my son was born via csection and i tried to exclusively breast feed him but he mauled my nipples and it hurt too much so i supplemented w/ formula. when we got home and i healed i tried to nurse and he would switch nicely from my nipple to a bottle nipple but he was always hungry like 1/2 an hour after feeding on me so i continued to supplement with formula and then i stopped being able to produce enough milk (when pumping i would get about an ounce (sometimes less) from both breasts together) so i just gave up and put him on formula only.
its not 3 weeks later and i decided to try to express some milk myself (with forefinger and thumb) and saw a drop come out. i got all excited and decided to pump to see how much, if anything, comes out and ... zilp. not a drop. i tried pumping for 15 minutes.
obviously i have something left inside of me. when i try to express with my fingers i get a drop or two but the pump gets nothing.
is it possible for me to go back to breastfeeding? any advice on how to do it???
Definitely possible! Lots of mamas have done it. Here are some tips to get you started:
- Put the baby to the breast as much as possible. A nursing baby is great at stimulating increased supply.
- If baby will not nurse, check out this link: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/...to-breast.html.
- If/when baby will nurse, use this link to wean off of formula: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/decrease-formula.html
- Pump, using a high-quality pump with correctly sized shields. Hospital-grade rental is best. If you are trying to get your supply going with a manual pump or cheap electric pump, you are wasting a huge amount of effort by using an underpowered pump.
- Pump frequently. I suggest pumping every 2 hours during the day and every 3 at night.
- Try power pumping: pump for 10 minutes, rest for 10 minutes, pump for 10, rest for 10, and finally pump again for 10 minutes for a total of 30 minutes of pumping in a one-hour period. This type of pump-work is supposed to mimic the way a baby feeds and builds supply during a growth spurt.
- Contact a lactation consultant, preferably an IBCLC for help getting baby to latch and nurse, for help with pumping, and to help you prevent problems resulting from a poor latch.
- Herbs: fenugreek, blessed thistle, and ordinary oatmeal are all good for increasing supply.
- Drugs: as a last resort, Reglan and Domperidone are prescription drugs which can increase milk supply as a side-effect. Both have additional side-effects and are not for all moms, so please talk to your health-care provider (probably your midwife or ob) before taking either one.
Good luck and let us know how it goes, and how we can help!
is it possible to retry breastfeeding?
Reply With Quote
