Relactating

[DANNIIM]

Thanks Clare, i got a private prescription last week for 100 tablets, as a prescription for 25 on the PBS "all you are allowed" would only last a week. It was weird cos the 25 tab prescription cost $13 "on PBS" and the 100 tab prescription only cost $18 "non PBS", she said sometimes it is cheaper to have a prescription that isn't covered by the PBS....i will always ring ahead from now on.

[DANNIIM]

Hi ladies i need some advice. I seem to be stuck on still giving the four bottles a day atm....he is a hungry bub, but i don't seem to be able to drop the next bottle. Really need to know where to go from here? Our daily schedule is-
4.00am bottle, back to bed with me and offer him the breast which he takes and will suck a fair bit, pretty full at this stage too, me and him!
6.30-700am breast
10.00-11.00am breast and bottle
2.30pm breast
5.00pm breast and bottle
8.00pm bottle...last one for the day

I just hate the thought of him screaming at me constantly for food. We are also having some issues with him not sleeping mainly during the day, when he does to sleep he will sleep for up to 4hrs, but i had a day during the week where i swear he didn't sleep all day. This week i am going to try and get him into a better routine where i put him in his cot after being a wake for a few hours and let him cry himself to sleep...if i have too, he is just making himself so tired that he cries anyway. He wants to be awake for upto 4-5hrs during the day and that is just too long for a baby.

TIA

[onthefly]

Hi Danni
Well done!
Looks like you're doing 6 feeds a day? One way of getting more bm into him (and maybe dropping some of the formula) might be to squeeze in 1-2 more feeds - maybe aim for 2-hourly? BF babies tend to feed a bit more frequently than ff ones, so that could be the way to go.
As for sleep... I shouldn't offer advice cause my DS still doesn't sleep well, but I will anyway . At that age he hardly slept at all and was extremely overtired all the time (which meant he was screaming and wanting to feed constantly and had a really hard time sleeping for any length of time - and there were days he didnt' sleep at all!). We broke the overtired cycle by wearing him all day in the hug-a-bub. Once he'd had a few days of 4-5 hours of sleep, then it sort of reset his system and he was able to sleep better on his own. Don't know whether you use a wrap/sling, but they can be real life savers.
Good luck!

[StrawberryMumma]

Hi Danniim!

I agree with marcellus, I'd try and fed him more frequently during the day and then that should reduce the need for those extra bottles. I know that probably sounds like a bit of a pain- feeding that often- but once your supply has adjusted fully to his needs then you can go back to less frequent feeds.

You really are doing a great job, he's a lucky little man!

[Jennifer13]

Hi Danni, you are doing so well! Can you believe how far you've come in these few short weeks?

My suggestion would be to continue offering the breast before the bottle. Especially for that first morning feed at 4am. You will be at your most relaxed and he will also. Try bfing this one in bed as well and enjoy the sleepy snuggles! (Will be much better as the weather starts to cool down too).

If you offer the bb before the bottle each time it will give your bbs added stimulation and encourage them to produce more milk at these times. This will help reduce the bottle feeds. But again, you are doing very well!

[Janie]

Danni, you've been given some great suggestions here, but I just wanted to reiterate the point of always offering breast before bottle, it's really important. Especially in the night, as your prolactin levels are higher at night (so you make more milk) so those feeds should be the easiest to get rid of the bottle. They certainly were the first feeds for us, and I loved that! No more getting up in the night for bottles, just lying in bed and breastfeeding, more sleep for me

You're doing a fabulous job Danni

[DANNIIM]

Sorry i haven't replied earlier, busy feeding my hungry boy!

Thanks Marcellus, Lee, Jennifer and Janie! This morning has been better....lots of BB's in there. He woke at 1.20am for a feed instead this morning and silly me just got the bottle ready without even thinking about it Janie i didn't realise your prolactin levels are higher at night....thats probably why i am busting at the seams by morning. Sounds silly but i actually like the feeling of being so full...at least i know there is enough milk there to feed my big bubba. Nothing worse than having a baby suck and suck....trying to rip your boob off cause he is trying to get as much out as he can. I did make that one mistake this morning, but i can't go back now so moving forward it is and so far this morning he has had-
1.20am bottle back to bed
4.45am woke put in bed with me and bf him off left side, pretty full
8.15am bf from right side, pretty full
9.30am bf off both sides
10.30am bf off both sides
11.00am bf off both sides and then give bottle at 11.30, he had 180mls out of bottle but did puked up a fair bit too.

I put him straight into his cot once i fed him about 11.45am and he layed there and stargazed for a little bit and went to sleep on his own....without even a cry He has been alot happier today as well, lots of smiles for mummy!

Forgot to add that i have been expressing between feeds normally, instead today i have offered the breast more. Should i maybe instead of expressing just offer the breast alot more and maybe just express a couple of hours after he has gone to bed of a night...then i can just freeze it and keep for times when i need it??

[onthefly]

Great job! Really sounds like you may be able to drop the top ups altogether soon...

Forgot to add that i have been expressing between feeds normally, instead today i have offered the breast more. Should i maybe instead of expressing just offer the breast alot more and maybe just express a couple of hours after he has gone to bed of a night...then i can just freeze it and keep for times when i need it??

Yes! bfing is much better for getting milk out than expressing, so better for stimulating production & much less hassle if you can ditch the expressing. If you want to keep expressing, that might be a better way of doing it. And you can keep it frozen for three months I think (there's a sticky somewhere with info on expressing & storing).

Oh, and glad to hear about the good sleep.

[Janie]

IMO, if your baby is up to it, BFing instead of expressing is definitely the way to go. As others have said, bub will do a better job than the pump, and who's going to say no to all those extra cuddles? I know it's hard work, but it won't be long until it pays off

[DANNIIM]

Thanks Marcellus and Janie...i think i just needed to talk and get it all out and for some others to give me some other advice! So much for the LC giving me help, you girls have given me better and more contructive advice than the LC has and did. I now know my plan of attack for this weeks progress, i try not to think in the long term for this relactating bfeeding journey as it just seems so far away to us getting back to bfeeding fulltime....week by week progress is so much better and more manageable. Wish i had blogged my progress now from the beginning cause in a months time i will be able to see just how far i have come.

TIA

[DANNIIM]

Yesterday we dropped another bottle, down to three now He had breast then bottle at 3am then another one at 10am and the last one at 7pm. All in between was breast, it was on top of each other i must admit but i never actually felt real empty IYKWIM. I kinda felt as though i was starving the poor little trooper at times but i fed very often....sometimes twice in an hour, so at least i was keeping him hydrated!

Today so far he has only had the one bottle at 10am, he slept through to almost 5am this morning and has had 3 feeds between 5-10am, just trying to get him to have a nap now!

[DANNIIM]

Hi ladies just wondering if when bub breastfeeds should i pull him off when he starts just suckling at me like a dummy? I find that he will feed and then he will nod off and just start suckling at me, not actually feeding IYKWIM.

[Janie]

You're going great guns Danni! Hmmmm, I'm not sure about the suckling, probably depends on a few things. The extra stimulation is good (and the cuddles are lovely ), but you don't want him sitting there all day and then falling asleep for ages, meaning that it's too long before he feeds again. How long is he feeding 'properly' for? If he's already been at the breast for awhile I think it would be fine to pull him off when he's fast asleep.

Do you offer one or both breasts at a feed? If he falls asleep on the first breast, but stirs when you pull him off, you could always change his nappy and then offer him the second one.

[DANNIIM]

Janie it depends on how full i am whether i offer both sides. First thing in the morning i offer one side to fully drain it and that is normally enough for him to go back to sleep for a few more hours. Then the next few feeds upto 10am i normally offer both on and off until 10am before i will give the bottle. He sleeps from around 11-2pm then around 2.30pm he will breast feed on and off till 5pm when he has another bottle and then his last bottle at 8pm and is in bed by 8.30pm. I offer the breast before all bottles and the bottles are really only a top up although they are quite a large top up!

I was in another thread before and we were talking about large bubs and how much they drink, anyway another member said her paed told her because her bub was in the high weight percentile it would be difficult to keep a good supply up....is this correct?? I just thought that you produce what your bubs needs are. Any feedback would be good!

TIA

[Jennifer13]

Danni, your bbs will supply enough milk, regardless of how big your baby is (after all, some mums successfully bf twins - that's twice the amount!!). It is only about how often you are bfing him. You are right to bf him before every bottle feed. The other thing to do to increase your supply for those bfs that you are topping him up with formula is to pump after you bottle feed him. You can then use this amount to supplement what he is getting in the bottle and will build up your own supply at the same time. Another alternative is rather than topping him up with a bottle feed, wait 1/2 hr to an hour after the bf (that you would normally top up after) and offer him the bb again. You will have 'refilled' somewhat in that time.

I really applaud your efforts here, Danni, what a great effort you've made to get this far!

[Cherene]

Hi Danniim
Well done on managing to get your supply up this far. It takes alot of dedication to relactate, or bring your supply back up. I have had issues with supply going up and down since DS was born, I even gave in and bought a tin of formula.
Recently one thing that has "amazingly" worked is activite. You can get it from your supermarket where the milo is. Its not expensive, I started off having a glass morning and night then only once daily and now not at all. After 2 days I had milk pouring out of me.
In regards to actual feeding, maybe try to express during the 10-2 break 1-2 times, and if your not up to much in the evenings, I would be expressing every hour until you go to bed, esp if he sleeps till 5ish. Generally 10 mins each side is enough.
I agree with Jennifer13, your BB's should produce enough milk to support the child, no matter how big they are.
Have you tried hand expressing? I find it easier, a little messier but not as much cleaning up, just make sure you have a cloth that you can wipe your hands on, and change hands and BB often until your not getting much out. Like everyone has said, its not about how much you get out be how long your stimulated for.

[onthefly]

Sounds great Danni! Well done on your hard work.

[DANNIIM]

Jennifer i thought so! I don't know why these ppl give out this advise.

I might try the activite, should i make it with just milk or is it the activite that does the trick??

I will also try and express at least once during the 10-2pm and also express of a night.

Thanks everyone