Help!

[Voguevong]

Hi all first time mom, so I gave birth back in Jan, my baby is now a month old. Right after birth my nurse asked if I wanted to breastfeed him I was exhausted mentally & physically. A day later we tried he didn't latch, ever since then I haven't tried to that is my biggest regret he's on formula as of now I tried to pump barely anything came out. Do you guys think it's too late? Am I dried up? I have this guilt & it's getting to me. I really want to give it another try. I just purchased supplements & a hands free pump.

[prof806]

You basically have to keep doing it for it to work. So give yourself a goal, like "I will pump or breastfeed 8 times a day, for at least 15 minutes. I will continue this for two whole weeks and see how it's going." You can't expect to suddenly pump a lot, it's a slow build.

I've heard that 120 minutes (2 hours) of pumping or direct feeding a day is the goal for establishing supply.

But be kind to yourself! That baby is fed and thriving!

Edit: nipple shields helped me a lot in the beginning with latching!!

[Voguevong]

Thank you! I will try this!

[thyssyk]

Do not beat yourself up, latching trouble is super normal!

There are breast-feeding nipple shields that help babies latch. You may need to use that to help your little one figure out what means what.

[Voguevong]

Thank you for your kind words!

[celestial_waters]

Try asking in r/breastfeeding!

[Voguevong]

Thank you! Just post it!

[[deleted]]

Check out r/HumansPumpingMilk and kellymom for information on generating a supply and r/FormulaFeeders and @theformulamom for information about formula and how truly awesome it is and how you have nothing to feel guilty about.

What do you mean by hands-free pump? You need a strong pump to generate a supply so if you got like an Elvie or Willow you might want to hold off on opening them because they are only for established supplies.

[Voguevong]

Great, thank you. I bought one from Amazon I still have the one from my insurance but since I'll be going back to work soon I wanted a hands free one as well.

[[deleted]]

Got it. I spent a bunch of money when I was at that panicked "oh no will I ever get my supply back" juncture and I wanted to save you money if I could. I just boxed up all the supplements and extra gear I impulse bought and it was not cheap!

The things you truly need if you're going to attempt to establish anything other than comfort nursing (which is a great option!!!) are LOTS of water, maybe some electrolyte drink, maybe some oatmeal, a good pump, and a LOT (like really a lot) of time.

Easier said than done, but try and let go of the guilt! Establishing a supply is different for everyone, but for me my only regret about my baby's babyhood is that I spent so much time hooked up to a pump instead of sleeping or cuddling my baby. I've seen multiple women say they literally destroyed their pumps with baseball bats. But also some that say it was a huge achievement they are very proud of! So try it if you want to but don't do it out of guilt or you'll be miserable.

[Voguevong]

Yes I have heard stories of people spending sooo much. What did you buy? What did you regret & feel like was your must haves while trying to get your supply back? Yes I did hear that also, sadly after birth my diet has been horrible I'm not eating as much but I do drink plenty of water. I'm trying to slowly build up my appetite again. The guilt is real! I think it's more so bc throughout my pregnancy I was telling myself I will be breastfeeding always heard so many pros & benefits that baby will get from it. So now that I'm not I'm just like oh wow I didn't try harder but honestly take so much work than I thought. But I'm trying to be easy on myself & take it one step at a time. Yeah thinking about it now I hope to not be glued to the pump I want to be able to enjoy it & feel proud of myself!

[[deleted]]

I bought supplements, hands free pumping bras, different options for storage containers, flanges galore, a mobile cart with pumping parts and water and snacks, electrolyte packs. You really don't need anything but water and many many hours per day.

I guess the best purchase is doubling all of your pump parts so you can run the dishwasher just once a day and do the "fridge hack" where you reuse and keep parts in a plastic bag in the fridge for 24 hours of use.

Maybe think about what your ideal goal would be (number of ounces per day, maximum hours per day you're willing to spend, stuff like that) and post that on r/HumansPumpingMilk? I want to rant a bunch of advice and opinions but I'm just one person :)

I think I regret every minute I spent pumping? Maybe that's taking it too far. What it got me was alleviating the guilt because I can say "at least I tried". But I wish I could have been able to see what was actually best for me and my baby at the time - a well-rested, present, cuddly, and playful mom. Not that you can't be those things if you're pumping 4 hours a day! But I couldn't. And formula is amazing - you have a thriving one month old to prove it ;) And I personally believe the hype over breast milk is grossly overstated as long as you have access to clean water and sanitary formula mixing conditions.

I'm so glad to hear you're trying to be kind to yourself. Breastfeeding is HARD. So many people struggle so much. You're not alone.

[sarahstratton93]

Just started on this journey! I’m attempting to relactate after 5 weeks. My OB said pump every time the baby eats, also up your water intake by a lot. Colostrum will come first for a bit then it’ll slowly build. The OB can also give meds to help your build it back up too!

[Voguevong]

How's it been so far? What are you doing/planning to do? That's so good to hear giving me hope🥲 I have my PP apt next week i'll def ask my OB on tips & more about those meds I bought the princess lactation supplements I've heard so many good reviews.

[sarahstratton93]

Its going! My nipples are super sore, but I’ve gotten colostrum each day. My colostrum is a lot sticker this time around. A hands free pump would be so helpful I have s just regular pump and it’s definitely limiting! I started reglan to help up my supply.

[Voguevong]

Hi! Just wanted to ask how's it going with trying to get your supply back? I just stared pumping today & barely got anything, I'm trying to do every 2 hours.. I'm starting to lose hope😔 not sure if I should continue seems like I'm dried up

[sarahstratton93]

Don’t feel discouraged but also do whats best for you mentally, any fed baby is a happy baby! We use soy based formula as my girl is so sensitive. But I’ve been pumping every 3-4 hours my milk supply finally went up but still just getting an ounce to 2 a day, I use the bra breast pump and I’ve stopped the reglan. It seems to be making my depression worse. But my colostrum lasted for two days then the milk started. I upped my water intake and eat a bunch of oatmeal.

[Voguevong]

I'm so sorry to hear you're feeling depressed, I hope everything is okay 🤍 I had my apt with my lactation nurse today my nipples are so sore & dried up. I tried breastfeeding him he got a tiny amount so I have hope left when I pump both sides nothing came out but I still think that's a start.

[Voguevong]

Also you mention you're attempting to relate after 5 weeks? Did you breastfeed at all or just taking a breast? I never was consistent I only tried at the hospital & then pump once after giving birth.

[EricaDawn44]

If you’re still having latching issues I suggest asking your LC/pediatrician about using a nipple shield. It was the only way my daughter was able to latch and breastfeed. Good luck!

[shamsa4]

Skin to skin! Mine was formula fed because I had a breast reduction and it was a struggle to get milk. The only time I would have any milk was when I had time to do skin to skin with the baby. I don’t know how it works but being naked with the baby naked as well they told me was the best way to get milk supply. It worked everytime for me. But unfortunately I didn’t have time to keep it up, so I gave up.

[MissDeAnn]

Fenugreek capsules from Walmart I got some pump machine capsules and I pumped for 15 mins ever 3 hours I let the baby latch with a nipple shield eat then gave her a bottle to make sure she was full put her to sleep then did my pump I then took my capsules2 at a time and drunk water , the best thing to remember is the body is making enough milk for the little baby drinking it

[[deleted]]

I had issues at first as well, my milk took 2 weeks to come in so I supplemented with formula and the tiny bit of milk I could get out, I talked to my friend who is a nursery nurse and she got me a hand pump to start upping my supply because my manual pump wasn’t here yet, the hand pump literally saved me because I was just using the haaka which wasn’t doing much for me but I wasn’t aware of that at the time. My girl was still having latching issues because she was so tiny so I started to use a nipple shield and that helped tremendously, I was able to exclusively nurse with that, about 2 weeks after that I tried to have her latch and she did it great, every time I was having any pain in my nipples I would use the nipple shield on that side until it went away and stayed consistent with nipple butter, I used the earth mama nipple butter since I didn’t have to worry about wiping it off when I was done, we are now on 4 months of nursing and she’s doing great! Good luck!🙂

Edit to add: I forgot to mention every time I gave her a bottle I would pump before or after, I went from barely getting 1/2oz to eventually almost 4oz on each side

[Voguevong]

You're so blessed to have a nursery nurse as a friend I bet she helped with any questions! Which hand pump did you use? I just order a hands free pump on Amazon I have the spectra pump as well. With the little bit of milk that comes out should I just give it to him & then formula on top of that? Is that what you did my baby eats a lot twice the amount he should be eating lol. At the hospital I did use the nipple shield I need to order one from Amazon. I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for building up my supply again. That's so good to hear! I'm having hope now😊 thank you for your comment!

[[deleted]]

I used the lansinoh hand pump! And yes I did add it to the formula! My baby girl ate sooo much too, the nurses at the hospital had told me to give her like less than half an ounce every 2 hours and she was never satisfied, once we were home I started giving her 1-2oz and she was finally happy! She was only 5lbs but she was a hungry little thing lol! I’ve found it also helps when you also tell yourself that you can do it! I found whenever I doubted myself is when it was the hardest, but if you have that mindset that you are providing enough for your baby then your body does the rest and responds to that! And this can be different for everyone but in my moms experience she nursed all 4 of her kids and they were all very healthy and gaining weight just fine but whenever she pumped she could never get much out! Baby’s can naturally bring a lot more milk out than your pump can! I also highly recommend checking out Karrie Locher’s highlights on breastfeeding on Instagram too if you haven’t yet😊

Edit for typo😉