Reintroducing the breast after exclusivly pumping?

Yes, you can do this. The best time to try is when she's sleepy and not as alert - so, either before she falls asleep or immediately after she wakes up. Get to her and offer your breast at the very first signs of hunger, well before she becomes upset or starts to cry... she'll be more open to the idea of latching on if she isn't frantic.

There were several issues I had to work through when I re-introduced direct nursing with my own daughter around 3 months. One, the let down and flow of my milk was really different from the bottles she'd been drinking from, so it took her a while to get used to it. It was a matter of letting her pull away and relatching her while her mouth was still wide open. This is one thing that was better when she was sleepy and not as alert... she would just swallow and not be so surprised about it. Two, it took me a while to get my let-down reflex to kick in quickly enough. Sometimes I'll try to stimulate let down before we start nursing so that she doesn't get mad. Finally, finding a good nursing position was essential. In the beginning when I first started offering the breast again, a side-lying position was really helpful and comfortable for both of us.

Good luck to you!

Not at all! i have heard of women reintroducing and getting baby to latch at 8 months old. it takes dedication but you already have that since you've been pumping ( which is hard). Try offering the breast as often as you can. Sometimes offering it when baby is tired and not too hungry works best. Sometimes offering it when baby is hungry is best. It's really trial and error and you have to work with it without getting frustated. Don't expect it to work right away, just go with it and stick to it :)

she might already have some flow preference, but you can try nursing her in her sleep - sort of half awake - in that state, she will suckle as a reflex. Also, change her bottles to Breastflow from 1st years. That bottle's mechanism is similar to breast and will slowly change her flow preference as she'll have to try a bit harder for the milk. It will hard for a few days, but if you succeed, it will be worth it.

Good luck

You absolutely can! I did it with twins... it wasn't easy, but nothing worth doing ever is.

Do A LOT of skin to skin contact and let her get used to how your skin feels, smells and even tastes... if you have the opportunity to spend a good solid 4 or more hours just holding her (topless and her in a diaper), that's going to be your turning point.

Just keep offering her the breast and if you're getting frustrated or she is.. stop and take a breather...

Best of luck to you!

Pump at work still.

Try just putting her to the breast. Don't give her a bottle.....just keep offering her the breast. Try a nipple shield......also try extracting some milk from your nipple so she gets the idea of what is coming from there.