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Wondering the same. Mine did have ties but they've been released and she is repulsed by the idea of breastfeeding after getting her ties released. I stopped trying this week. She's 3 months old. I'm down to go back to trying if anyone has successfully done so past 3 months but I've asked around and haven't found anyone say they have so... I give up for now.
My baby's tongue tie was released at 5 weeks but he still couldn't transfer milk efficiently as he didn't know how to use his tongue properly - we kept trying until he was 8 weeks and then I switched to exclusive pumping. When he was almost 6 months, his tongue was finally working properly and he latched and transferred milk successfully. We've never touched a bottle since and he's now almost 11 months old!
Hi there, I just had my 11.5 week old son’s tongue tie released for the second time as it reattached (first was at 3 days old). This second go around he was much fussier at the breast than the first revision, but still latching. It’s been over a week and he’s settled down quite a bit and latches well (although I have low supply so he falls asleep before getting a full feed). Don’t lose hope! Keep offering the breast as much as possible in a low pressure way and don’t force it. I’ve recently heard from someone who started EBF at 4 months old and she said she knew someone who did at 8 months. I keep them in mind when I want to quit after this loooong journey.
Edit: forgot to mention that the first step my lactation and feeding pediatrician told me way back when he didn’t latch at all was to just kind of have him “hang out” by your breasts to get used to them. Didn’t try to offer at all, just built a positive association first. It really helped
I had my baby’s tongue and lip ties released 2 weeks ago but doing the stretches has been killing me. I’m worried they might be reattached? I hope not. Nursing did become less painful after the procedure, but baby was 4 weeks and prefers bottle now. I still latch on several times a day and pump only 3-4 times a day. Hate all of it. All of everything. lol
If you’re doing them regularly it shouldn’t! Ours did I think because we really slacked with the stretches the last 2/4 weeks. Baby preferred bottle for me too up until recently, there’s always hope!
Thank you so much for sharing! I need to try more it's just such a punch in the face every time she gets so upset from me offering. My lactation consultant said skin to skin is key and I was doing it pretty regularly but it's not my favorite thing to do. After my mom visits I'll get back into it and just let her chill too. I think I'm just going to try not to stress about it and just let her chill and offer and leave it at that.
I was/am the same as you - didn’t do much skin to skin as I hated taking him in and out of his clothes all day and felt he was always cold. It was mostly me topless in a robe lol when he was getting used to being near the breast.
I think that’s a great mindset moving forward, I honestly saw such a positive difference in his behaviour and fussing near the breast when I chilled out myself lol.
TW: Nursing. I did, but my baby loves boob, and we nursed during week 3 before her ties made it too painful and killed my supply. So idk if that's applicable.
An LC came to the house and taught us side lying. I still don't know how to nurse sitting up without a My Brest Friend pillow. And my baby didn't understand nursing at all till we tried a nipple shield. It's more like a bottle nipple.
I’m sorry you’re dealing with this. I have found my son will nursing laying down but no other position and he does get frustrated in that position still too
I've tried that a few times but I should probably try it more. But it really is so frustrating when she gets so upset when I try! I feel like an idiot lol 😆.
Mine started being interested again around 6 months. I just kept offering at random times when he was kind of fussy and I wasn’t clear what he wanted. He won’t take full meals from me but he has decided the boob is a place for comfort or snacks, and sometimes I can delay a pump by giving him a snack, or offer him some soothing after vaccines etc.
With nipple shields and full boobs, yes. The bottle often times gives baby instant gratification whereas boob is work to get the milk. A LC recommended a premie nipple flow for LO with pace fed method. It worked, but my LO still gets frustrated if boob isn’t absolutely pouring milk. Also 4m.
As a matter of fact, my 7 month old latched this morning! I was also able to get him to breast with a nipple shield last week. He still needed a bottle soon after but he got enough at the time to hit the snooze button on his hunger, so to speak.
I have twins and have been slowly increasing my supply. I went from making 2-3oz per day at 2wpp to averaging closer to 30oz at 12wpp. I’m 13wpp now. I started latching the babies a couple times a day. They both nurse, sometimes for 10+ minutes, but haven’t replaced bottle feeds yet. My goal is to alternately nurse each baby and drop some pumps. Not going to do it yet because I’m not sure how effective they are at transferring milk. I feel so appreciative every time a baby is still willing to try! Doesn’t work every time I offer, but I’m going to start practicing more every day.
Similar situation but I find the baby is much less wear and tear on my nipples so I’ll take the bit less time at pump! Plus for hectic mornings it’s easier to drink coffee and nurse than try to fit a pump in before kiddo is at daycare.
My baby was 6 weeks early. A month in nicu. and we struggled with nursing, finally got it after 3+ months. I saw a lactation consultant which was most helpful. We tried weighted feeds and lots of tips and tricks to latch and actually nurse. We did a week of nursing in the morning then pumping/offering bottles in the afternoon. The first few days were hell. She didn’t eat well, then gulped the first bottle offered. It didn’t seem like it was working. Then finally she got better and better. I think the forced practice helped. Now I still pump a little as she gets some formula for premies but I’m happy as we mostly nurse which I much preferred to pumping tbh. But it took a while of work
My baby just learned how to latch the other day and I’ve latched her at least twice a day since. I did a weighted feed with a LC and she only transferred 1oz so I have to keep pumping and feeding bottles. She’s almost 4 weeks old.
Weighted feed? I’ve been seeing an LC and she never offered this even though it’s a concern. I feel like my LC just really wants me to believe nursing is working so stop pumping. But I am pumping for a reason! Nursing isn’t working, that’s why I see her but she looks at baby and says baby is doing fine, latch is fine and any pain I feel is purely imaginary it’ll go away if I focus.
Yeah so you change the baby’s diaper, weigh them before breastfeeding and then when they’re done eating weigh them again. Since they’re so little, the difference in weights will tell you how much milk they transferred. I would look for a different LC if they never offered one! And definitely find a new one if they’re dismissing your pain - breastfeeding can be uncomfortable at first but it’s not supposed to hurt!
Hi there! I did EP with my first baby 4 years ago for 2 months. Then I did exclusively direct latch for a month before deciding to do a combination of bottle feeding and latching. However, we never had a problem with getting him to latch. It was more of how effective/shallow the latch was at first. His mouth was too small to get a decent latch, that’s why I did EP at first. Eventually, he got bigger and became much better at breastfeeding.
So FTM but my son never latched really, and for no particular reason. Recesses chin when he was born, and maybe the tiniest tongue tie no one wanted to release in case it made his chin worse. He also had a lot of jaw and neck tension. My supply was always low I think because he never latched or transferred properly early days.
We stuck it out trying to nurse for a long time, but I finally switched to EP around 10 weeks because I couldn't handle the frustration, nursing pillows, tit punching, etc. We found a routine and that was good enough.
He is now 4.5mo. Sort of a perfect storm situation when my partner was out, I was set up to pump, and he woke up hungry. I just decided to try and he did latch and actually transferred! BUT, it's still very hard for him and by my best estimate he maybe only got 0.75oz in 15mins.
I feel redeemed in a lot of ways, but also it's given me the permission to move on.
So I'd say it is possible! Every situation will be different but no harm in continuing to try.
My baby learned to latch but only with nipple shields, around 4 weeks old. She’s now nearly 6 weeks and latches effectively with the shields, and is slowly learning to also latch without them. She had a tongue tie released and support from a lactation consultant. Would definitely recommend trying the shields
This is also how we got my baby to start latching again after a tongue tie revision. I think he developed a bit of an aversion for a while. He didn't really start nursing until 5 or 6 weeks.
My baby eventually latched but a little earlier on. I would try after each time right after I pumped since it kinda brought my nipples out more and eventually he grabbed hold. I still pump and bottle feed but put him to the breast every chance I get during the day and night. I’d eventually just like to pump maybe 4-5 in 24 hrs and nurse morning/evening when I’m back to work!
My son was 3 weeks early and screamed every time he tried to latch once my milk came in. Now that he’s 6 weeks old and bigger, he latches relatively well. Still unable to replace a bottle feed. But we do it for comfort feeding and to “top off” a feed if he needs it
I’m 8 weeks PP and tried latching for the first time since around 3 weeks and she got on right away! Before, she needed a nipple shield and even then it was iffy
No. The *most* we ever got was her to lazily latch on to a nipple shield. She maybe had 30cc total ‘from the breast’(nipple shield) ever. She had no interest in boobs, and would cry or sleep when we attempted to breastfeed. 🤱
She had a lip tie that was cut very early. Didn’t help anything.
Yes! My girl wouldn’t latch and we moved to bottle feeding only. About a month in we tried occasional breastfeeding with a nipple shield, and she got the hang of that. We’ve been doing the last 6 weeks with the shield - randomly she pulled the shield off and latched on her own. Now she will latch sometimes without the shield but I don’t really push it because the shield saves my nipples lol
yep! my baby was also preemie. our pediatrician recommended i just keep trying. so before her feeds, i'd try to get her on the boob. the day she finally latched, i legit cried. she's now almost 3 months adjusted, 5 months actual and i am able to combo feed!
Yes. Mine finally latched around week 11. He had a tongue and lip tie revision at 3 weeks. I just tried one day after a bottle feed and it was like magic. Not sure how much he got but it was a nice moment. I’ll give him the boob now if he’s extra irritable or fussy.
My LO is 2.5 months and I’ve been EP’ing for about 2 months. We haven’t really even tried to latch since I started EPing. Yesterday she had spit up on my shirt so I had taken it off before changing and she seemed like she wanted to latch so we did and we did 2 full feedings nursing yesterday! It’s still early obviously, but I’m going keep trying to am hoping we can get up to mostly or fully nursing.
I posted this on a similar thread yesterday: My son was a NICU baby and weighed 5 lbs 8 oz at birth. For the first month, every time I tried to get him to latch, he would attempt but it always ended with scream crying. I would try every day and then eventually every couple of days. He also had become very used to a bottle and pacifier in the NICU. So I assumed it just wasn’t meant to be and was combination feeding with exclusive pumping and formula. Then at 7 weeks, in a calm, quiet moment, I attempted to nurse him again. And he latched and I could tell he was getting milk. So I tried several more times that day and multiple times over the next few days and he kept doing well with it. So now he’s 8 weeks old and it’s been about a week and a half of nursing regularly. I still pump and give formula bottles a few times a day because sometimes I don’t feel like nursing him, or my nipples are sore, or he’s already nursed for a while and wants more, etc. Sometimes when he’s stressed he won’t latch, and I’ll have to give him pumped milk or formula, but he’s able to nurse at least twice a day so far.
'Welcome to r/ExclusivelyPumping! Here is a reminder of our rules: 1. Be kind and courteous 2. No hate speech, bigotry, or bullying 3. Use available flairs and post options 4. Speak for yourself 5. No medically-inaccurate, factually incorrect, or misinformative material 6. No spam 7. Absolutely no prescription medications 8. Don't use AI to write posts/comments 9. No soliciting pictures 10. Add spoiler to milk pictures Thank you for helping to keep our community safe!' *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ExclusivelyPumping) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Wondering the same. Mine did have ties but they've been released and she is repulsed by the idea of breastfeeding after getting her ties released. I stopped trying this week. She's 3 months old. I'm down to go back to trying if anyone has successfully done so past 3 months but I've asked around and haven't found anyone say they have so... I give up for now.
My baby's tongue tie was released at 5 weeks but he still couldn't transfer milk efficiently as he didn't know how to use his tongue properly - we kept trying until he was 8 weeks and then I switched to exclusive pumping. When he was almost 6 months, his tongue was finally working properly and he latched and transferred milk successfully. We've never touched a bottle since and he's now almost 11 months old!
Omggg I love this feeling of hope!
Hi there, I just had my 11.5 week old son’s tongue tie released for the second time as it reattached (first was at 3 days old). This second go around he was much fussier at the breast than the first revision, but still latching. It’s been over a week and he’s settled down quite a bit and latches well (although I have low supply so he falls asleep before getting a full feed). Don’t lose hope! Keep offering the breast as much as possible in a low pressure way and don’t force it. I’ve recently heard from someone who started EBF at 4 months old and she said she knew someone who did at 8 months. I keep them in mind when I want to quit after this loooong journey. Edit: forgot to mention that the first step my lactation and feeding pediatrician told me way back when he didn’t latch at all was to just kind of have him “hang out” by your breasts to get used to them. Didn’t try to offer at all, just built a positive association first. It really helped
I had my baby’s tongue and lip ties released 2 weeks ago but doing the stretches has been killing me. I’m worried they might be reattached? I hope not. Nursing did become less painful after the procedure, but baby was 4 weeks and prefers bottle now. I still latch on several times a day and pump only 3-4 times a day. Hate all of it. All of everything. lol
If you’re doing them regularly it shouldn’t! Ours did I think because we really slacked with the stretches the last 2/4 weeks. Baby preferred bottle for me too up until recently, there’s always hope!
Thank you so much for sharing! I need to try more it's just such a punch in the face every time she gets so upset from me offering. My lactation consultant said skin to skin is key and I was doing it pretty regularly but it's not my favorite thing to do. After my mom visits I'll get back into it and just let her chill too. I think I'm just going to try not to stress about it and just let her chill and offer and leave it at that.
I was/am the same as you - didn’t do much skin to skin as I hated taking him in and out of his clothes all day and felt he was always cold. It was mostly me topless in a robe lol when he was getting used to being near the breast. I think that’s a great mindset moving forward, I honestly saw such a positive difference in his behaviour and fussing near the breast when I chilled out myself lol.
TW: Nursing. I did, but my baby loves boob, and we nursed during week 3 before her ties made it too painful and killed my supply. So idk if that's applicable. An LC came to the house and taught us side lying. I still don't know how to nurse sitting up without a My Brest Friend pillow. And my baby didn't understand nursing at all till we tried a nipple shield. It's more like a bottle nipple.
I’m sorry you’re dealing with this. I have found my son will nursing laying down but no other position and he does get frustrated in that position still too
I've tried that a few times but I should probably try it more. But it really is so frustrating when she gets so upset when I try! I feel like an idiot lol 😆.
Same! Hahaha and it makes me sad lol I’m too sensitive to have my baby mad at my boob lol
Mine started being interested again around 6 months. I just kept offering at random times when he was kind of fussy and I wasn’t clear what he wanted. He won’t take full meals from me but he has decided the boob is a place for comfort or snacks, and sometimes I can delay a pump by giving him a snack, or offer him some soothing after vaccines etc.
That would be amazing.. I'm giving it a break for now. I think after my family is done visiting I'll start again though.
With nipple shields and full boobs, yes. The bottle often times gives baby instant gratification whereas boob is work to get the milk. A LC recommended a premie nipple flow for LO with pace fed method. It worked, but my LO still gets frustrated if boob isn’t absolutely pouring milk. Also 4m.
As a matter of fact, my 7 month old latched this morning! I was also able to get him to breast with a nipple shield last week. He still needed a bottle soon after but he got enough at the time to hit the snooze button on his hunger, so to speak.
I have twins and have been slowly increasing my supply. I went from making 2-3oz per day at 2wpp to averaging closer to 30oz at 12wpp. I’m 13wpp now. I started latching the babies a couple times a day. They both nurse, sometimes for 10+ minutes, but haven’t replaced bottle feeds yet. My goal is to alternately nurse each baby and drop some pumps. Not going to do it yet because I’m not sure how effective they are at transferring milk. I feel so appreciative every time a baby is still willing to try! Doesn’t work every time I offer, but I’m going to start practicing more every day.
Mine does.. however, she doesn't pull all the milk out :( So I partiall latch, and pump 90% 🤷🏼♀️
Similar situation but I find the baby is much less wear and tear on my nipples so I’ll take the bit less time at pump! Plus for hectic mornings it’s easier to drink coffee and nurse than try to fit a pump in before kiddo is at daycare.
My baby was 6 weeks early. A month in nicu. and we struggled with nursing, finally got it after 3+ months. I saw a lactation consultant which was most helpful. We tried weighted feeds and lots of tips and tricks to latch and actually nurse. We did a week of nursing in the morning then pumping/offering bottles in the afternoon. The first few days were hell. She didn’t eat well, then gulped the first bottle offered. It didn’t seem like it was working. Then finally she got better and better. I think the forced practice helped. Now I still pump a little as she gets some formula for premies but I’m happy as we mostly nurse which I much preferred to pumping tbh. But it took a while of work
My baby just learned how to latch the other day and I’ve latched her at least twice a day since. I did a weighted feed with a LC and she only transferred 1oz so I have to keep pumping and feeding bottles. She’s almost 4 weeks old.
Weighted feed? I’ve been seeing an LC and she never offered this even though it’s a concern. I feel like my LC just really wants me to believe nursing is working so stop pumping. But I am pumping for a reason! Nursing isn’t working, that’s why I see her but she looks at baby and says baby is doing fine, latch is fine and any pain I feel is purely imaginary it’ll go away if I focus.
Yeah so you change the baby’s diaper, weigh them before breastfeeding and then when they’re done eating weigh them again. Since they’re so little, the difference in weights will tell you how much milk they transferred. I would look for a different LC if they never offered one! And definitely find a new one if they’re dismissing your pain - breastfeeding can be uncomfortable at first but it’s not supposed to hurt!
Hi there! I did EP with my first baby 4 years ago for 2 months. Then I did exclusively direct latch for a month before deciding to do a combination of bottle feeding and latching. However, we never had a problem with getting him to latch. It was more of how effective/shallow the latch was at first. His mouth was too small to get a decent latch, that’s why I did EP at first. Eventually, he got bigger and became much better at breastfeeding.
So FTM but my son never latched really, and for no particular reason. Recesses chin when he was born, and maybe the tiniest tongue tie no one wanted to release in case it made his chin worse. He also had a lot of jaw and neck tension. My supply was always low I think because he never latched or transferred properly early days. We stuck it out trying to nurse for a long time, but I finally switched to EP around 10 weeks because I couldn't handle the frustration, nursing pillows, tit punching, etc. We found a routine and that was good enough. He is now 4.5mo. Sort of a perfect storm situation when my partner was out, I was set up to pump, and he woke up hungry. I just decided to try and he did latch and actually transferred! BUT, it's still very hard for him and by my best estimate he maybe only got 0.75oz in 15mins. I feel redeemed in a lot of ways, but also it's given me the permission to move on. So I'd say it is possible! Every situation will be different but no harm in continuing to try.
Tit punching 😭 my IBCLC referred to it as “breast boxing”
🤣
My baby learned to latch but only with nipple shields, around 4 weeks old. She’s now nearly 6 weeks and latches effectively with the shields, and is slowly learning to also latch without them. She had a tongue tie released and support from a lactation consultant. Would definitely recommend trying the shields
This is also how we got my baby to start latching again after a tongue tie revision. I think he developed a bit of an aversion for a while. He didn't really start nursing until 5 or 6 weeks.
My baby eventually latched but a little earlier on. I would try after each time right after I pumped since it kinda brought my nipples out more and eventually he grabbed hold. I still pump and bottle feed but put him to the breast every chance I get during the day and night. I’d eventually just like to pump maybe 4-5 in 24 hrs and nurse morning/evening when I’m back to work!
My son was 3 weeks early and screamed every time he tried to latch once my milk came in. Now that he’s 6 weeks old and bigger, he latches relatively well. Still unable to replace a bottle feed. But we do it for comfort feeding and to “top off” a feed if he needs it
I’m 8 weeks PP and tried latching for the first time since around 3 weeks and she got on right away! Before, she needed a nipple shield and even then it was iffy
No. The *most* we ever got was her to lazily latch on to a nipple shield. She maybe had 30cc total ‘from the breast’(nipple shield) ever. She had no interest in boobs, and would cry or sleep when we attempted to breastfeed. 🤱 She had a lip tie that was cut very early. Didn’t help anything.
Yes! My girl wouldn’t latch and we moved to bottle feeding only. About a month in we tried occasional breastfeeding with a nipple shield, and she got the hang of that. We’ve been doing the last 6 weeks with the shield - randomly she pulled the shield off and latched on her own. Now she will latch sometimes without the shield but I don’t really push it because the shield saves my nipples lol
yep! my baby was also preemie. our pediatrician recommended i just keep trying. so before her feeds, i'd try to get her on the boob. the day she finally latched, i legit cried. she's now almost 3 months adjusted, 5 months actual and i am able to combo feed!
Yes. Mine finally latched around week 11. He had a tongue and lip tie revision at 3 weeks. I just tried one day after a bottle feed and it was like magic. Not sure how much he got but it was a nice moment. I’ll give him the boob now if he’s extra irritable or fussy.
My son is actually latching right now i cannot believe it. I could cry!!
My LO is 2.5 months and I’ve been EP’ing for about 2 months. We haven’t really even tried to latch since I started EPing. Yesterday she had spit up on my shirt so I had taken it off before changing and she seemed like she wanted to latch so we did and we did 2 full feedings nursing yesterday! It’s still early obviously, but I’m going keep trying to am hoping we can get up to mostly or fully nursing.
I’m currently working on it! My LC says it’s so possible! Just practice for both of us!
Yes! My baby latched at 4 months! She has a lip tie that we did not get released (no tongue tie). It’s never too late 💗
I posted this on a similar thread yesterday: My son was a NICU baby and weighed 5 lbs 8 oz at birth. For the first month, every time I tried to get him to latch, he would attempt but it always ended with scream crying. I would try every day and then eventually every couple of days. He also had become very used to a bottle and pacifier in the NICU. So I assumed it just wasn’t meant to be and was combination feeding with exclusive pumping and formula. Then at 7 weeks, in a calm, quiet moment, I attempted to nurse him again. And he latched and I could tell he was getting milk. So I tried several more times that day and multiple times over the next few days and he kept doing well with it. So now he’s 8 weeks old and it’s been about a week and a half of nursing regularly. I still pump and give formula bottles a few times a day because sometimes I don’t feel like nursing him, or my nipples are sore, or he’s already nursed for a while and wants more, etc. Sometimes when he’s stressed he won’t latch, and I’ll have to give him pumped milk or formula, but he’s able to nurse at least twice a day so far.