To try to increase my breastfeeding after combo feeding?

[Angliski]

Hello,

Just looking for some advice. First baby is now 19 weeks - very happy healthy little boy. I was EBF until about 8 weeks when we started on one bottle of formula at night - so dad could do evenings. Long story short, Covid19 meant i had to cut maternity short and get back to work to save business and employment of my little team. Encroaching commitments meant the formula went up and the BF went down and now i feed him just overnight and in the morning. I'd like to increase my flow and fully feed him more - there is still milk there, but not much - when i pump i am far from getting a full bottle as i used to in around 10 mins about a month ago. I've been taking fenugreek, eating oats, pumping around 30 mins per day and putting him to breast as frequently as i can when it is relaxed and he isn't hungry ( gets frustrated with low supply and is used to bottle now). Any other suggestions? Is it possible to get flow back up? I have probably been feeding just these couple of times a day for around a month. No problems with supply previous to that. Tips welcome! Thank you.

When I started on the fenugreek, I took 2 tablets, 4 x per day. It took more than a week but eventually I got there. I eventually started buying fenugreek seed and just swallowed down tsp’S full with water and it was heaps cheaper.

I was hungry for red meat, too, for about three years. And no matter how much water you think you are drinking, drink more.

If you were going ok, I see no reason why you shouldn’t get back there.

Ps. Some people also take blessed thistle as well but it gave me proper migraines.

I wasn't able to bf my DC but I did exclusively pump, if supply seemed to drop at all I would pump more frequently and/or for longer. I bought a handheld manual pump so I was able to pump wherever I was sitting which helped increase the frequency. Hope this helps.

Thank you!

I found I needed to do lots of massage when pumping to get anything. Lots of small sessions were better than one or two longer ones for me. I used to keep a manual pump in the kitchen and use it while the kettle boiled. I did find an electric one better for more focused expressing though.
www.nancymohrbacher.com/articles/2012/6/27/to-pump-more-milk-use-hands-on-pumping.html

www.laleche.org.uk/relactation-induced-lactation/

Paced feeding with a bottle really helps with the switch between breast and bottle. Do you have a bath with the baby?

There are great videos on paced feeding on YouTube

@user1471462428 I do sometimes have a bath with him yes and have put him to the breast then - is that a good time to do so? I will check out la leche on this thank you and paced feeding - is that making it tougher to get milk out of the bottle for him? We deliberately left newborn teats on them to slow him down but he does seem to get impatient with my breasts since they became a bit weedier.

Are you using a double pump? Worked for me. Apparently it tricks your body into thinking you are feeding twins.

Look up Lucy Ruddle IBCLC on Facebook she can help with this.