Breast Feeding Question.. Please Help!

I am sorry to tell you but if you have not nursed or pumped for a month you are probably pretty dried up.
I do not however think that you should give up, there are many women who have successfully relactated, but at this point I would not think that you produce enough milk to exclusively feed your baby.
If you are serious about it consult a lactation consultant for help.

To get started you must set up a regular pumping regimen, if possible every two hours with a hospital grade pump until you start seeing more milk - even an ounce would be a success.
If your baby latches on at all, I would let her suck for however long she wants and then bottlefeed while you are pumping. Choose the smallest/slowest flow nipple to bottlefeed, otherwise your baby will refuse because it is so much easier to drink from a bottle.
Breastfeeding doesn't have to be all or nothing, if you wish to continue it would be nice if you could at least relactate for a few partial feedings a day and supplement with formula...
It's going to be hard work but if you are up for it, I am sure you can do it. Get some professional help or contact la leche league.
Good luck!

Call La Leche today!~ You can get help and relactate. Start taking :

Fenugreek supplements
Flaxseed oil
Brewer's yeast
Mother's milk tea

Eat Steel cut oatmeal EVERYDAY.

These will all help to boost your milk production. Even if you don't pump anything right now, pump ever 1 1/2 to 2 hours around the clock so your body gets used to producing milk. Have some affirmations to encourage you. You can do this. Your baby will thank you for it.

I have a good friend who ADOPTED a baby and was able to nurse her. If she can do it, you can.

*** Also, just wanted to add that even if you don't end up producing a single drop of milk, your daughter can still benefit greatly from sucking and breastfeeding for closeness and bonding. So I would encourage you to latch her even if she isn't "eating". Breastfeeding and bonding that way have so many benefits. Good luck!

You have not nursed her for a month? How are you sure you even have milk? The pump is not a good measure of milk since you may be trouble getting you "let down" stimulated. Like others said, try to figure out why she refuses to nurse. Could it be the position? Maybe she got used to how fast the bottle flows. I am a huge breastfeeding advocate but since its been a month since she has nursed productively, it may be in the best interests of the baby to go to formula.

I second what the responder said below. Call the La Leche League folks and see what help they can offer. In the meantime, your child needs nourishment. If you can squeeze milk out, you should be able to pump - perhaps it is time to try different equipment. If you are using a hand pump, try an electric. Or go old school and see just how much you can hand express. In the meantime, supplement with formula if you have to. Breast milk may be best, but formula is better than not being able to feed your baby. Please don't give up on nursing just yet.

A quick thought - what was going on when your baby first refused to breastfeed? Was she sick? My firstborn had a very hard time feeding when she has a cold, and would respond by getting mad and spitting out my nipple. She also refused the breast if I ate curry at all - you could actually smell it in my breastmilk, and she did not like it. Another friend's baby struggled with breastfeeding because she had reflux. Once it was treated, they were able to re-establish nursing.

Do keep trying, but if you need to give it up, please don't let the "breast or bust" (pun intended) folks make you feel bad about your decision. Some months of breastfeeding beats none at all, and baby's gotta eat, right?

El Camino Women's Hospital in Los Gatos offers breastfeeding support groups and drop-in lactation consultations. Why don't you check those out and see if someone can help you? Meeting with an LC in person can be very helpful in this kind of situation. Here's a link to their calendar: https://www.elcaminohospital.org/Womens_Hospital/Pregnanc...

FYI, I found this just by googling. I don't live in the area and haven't ever checked these classes out myself.

Do not let her cry until she latches. Especially since it's been a month and you don't know how much you're making. Spend time trying to get her reacquainted with nursing. Skin-to-skin time is great. Take a bath together. Have them out and available for her. If you haven't nursed or pumped in a month though, I agree that it's concerning how much milk you have. I am glad you're trying to work things out; keep her fed overall and try to work nursing back in. And pump to work on your supply in the meantime; maybe contact someone about making sure your pump fits you right. Also go to kellymom.com and look up nursing strike tips.

I would seek the assistance of a lactation consultant or your local chapter of La Leche League. There is also Nursing Mothers Council. Your local hospital might have a nursing support group.

Some things to consider might be allergies. Have you changed your diet recently? Could she be allergic to something your eating? Dairy? Soy? Wheat?
Maybe your letdown is fast and she's getting too much at once of the first milk?
Perhaps she's Interested in solids. There is baby led weaning where she can chose things to eat from your meals.
Is she latching properly?
I hope you find a solution soon! I was not a successful breast feeder due to a variety of factors but I consulted every lactation resource available to me.

If you'd truly like to get her back to the breast, the first thing you should do is see a lactation consultant. She can help you decide where to go from here. As a peer counselor, my knowledge and experience are beneficial, but I don't know all the circumstances or what's been done in the last month. My gut reaction is it will be an uphill battle if she hasn't nursed and you haven't pumped for a month. Breastfeeding could happen again, but it really depends on the details of why she stopped, pumping or not, etc. Talk to an LC, and go from there.

Formula is not evil in and of itself. The shady marketing practices don't help moms who truly need to use it. And WHAT you feed baby is not the only contributing factor to childhood obesity. Bottle feeding itself can be a huge culprit because of the positioning of traditional bottle feeding. You shouldn't lay a baby down to eat because the milk/formula will drip out, causing baby to swallow whether they're hungry or not. Try Paced Bottle Feeding instead, which has the child sitting upright with just enough milk/formula in the nipple to cover the hole. This slows down the feeding, generally leads to less consumption, and cuts down on the gas that can be caused by gulping too fast. Hope this helps!

I agree, she is likely teething. Breastfeed first. Then supplement with the baby food after she has nursed. You can add formula into her rice cereal and baby food if you are not pumping enough milk, but you need to build the supply up again by offering the breast first. If you offer the bottle at this point, it won't be easy to get her to nurse again. It is the only way to get your milk to come back. Try that, you can also try mother's milk, fennel and marshmallow root teas to help with your milk production, eating oatmeal, drinking lots of water, fenugreek supplements and other things can help as well. If it still doesn't work, than you may need to do the formula. If you really want to breastfeed though, try those things first and contact your local la leche league.

http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2009/07/increasing-mi...

Teething.

I breastfed my kids exclusively, and whenever they were teething, they "refused" to nurse. It is just temporary. It can cause discomfort. But you still need to nurse. If you do not, your milk supply will diminish.
Nurse first, on-demand, 24/7, and to keep up your supply.

Also be careful, that if you offer Formula from a bottle or only offer a bottle, baby may then NOT want to nurse, at all. Because, drinking from a bottle is much easier, than breast, because it only works by gravity. But nursing, takes oral coordination and "sucking" to get the let down going. That happened with my son, who I fed by bottle occasionally. He preferred, a bottle. It was easier.

If you constantly replace.... nursing from breast with Formula, your milk production will diminish or disappear.

Even if on solids... nursing is a priority. For the 1st year of life, breastmilk or Formula is a baby's PRIMARY source of nutrition, not solids. Solids is not as nutritionally dense, as breastmilk or Formula. This is also per our Pediatrician.

Call your OB or ask a friend for a referral to a lactation consultant. They can be lifesavers!