going back to breastfeeding

[gorge2003]

so some of you will know my story, dd stopped bf-ing at 3 weeks, have really wanted to get her back on but didnt really know what i was doing!

just spoken to hv and she said:

everytime she wants a feed offer me first then top up with formula (4oz no more) she usually has 5oz of formula...i have practically no milk atm so thats why the top ups are neccessary.

dd is 6 weeks old now, she will quite happily latch on but gets frustrated with the lack of milk...gonna be a toughy but WE WILL DO IT!

[StealthPolarBear]

not an expert but that sounds like good advice! I'd also add offer when she isn't hungry so she can just snuggle up and comfort suck - might also help if she gets frustrated if there's little milk.
Good luck!!

[NotQuiteCockney]

If you want to feed more, you will have to do quite a bit of work - but it sounds like you're up for it.

First, have you seen a BF professional, and got your latch checked. Will she still latch on?

Second, how is her health? Is she gaining ok?

Third, make sure you always offer both boobs, you can even offer one boob, the other, then back to the first, then the bottle.

[NotQuiteCockney]

Oh, sorry, didn't see she still latches on, that's a good sign, but you should get your latch checked. Maybe your letdown is slow?

[NotQuiteCockney]

Oh, and you might want to try pumping, too, to stimulate supply, if you your DD gets frustrated at the lack of milk when she feeds.

Feeds at night do more for your supply than feeds during the day.

[Bessie123]

Hi - I have quite a positive experience of this, I thought I would tell you my story to show you it is possible and not tooo difficult -

I was hardly bf at all by the time dd was 12 weeks, she was mostly having formula. Dd would not latch on and if she did she would get v frustrated v fast. I ended up stopping the formula feeds and I bf till dd was 15 months, when she didn't want it any more. We had about 3 awful days at the beginning where I only offered boob and had to feed her formula with a pipette (to make sure she wasn't starving or dehydrated, this took ages) to wean her off the bottle but after that it was fine and she happily bf. I had thought I didn't have enough milk but I had plenty, just a slow let down. I was so pleased in the end that dd was bf again.

Good luck and it's great you decided to keep trying

[gorge2003]

well she had a 3oz feed at 9:45am and 2oz at 10:30...spoke to hv who said what i mentioned. she just latched on for 20 mins (10mins both sides) and she seems pretty content atm. i couldnt get hold of my hv before today so have been pretty much alone and feeling crap about it, feel very determined after speaking to her.

gotta keep a diary of the feeds (ff and bf) and she is coming to see me friday afternoon.

she is gaining weight fine (9lb 14oz at 6 weeks) but she has been on ff for 3ish weeks and 1 bf a day.

lotsa skin to skin etc is the way forward...we hae baths together most days so will offer a feed then too!

will ask hv about bf professional friday to check latch but as far as im aware its fine...no pain etc!

think im gonna go to the bf-ing group on a monday morning too!

me and dd will do this and get her back on exclusively!

[gorge2003]

btw her birth weight was 6lb 10oz!

[Bessie123]

It sounds like it's all going well.

I did find that formula filled dd up much more than bf and that at least initially to avoid dd getting hungry I had to bf very frequently through the day, probably every 2 hours.

[TaurielTest]

www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/relactation.html
This might have some useful ideas too? "BF is not just about the milk" kept me going when we were ditching the top-ups and my supply seemed low ... sounds like you're determined and doing really well.