Getting Back to Breastfeeding After Missing a Few Days

Just a suggestion for Mother's milk tea to get it to taste better - put a bag of regular decaf tea with it.. that will help hide the taste.. it never worked for me, neither did the fenugreek.. (I only pump about 2 oz both breasts each time if I'm lucky so I just send formula to day care...)good luck!!!

try "more milk plus". I use the drops in a tiny bit of water. you can buy it at whole foods, mrs. greens or other health food markets

Crystal's advice is right on.

Drink lots of water and keep that baby on the boob. You'll stay hyrdrated and encourage your body to make more.

You can also try pumping between feedings. There's two ways I've heard of & used:
1. Pump an hour after the little one has finished eating.
2. 10-10-10 Pump for ten minutes, take a 10 min break, pump for another 10.

It might take a few days, but you'll see your supply increase.

AND most important of all:
RELAX!!!! If you are worried about your supply, then you'll have supply problems. Just relax & mentally let it be. Stay hydrated and nurse as often as possible & the supply will be there.

Sounds like a hard situation, but you are handling it correctly. The more you nurse the more you will have. You can also try Fenugreek. It is an herb but you can buy capsules at a health food store. Many people I know have had goodluck with it helping to increase their supply. His fussiness could also be from missimg you. While it was not your plan he was in a way abruptly weaned and he needs to realize that you did not leave him that you are there for him. He has to trust. This can be worked through and you are doing a great job! Just remember the gift you are giving him. good luck
J.

I wouldn't worry about building your supply. The rule of thumb is for every day you were off it will take that many to be at full supply. My daughter who is 8 now, was breast fed in the hosp. and, well, things happened, and wasn't able to breast feed her. I really wanted to, but was okay with giving her formula. Well when she was 5 weeks old, I read that I could re-lactate. Laleche told me that it may not work, and that I couldn't have it happen for another 5 weeks, so I could build the supply. Needless to say, I was very stubborn, and she was having her full supply within the 5 weeks.
If you feel that you are having a hard time, try to pump in between. I would wake up in the middle of the night, she slept, and I pumped, what on earth was I thinking???!
Teri
Good Luck, and I hope you have wonderful results.

Hi Emma, Sorry you had to have surgery at this time. I think you should give it a good try. I think your milk will come back and you and your baby will be happy. Sadly,life has away of putting bumps in our road but the way you react is key. I will pray for you and baby. I breastfed all 5 of mine and loved every minute. Sincerely, Grandma Mary

You have got to relax! When I started back to work my supply dropped like crazy because I was so scared that it would! Take things slow, keep your baby at the breast and pump at night when he is alseep. You can do it and so can your body. Get lots of rest (yeah right with a new baby) and trust in your body to provide for your baby. You guys can do it!

Hi Emma,
Hope you are feeling better.
I also had surgery while I was breast feeding,
and i won't tell you that it is easy to get your supply back,
But it is possible. Like everyone before said drink a ton of water,
I also drank the tea. But you are right it does not taste great, it is better with a little honey, or lemon. With my daughter she didn't really want to nurse when I got home, but after her initial strike, she was on the breast all the time, I also pumped after feeding to get my supply back up and mixed the extra milk in with her cereal. That way I knew she was getting the extra nutrition. It will take some time, but with diligence you can get your supply back.
Good Luck!

Emma,

I am the mama of a healthy, active, bright and loving 16 month old boy. I'd like to relate my BF experience and what I learned from it.

I had a hard labor that resulted in a fractured pelvic bone. I had a difficult time sitting, standing, walking lying down - just painful and I couldn't relieve the pain no matter what position I was in. What made it worse is that I didn't know it was fractured for a couple weeks! I cried a lot and was even more exhausted than I would have been because the pain kept me awake. Duncan BF beautifully for the first few weeks but I guess all the stress and pain caused a drop in my supply and he began to lose a significant amount of weight. We had to suppliment with formula as he was, essentially starving. In the meantime, I began physical therapy and began working with a lactation consultant and a nutritionist and was able to bring my supply back up so much I leaked! However, the little dude threw me for a loop when he let me know he prefered the bottle to my breast - it was easier and faster for him. I was beside myself! I was having no luck with any kind of pump (only an ounce or two each session) so I wasn't able to give him much BM from the bottle. He was fickle about nursing. We would nurse pretty regularly in the overnight hours and sometimes we would have a day or two where he would nurse very well without supplimentation and then he would strike and need the bottle. Eventually, this began to cause a lot of stress for both of us and I just decided that I would continually offer him the breast but had to take the attitude that If he nursed, he nursed and I would enjoy the closeness and know that between this and what I was able to pump he was getting as much as he could and, if he didn't, he got the formula and that was ok too. We did this until he was 4 months old when he decided he was completely done with the breast.

What I learned is that, although breast milk is the best for our babies, we are not dooming them to a life of illness and brain development delays. I also learned that it was much better for both of us if I am a relaxed and confident mama. All that stress and feeling inadequate was making him anxious and interferring with the beautiful experience of first-time mamahood and just enjoying my child. And lastly, I learned an important lesson from a good friend who adopted both of her children. We were just chatting on a bench in the mall and I mentioned the difficulties I was having with BFing. She said to me, "There is more to being a mother than BFing and there are other ways to bond with your child." That really was a message I needed to hear. I did everything I could to BF my son as much as I could and as long as I could. I didn't have to feel like a failure as a mama. I am a good mama and that has nothing to do with whether I BF or not.

All of which is to say, it's wonderful that you are doing all you can to bring up your BM supply and that you have such wonderful support, and I am sure you will do just fine - everyone's experience is different. But, if by a slim chance, it doesn't work out, please remember the lessons I learned and know that you are still a great mama!

Blessings!
S.

The advice you've gotten so far is good. Keep your babe at your breast and if possible do a lot of skin to skin contact and wear him with free access to your breast if possible. Napping and sleeping with your babe will also allow you a chance to rest and recuperate while letting your baby nurse as much as he wants. Try to avoid supplementing with formula (or anything other than BM really). If your son seems unsatisfied at the end of a feeding give him a bit of pumped breast-milk in a small cup (google cup feeding on how to do this) and let him sip at it until you feel like you can put him back on your breast. Remember, the amount you are able pump is in no way indicative of how much milk you are actually producing--babies are MUCH more efficient that pumps. Just to show how inefficient pumps can be--I would get more just holding a cup under my free breast while DD nurses for 15 minutes than I get pumping for 30 ;-)

The fussiness your son is experiencing could be either a reaction to the formula, any meds you took/are taking, or just his needing to reconnect and reassure himself that you are really still there :D You also didn't mention how old your son is--if he's at the right age there's also growth spurts and teething to consider.

Water will help flush any meds out of your system and if you aren't already, start supplementing your diet with probiotics (you can use probiotic supplements or eat a variety of probiotic foods like yoghurt, homemade sauerkraut, and other fermented foods) to get your gut flora back into balance after the surgery.

Good luck getting your nursing relationship back on track.

Babies are born to be breastfed. And I think with some dedication from both of you, you can get your supply back up in no time.

You are right, bf is supply and demand. He needs to nurse as much a possible to get the message to you body that the milk factory is back up for business. Let him nurse as much as possible. And pump between feedings if you can stand it.

You are also probably right about the formula. Its different than what he was used to, and his tummy is probably adjusting. His belly will be happy to have your milk, again. :)

Try to avoid supplementing with formula if you can. You dont want to send mixed messages to your baby and to your body.

Drink lots of fluids. Water!! And eat right. Your body will be better able to produce if you are getting all the nutrients you need.

I hear you about the mother's milk tea. There are different brands, so if you dont like one, you may like another.

Also, oatmeal works. I dont know why. But, it does. Eat a couple bowls a day. You may notice an increase.

You can also use warm compresses on your breasts before feedings. And when you are getting to the end of one side, try a massaging technique. Slide your hand, with pressure from under your neck down to your areola, all around the breast you are nursing on. That will help squeeze out every last drop.

Best of luck to you.
And I commend you for your commitment to breastfeeding!!!

i agree with everyone, and i wanted to give you this bit of encouragement: when my oldest (now 2) was 4 months old, she had emergency surgery to repair a birth defect of the small intestine. she was without any form of food for 10 days (IV fluids only). i pumped while she was hospitalized, but not frequently due to the situation. when she came home, she nursed probably every hour and a half AROUND THE CLOCK for about a week, and boy did THAT do the trick. she and my boobs worked it out together, and she went on to nurse until she weaned herself at 14 months (due to my pregnancy/drop in milk supply). if you are open to co-sleeping, i recommend that as well. something about sleeping with your baby and the hormones associated with it helps regulate supply as well. good luck and keep us posted!

Hello Emma, I'm sorry to hear about your surgery, but am so happy to hear that you're not giving up on BF. I never drank any of the teas or anything, just massive amounts of water to help increase my supply. I also pumped an hour after nursing, which really helped to increase supply. I have so much that I have a major store in my freezer, which my little one will never use and I am going to donate to a milk bank.

I also found that any anxiety decreases milk supply, so relax, drink LOTS of water and pump. If you don't have a pump, you can rent one from your local hospital or a lactation consultant for a small fee. You'll be able to build up your supply again!

I hope you have an easy time recovering from your surgery!

Hi Emma. You have great advice on here...i don't have anything to add really. I just wanted to say that I hope you get better soon. Try to rest and relax about everything because that can obviously effect your supply. Everything will be fine. You're doing great and your commitment to BF even after this bump in the road is awesome. Hang in there Mommy. :)

Sounds like you are doing everything you can. The only thing that I would suggest is to try and pump (with an electric pump) in between his feedings. That should bring your supply back up. Good luck!

Hi Emma,

I had surgery when MY little guy (now 3 1/2!) was just five weeks old. It sucks, doesn't it?

When my milk supply seemed to be dwindling the lactation consultant told me to try pumping from both breasts at the same time (to trick my body into thinking I had two babies to feed). My "baby" was out of infancy by that point, and I don't know how much it helped ME, but it might work great for you. I think if you just keep at it and try to relax things will eventually get back to normal. Give it a little time, and have a speedy recovery!

I had issues early on, being on antibiotics that turned my milk green and bad-tasting to my son, and then had an appendectomy when my son was 10 months old and he didn't get to nurse for a few days. What worked for me to get my supply up was drinking LOTS of water and taking fenugreek capsules. Electric (hospital grade) pumps didn't really work well for me and the pump that worked best for me was the Avent hand pump, in terms of both expressing the most milk (and faster than with the electric pump!) and helping to get my milk supply up. Good luck!

Try the advice at www.kellymom.com. It's a great site with lots of info. Also, you may be making more milk than you think. When you pump, you are never going to get the same amount out that the baby can suck out, pumps just are not as efficient, so just because you were only able to get out 3 ounces does not mean that is all you are making. Just be sure to feed him every 2 hours so that your breasts are being stimulated to make milk. You will get back there after a week or two. Just don't offer any more formula since that will decrease his appetite for your breast, and it sounds like he has problems digesting formula anyway. My son did too, so after about a month of supplementing once a day with formula, I cut it out when he was about 10 weeks old and he has been great ever since. I also agree with the person who said to use probiotics- this will help restore the balance in your system after taking any antibiotics and since they pass through the breast milk, it will also help your son's system regulate from using formula. I had to go on antibiotics in the first few months and my son ended up with a bad yeast diaper rash from the exposure. So do everything you can to prevent this. Eat yogurt and buy some acidophilus tablet from the pharmacy and take them daily.

My son has problems with the gurgling tummy and crankiness too. For that I'm staying away from milk and gassy products like broccoli.

As for the milk supply, you're exactly right. It is supply and demand so just keep feeding him. The more your milk drops the more your body is going to realize you need to produce more. Keep taking your prenatals and drink, drink, drink. The one thing that will help increase your milk supply is drinking lots of water. I've heard that the mother's milk tea doesn't do too much but I've never actually tried it myself. Whenever my supply gets low I just drink water and feed him more. Good luck!

You can try alfalfa or red raspberry to build up you supply. I used it. I'm sorry about your surgery. I hope you are feeling better. Just keep on nursing and everything will work itself out.

here is an herbal suppliment in a pill form called "More Milk Plus" that helped increase my milk supply. I was able to buy it at the hospital pharmacy. I would also recommend calling a lactation specialist. When I was having difficulty nursing, she really helped me. Good luck!

Hold him or wear him a lot. Try nursing in the bathtub for a relaxing environment for both of you.

Hi Emma

I hope you are feeling well and are on your way to a speedy recovery. I agree with everything everyone has said. Drink lots of water, eat oatmeal everyday (I ate a bowl for breakfast and lots of organic oatmeal raisin cookies during the day), nurse as often as possible, and pump when you can. I know it's exhausting. My daughter is 19 months and is still bf, it gets better and so much easier. I had supply issues of my own when my period returned and my LC suggested I take Fenugreek pills. It's an herbal supplement and really does increase supply. The only drawback is that after a while you start to smell like maple syrup! It's a small price to pay. I also couldn't stomach the tea - yuck! I used the fenugreek on and off for a few months until my supply was enough to satisfy my daughter. You can read up on fenugreek at some of the breastfeeding websites. Try kellymom.com or La Leche's website. Feel better and good luck.

S.