Can I start breastfeeding and pumping for my 8 month old?

[Brodiemummy]

Hey thinking of breastfeeding my baby he's 8 months old now and I've never pumped or breastfed but he keeps seeming to want to try we tried twice a newborn he didn't get anything but I'm thinking of trying again he was on Aldi formula for birth to 6 months then tried a mix of little steps SMS and cow and gate both follow on milk so wondering if also pumping could work first to see if I even mange to get anything before he tries and maybe he'll be a combo baby?

It’s doubtful you will have much if any supply after eight months of no breastfeeding. If he will latch on then you could just let him comfort suck but I wouldn’t expect him to get much milk or nutrition from it.

Re-lactating is a very time-consuming and difficult process, often requiring medication.

This might be useful to read

kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/relactation/

Oh okay thank you he seems to just keep wanting to suck and stuff he is on formula though

I really struggled to bf my first. It's not unheard or to start lactation at this stage.
Go back to the beginning: hold baby skin to skin as much as possible. Offer every 2-3 hours and at first signs of hunger around the clock.
Try something I found out about called, The Cure. (🙄 I know), but stay with me ... spend two days in bed with baby skin to skin. Only put baby down to shower and use the toilet. If you have a partner then have them cook for you etc. But, keep baby on your chest and skin to skin contact. The theory is it promotes the hormones to trigger lactation. I did this with my 2nd and have had zero issues with producing milk this time around.
But, it could also be luck.

You'll know your baby is getting milk if they are calm and seem satisfied and if you can hear the gulping as they swallow.
The other option is medication, but speak to a doctor or lactation consultant about that.
Finally, if nothing else, you will promote bonding and positive emotional development.
All good things, mama. 🩷

No

I’d be doubtful you’d have a supply anymore, but you could speak to a lactation consultant

Not sure how you would keep an 8 month old in bed for 2 days!!
It’s unlikely & sounds stressful. You can always let him try latch regularly if you think he wants to and see if takes anything but I wouldn’t put pressure on it.

He’s too old. Babies tongues work diffentlt as. Newborn compared fo 8 months, he won’t be able to learn to do it now It is normal for 8 month old to put everything f in his mouth. Have you got a health vision? Have a chat with them

It’s totally normal for an 8MO to put everything in their mouth. They all do it. It has nothing to do with breast or bottle feeding. Make your piece with bottle feeding. If he’s healthy and growing well then job done. Now onto the next stage: Enjoy weaning him onto solids, he should be having a couple of meals a day, so put whatever is going on with you to prompt this into making him delicious healthy recipes.

What you’re proposing with relactating is honestly mad and just not going to work unless maybe you induced it with drugs (would need a prescription), pumped and then bottle fed him, because his tongue won’t be able to learn and obviously you can’t stay in bed only offering the breast with a mobile eating solids 8MO for 2 days straight, that’s laughable.

This doesn't seem like a real poster?

This is a crazy idea.

Hey guys looking for other mum friends also few questions is it okay to breastfeed and do formula but not pump milk

I found a site that gives info that might be helpful.

www.cuddlesandmilk.com/blog-lactation-consultant/h5zdp3lpk73exhm765uhjv6n4etin9-me3sk-9nkf8-5xle7-4g84n-c9zp9-nwgb4-hwrxc-mljxz-emd68-8fkdf-e4y8l-d53tz-gyrpe-w6992-4d6xg-rramc-tdlft-yf793-82t2j-mph8m-83kh6-tta8l-h7wmx

Actually, that's not correct. Of course they can learn.

This can’t be real. It’s completely nuts.

No, it's true. I found it while researching bf'ing when pregnant with my 2nd. I had such a difficult time with my first dc I wanted to learn as much as I could before my 2nd dc.

As I said, it might have been luck, but, I did do an absolute tonne of skin to skin and I did stay in bed for the better part of 2 days to focus on bf'ing at the beginning.

I napped when baby napped otherwise, always skin to skin, plus co-sleeping/safe sleeping would be skin to skin.

I didn't offer formula and I didn't pump. I drank at least 8oz water after every feed, even at night and ate snacks, including high mf yoghurt, at night. I weighed baby daily to monitor weight gain.

I didn't have any issues with supply. Baby was given formula when I went out (1-3 hours at a time) and it didn't cause any issues, either.

I decided not to pump because I honestly felt such an aversion to it after being a slave to the pump with my first dc. And in hindsight it was a complete waste. I had used 3 different pumps, one on loan from the hospital, all good quality, and if I was lucky I'd produce a bottle a day. So my first dc got that one bottle of breast milk and the rest formula. My first dc would fall asleep within a few minutes of bf or just snuggle in and not even try to feed. There were some good sessions as well, but I was certain baby didn't get much because they'd always be very receptive to a bottle right after.
So, like many women I pretty much gave up, not to mention the fatigue with a new born being a new mum.

I also consulted with a lactation doctor , La Leche League, 3 midwives and a doula. So, I had support. I also was open minded to try other things and spending time in bed was a welcome approach. In my research I came across several articles about re-starting lactation as well.

If OP wants to try it there's no harm. Baby actually getting milk would be a bonus. But, the bonding, boost in feel good hormones for both and neural pathway development for baby are benefits that are worth the attempt.

Well, technically, maybe. They lose the reflex that makes tongues poke out so they can latch on easily by 6 months - of course if they are breasted they carry on but learning from scratch?. So with a lot of effort you could teach a baby that is used to bottles or sippy cups to do it but why ? Ther is no purpose , it’d be really hard work and the child has other developmental needs which will be neglected by hot housing it to pointlessly breastfeed.

frankly, it’s weird idea . Anyone who does this is thinking about themselves and not the baby

Op speak to you health visitor- they can help work out what your baby needs and you too.

@Seriestwo It might not be the norm, especially considering low bf rates, but it's not weird. And it's incorrect to say there's no benefit from breastmilk at this stage. It's well-known that breast feeding is recommended by the WHO to age 3. Surely this mum should be supported, not judged and not labeled as weird.

Also, developmentally OP's baby would be better able to latch and feed more efficiently.

At this age, you have much more important things to worry about. Physical development, walking, weaning, a diverse diet etc. Frankly, the post comes across as someone needing either psychological help or social services intervention.

Nothing OP has written indicates psychological issues or a need for social services. Good god. 🤦‍♀️🙄😵‍💫

Healthy happy mums of healthy happy 8 month olds don’t have such deep seated regret about feeding that they try to restart lactation. Either this totally made up at which point the poster needs therapy because gross or it’s for real and then therapy would also be helpful to unpick whatever birth or post partum trauma(s) are driving this. So yes therapy. Definitely therapy.

What on earth?! The OP said nothing about trauma, she said her child appears to want to breastfeed.

OP - I don’t know much about re lactation but I see no harm in trying. You can absolutely breastfeed without pumping.

Are you the tyoe of person that thinks anything other than indifference requires therapy? A question has been asked by OP.
She hasn't asked for armchair psychoanalysis. Good grief. 😵‍💫

If you don't have the knowledge then why are you commenting?

If OP were able to reintroduce lactation (totally possible) then the breastmilk would have as much nutrition as it ever did. Breastmilk is a living and dynamic fluid. It adjusts to exactly what the baby needs through contact with saliva etc. it doesn't stop doing that just because the baby is over a certain age.

I meant nutrition purely due to the lack of volume, not due to the constitution of the milk…