Breastfeeding Relactation - Los Angeles,CA

I'm pretty sure you can start again. You could try a La Leche League meeting. You could also talk to a lactation consultant. I have a couple of good ones I could recommend if you would like. Send me a message. One is on the West side and one is in the Glendale area. I had to take a medication to increase my milk supply called Domperidone. I ordered it from a pharmacy in New Zealand at the recommendation of my LC. It was the thing that kept me nursing for 16 months!! Send me a message if you have any other questions!

Just wanted to say hang in there and pray and figure it out. I don't have any advice except prayer and encouragement. You are doing a great thing for your son by switching back.

God Bless!

If you find it doesn't happen and want an alternative to formula that doesn't cause problems, let me know.

J.

Hi S.-

I would go to your lactation clinic at your local hospital. I have a cousin who also lives in the LA area who years ago adopted a baby and, (with help,) was able to stimulate her breasts to produce milk. Don't know how she did it, but she used to nurse a lot! In your case, I don't think 9 weeks is all that long, so you might have to work a bit, but you'll be fine!

Good luck, glad you're feeling better!

Totally possible. I would start taking fenugreek. it is an herbal supplement that i take to keep my milk supply up. then I would start pumping every 30 minutes to an hour all day long. after you pump try and put him at your breast to get his suckingh going to. he may still have the reflex and may not need to relearn how. then i disagree with the other person. put him to your breast when he is hungry. maybe feed him 1 or 2 ounces first of formula so he isn't starving but make sure he is hungry. a hungry baby sucks more and stimultes more milk production. after he nurses you can give him formula until your milk supplyis up. once you start producing mil, keep taking the fenugreek, and nurse him as often as needs to every 30 minutes if need be to get your milk back up. if he seems hungryonly give him the minimum amount of formula to make him happy. formula is really filling, so he won't want BF as much... but you need to as often as possible!!!! just feeding him will feel like a full time job! but it will be worth it!

Sure it's possible, even probable, depends on a few things though... like whether you're still lactating. (Ahem, it's actually possible to restart, especially early on, but sometimes the docs have to play with your hormones in order to do so, other times no intervention is necessary at all. ). There's also the option of donor-milk.

The la leche league & the lactation consultants at your hospital should be able to help you out big time in figuring out where you "are" milk-wise.

Here's a caveat: Breastmilk is best ... but being alive and healthy is even BETTER. Not all mum's can nurse. Some lose their milk early, some are going through chemo, others have to take meds that would pass through their milk, some mum's die, some mum's adopted their babies, some mums inherited them, others get deployed. Some mums are dads. I could go on for awhile. There are many many many reasons that a mother might not be able to nurse her baby. This does NOT make that mum bad. Not so long ago, if a mum couldn't nurse, and there was no wet nurse available, that baby would have died. Yeah...if you CAN breastmilk is amazing, but NEVER feel bad for doing what you need to do to keep your baby alive. The worst mother in the world may be able to nurse, but nursing doesn't make a mum a better mother.

I lost my milk much later than you (infection@ 9mo), but my son's major source of nutrition still needed to be breast milk or formula, so ...

If you DO have to stick with formula...a few tips:

- Try changing formula (all babies react differently to formulas, the "gentle" ones made my son MISERABLE, and the powdered ones -any brand- made him sick. We had to use enfamil lipil premade canned...but we tried a bunch of others before we found it. For other's the ones that made my son miserable were the ones that worked for their babies. There is just no one size fits most, much less one size fits all. Sometimes you just have to play around to see what works for YOU).

- Sniff & taste test (this is from experience, not being rude). Make sure to taste every bottle you give him. Many formulas break down and start going bad half an hour after being made (carnation we found to go bad the fastest...15-20 minutes in some cases, talk about frustrating...formula is expensive!!). If your son's a slow eater, be sure to check the bottle about every 20 minutes or so, until you've got an idea how long your brand will stay "good" for. I know. Eeeeeew Yuck!

- Try marathon burping, to easy gassiness (we're talking half hour to one hour burping sessions...bring a book).

Hoping you find what works for your family,
R

From what I know, you would have to pump every couple hours for 15min-30min (not sure on amount of time)even through the night. If you don't have a pump, I would rent one from the hospital (hospital grade pumps are stronger) and also buy that bra off the internet that is made to hold the pumps at your breasts hands free. That way, you can sleep while you are pumping. You really need the squeezing/biting action of the baby though, so after a day or so of pumping I would see if he will latch on for comfort after he is full, just to get practice. Maybe put a touch of sugar water on the nipple to ensure his interest. Then after another day or so, (while continuing to pump and comfort nurse/pacify) I would then put him on when he is a little hungry (not ravenous). Even if only a little comes out in the pump, the biting/squeezing action the infant makes while he nurses actually gets more milk out than the pump! Plus when you nurse "on empty" (or what feels like it) , the body sends signals to make more milk the next day and so on. The La Leche league can help you out much more.

That said, if you have to use formula, use one with probiotics. If that is too exspensive, go to a healthfood store and buy a baby probiotic like Jarrow or Udo's brand. This helps imitate breastmilk more acurately. Also, if your son truly has any colic, you can special order a probiotic called Lactobacillus Reuteri also called Lactobacillus Reuteri Protectus. It helps line the intestine so that it won't be over sensitive to proteins from milk (yours or cows)

Hope that helps.

I have always found great support and information through La Leche League. My suggestion is to contact your local La Leche League Leader. To find your local leader look online at www.LLLI.org

Hi S.,
I have read that it is possible and for you, it wasn't all that long ago that you stopped so I would guess that you would have an easier time getting your milk flowing again than someone who stopped months and months ago. I would highly suggest hiring a lactation consultant to help you get a plan and tips together. I wish you the best of luck in this worthy endeavor!!