Do I go back to breastfeeding? HELP

[toastedscone]

I exclusively BF my DD for 3 months and then combi fed until 4 months.

I then gave up completely because...

1)I felt a tiny bit of pressure from DP who believed bottles made her sleep better

2)I also wanted a routine and liked being able to know how much she'd drank.

3. was tired of leaky / engorged boobs

4. I wanted my sex drive to return (which it did)

My little one is now nearly 5 months and I'm starting to regret my decision. I wish I had gone on longer. I miss bf her and I feel so sad that we never will again. I also know the guidance for optimum health is to go until 6 months.

Is it too late to start bf again? A few feeds maybe? Pretty sure I've dried up now :(

Anyone experienced this? What did you do? Should I go back or just let it go and accept it's over.

Advice welcome. I don't know what to do.

You can start again if you want but it’s time and effort and there’s no guarantee she would accept it - you would have to pump a few times a day at least and once at night, and at the same time try to get her to breastfeed again. It depends on how much effort you’re willing to put into it, but it’s definitely possible.

If you are still producing milk (which isn't impossible), then you can build up a supply again with relentless pumping and feeding. Can you hand express to see if there's any milk in there?

If your milk has dried up then I'm afraid it's all a moot point, and you'll have to accept that it's over. You did amazing to BF for 3 months, and it gave your baby a great start. Well done!

Personally, I wouldn't want to put all that excruciating effort into building up a supply again instead of enjoying the time with my baby. It can be done, with not without hard work.

I hope you can come to terms with whatever you choose to do

Thanks for your kind words. I think I need to come to terms with it.

If I squeeze, there's still a little milk yes.

I might start her bottle feeds with a bit of boob so at least she can have what's left xx

Bump

Yes it's possible, I'd finished breastfeeding when my daughter was really poorly with a tummy bug and all she wanted was to breastfeed. Lots of skin to skin might help, or talk to HV/breastfeeding support if there's any available?

Thanks for sharing xx

I think it's possible but would require a lot of effort. For me, it wouldn't be worth it. I'd rather focus that time on my baby. Be proud of what you've done. Breastfeeding isn't everything. Also know that stopping breastfeeding can mess with your mood due to the hormone shift when you stop so it can trigger a lot of emotions. I found this after stopping both times and I was very, very ready each time.

Hi OP, I did similar. Stopped BF at 6 weeks because of colicky baby and I wanted him to sleep longer, I wanted husband to help with feeds.
I also only had a manual pump 🤦‍♀️ so expressing was tiring for my hands. Sore and leaky boobs were a nuisance. I was also worried of boobs becoming saggy... silly me.
And YES husband also made a comment of 'how long will I have to wear nipple pads on for?' which encouraged my idea of stopping breastfeeding.

I regret it now. Baby is 7 months. The fog of sleep deprivation has lifted, and we are 'one and done' so I will never experience breastfeeding again. All me reasons for stopping breastfeeding are so stupid, I made that decision whilst exhausted and just wanting to sleep.
My baby latched beautifully and I really wish I could experience it again.

However the ship has fully sailed for me. Plus he has 6 teeth now. I'm think we need to find peace in our decision and move on. We as humans also tend to look back on things with rose tinted glasses, so that won't help our situation For example remember how sore our boobs were, so much that we couldn't sleep on our stomachs?

Maybe try and think of things that were tough whilst breastfeeding.
Also tell yourself that some mums never manage to experience it, at least we did.
I only have two photos of me breastfeeding, too! Taking photos at that time was the last thing on my mind.

It's okay to feel like this, and it'll pass. Here if you want to chat x

You can't regret it at all. You stop when it makes sense to you at the time. And that's the best decision for your baby without a doubt. I had 3 babies breastfeed for very different amounts of time, wanted longer but then didn't want a toddler running over to me for milk. Stopping isn't perfect

Amy Brown has a book about breastfeeding grief which might help you process your feelings a bit? Or if you have a local bf group then you could go to do a bit of a debrief?
So much around breastfeeding can be really emotional but you have done well to feed as long as you did.