be 10 months next week and I stopped breastfeeding him at 10 wks due to some health issues he had and I still leak milk, so I doubt that you've dried up already.

It is a real commitment to initiate breastfeeding at this point. But any milk you pump or feed from the breast will be nutritious and contain immunities to protect your baby. Some adoptive moms successfully breastfeed, although usually supplements are needed. The best way to figure this out is to pump every two hours for several days to increase your supply. You can also put the baby to the breast whenever he is alert - at least every couple of hours. If he already shows a preference for a bottle and your milk supply increases, you may benefit from feeding him from a syringe or a tube taped on your finger or breast.

A Supplemental Nutrition System, SNS, is a thin tube attached to a bottle of formula at one end and taped to your breast on the other. This allows your baby to stimulate your breast to make milk while the baby meets his sucking needs at the breast and is fed. This can be frustrating but people do succeed with it.

Some Moms with tough births or medical issues have used the SNS to breastfeed completely, eventually without the tube, or for as long as they want to, using formula as a supplement. It's a good compromise. You feed your baby and stimulate your milk supply at the same time. A lactation consultant could show you how to use the SNS.

Good luck. I see that you have two older children and can guess that you really have your hands full. Take care of yourself and remember that the most important part of mothering is building a good relationship with your son, however you end up feeding him.

It is not too late. Keep working at it. Besides pumping let your infant suck every two hours. The more often you stimulate the breasts the more milk you will produce. I even knew a woman who adopted a baby and was able to supplement the feeding with her own breastmilk due to much stimulation. Contact La Leche League for more info. AF

Contact La Leche League. They will be able to give you all kinds of ideas and support. I know that there is a $30 membership fee, but I am pretty sure they would help you get started for free. They are a non profit with some really helpful and knowledgeable ladies.

It seems to me that if women who haven't even given birth are able to, you should still have a good shot.

Good luck!

I know that women who adopt children can breastfeed, so I don't think it is too late. You just need to build up your supply. You may also want to call a lactation consultant on advice on ways to build up your supply. Also, I never got as much from pumping as I did when I nursed....so I would suggest nursing more than pumping. Good luck.

It's never too late, and your baby will be MUCH more efficient than your pump. I breastfed both of my children until they were two, and I was never able to pump efficiently. I'd suggest contacting a La Leche League Leader right away. There are groups and leaders in all areas. Check out http://www.llli.org/ to find someone close to you. A lactation consultant can also help, but I find that LLL leaders are really ADVOCATES too and they offer their services free of charge because they love the cause and really want to help you have the best nursing relationship you can.

Talk to the people at the Holy Cross Lactation Center and/or your local La Leache League leaders. You may need to use a nipple shield or something to help him latch better. Remember that what you get from a pump is not the best indicator of what you can produce. A pump isn't as efficient as a baby and some people don't respond well to a pump.

You should also visit Kellymom.com and look up "relactation". If this is important to you, don't give up! Get help and support.

I don't think it is too late breastfeed...but you should probably stay on top of it several times a day regardless of what your output is. Remember to drink A LOT of water. I mean more than 64oz a day a lot more. Also oatmeal is suppose to increase your supply as well.
Hope this helps.

Not sure what advice you've gotten on this, but wanted to share that I nursed initially, then dried up completely while I was getting over mastitis, then my milk was able to come back in fully, which my SIL actually told me that wasn't possible-but it worked for me! If you really want to, then I say it's worth trying! Just be sure to watch your baby's weight to make sure he's not losing any. You may need to give a bottle a day or so intitally to help; that's what we did with my daughter. I think it took 8-10 days for the milk to come back in fully. Good luck!

Keep trying -- with the help of a lactation consultant. Check with your pediatrician's office or the hospital where you delivered - my hospital provided the service free of charge. I used one with my first two boys because I had a lot of trouble nursing in the beginning and the Lactation consultant is worth her weight in gold. After a very rocky start - pumping after every feeding, supplementing with pumped breast milk and formula, etc.- I was able to get my milk supply to where it needed to be. I ended up nursing both my boys past the 12 month mark with no supplementing after about 1-2 months. Also, don't necessarily think that what you get from a pump is what the baby is getting -- babies are much more efficient. Just keep trying. Having the baby at the breast, stimulating milk production, is the best thing for milk production. Just make sure that you are working closely with a breastfeeding professional (and not every nurse or pediatrician knows a lot about breastfeeding) to help you keep tabs on whether the baby is getting enough milk and you're doing the best things for your body to produce milk. Don't try to go it alone. From personal experience, hanging in there with breastfeeding was one of the hardest and best things I've ever done for my babies. God bless you and congratulations on the birth of your newest child.

it is not too late to breastfeed. Get that baby on your nipple, he does a much better job getting milk out than a man made pump!!!! Put him on both breasts even if one isn't producing anything it will start to produce more milk the more you put him on your breast. The best way to get more breastmilk is to let him suck on your breasts as long as he wants, then after he is done then pump afterward. Belive me when you do it this way you will be overloaded with milk.
Babies don't really need as much milk as you think, look at the size of his fist, that should tell you how much he can hold in his little tummy.

Make sure he latches on correctly, go to google.com and type in "correct latch for baby" or something like that and look at some pictures of how his lips are supposed to be, they should look like fish lips around your nipple and cover most of your areola.

The main thing is to let him nurse on your breast as much as possilbe ASAP before you milk does go dry.

Remember, let him nurse for as long as he wants, if he is still awake do both breasts but remember the next time you feed him give him the breast that wasn't sucked on that much or not at all first. Then after he is full go pump.
But make sure your pump fits your breast correctly because that could be anouther problem, it has to fit right in order to get the most milk out.
Dont get disscouraged, keep at it, at first you will produce only an ounce if that after he is done sucking and you try pumping, but keep at it, you will start to produce more and more

Hope this helps.

Every body is different, but I certainly wouldn't write it off. Is there a reason you're only pumping? Pumps are not nearly as efficient at stimulating milk, compared to a baby. I would let your son nurse as often as he wants, as long as the lack of supply isn't frustrating him (then I'd give him a bottle and let him suckle afterward). If your body is willing to cooperate, that will be most likely to stimulate milk production.

I had a lot of difficulty getting my baby to latch on properly after I had a c-section and my milk was delayed in coming in. I would try him on each breast before offering expressed milk in a bottle, and while he was eating or sleeping on my lap, I would pump. Skin contact is important, and with a little practice and coordination, you should find that your output increases. You are tricking the hormones in your body to responding with more milk. I also found a nipple sheild helped us a lot. Now, my son in almost 20 months old and I'm having a hard time getting him to wean, but it's a happy difficulty. Best of luck to you.

I don't think so, because you've been pumping. You should check with a lactation consultant (a lot of hospitals have them) or La Leche league for some assistance.

Best of luck!

Tell us more...why are you pumping and not putting babe to breast. Or are you feeding baby and then pumping? Please enlist a lactation consultant to help assist you. Call the hospital/birthing center where you gave birth. There should be a consultant on staff (or a warm line to call) when these issues arrise. The best thing to do - what you are already doing - is to keep it up. Meaning, the more you pump, the more you put baby to breast and feed, the more your milk production will be stimulated and hopefully increase. If you want to breastfeed, increase your pumping and feedings. Also try to stay calm, relaxed and get lots of sleep. (I know...hard to do with 2 other small children...) Seek out all the help you need!

It may still be possible to breastfeed. You should contact La Leche League. You can find your local group by going to LLLI.org. they have the very best breastfeeding support and info and they are free. They may suggest a supplemental nursing system to start with. Good for you for making the effort

The previous poster about summed it up, but I wanted to say definitely you can and 1/2 ounce is great! It might not seem like a lot, but it really is especially for a pump. With my first child, the first couple of times I pumped I only got about 1/2 ounce and I had been nursing from day 1. So, you getting 1/2 ounce after not nursing for two weeks is awesome. You can do it!

Oh, and look into getting fenugreek capsules. You can get them at the vitamin store or health food store. You have to take a lot of them, but they seem to work for a lot of people. Also, you can look into getting Mother's Milk tea. I have always had good luck with that when I need a supply boost. Also, your ob can prescribe you Domperidone. It is usually used for digestive problems, but it stimulates milk production as well.

It takes a very long time for milk to dry up and as long as you are getting anything out then you can build back up your supply. Pumps are never as good as your baby at getting the milk out either! If you want to start breast feeding then put your baby on the breast. Breast feed him first and then if your supply is not enough you can "top him off" with formula. Typically breast fed babies eat more often than formula fed babies so dont give him a lot of formula just an ounce to tide him over to the next time you nurse. Which if you are trying to build up your supply you should put him on the breast every 2 hours each side for at least 15-20 minutes. It is going to seem like you do nothing but nurse until your milk supply grows but it is great to not have to mix a bottle in the middle of the night! Also you can try mother's milk tea which helps promote lactation. You can get it at most grocery stores.

T.-

It is not too late to start breastfeeding. I was never able to get much milk from pumping, but the baby always got enough. Those pumps can not precisely mimick the sucking action of the baby. I would suggest you contact a licensed lactation consultant. She will be able to help you get your milk flowing and help you with any problems you might encounter. The hospital where you delivered should have one on staff. If not, contact the local chapter of Le Leche. Also, get the baby on the breast.

Hi T.,

Yes, yes, yes you can still breast feed your baby!!! Like the other ladies said drink lots of water and grape juice. My daughter is 5 months old and I stopped nursing her at 4 months. Yesterday my milk was still "coming down". My daughter suffers with constipation and I am sure it is because of the formula. KEEP IT UP! YOUR BABY WILL BE MUCH HEALTHIER FOR IT!

1/2 ounce this week, 1 ounce next week, 2 ounces the following week. It will get better.

keep pumping and if you like, I can give you my friend Laura,s email contact me at ____@____.com had similar problems and worked through it. also there is a breastfeeding support group every other Thursday that might help. It,s called Mom's Milk Cafe

Here's the info
Meet other local mothers who are breastfeeding in the Tidewater Area. This group is run by a Board Certified Lactation Consultant and is free and open to the community. Gather for support, exchange of ideas, info, and encouragement.

Meetups are every other Thursday from 0930-1130. It is held at :

Bldg #8 Xerox (Warwick Bldg) Conference Room, 2nd Floor
6353 Center Drive, Norfolk, Virginia 23502

Sponsored by MARCH OF DIMES and run by Tidewater Lactation Group. Please email ____@____.com or call 757/642-4568 for more information!

All breastfeeding moms and babies of any age are welcome. Light refreshments will be served. Tell and bring a friend!

I am not sure if it is too late...I would call the La Leche League of Virginia.There is a medication called domperdione that stimulates milk production.A WELL LATCHED BABY IS THE BEST WAY TO STIMULATE MILK PRODUCTION.The La Leche League can answer all of your questions I am sure...good luck

Not really sure if it to late, but why not try it. If it works then you will probably have your milk supply increase. Don't get to stressed over it though. Stay relaxed and just enjoy the baby. Stressing over your milk supply not only make it frustrating for you and her but can also make it decrease.

Good luck.

You can get your milk back. It will only take a little determination. It can happen and the sooner you start, the better. Drink lots of water and keep taking your prenatal vitamins. Get that baby on the breast and nurse, nurse, nurse. You two will get the hang of it. It may be frustrating for him at first, but persevere. I know there are special feeders that you can use that run a tube to the nipple so baby can suckle and get milk at the same time in situations like this which should help to ease any frustration he has while providing you the stimulation you need to begin producing. Maybe contact La Leche League to get more info on this, but in the meantime, offer him the breast first at any feeding and let him try it out. Remember, the more you let him suckle, the better your chances are. Try to stay as calm as possible. Anxiety can have a VERY detrimental effect on milk production. Just sit comfortably with him nursing, breathe slowly and visualize your breasts producing milk. I know it sounds weird, but it works. I've made it work for me during times of need (like when I had to take Sudafed and my milk supply suffered). Close your eyes and visualize gathering your energy in your chest and gently pushing it out through your breasts. Again, don't knock it until you've tried it. It works.

Here is an example of how possible this is. I was adopted. My mother and father had lost two babies (one at birth and one much earlier) before adopting my older sister and I. My mother was actually able to breastfeed me because she stuck it out and stayed calm. She had been pregnant twice and delivered at term once, and three years later was able to nurse me as a newborn infant even though I wasn't hers.

You can do it! I have faith in you! :) Best of luck!

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Sorry to edit the minute after I posted, but I just reread your question and I wanted to tell you one more thing. Baby is always a far more efficient milk retriever than any pump. He'll get way more than you've been able to pump. I guarantee it. Give him the breast that has been producing first in a feeding so he can get used to the idea that yummy milk comes out of these, but make sure that you switch to the other breast every time and let him nibble on that one as long as he like. Again, best of luck!