in Breastfeeding/Nursing & pumping Mamas

Stop/Starting BF

Hi! I have an 11 week old, I stoped BF at 4 weeks due to bad mental health and being overstimulated whilst adjusting to having 2 children. My baby is full of a cold, her 3rd one since birth and I’ve just defrosted some colostrum from the freezer to give to her and jumped in the shower. Out of curiosity I squeezed my boob to see if there was anything and a few drops of milk came out. I’m now soooo tempted to try and hand express some milk to give to her because I know that breast is best and she’s poorly and I’m thinking would this help her immune system?? I’m really not clued up on BF! I reallllly enjoyed it for the first few weeks I just have suffered with bad PPD so I gave it up to focus on other things and not stress myself as much. I’m on a higher dose of antidepressants which are paroxetine which coincidentally are the antidepressants that are recommended to take when you have depression and BF but that’s the only thing that’s changed since the last time is the dosage. I just don’t know what to do! Anyone got any advice, should I try and hand express or just stick to formula?

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You could try it and see what happens if it is something you want to do, but don't put pressure on yourself. She is fed and loved and that's what is important.

Hey lovely! I'm sorry your little one is sick and it's clear you are a wonderful mama to think about giving your baby the best milk you can when they are sick. The antibodies in breast milk are so beneficial to help babies when they are unwell and even to help them prevent getting sick. Any amount of breast milk is beneficial to a babies immune system and it's amazing you have colostrum to defrost - this is a powerhouse of virus-busting antibodies and nutrients. Breasts can still produce milk weeks or months after stopping and re-lactation is possible with regular skin to skin,latching and pumping every 2 to three hours. Sleep power pumping is great for this. Can you contact an lblc lactation consultant in your area for support? This article explains a bit more; https://www.ynhh.org/articles/can-you-start-breastfeeding-after-stopping

*power pumping not sleep power pumping 😅🙈

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