Breastfeeding - relactation

[misformegan]

I really hope any of you lovely ladies can help. I had a difficult birth, traumatic c section that led to lengthy hospital admission due to the amount of blood loss and rough recovery. I couldn’t breastfeed as a result. My baby has been formula fed, he’s doing amazing but I’m really struggling with wishing I could breastfeed him now that I’m finally out of the worst with this recovery. I’m not leaking milk anymore and worried I’ve missed my window. Baby is almost 7 weeks old. I tried to pump with my electric pump and got the tiniest amount - I found it quite painful.

my questions are;

1. has anyone had a similar experience of breastfeeding or exclusively pumping this late in?
2. is this possible?
3. how often would I need to pump for relactation? My baby is on 5oz feeds (I know, chunky boyo) so it will be quite a demand, would pumping for relactation ever be able to build up to meet this supply? Or would I need to introduce him to latching to the breast?

i’m clueless. I know about skin to skin, pumping at night etc but I think I just really need to hear success stories here and tips x

Contact an iblcl consultant. Time is of the essence, but it's definitely not impossible. Best of luck!

Gently, try to stop thinking about it. Babies are hard and they don't get easier for a long, long time. The sleep deprivation and exhaustion continues until they're about 1, at least. You have so much to do ahead of you (as well as amazing things and milestones coming). Don't make your life harder at this point.

You've done amazingly well. You have a healthy baby. You need to care for your baby AND yourself.

I know breastfeeding seems like the most important thing in the world right now but it will be a distant memory in a year's time.

Completely agree with what's said above. Why add the added stress and pressure to yourself. Formula is a well established substitute which is absolutely fine for baby. Why stress yourself?

Talk to a lactation consultant as soon as possible, lots of luck!