Can You Start Breastfeeding Again After Milk Has Dried Up
I've been wanting to share my relactation success story for a while at present. Yeah it is possible to go your milk supply back later drying upwardly! Hither are 8 relactation tips for resuming breastfeeding or pumping after you've stopped.
What is Relactation?
Relactation is the process of starting breastfeeding afterwards whatever amount of time. It doesn't affair if you breastfeed for a short amount of time or for years, relactation is the process of bringing your milk supply back.
Your milk supply may come up dorsum fully and exist enough to feed your baby 100% breastmilk. Other times you may need to supplement with donor milk or formula, whatever your preference is.
This journey will require persistence, fourth dimension, determination, and a lot of patience just it is possible!
Reasons You Might Want to Relactate
You might be wondering, "Is relactation worth it?" Well, at that place are many reasons why yous would want to start breastfeeding again.
Sometimes, your initial attempts at breastfeeding didn't end well due to lack of support or misinformation.
Perhaps you were separated from your baby for a long flow of fourth dimension or you had a medical procedure that interfered with your ability to nurse or pump.
It'southward well known that the benefits of breastfeeding go across just providing nutrition for your baby. Whatever the reason you determine to reestablish your breastfeeding human relationship with your baby, it's a groovy determination.
TIP: Didn't get enough information most breastfeeding in the beginning or you just need to know more about the essentials? Consider taking a simple, go at your own pace online breastfeeding class or step by step pumping class to learn everything you need to know and empower yourself to reach your relactation goals!
How To Relactate or Get Breastmilk Back Later on Drying Up
Getting your body to produce breastmilk again requires your breasts to be stimulated to produce milk.
At that place are two ways you can do this. You can bring your babe to the breast for nursing or you can use a breast pump to stimulate your chest.
If you take never breastfeed or it has been a while since you breastfed or pumped, you may non be getting any milk at all. That's okay! You are sending your body signals that you lot need to start producing milk.
If your babe volition breastfeed, let them nurse whenever they would like. Encourage them to latch well. Hither are tips for getting babe to nurse from the chest.
You volition accept to continue to supplement milk along with the nursing sessions to ensure that your baby is existence fed enough.
Yous tin supplement less as your milk supply increases.
If babe is unwilling to nurse, you volition need to use a breast pump to stimulate your breasts.
You will need to pump every 2 to 3 hours.
When you're pumping, endeavor using hands on techniques and massaging your breast to increment the amount of milk you pump.
Make a letter C shape with your hands on your breasts use small circular motions to massage the breasts.
How Long Does It Take to Relactate?
The length of time information technology takes to get milk back varies, so there is not a standard respond.
It can have weeks to months to go your milk to return. You lot may make plenty milk to exclusively breastfeed your babe or you may make enough to supplement.
In my instance, equally you'll see below, it took almost sixty days to go to the point where I was able to pump 2 ounce bottles.
I had merely pumped milk for the first 3 weeks later on my babe was born and started trying to breastfeed again at 7 months postpartum.
Plain that was not enough to feed her exclusively breast milk, but y'all have to define your own relactation goals.
Signs Relactation Is Working
Signs that your milk supply is increasing can include:
Your breasts feel fuller or heavier. They may even tingle or feel hotter.
Your breasts are leaking milk.
You're able to limited/pump more than milk.
You observe more hormonal or mood changes.
You experience thirsty when breastfeeding or pumping.
Your baby gains wet and has more moisture/dirty diapers.
Relactation Success Story
I didn't know it was possible to take a 2nd adventure at breastfeeding. I was never able to get my infant to latch and I decided to pump right away in the early weeks post-obit my daughter'south nascency.
For 3 weeks, I pumped milk using my Spectra breast pump. However, I didn't know anyone else personally who had breastfed so I didn't recollect I had anyone to ask my questions or get advice from.
Soon slumber deprivation, exhaustion and all the unknowns about being a first time mom hit me hard.
I stayed at dwelling house with my baby alone on maternity go out and establish it difficult to pump , while holding a baby who didn't want to be put downwards.
I was missing pump sessions because I was choosing to catch up on the little sleep I could.
It seemed easier to fix baby a formula bottle and get help with feeding at nighttime. Feeling defeated, I made the decision to give upwardly breastfeeding my baby.
My married man asked me if I was sure I wanted to quit. I said yeah even though deep down I didn't really want to quit. However, figuring it out felt impossible.
I began 100% formula feeding and pushed my doubts to the dorsum of my heed.
Around 7 months postpartum, I was scrolling on Facebook of all places and noticed a post from a woman in 1 of the breastfeeding groups I hadn't left.
She was talking about resuming breastfeeding after stopping. The people in the comments were mentioning the same word, relactation.
I apace did a search nearly it and found out it was possible to beginning breastfeeding again!
For the side by side week, I tried getting my baby dorsum to the breast, simply it did not work. She was older and at vii months she was not used to breastfeeding at ALL.
She didn't really sympathize why I was trying to become my nipple in her oral fissure and showed no interest in nursing. And then I decided I was going to accept to relactate using my pump only.
I started with my Spectra S2 pump and pumped around the clock. I set up my reminders for every 2-3 hours.
I tried to get no longer than 3 hours between pumping sessions. After getting my baby to finally sleep longer stretches at night getting up to pump in the middle of the night was torture.
Not fifty-fifty going to lie, I missed a few overnight sessions. However, when I did exercise those sessions I was able to brand more than milk.
I never got back to full supply, I however had to supplement with formula.
Yet, you have to set personal goals for your own breastfeeding journey. At well over vii months postpartum I was thrilled to be able to supplement with any amount of breastmilk.
Relactation Progress Pictures
I'm going to share my relactation after half dozen months progression pictures with dates and so you can tell the timeline of my progress.
Relactation Tips for Success
I want to share a couple of tips for making your return to breastfeeding successful. These tips will even help y'all if you decide to relactate after six months or more.
These are the things that personally helped me and I promise they can make your life easier as well. Breastfeeding and pumping is a labor of love, only the benefits are and then worth it!
one. Get Support
Deciding to relactate is a personal decision and ultimately you know whats best for your baby.
Every bit with all things mom life and parenting, people volition offer their opinions on what they think nigh what yous're doing. The number one reason I was able to relactate is because I received support.
My biggest supporter was my husband. He bodacious me that I wasn't crazy for trying to relactate at vii months postpartum.
In additional to emotional support, he physically supported me by taking care of the baby and so I was able to pump without distractions. This didn't happen every unmarried fourth dimension I pumped, but he understood what I needed to do and agreed to assistance every bit much as he could.
Another astonishing form of back up is social media believe it or not. For all that'due south said most social media, it tin exist very helpful in connecting people with like interests.
I was autonomously of several "regular" breastfeeding groups on Facebook, only when I constitute a breastfeeding group for relactation I actually felt connected.
It can exist discouraging to see women talk about all the ounces of milk they pumped in one day or thier freezer stash when you're barely seeing drops.
My favorite group of all time, easily down, is definitely Relactation One Ounce At A Time. The admin and ladies who are in that grouping are and so nice and super helpful.
2. Peel to Skin Contact
I of the things yous'll see when you're trying to effigy out how to relactation is the recommendation for lots of skin to pare contact.
If you desire to get your milk supply back, lactation consultants will tell you that y'all demand to stimulate your nipples often. Your baby is great for this task!
Nevertheless, if y'all never had baby nursing from the breast to begin with or your baby is a piffling older when you start relactation it might be hard to become them to nurse directly from the breast.
This was the example with me as my baby had never latched in the beginning and was probably wondering why I was putting my nipple in her mouth!
Some people accept found success with a Supplemental Nursing System (SNS) arrangement.
It is essentially a feeding tube device that is feeds babe through very fine tube attached to the mother'south breast. It can be filled with breastmilk or formula and is worn around the mothers neck. She can control the flow of milk and the system helps babies stimulate the nipple.
Even if your baby does non come back to the breast, skin to skin contact is still beneficial for you. It promotes bonding and stimulates the hormones that affect milk production.
3. Use A Breast Pump
If you lot can't go your child to nurse direct from the breast, you will nevertheless need to stimulate your nipples. You volition need a breast pump for the task and luckily, there are so many astonishing breast pump options these days. My recommendation is that you use a double electrical breast pump for the most efficient utilise of your time.
During my relactation journey I used 4 different breast pumps.
I had one single manual breast pump and 3 different electric double chest pumps.
If you can only choice i breast pump to employ, I highly suggest you lot select a portable breast pump for the ultimate easily free pumping.
You can find out more than about my favorite breast pump for relactation, the Baby Buddha pump in the post all near the best breast pumps for relactation.
4. Power Pump To Increment Milk Production
You might have heard the term power pumping earlier, only if not, information technology is a technique that is used to mimic cluster feeding with a breast pump.
When babies cluster feed, they are nursing several times within a brusque catamenia. You can do this with a breast pump by pumping several times within an hour.
First your normal pumping session. Then later that first pump, wait ten minutes then pump again for 10 more minutes. Repeat this i more than fourth dimension and you lot will take pumped three times in one hr. You can find out more than about power pumping hither.
When y'all relactate, y'all might non be getting a lot of milk, but power pumping is helping to stimulate your nipples.
You're telling your body you demand to make more milk and giving it signals to produce more.
It can be hard to fit power pumping sessions in when y'all're pumping to relactate only fifty-fifty just 1 of these power pumping sessions will help.
Related: How To Find Time To Pump As A Busy Mom
5. Keep Track of Your Progress and Journey
This is such a simple relactation hack, but tin can exist highly effective at motivating you.
Accept pictures of how much milk you are able to pump. You can take pictures daily or every other day but the of import thing is that you lot're able to document your progression.
Another thing I did was keep a difficult copy of a monthly agenda. Simply being able to mark off another day that I was able to pump gave me satisfaction. It's too a reminder to take this journey 1 day at a time.
6. Get Reminders to Pump
I used an app chosen Pump Log to log my pumping sessions and one amazing feature is that it will send you a notification to pump.
You lot need to pump quite frequently to establish a milk supply, every 2-3 hours.
Don't remember yous'll be able to rely on your memory alone to get all your pumping sessions in. You'll go decorated and the fourth dimension volition wing and you don't want also much time to pass betwixt pumping sessions.
7. Utilise Supplements at Your Discretion
You'll hear a lot of talk about galactagogues surrounding the topic of breastfeeding.
A galactagogue is a substance that increases milk supply. There are natural herbs that can increase milk supply.
Withal, specifically apropos relocation, you lot may hear about people using prescription medications to increment milk supply.
Please do your research on these herbs and medications and talk to a lactation consultant or your medical provider.
Sometimes these things tin tin can accept the contrary effect and decrease your milk supply.
Medications come with side effects that yous really should take into consideration.
8. Stay Positive
The terminal tip I accept for successful relactation is to stay positive!
Don't stress about the amount of milk y'all're able to make. Your success is not measured in drops, ounces, bottles, freezer stashes, etc.
Y'all're doing the hard work of establishing the breastfeeding relationship with your child and that'south astonishing!
When Is It Too Late To Start Breastfeeding?
Information technology'due south never too late to first breastfeeding. Although information technology'southward not always possible to bring back a full milk supply , your baby's health and development are benefitting from the milk y'all can supply.
Relactation is non an overnight process and it takes time and dedication. Trust the timing, trust the process and trust your body. Y'all're capable of doing this.
These are real, progress pictures of my ain relactation attempt. I promise these give you lot a realistic idea of how long information technology takes to reestablish your milk supply past pumping alone.
I wish you the very best for your relactation journeying! I'd love to hear what you lot've tried and how it's going. Leave me a annotate below and allow me know if you lot accept your ain tips or if these tips helped you.
Related: nine Fourth dimension Saving Breastfeeding and Pumping Essentials
Source: https://fullheartmommy.com/breastmilk-back-after-drying-up/
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