[sarajane]

I have a question that most people probably would find weird but I know everyone here is very naturally minded and more open to things like this so I knew I could ask here without being made fun of.

My toddler stopped nursing when my son was born. She is about to turn two. My first child nursed until she was a little over two years old and I feel she was healthier because of it. I would love to give that blessing to my other daughter but unlike my first child she doesn't remember how to nurse. She doesn't seem to miss it either. I would just pump for her so she can get the milk but I can't seem to get much of anything even though I never have a problem with supply.

I have an inexpensive manual pump which is all I can afford at this time. She takes a bottle every night when she goes to bed so getting her to drink milk shouldn't be a problem. But if I could some how reteach her to nurse then even if I can't get anything with the pump she could still get the health benefits which is really what I am after here.

It is no biggie to me to nurse two. I nursed my first while I was in labor even and convinced her to nurse a few times when she was sick to help her get well even though she already gave nursing up.

So, basically my question is has anyone every successfully retrained a toddler to nurse who has seemed to forget how? Is this weird of me? I just want what is best for her health wise. If I can't get her to nurse I need to be able to pump enough without having to spend a lot of money on a new pump which I don't have money for at the moment. Is there some trick to getting a decent amount out with a manual pump?

Thanks so much.

 

[aprilv]

have you tried hand expression? i could never pump with a manual pump either, but hand expression worked great for me.

here's a link:
http://www.llli.org/NB/NBMarApr96p51.html

 

[Triniity]

it´s not so weird, this question! I asked it before

There was an article in the mothering magazine (the one before this one) - it even has a name: Unweaning.

I kind of successfully "unweaned" dd. I was able to bf her for emotional needs. (she did not drink any kind of milk - so there was no bf for nutrition at this point - she was 30 month old.

If you want check my post, I don´t have time to link it right now, but I got answers, too.

Good luck!

 

[sarajane]

Thank you so much. I will see if I can find your post. I may try hand expression in the meantime. I hope it works better for me than the manual pump! I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[Leah_R]

I have not retrained a child, but I have had good luck with my manual pump. I did not have good luck at first, but finally got to the point that even with EBFing my dd, I could pump 10oz in one pumping session. I think you have to train yourself to pump. You need to relax. You then need to pump in a rhythm. Like 1, 2, 3, hold, 1, 2, 3, hold, and so on. I found only when I held the pump (held meaning, not releasing the suction) would milk come out well. The rhythm before the hold would better stimulate a baby nursing.

Also, give yourself 5 min to have your milk let down. Then continue to pump at the same time every day. Your body will learn.

HTH