Latching baby on after stopping bf

[Beatrice]

A while ago I posted about how awful I was feeling after giving up bf when DD was 7 weeks. Got lots of useful and sympathetic replies - thanks again everyone - especially one from Tiktok saying that I could still put her to the breast for comfort even though I wasn't feeding. The problem is she won't latch on at all. I feel such a strong physical longing to have her there attached to me, but she doesn't seem to be interested at all. She's 22 weeks now so it's not surprising she's lost the habit, but she does seem quite clingy these days (she's teething)and it's so upsetting that I can't give her more comfort than just cuddling her. Is there anything I can do to encourage her to latch on even though there's no milk? I know I'm trying to do this as much for my own comfort as hers, so maybe it's not a good idea to keep trying if she's not keen?

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i understand why you want to provide extra comfort when baby is teething, in my experience tho', at teething times, breastfeeding for comfort can be painful for them... something to do with the sucking and pressure? my dd is 8 and a bit months, still breastfed and she gets quite difficult to feed when teething, bobbing on and off... so if its any consolation, it may be that your baby wouldnt be soothed by latching on anyway... and when she has used me to help her, it does hurt when they bite!!

Beatrice, I can understand your feeling. I am glad my idea helped you. The best way to encourage your baby to latch on is to make the opportunity to do so....just give her lots of skin to skin contact whenever it feels right and comfortable. Try co-bathing and co-sleeping. Don't fight her or struggle to get her latched on. Let her do it if she wants to/realises she can. It may not happen, but then again, it may do. Just being close and near the breast will be comforting for both of you.

Please don't be put off by Spod's experience .... it is rare for a teething baby to be in pain when feeding (it does seem to happen occasionally, but mostly, babies are just fine).

Sorry, don't think I expressed myself very clearly in the first message. I didn't mean I want to get her latched on specifically because she's teething, I just meant that it's especially when she's unhappy and seems to need comfort that I wish I were still breastfeeding. I would do ALMOST anything to have her at the breast again, but I draw the line at letting her use my nipple as a teething ring!

Just give it a go without a struggle or a fight, Beatrice....even if she is not actually on, but skin to skin with you, maybe between your breasts rather than across them (if you see what I mean) at times, you can have the intimacy and comfort of bf.

sorry, i just re-read my post, i didnt mean to be negative... as tiktock says, not all babies find feeding difficult when teething... one thing i have found is that she seems to want to stay latched on more at bedtimes and early morning... she does feed for a while but then stays on just for the closeness i think... so maybe you could try at times when baby is sleepy and that may work?

Thanks Spod - already tried that, in fact. Put her to the breast last night just before bed. She didn't latch on, but nuzzled around a bit and eventually went to sleep with my nipple in her mouth. It was lovely, but also sad to think that if i'd persevered a bit more we could have been doing that every night for the last 5 months. But then it was never that nice and relaxed when I was actually breastfeeding...

Beatrice, that sounds lovely and peaceful...hope it happens as often as you want it to.