I'd like to add my personal experience on this topic.  With my first daughter, I ended up weaning when she was 10 days old, and completely relactating between 6 and 8 weeks.
During the first week, I had terribly sore nipples and apparently a slow MER, and she began to refuse the breast at 5 days of age.  I proceeded to pump and  bottle feed, but I was able to express only about a third of what she needed, supplementing the rest with formula.  When she was 10 days old I developed mastitis (probably due to the poor quality pump that was the only one available here at that time) and I gave up, being overwhelmed by the stress of it all.  
I sadly resigned myself to not breastfeeding her, but I was miserable about it.  
When she was about 6 weeks old, I put her to the breast just to see what would happen.  She latched on, without causing any nipple pain, and from them on it was one long nursing marathon that lasted less than three weeks until she was exclusively breastfed.  I did this with extreme determination and motivation, and the wonderful support of Esther, whom all of you know from lactnet.   I did not pump, use medications for increasing the supply, or give up bottles.  I just nursed her for hours on end, and gradually decreased the amount of supplement.  I must say that I did not expect to be able to exclusive breastfeed, and I was surprised that it went so well and fast.  

Now, as an LC, I have seen a number of mothers who are unable to restore a full milk supply after getting off to a poor start, even with good management and very strong determination.    This leads me to think that I may have been an exception.
Many of you have reported cases similar to mine, of successfully establishing a full supply weeks or more after a poor start. Therefore it would make sense to assume there are both physiological and motivational factors in these cases.

Yael Wyshogrod,  IBCLC
Rehovot, Israel

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