Hi there,
I have been pumping exclusively since the birth of my daughter who is now 12 weeks old. I had a bad experience breastfeeding as it was so painful and I hated it but I really wanted to give her breastmilk. At about 7 weeks I couldn't quite keep up with demand and started to supplement with formula. It was during this time we were away from home visiting family and I just didn't have the time to pump as much. From then on I then started to pump less and less. I now really want to continue giving my daughter breastmilk. I have started taking fenugreek and pumping as much as I can. My question is has anyone tried relactating and what their experience was and if there is any advice you could give me. Thanks.
Relactation
Relactation
Posted in:
Baby & Toddler, Baby Feeding
2 Replies
Best thing to do to build up your supply is to put babe to breast :) it will be much more efficient than pumping! Lots of women have been successful with re lactation. Call the Aus Breastfeeding Association for extra advice but my advice would be keep taking the fenugreek, eat lots of oats, drink plenty of water and latch baby as often as possible at first to build your supply. It may be painful at first but try Lansinoh cream (I found that really helpful). If the pain is really bad then it may be something to do with her latch. Lip tie or tongue tie can affect babies latch and make breast feeding very painful. Because lots of bubs aren't diagnosed and treated the mother's just think breast feeding will always be painful and stop. If you treat the tie then it should no longer be painful. So definitely go to the doc or a lactation consultant if it's painful.
Regarding supply, formula top ups are a trap. The more formula you give, the less milk your body will produce. If you want to fully breast feed then I would say slowly start to wean off the formula and just give the breast. If you do give formula you should pump so your body doesn't think you've skipped a feed. I know how hard it is to keep up with pumping though!
Good luck! I'm really proud of your decision and I hope my advice makes sense!
I'm am doing the same as you, it's so hard but I have been having regular appointments with a lactation consultant and pumping as much as I can. I'm still only getting small amounts of milk with pumping but I am just going to keep persisting and hope that my milk supply builds. Good luck! If you want to chat, feel free to contact me on Facebook :)