I’m Pumping. How Do I Get Baby to Breastfeed?
Baby didn’t latch at first, so I’ve been exclusively pumping. How do I get her to want to start breastfeeding? She’s not interested!
Keep trying! Offer baby the breast but don’t get discouraged if she refuses for a while. These three strategies might help get her more interested in breastfeeding.
Take your time. If baby is feeding every two hours, offer the breast after an hour and a half so you can work to get baby latched on.
Experiment with different positions. You may have to try several different positions to get to one she likes, but you can try by using a position similar to how she is situated when she is being fed expressed breast milk.
Don’t give her a bottle yourself. It can help to have someone other than you feed baby the expressed breast milk so she connects nursing — not bottle feeding — with mom.
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