trying to re-start breastfeeding in 8 week old

[gorge2003]

but she ahs started sleeping 9pm-6am....what do i do? i need to get her on 8-10 times a da and im only managing 4 or 5...for around5-10mins each time...its been a week and a half and still no change in amount of milk i have got (or haven't got)

saying that though does going from nipple dribblng milk out when i squeeze it to shooting across the room mean there is slightly more? I have tried expressing and get a few drops out but i know this doesnt indicate milk amount.

breasts still feel pretty empty!

[JetLi]

Could you bear to get up and pump when she sleeps? If I understand correctly, the prolactin hormone is highest at night time. Even if nothing comes off when you pump, the pure action of pumping ought to stimulate the hormone.

[beanbearer]

Milk shooting across the room sounds like a very good sign! Hand expressing is the only way I get anything out now so I'm convinced this is a more effective way than pumping to stimulate the breasts if your baby is sound asleep. It's a decision only you can make whether you want to wake her during the night to help you get the milk going... JetLi is right about the hormones being highest then so your supply will get an extra boost if you can feed/express a few times overnight.

[beanbearer]

You probably know already but hand expressing just means squeezing, like you did to fire it across the room (I use a plastic weaning bowl to catch it as it comes out at quite random angles).

www.kellymom.com has a clearer description:

Hand expression

Many women find that hand expression is an efficient way to pump when only occasional expression is required. In fact, when the milk production is not abundant (as in the first few days), it is often easier to get milk with hand expression than with a pump and many women find this the easiest way to express mature milk as well.

Place thumb and index finger on either side of the nipple, about 3 to 5 cm (1-2 inches) back from the nipple.
Press gently inward toward the rib cage.
Roll fingers together in a slight downward motion.
Repeat all around the nipple if desired.

[JetLi]

How are you doing gorge2003?

[toddlerama]

Take a fenugreek supplement as well. The milk glands are very similar to sweat glands and it does make you a little sweatier, but it bought my milk back after 3 months without feeding. DD still wouldn't take the nipple (sob), but the milk was there!

[gorge2003]

funnily enough jet me and her just had a lovely 20min feed...she fell asleep suckling...hasnt done that in a while, but she woke up and needed her top up! i will have a look for fenugreek tomorrow...holland and barrett?

we are getting there....very very slowly but its defo coming back slightly...got hv tomorrow so she might actually support me, she said she was gonna ring me last week and never bothered....really hope she starts being a bit more involved!!

[gorge2003]

just looked on holland and barrett website...£7.49 for 100...not bad, surely by the time they run out my milk will be back???

[luciemule]

Ask hv about starting on Domperidone as well as Fenugreek. It's prescribed for wind and sickness but the side effect is increased milk production. Once established, you can slowly decrease and you can always increase again should you need to.

[gorge2003]

well im seeing gp tomorrow too, so could ask her/him instead of hv (its our 8 week check) so i will be mentioning milk supply anyway, especially if its my hv! btw do u pronounce it dom-per-i-done? so dont look stupid!

[luciemule]

yep - exactly how you wrote it.
Someone I know is on it now and another friend was on it for quite a while with twins and it upped her supply substantially.

[gorge2003]

are they likely to just give it to me or am i going to have to beg?

[luciemule]

It's quite common for mothers who aren't relactating and who just have a low supply so for you to be relactating, I'm surprised they haven't mentioned it before.

[luciemule]

You could call the BfN Drug line if you wanted more info about it. The lady there is lovely and explained about it to me when I asked for info for lady with twins. If she's not there, she will call you back later that day if she can.

[Dominique07]

You can put her to the breast at, say, 11pm without really waking her up.

[luciemule]

ps - I think you can buy it over the counter.

[luciemule]

but if you can, check dosage with a GP or the drugs line lady.

[JetLi]

Good luck with GP & HV today gorge2003 - let us know how you get on

[gorge2003]

heya, well doc wouldnt give me domperidone...said it stops supply and said that fenugreek doesnt do much either!

doc n hv said it it a couple of weeks and u will be rolling in it again..i said its been 2 weeks and they both said 'oh'....

so didnt really get anywhere, wasnt my health visitor either...bit annoyed cos she was supposed to ring me last week to book to come see us and see how we are getting on and she didnt bother!

[Lilybunny]

Sorry to just butt into this, but I just thought that it was worth mentioning that massaging the breast, then starting the flow by hand before you try and express with a hand/electric pump can be very helpful.

I am surprised about your HV/GP not recommending fenugreek or Domperidone, I have found them to be excellent.

Good luck.

[luciemule]

that's weird.
I'm working (as a doula) for an obstetrician who is on Domperiodone and Fenugreek at the same time to increase supply as her ds was tongue tied and wasn't stimulating her supply. She's full time expressing pretty much and takes them to increase supply.
Very strange of GP to say it would stop supply. If you're still worrying, could you ring a bf supporter/lactation consultant.
By increasing feed though, they are right - supply will go up.

[luciemule]

Thought you might be interested in reading this web page.

www.breastfeedingmums.com/dr_jack_newman_domperidone.htm

[gorge2003]

i think i might book in for another appointment with a different doctor! cos everything on net suggests it works etc so why tell me it doesnt?

[luciemule]

Do you feel like you don't have enough milk still?

[gorge2003]

yeah there defo isnt enough milk, even on the one she prefers, she will feed for 5/10mins then thrash around and start screaming, btw its not wind!

when i try and express pump or hand i get next to nothing!

i really dont want to give up after trying so hard the last few weeks to get it going again! gonna keep persevering!

[luciemule]

but in that 5/10 mins she's probably had a really good feed. My DS only really ever fed for 10 mins at once. Once they're good at feeding, they become very efficent at taking what they want in a shorter time.