Is relactation possible when my DS won't latch and suckle? Please give me some advice...

[piggybank]

Hello,

I hope someone can help me, please.

I stopped exclusively breast feeding my son after two weeks and since week three was mainly on formula with a daily breast feed. Since then he refuses the breast and has not been on for a week.

What I would like to know is whether I can stimulate my breasts to relactate using skin to skin contact and a manual breast pump or do I actually need my baby to suckle (which he seems to have forgotten how to do). I hoped to then bottle feed him my ebm to give him as much benefit from breast milk as possible.

My left breast was abandoned after two weeks has not had any stimulation in the last two weeks bu my right breast has just been a week and an half. Both feel empty but my right spontaneously filled back up after skin to skin contact.

Can anyone please offer any advice? Have you relactated and then exclusively expressed and bottle fed? I would love to resume breast feeding maybe if this goes well but I don't want to bring any stress into our lives as he gets quite hysterical at the breast when I offer it to him. Maybe he has bad memories (I know I do) because I had real trouble with a poor latch and badly damaged nipple on the left ending in mastitis.

Also, will he and I still get most of the benefits of breast feeding without him actually being on the breast?

Any recomendations for breast pumps would be very apprecaited!

Thank you :-)

I think you should give either an NCT breast counsellor a call or the Le Leche League, it's free and they will be so so helpful www.laleche.org.uk/pages/about/helpline.htm

Thanks teaandcake. I hadn't even thought of that!

I am contacting my local breast feeding councellor too which I hope will help.

I'm still hoping that someone on here will have some experience of that they can share.

My husband is buying me a manual pump today so I'll get started with trying to get my milk back properly.

I'll let you know how I get on.

If you bump your message again tonight once everyone's little ones are in bed, you'll probably get a big response. In the meantime I hope your local BFC will be a help x

I'm going to bump your message for you again lovely, in the hope someone else see's it x

It sounds like you have a sensible approach here. Starting pumping regularly now is a great idea - to get a full supply back, you should be pumping eight times a day, with one of those times being at night.

Skin to skin will also be good for you and the baby, and should help you make milk.

You really do need to see someone in person, as they may be able to help you get him back on the breast. As you say, it's tricky, and you're both stressed and frustrated, so gentle and baby steps sound wise.

Your BFC may talk to you about tubefeeding, via a finger, or via your nipple. I've known mothers to have great success with this technique ...

Why did you stop breastfeeding at two weeks? How old is your son now?

Thank you so much for the bump teaandcakes, I had my hands full and couldn't get online.

My son is 4 weeks old. We had a very poor latch on the left side and my nipple became very sore with some of it coming off. I also got mastitis on that side either from the poor latch or the big crack and even the doctor suggested I give that side a rest to heal it rather than feeding through the mastitis. That was at 2 weeks. I then mixed my right breast with formula for another week.

I wish now I had tried longer but I couldn't see how it would get better and I was crying at each feed. I made the switch to formula help me bond with my son as I didn't want him to see me crying all the time.

I feel a bit nervous trying him back on the left side as no amount of bf support or midwife support seemed to help improve the latch. But maybe now it?s healed we can try afresh.

My BFC wasn?t very helpful. She just said it might be too late to bring my milk back rather tahn offering any advice about how I could do it! If I can get some milk going maybe she will help me latch him.

Thanks for your advice Notquitecockney. I feel good because I got a tiny amount out of each breast in the night. I?ll aim for 8 a day. I?m going to try La Leche League for support on the types of feeding you suggest because I?m not familiar with those techniques.

Thanks again guys!

Oh sweetheart (as my mother would say) you've really been through the wars and it is completely understandable that you took a break on the sore side. Sounds awful. Really hope you get some more tips from other MNs and that the La Leche will also help.

Have you called your Health Visitor? As they may be able to tell you where your nearest BF clinic is, where people can sit and help you have a go again on the other side with the baby.

Keep persevering hon, you're doing great x

Unfortunately I'm still not allowed to drive after c section so will have to wait on the clinic. But my health visitor is coming today :-)

Thanks teaandcake your support is really appreciated!!

How did it go with HV?