sync setup not working

Somehow NordVPN caused my Firefox bookmarks on my macbook to be deleted (Nord has caused more problems than I've had in years). Many of the bookmarks are still on FF on my ipad. I've setup sync on both devices (at least I think so), but when I hit the sync button on my mac, the ipad's bookmarks don't appear on my macbook. On my ipad mozilla account 'everything I'm using and signed into' shows the macbook was active 7 minutes ago, and the 'sign out' box is available, so I must be signed in. Firefox on my iphone is the same. Any suggestions. It's getting to the point where it would be easier to setup new bookmarks.