Expert: ruth kraft - 7/20/2009

Question
Is it possible to re-establish breastfeeding with a 6.5 month old bottle fed baby?

When our son was born, we tried nursing for the first two months but with little success.  He would always fall asleep while nursing and wake up a half hour later ravenous.  I tried a routine of nursing him, then supplementing with pumped milk by bottle but after a few weeks, my milk production remained low and I became too exhausted to keep going.  After 3 months I made the decision to exclusively pump.  Using a rigorous every 2 hr pumping schedule I was able to improve my milk volume significantly.  I've since been able to cut back my frequency to every 4 hours without any affect on my volume but pumping continues to limit my ability to be away from home (or sometimes the car) for more than 2.5-3 hrs at a time.  I often find myself wishing we could nurse again so that we had more freedom.

Answer
yes, its very possible, but you need to work with someone like a lactation consultant or La leche league person who understands re-lactation. People do it to adopt babies, so I know its possible with alot of work to put back into it. in the end it will save you time and energy from all that pumping. I would reccomend calling and interviewing a few people in your area and finding one that fits to work with so she can watch the interaction between you and your child.

best of luck :)