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View Full Version : Relactation at 7 months.


Naofox
04-16-2009, 02:18 PM
Hi, I had initial problems breastfeeding in the hopital due to flat nipples. I was given a nipple shield and a pack of formula and told "goodluck." The LC at the hopsital said it was friday and she was off for the weekend and ready to go home. My daughter had latch problems and swallowed meconium. Her stomach was pumped and she got a syringe feeding, all wilth worked against breastfeeding, because she was afraid to latch to anything. I was told that if she didn't eat every 2 - 3 hours it was bad and she could get sick. She went 6 hours refusing food and a nurse forced me to give her formula - even as she turned away! She also held my daughter to my boob when she didn't want to suck. I later found that sometimes breastfed babies don't eat a lot before milk comes in. Something I didn't know, I felt bullied by the nurses and the LC there and have complained.

When I became engorged my nipples inverted and I had trouble expressing milk at all. I called the local lactation consultant and never received a call back. I later learned that she had quit and no one in the office bothered to let me know. I missed a lot of time because of that and expressed no milk for 24 hours. I managed to get them down in the shower and I continued to use the nippleshield and put my daughter to the breast, but she always had to be supplemented after that point. I never leaked or had hard breasts either. She was always hungry after a feeding.

I continued with supplementing even after I was able to lose the sheild. I used teas, fenugreek, reglan, everything! Even ate certain spices. I later learned I wasn't getting enough calories or water - something I've corrected recently.

At five months I used a supplemental nursing system and had brillant results! Unfortunately, my daughter pulled the tubing out in curiousity. I quit putting her to the breast on her 6 month mark. It's a week after her 7 month mark and I'm miserable. I regret weaning her off breastfeeding and want to start again - atleast til a year old. She was only breastfed 100% the first few days of life, then later supplemented.

I still have a prescription of reglan and a pump. Is it possible for me to get her back on the breast? Sometimes I can see traces of milk there, so I think I still have something. Would it be possible at this point to get her off formula? She only has 4 ozs every 3 hours even at night... Excluding any solids or snacks. I guess I need encouragement and just to know that it's possible to do, I had a rocky start I was never able to recover from and I feel like I really missed on something I never had a chance to participate in. Maybe it's silly, but I cry when I think about it.

I've heard stories where women have pumped/fed every hour , or power pumped frequently and have seen a dramatic increase within a week. Usually around 5 or 6 months after stopping at 6 weeks. It will really make me happy to get her to the breast again. I wish I'd learned this all sooner, I could've made a difference when it counted the most.

I have plenty of time at home to work on this, even at night, if I need to pump/feed every hour on the dot, I can. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

KerrySmithIBCLC
04-16-2009, 04:25 PM
I'm sorry you had such a rough go. Yes, it's absolutely possible to relactate and get her back to the breast, especially if it's only been a month. At this point, I don't know if you'd be able to fully relactate so that you can totally eliminate the formula, but breastfeeding success doesn't have to be defined by whether or not your baby needs some formula. You can still breastfeed as much as possible and then supplement with formula to fill in the gaps of what your baby needs.

Will your baby still latch at the breast? If so, I would encourage you to nurse as often as possible, as often as your baby will take the breast. At night is a good time to nurse because babies are sleepy and will often nurse instinctively in their sleep. After feedings, you might try pumping for 10 minutes or so to provide additional stimulation. However, if you find that frequent pumping is becoming too difficult with an active baby, frequent feeding without pumping will still be good.

If your baby will latch and nurse, do that very frequently - every couple hours. Then supplement with formula AFTER feedings (if she will still take an SNS at the breast, it would be best to give the formula supplement that way instead of a bottle, but I know some older babies won't nurse with an SNS).

After several days of doing this, try to slowly eliminate some of the formula. Instead of 4 oz. of formula at every feeding, cut back to 3.75 oz. Then after a couple days, cut back to 3.5 oz. Then in a couple days, cut down to 3.25 oz. Continue to cut down by a 1/4 oz. every bottle, every couple days, as long as your baby continues to nurse well and appear satisfied. While you do this, you should bring her in every 7-10 days for weight checks to make sure she's gaining appropriately.

Here are some links to additional information on relactation and getting baby back to the breast:

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/relactation.html

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/baby/back-to-breast.html

Good luck to you, and do consider finding a lactation consultant in person who can help you through this transition.

Kerry

Naofox
04-16-2009, 04:41 PM
Thank you very much!! :D