Trying to relactate after 2 week break

[beautybox2]

Hi
I breastfeed my girl really well til 6 months, I always had a over supply, when she started solids she became less and less interested in feeding, and very distractable.
I tried everything, quiet room, skin to skin.. I could only feed her lying down when she was tired or I'd wake her to feed. I had to suppliment with formula and I used a manual pump although never managed to et much out.
Soo because I thought she was self weaning I decided that when we went abroad for 2weeks I would stop breastfeeding, at the time I was happy with my decision, but now I really miss the closeness of it, in hindsight I could have tried harder but it's soo hard with a 2yar old running around aswell!
She's 9 months tomorrow. I have been taking fenagreek for the past week 3 capsules 3 times a day and I've brought a new pump a meleda mini but only getting afew drops. I cannot get a let down!! They used to be so strong :(
I'm pumping every 2hrs and trying to put her on but she tries to sit up or turns away. I don't make a big deal out of it, just whip it out at every opportunity to try and coax her LOL
I think also it seems to be flow preference, today I brought the newborn Avent tears to make it a little bit harder for her!
I also brought nipple shields today but she just bites them :(
Please I need some encouragement, if anyone has any words of support it would be greatly appreciated, and any success stories!!
Thanks for reading

Have you looked on Kellymom? Google it there must be an answer on there. I read something somewhere on the net about someone re lactating within 2 weeks so it is possible.

No experience myself sorry.

kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/relactation/

Good luck. I wish I never stopped with my twins.

I bet you have milk still. After 6 months your supply must have been well established. I'm sure it doesn't go away after 2 weeks. You know that expressing is not a good indication of how much milk don't you? And for myself, if I'm upset I can't express much, it affects the letdown. I'd say loads of skin to skin and see how much you can get her to suckle? And yes, check kellymom...

I have no personal experience of this (although I struggled desperately with BFing DS in the early days - problems with supply, couldn't latch without nipple shields, preferred bottles etc etc) but I think what you're doing is fantastic and I wish you the very best of luck. Are you trying at night as well? I find DD who is a similar age is very distracted in the day and doesn't want to nurse a huge amount..the HV advised me to cut down her milk feeds and look to night-weaning around 8 months but I plan on ignoring that..I think many babes prefer to nurse at night when there's nothing to look at and they can have lovely cuddles with mum.

I remember seeing an article about relactation and adoptive mums sometimes being able to breastfeed. I thought it was on Dr Jay Gordon's website but the closest I can find is this - it's slightly different to your story but I hope you'll find it encouraging.

I know there are many factors involved in this 'mission' but the thing that worked for me when DS wouldn't nurse was my absolute determination that I wasn't going to give up without a fight...I'm now wondering how on earth to wean him 2 years on! I really hope this works out for you and send you much strength and support

Thanks so much for the replies :)
I do still have milk there but can't get it to flow with the let down reflex, tried massage, expressing near baby, relaxing but nothing works :(
She loves her sleep, she has a hammock and sleeps 7-7, sometimes I wake her to feed but she just turns away and if I bring her into bed with me she's restless.
It's funny how two babies can be soo different! My first DS comfort nursed and we breastfed till a year and which point I switched to cows milk in beaker, he is 2and a half and is yet to sleep through the night,wakes up twice still!
I just miss that closeness so much and I know if I don't try my hardest I will regret it, I keep looking a relactation stories because I need hope that I can do it.
I didn't give my DD her usual bedtime bottle tonight so she woke at 8 wanting a bottle so I made one up with a slow flow teat and while it cooled she played on the floor while I expressed, the milk I got only just covered the bottom of the bottle.
I then took her up to my bed stripped us both off for some snugly skin to skin, I tried latching her on but she saw bottle so I gave her that, she was frustrated and 1st because it was coming out too slow for her but before then end she relaxed and it felt lovely, if only she was getting her nourishment and comfort from me:(
She then finished the bottle and wanted to roll about the bed so I put her back in hammock and she fell fast asleep.
I will keep trying. I'm about to express again and take some fenugreek with a nice relaxing bubble bath. I will not give up on this, I would love to be writing a success story so I can help others the way they've helped me
Thanks again for the replys :)

Bumping

Hiya
Just wondered if anyone knew about nursing supplimenter made by medela I think, it's a bag that hangs around neck with a small thin tube. Baby suckles at breast, and the tube goes next to nipple so when baby sucks gets rewarded with milk, which in turn increases supply, does and one know where I can buy one or if I could rent one, or if a support group supply them

I've decided not to give her bottles anymore, she was having 3x 8oz a day. I'm giving her formula in a calpol syringe! She doesn't seem to mind albeit bait slower than the usual way!

Thanks for reading :)

Bump

Hiya
Thanks for the reply, there's 2 main issues

She won't latch, I've tried making it available,skin to skin. I sat next to her as she played on the floor, and squirted some so she could see there was milk, she then opened her mouth to catch some, she did this about 6 times then carried on playing, was comical at the time but its a start hey! If I try to put her in Cade hold she just sits. Up or bites my nipple :(

The syringe feeding didn't work as she didn't have much milk, she lost interest, so in total she only had 5. Oz the whole day when she normally has 24 oz a day. It will be back to the slow flow bottles tomorrow. I'm going to try breastfeeding on waking up from naps and a bottle as she's going down for a nap/bed and try breastfeeding after aswell, I don't want her to think if she refuses breast she will get bottle iyswim?

Secondly the letdown.. What a letdown

Still to have one, I know if she breastfed it would happen within 30 seconds as it had before with both my DC. But as she won't latch it's not happening. Would love to bring her into our bed but she loves her hammock and doesn't sleep well with us.
I co-slept with DS1 for a year so this is hard for me to accept she wants her own space. I do feel like giving up sometimes.

These problems are huge I don't know how I can make this work...
I have no more solutions or things to try, the supplimenter wouldn't work as she won't latch in the 1st place. I have spent nearly 100 in this whole process, i hope it's not in vain

I'm off to pump, have a nice relaxing bath then bed. I soo want to bring her into bed with me but she will wake up thinking its time to play! She won't settle anywhere unless in buggy or hammock.

I hope tomorrow's a better day, I've got a cold aswell which doesn't help, and DS1has temp so been waking frequently.

Thanks for reading :)

Thanks, I'm feeling much better this morning but DS Is not well, had to cancel holiday club today so stuck in for the day. Will use the time having lots of skin to skin and expressing.

I have had some hope this morning , I put DD for a nap in our bed after half a hour she fell asleep, admittedly only 45mins but its something, up until 6 months old she slept in with us when we went to bed so I could feed her throughout the night, that really helped my supply, so hoping tonight we can have lovely snuggles with fingers crossed some bf.

Still no letdown when expressing, so my only option is to keep on going with it in the hope that she will latch on in our bed half asleep :)

I didn't manage to BF beyond a few weeks, so I'm sure I'm writing from a perspective of ignorance, but if your DD doesn't want to BF anymore, isn't that just her self-weaning? It looks like you're going through all this palaver and getting upset for something that she doesn't seem bothered by.

I don't want to be hurtful, it's obviously upsetting you, but if it's not causing DD any problems wouldn't it be easier to accept the BF stage is over?

Babies rarely wean before 18 months I've heard, I just think I got into bad habits when she did feed, I have a 2yrold DS to tend to, so rather than taking a long time to nurse and getting her to comfort nurse, I would put her down to give my son some attention.

When she stared solids she would only feed during the night so if I can get her ack in our bed and feeding that's all I would like, just to have that closeness back

You see, I did say I didn't know anything about it!

Thank you wouldbe, your support means a lot to me during this time.
I think she's got used to the easiness of bottles, fast flow, quick and easy, before I decided to relactate I would prop bottle for her or she would hold so I could spent time with DS.
We have made progress, she's relaxing while she's having slow flow teats rather than trashing around because she's impatient, she will fall asleep in my bed. I can hold her in cradle position while feeding her a bottle, I think she's slowly warming to the idea.

Really hoping for some snuggles tonight in our bed :)

I've just brought a medela mini electric pump because I've not go a letdown not much is coming out. In 24hrs I've produced1 ounce.

I think I'm overlooking the use of a dummy and the impact it hAs on breastfeeding and comfort sucking, should I try and phase that out too? She only has it to sleep . Where would I start and is it worth doing?

Thanks :)