Interesting that I'm reading this discussion today.  I shocked even
myself by suggesting this very thing to a mom today.  It is something I
would absolutely not ever suggest for a newborn, but here's the
situation where I did mention it:

Baby is 5+ months old.  Because of severe soreness at the start, mom has
been pumping and bottling, providing all the milk baby needs in this
way.   She called about some other questions and asked if it would be
possible to get baby back to breast.  We tried baby at breast, and of
course, he was more interested in looking around, smiling at everyone.
He looked at the breast as if to say, "What the heck it that thing
for?"  He did lick some expressed milk from her nipple, but would not
latch and suck .  I told mom that for a first try I felt it went quite
well.  He didn't protest being held against the breast, just thought it
was a joke.  Among other suggestions (lots of skin-to-skin, offering the
breast when he's drowsy, taking him in a dark uninteresting room so he
won't be distracted, holding him with his cheek against her breast when
she gives him the bottle, etc.) I mentioned that she might try a bottle
nipple over her breast to get him to associate being at her breast with
feeding.  I emphasized that this should not be considered feeding, but
just a way to get him accustomed to being atthe breast with something
still familiar to him and as a possible step in reintroducing him to the
original way of feeding.  We may also consider a shield as part of the
transition, but she's going to see what happens first with the above
suggestions.  After all, this is the first time he's been by mom's bare
breast since he was just a few days old, so we can't expect miracles
overnight, but we'll see what develops.  This is a great, relaxed mom
with a very supportive FOB.

Winnie

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