relactating??

Time? Hmm....I'm just doing what I can. With three little ones now I just don't get time! I find it hard to get a good amount of time in one go, most times I'm probably doing 5-10 minutes each side and I'm doing this in between feeds so probably 4-5 times a day. I'm also finding my nipples have little cracks happening at the base of my nipple (so totally diffrerent spot than when I was BFing) so I've had to get the Lansinoh out. Jake is sleeping through sometimes so if he wakes for a feed I try to get him to have a suck on booby but I don't express during thr night. Jake is going on during each feed (I give him bottle, then booby, bottle then booby!) but as the days go on he is getting less happy to stay there. He goes on ok but is now wiser that there is nothign coming out. So I think when I have my appt with the LC tomorrow we may look at a supply line, just to trick him and so I get some decent baby sucking time. I'm not sure how much good the expressing is doing, even when I was BF I was a terrible expresser, hardly got anything.

As far as motilium I'm on 2 tabs 3x a day at the moment. As i'll be in town tomorrow at the appointment I'll go into a health store and get some flaxseed and fenugreek. It's not gonna hurt!!

I'm pleasantly surprised about DH's reaction to it all! While I was still Pg I was stressing over BFing this time and although he wasn't eaxacly un supportive, he wasn't exactly supportive either. He was ok while we were BFing but now I want to go back he is really good with it and happy about it.

Thanks Jennifer...I just hope I can deliver!:cryinglaugh:

thanks so much again girls for all your help :hug: means so much. I have had times where I feel like I'm not doing the right thing and I must be crazy but you all make me feel it is ok. And charlismumma, thanks for hijacking, it;s nice to know I'm not alone at the moment.

Hey Becstar, how is it going?

I just wanted to thank everyone for your answers to my questions and to let you know that I really had a long hard think about it all overnight. In reality I think it is going to be just too hard to try to get my milk back in - the main reason being I work 4 days a week now and I know my boss won't be very supportive about me going into another room and expressing several times a day. If I was lucky enough to still be a SAHM I would definately be trying to relactate right now.
Anyhow, I shall keep my Fengreek in the cupboard and as soon as bub # 2 is born I will be taking it to try and get some sort of a decent supply from the beginning next time and now I know that if I am having troubles I need to go and get some motillium.

Bec, all the best for a successful outcome :)

Hiya! :)

Charliesmumma I know how you feel. And if i wasn't a SAHM at the moment this would not be an option of me either, no matter how much i wanted it. the LC i saw today was so wonderful but also put across the point that it is something you need to commit to for it to work and understandably Mum's get busy and it can be hard. She plainly said for a lot of people the reality of what is involved is a very good reason so many people don't continue. And I am SO glad this has helped you be prepared for your next bubba, so now you are all armed with the info and resources you need.

As for me, it's going well I think! :D I saw the LC today ( and I REALLY love her!! :D she is so great!) and had a good long chat about the cons and how hard it can be. Which was nice, she showed no pressure just alerted me that if I decided to bow out it would be ok and would be for totally valid reasons. She told me that to the best of her knowledge the time it had been since weaning usually equals the time it takes to get back a full supply. So we are looking at 8-9weeks until possible full supply. She gave me a supply line to use to poke into Jakes mouth while having him in the breast so when he sucks he sucks the milk from the bottle, thinking it's coming from booby. Seems to work ok for a while although it can be tricky to co-ordinate getting it all in! She also loaned me a kit to use with an electric pump, however I haven't hired the pump yet. Mainly cos after all I've spent on the dr, scripts for motilium and fenugreek and flaxseed I just didn't have the $$!

BUT

This morning after having a shower I thought it would be a great time to express. So I did for a little and of course got nothing. THEN, I decided to have a go hand expressing and whaddya know after two squeezes out pops a couple drops of clear liquid! Too easy! Made me wonder how come it was easier without the pump though....

So I mentioned this to the LC and she in turn mentioned that maybe my pump wasn't the best (I use an Avent Isis) and that she had found they weren't all that good unless you had a fairly good supply already. Which made sense, I didn't feel I was getting good suction and I had wondered why I seemed to be such a poor expresser while I was BFing. So when I got home today I tried out the Medela pump by hand and hey presto, out of one breast I got a couple of shining, yellow drops of colostrum looking liquid!! :woot:

So now I'm all positive, it IS going to work, I just know it! As long as I keep expressing, it's all gonna be ok and I AM going to succeed!!

becstar,that's great :) I think you might find that an electric pump will help a lot. Well the Lc I spoke to said to definately get an electric double pump.
Wow if it takes the length of time since you've weaned to get your supply back I had no hope considering Charli was weaned 8 months ago :doh:

Sounds like you are doing really well! You go girl!

Oh yes, I am a lot wiser for next time, thats for sure. When the hospital realised bub was getting no milk (because she'd lost more than 10% of her birthweight when they weighed her on day 5) they just assumed she mustnt have been attaching correctly (when I always felt that she was). They just told me to express to get my supply up. None of the middies or the health care nurse I spoke to in the first couple of weeks told me about natural remedies or motillium to try to increase my supply :wall:
When I hadn't woken up engorged and full of milk a few days after the birth (like most people typically do) I asked one of the midwives about it and she just shrugged and said some people dont get engorged. grrr!

Sorry, I shall stop raving on now :)

Woo hoo Bec! So proud of you!!

SG
xo

Hey becstar, how are you going?

Hi! Was thinking this morning that I should update..... :D Thanks for thinking of me.

It's going well! :D I have milk, even squirted (as opposed to a drip) when I hand expressed in the shower this morning so it's all great! My main task now is to get supply up which is proving quite hard as I just don't get enough time in one chunk to sit and express. I'm going to try to get the electric pump this week, should help heaps. But it's $100 deposit!!! OMG!

Jake is now taking two feeds a day on the boob, with the supply line. Which is nice. LC is happy with progress too.

All in all it hasn't been as hard as I'd thought, but we don't have full supply yet!

Oh well done, Bec!! :clap: You should be really proud of yourself. Keep us posted!

Thats fantastic Bec! You are going to be a B/feeding guru!

Hi,

You are making such great progress - that is really SO fabulous! An electric pump will be so worth it. It will really speed things up - especially if you get a double pumping kit. Did you try your local ABA group? They have discounts for breastpump hire.
Warm Regards
Barb

Guru?? lol thanks but I dunno..... :P

Barb, I will try that thanks, only got a single kit on loan from my wonderful LC so will have to stick with the single pump. But it will still be better to do it one-handed again!

Bec, how's it all going??

SG
xo

SG it's going WELL!!! :D Sorry, pc problems.....

got the electric pump which has been fantastic. Jake is now happy to feed on the boob as he is getting around 25ml I think each time. He's been feeding in the night too which has helped my supply heaps.

I'm not sure if we'll ever get to full supply, I hope so but I'm not too sure. don't wanna be disappointed and feel like I failed again.

thanks for asking :)

OMG Bec, you are doing so WELL! Good on you hun! Night feeding is great for building up your supply. My DS didn't get a whole lot from the boob when he was littler, but he gets plenty now LOL! He loves it so much, and I've relaxed about it enough, that my supply is better than ever. Better late than never :lol:

Seriously, it sounds like you're doing a fantastic job. You're an inspiration. And I know you'll be so glad you've stuck with it. Full supply or not, it's well worth doing. :clap:

Well done Bec :clap:. Jake is probably getting more than you can express, so don't underestimate how much he is taking from you each time he feeds. Every drop is truly an achievement!!

Bec I've been meaning to find this thread and find out how you're going. I'm almost crying reading about you feeding your little boy. Even if you never get back to full time BFing the feeds you are having are such a special treat for you and Jake. Well done.
Any more updates?

Just been reading through your thread...

Beckstar i think its amazing what your doing... Great job and good luck...

Just wanted to mention that i actually purchased a double pump Brand New from ebay for $87... A cherub brand... Their fantastic... would recommend a double electric pump for anyone considering expressing... Nice and quick and it works a treat.

Je$$ is the cherub brand one nice and quiet? I'm jumping on Ebay right now! I'm not even UTD with #2 yet but that is a bargain. The cheapest one I'd found was an Ameda double electric one for $300.

Spice- well its the only one i have used so have no comparison but i use it with bubs on one side and express from the other and it doesnt bother her... she still falls asleep... It did say it was a quiet one... It came in a pack with bottles teats etc plus little bag to keep everything in... I searched and searched... They also sell single ones that are auto electric... i have noticed some are electric but you need to press a button to release and suck. The cherub double one i have has 2 settings one quick pump (like when bubs forst starts sucking and the second setting is longer sucking for the thicker milk and you can choose to pump right or left or both together. I brought one as my supply wasnt the best but now i'm not having as many issues... Just need to remember to keep up using it... (even though i cant get DD to drink my EBM from a bottle...) I'm freezing it though...

Even on the cherub website there not as expensive as other brands... i lost a few auctions before i won there pretty popular. mite take you a few goes.. but still a double pump under $200 i still would have paid... so great to pop it on both sides and away you go... usually for me 15 mins max and i have 2 full bottles... Its great.

Good luck

Oh cool, it sounds really great. I have a Nuk mini electric one that I had to press on and off the button to use it and it sounded like a whipper snipper so as long as it's not like that I'll be happy. I had big supply probs last time so I want to be able to use a good pump righ from the beggining next time to help build my supply.

Spice- i forgot to add it has an adjustable suction knob... so great when you have limited time to express both sides at once... Just pop them on and away you go... i ususlly do it while i'm sitting down with a cuppa... LOL Did you find one on ebay??


Oh Bec... Also forgot to add previously... even though you express only a little bubs still manages to get more out... Somedays i think i have no milk as i cant express any but if i hand express i get a little bit and if Tiahna suckles she manages to get heaps more out...

Hey Je$$. I won the auction on Ebay. I paid a little more than you - $111 but that is still sooo cheap for an electric double breast pump. Thanks so much for telling us about them! I'm all set - just got to have another baby now. lol

Hey glad i could help. Good luck with TTC (if you are already... :lol:)