Support Needed - Relactation Journey (Week 4)

[denman]

Hello! I’m looking for encouragement and support from our amazing community. I started my relactation journey at 12 weeks postpartum. This community has been one of my motivating factors for trying again, so I hope you can cheer me on!

You can ready my story here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/breastfeedingsupport/comments/1bj0o0o/support_needed_relactation_journey_day_1

Please help me succeed by sending love and positive thoughts my way! Also any of your experiences, mantras, and tips.

I’ll be posting every week in /breastfeeding and /breastfeedingsupport. Let’s do this together! Love you all!!

——

Progress!

Total daily pump output
Day 1: drops on the flanges
Day 7: 0.2 oz (6 ml)
Day 14: 0.5 oz (15 ml)
Day 21: 0.8 oz (23 ml)
Day 28: 0.9 oz (27 ml)

Week 1 progress:

https://www.reddit.com/r/breastfeedingsupport/comments/1bnxqtl/support_needed_relactation_journey_day_7

Week 2 progress:

https://www.reddit.com/r/breastfeedingsupport/comments/1btpdpl/support_needed_relactation_journey_week_2

Week 3 progress:

https://www.reddit.com/r/breastfeedingsupport/comments/1bzi4uc/support_needed_relactation_journey_week_3

Week 4 update: Hi, it’s me again. Still trying to relactate and pumping away. I’ve been doing 7-8 pumps per day (with 1-2 being a power pump), using the SNS most days, and nursing my daughter before or after some of her bottle feeds. So, 9-12 instances of milk removal each day. My output today increased to 27 ml! I think it’s due to the longer (30 min) pump sessions and power pumps, where I pump until I feel my breasts are super soft. I should note that my weekly output decreased to about 20 ml for most of the week. I know there’s always day-to-day week-to-week variation, and there could be times progress stalls so I’m not getting discouraged. My period came back this week so maybe that had something to do it? I also haven’t been sticking to my schedule and have been fitting in pumps as I can throughout the day at 2-3 hour intervals. Maybe this has to do with it too? Or maybe my baby is getting milk that would have gone to the pump? (I doubt the last one - she usually doesn’t nurse for long and her latch is a bit lazy, something which I want to get checked out by my LC if/when I’m producing more milk so we can do a weighted feed).

I’m going to continue for another week. This coming week, I’m going to try to stick to 30 min pump sessions, increase the number of pump sessions by at least one, and be more diligent about MOTN pumps (I keep on sleeping through my alarm… but also think the sleep is good for me). I also want to work on hand expression, and have an appointment with a breastfeeding doctor to talk about hormones and medications.

I have to admit that it’s getting hard to keep motivation with my daughter being more interactive every day and the weather getting nicer. I’m thinking about getting wearable pumps to just get as much milk out as possible when I have to be mobile. Also, my back and leg are still killing me and it’s hard to sit for long stretches - I have to think that sitting at the pump is not helping me heal. Please send kind words - I really need them right now! Thank you everyone for the really nice encouraging comments! I am trying to channel your positive energy every time I turn on the pump!

And thank you everyone who has DMed with their stories about relactation and induced lactation. It makes me feel so good to know I’m not alone. It seems there’s sometimes a big jump after about 4 weeks for many people, so I’m getting excited to continue my journey into month #2!

——

Routine

I’m aiming for 8x daily pump sessions BUT prioritizing time with my baby and sleep, so I skip or postpone a pump session occasionally. My pump schedule is: 3 am, 6 am, 9 am, 12 pm, 2:30 pm, 5 pm, 8 pm, and 10:30 pm. I pump 10-25 minutes during each session, and incorporate massage, heat, and hands on pumping as much as possible. I try to include a power pump once a day, depending on when I can find 50 minutes to make it happen. I’m using a Spectra S1 pump with Nuliie flange inserts, with the Momcozy hands free pumping bra and coconut oil as lubricant. I clean my breasts after pump sessions with a baby wipe.

I use the Lact-Aid SNS at least twice a day during daytime feedings. I use 3M first aid tape to keep the tube in place.

I’m supplementing with Motherlove Goat’s Rue tincture (6 ml daily = 1 ml 1:1 tincture taken at 3 am, 9 am, 12 pm, 5 pm, 8 pm, and 10:30 pm) and Mary Ruth’s Milk Thistle Seed tincture (0.5 ml taken at 6 am). Also taking my regular daily routine of vitamins: New daily prenatal vitamin, iron supplement, Vitamin C, Vitamin B12, and Sunflower Lecithin.

I’m trying to keep up my hydration and calories. I eat Purely Elizabeth Superfood oatmeal every morning for breakfast - it has oatmeal, flax, chia, and almonds (all supposedly supportive breastfeeding foods).

I’m using Earth Mama Organic Nipple Butter to keep the nips happy.

And letting my daughter nurse as much as she’d like.

 

[robbie_p]

@denman Super mum!

 

[jimishasmom]

@denman Wow your dedication is inspiring! As for the drop in supply, yes, it absolutely does when your period comes around. As long as you’re continuing to remove milk supply will always bounce back!

I know how tough this can be so I think any solution to get your body moving and outside will help protect your mental health. Being hooked to a pump several times a day can be hard on us. I know that was the case for me. That being said, wearable pumps are a great idea. I would just note that they’re known for being not as effective as the good ole plug in pumps so if you do use them you may want to do an extra power pump or just one extra one.

Do you have a goal in mind that’s keeping you motivated? When I ran into a bunch of issues in the beginning I had very small, incremental goals. One week would be about my daughter’s latch (latch for x amount of time, x amount of times/day), number of pumps/day or adding a power pump, eventually it was about how much I supplemented 90/10 donor milk/my milk and slowly increasing my milk/latches.

I found that having those small goals each day/week really helped me not get overwhelmed with the minutia of feedings. I also had a ton of encouragement from my support system. It’s so much easier to have people who understand the amount of time, effort, and energy it takes to breastfeed and don’t make discouraging comments about the effort you’re making.

Your baby is so lucky to have a mom with so much resilience and tenacity.

 

[denman]

@jimishasmom These are all great points! Thank you! I agree mood is definitely linked to moving and leaving the house. Thanks for the timely motivation (it’s supposed to be a beautiful day here).

And thanks for sharing how you used short term goals! My overall goal is to produce enough milk to keep my daughter interested in having a breastfeeding relationship with me. I’ve read studies on relactation, and it seems the moms who have the most satisfaction are those who don’t focus on milk production but rather the emotional aspects of breastfeeding.

My two daily goals are 1) having at least 11 instances of breast stimulation (pump, SNS, and nursing), and 2) giving myself grace. Regarding #2, I initially worked with a LC who, looking back, was absolutely terrible. She was full of strong opinions, likely based on her inexperience. As in “the only pump that works is a Spectra” and “you don’t need to know how to hand express” (both not true!). She gave horrible advice that was a big contributor to me giving up on trying to make breastfeeding work. She had us doing triple feeding, then when I said I was exhausted and it was not working for my mental health she told me to exclusively pump and mostly cut out nursing. Telling a new mom to not be with her baby was absolutely horrible and wrong. I felt like it was a choice between having to pump and be with my baby, and I chose the latter. And welp, here I am now! So, giving myself grace is something I’m practicing based on this experience.

I’m committed to trying for two months to relactate, baring any major hurdle or stall. I feel that’s probably the most amount of time I could go without seeing a major shift in milk production, and also enough time to tweak my process and find out what works for me. I’ve heard both that milk production is
exponential after “flipping the switch,” and also linear and slow. I’m not sure which is true. I’ve also read that it takes roughly 1-2x you’ve been “dry” to get a full milk supply. For me, that would be 3-6 months? so my daughter would be 6-9 months old. I’m still processing what I feel about this sort of timeline.

I’m interested to know your experience and perspective if you want to share!

 

[jimishasmom]

@denman If it were me I would find another LC! I know mine was extremely helpful and supportive during the 5 months we were having issues.

It’s important to rule out any underlying medical issues that contribute to supply issues. Am IBCLC is really the only person who knows what to order and what they’re looking for. In my case I have PCOS and Hashimotos. Lactating women’s tsh should be between 1-1.5. Mine was consistently above 3 even while on medication. I had to have my doctor tweak my dosage several times. It helped marginally but I still wasn’t making enough. I resorted to medication to help. Within a couple of days I was overproducing by a few ounces. Been on it for a year now and don’t regret it.

I’ve read the same timeline of 3-5 months to establish a milk supply after you’ve weaned. Some women never get a full supply but every drop of breastmilk matters.

I totally get what you’re saying about making goals about the emotional side of breastfeeding vs the measurable side. It did really impact my mental health when I was pumping since I knew I wasn’t making enough and I was doing everything “right”. Being away from my baby was another form of torture so I’m with you. My mental health drastically improved when I stopped pumping and just went to nurse. Those magic baby things.

 

[forwardslider]

@denman Period is known to affect the supply. I'm having this issue too. But it comes back once it's gone, so don't feel discouraged by this. All the best and good luck in your journey!

 

[denman]

@forwardslider Thank you so much!!!

 

[slicey]

@denman Just wanted to say what an amazing job you're doing to keep going. Your positivity and tenacity is inspiring. Thank you for sharing your journey, no matter what happens you should be proud of yourself!

 

[denman]

@slicey Thank you SO much!! ))))