@mariebaby3
Hi, I posted here last night about my feelings over my unsuccessful bf journey so understand completely how you are feeling. I also relactated when baby was 3 months old.
What I did
- hired a hospital grade medela symphony pump and pumped every 2 hrs for 20 minutes a day including one power pump and at least one pump between 1-4am. One I started to get drops of milk I would finish each pump by hand expressing to empty the breast as much as possible - this really helped but added an extra 15/20 mins ish to the pumping time.
- ensured sufficient calories and hydration
- put baby to breast as often as possible. Mine wouldn’t suckle unless I was wearing a nipple shield and only then when tired.
- tried a SNS to wean off bottle - unfortunately this didn’t work for my dd but yours is younger.
- I purchased mothers milk tea and made lactation cookies.
It’s absolutely possible and so rewarding when you start tk see results but I ended up stopping after 4 weeks, at that point I was getting about 1oz a day. For me I just realised that I was sacrificing too much including time with my other children, I couldn’t leave the house for very long, I was constantly attached to my pump. If you can get baby to latch you may have more success. You will definitely need a good support network either through LLL or your partner. I couldn’t have made it as far as I did without him WFH and taking the baby when she was fussy and I needed to pump. I had to be extremely regimented because if I missed a pump it was a noticeable setback.
I’m not trying to put you off at all, it’s just a really hard journey and one I’m not sure I would’ve started if I’d realised. but again, really worth it if you can make it work.
Ah bless you, it's so hard isn't it? I enjoyed breastfeeding but the guilt I had about not being able to spend as much time with my first child, really affected my mental health, alongside being permanently attached to the sofa during cluster feeds.
Although I know that if I did manage to relactate, cluster feeding would still be a thing, but I feel as though I could handle it better as I'd be expecting it.
I sometimes feel as though we aren't given enough information for breastfeeding. Healthcare professionals could be more honest about the nitty gritty bits of it, such as cluster feeding and just how difficult it is, but they make it out to be a bed of roses too which I learnt the hard way that it most certainly isn't.
That being said, when I was feeding, I loved doing it and felt very proud I did it for a month initially.
I think I'd have to express alongside breastfeeding if I was successful so I could still have that quality time with my other child, but with the view to significantly reduce the formula. However I am realistic about what my body may or may not be able to do.
Well done to you for breastfeeding, any amount of breastmilk babies have is amazing and it's fantastic you gave it another go! I completely empathise with your feelings of guilt! Xx