Anybody got any experience in relactating?

[Tinkjon]

I stopped bf'ing when DS was a week old, for various reasons, but am now regretting it a bit and am trying to relactate and I have a few questions.

1. It's often impossible to fit in feeding or sterilising and expressing every 2 hours, with a 4.5 year old DD at home - does anybody know if you can relactate on fewer feeds/expressing sessions that this? I know it's not ideal but does it matter if I skip the odd feed and go 4 or 5 hours between feeds/expresses? I'm happy to build up supply just enough to mix-feed, by the way - I'm not bothered about exclusive bf'ing.

2. Is expressing just as good as getting DS to suckle, for relactation purposes? I don't think he's very efficient at feeding as I hardly ever hear him swallow and he has no signs of getting any milk, so I think expressing gets more milk out than he can at the moment. He seems to get frustrated that there's hardly any milk there and just sucks for a minute or so and then stops and comfort sucks instead (little licks instead of proepr sucks). I'm going to call a BF counsellor to look at his latch, as it seems like this is the problem, although midwives have told me latch is fine.

3. Do I have to express or feed during the night for relaction to work? If so, could I get away with just doing it once a night?

4. How does your supply actually go up? Over the last week I've built it up from having only a few drops of milk to being able to express about half an ounce at a time - but it never seems to get any more than this. If I can't express any more, and DS isn't really taking any, then will my supply ever actually increase? Do your breasts only make enough to replace what's taken, or do they think 'everything I just made was taken so I'd better make some more in future?'

Sorry this is so long, thanks in advance if anybody has any ideas! (I will call a counsellor to chat through it at some point but I wondered if anybody here had any thoughts first).

Suckling is the best way to stimulate lactation.
That will also build supply, express ASWELL.

4-5 hours gaps are too long, really, to retrieve a milk supply...it really is important to make sure you express and/or feed more often than this.

If ds is feeding well then it will always be more effective than expressing; if not, then expressing is better.

Yes, you do need to express/feed in the night, and twice is better than once....again, no long gaps.

You don't say how long it is since you breastfed, and the longer the time, the longer it will take to build up again, so while you are doing well to have retrieved what you have done, you may need to keep going longer....and the key to it is frequency....the more often you feed/express, the more quickly the milk is made in response to this.

Good luck

Tiktok, I stopped about 3 weeks ago.

Tinkjon, thanks....a week would be a very short time to get it back, then, in that case, and you are doing well so far But the only way to be sure of giving your body a chance to start producing once more is to express/feed often....this can be hard and you need a lot of support and encouragement, I know.

get a bf counsellor definitely

mine did know a lot about relactation

she had me with a little tube on my nipple leading to milk so that dd got used to being there instead of thinking 'a bottle is quicker'