Galactagogues Day Something...

its been almost a week or so.

ive not been able to be super consistent with pumping (mainly because at night i keep turning off my alarms without my own knowledge....yet i wake up to her slightly smacking on her hands...weird).

sometimes my 2.5 hourly output is about 4-5 oumces, sometimes its 3-3.5. Shes not eating as much, which is weird. shes kind of colicky (ill explain my thoughts on colic later) and i think she misses the breast! the left one still has the scab and it hurts like heck, but i do put her on the right when she wants to comfort suck and she does pretty good. sometimes she gets choppy and gnaws and i have to tell her no. i feel like if she were at the breast, there would be cluster feeding. im hoping once the nips heal and i get her back on, it helps!

i have noticed that my appetite has been pretty nonexistent lately.

ive cut out dairy so my breakfasts are oatmeal and slash or fruit.

lunch is whatever i happen to find, and then i usually have a large dinner.

but its more thirst. i have drinks all the time. juice and water and whatever is around. i love quenching thirst. i had forgotten how breastfeeding makes you parched!

thats all for now.

we also just got our new medela calma so ill update with the calma review and the breastflow review in a little bit.

5 good minutes.

i hadnt tried @breast since Friday at my last LC appt because of two things: the fear of pain and the fear of failure.

today i put her on after she had worked some at the Haberman (which she seems to do VERY well with! her suck suck swallow pause is very consistent!), and she and i had 5 good minutes of nursing with only minimal pain (before she fell asleep and started to gnaw with her jaw) :) she got some milk out, and im now in the room to pump the rest out. she didnt even make a dent really, but at least we got 5 minutes in. she wants breast, and i want to give it to her!

heres hoping for future success!

tips for pumping mamas!

on one of my mom boards someone posted a thread about tips for BFing moms. i reposted with some for pumping mamas, because we have some dilemmas too! heres what i posted. feel free to add any!

for the pumping mamas:

get a drink EVERY time...you will be thirsty.

make sure you have a stash of collection bottles and bags. you dont wanna run out.

consider a pumping station, the same spot every time in which to pump if possible, makes it routine for you, and for the older kids.

invest ina GOOD pump. i had 3 50$ automatic double breasted pumps with my son and they werent reliable. this time around, spending extra for the medela didnt seem so bad. youre saving an estimated 1500.00$ a year by not using formula not to mention the other costs, so spring for a good pump. my LC recommends Medela Pump in Style and the Ameda Purely Yours.

get yourself some good breast pads and some good creams. Lansinoh and Medela make great lanolin creams, and the first years has a cream lanolin free called Nipple Butter (is made with almonds and but oils...so read the ingredients for sensitivies).

if youre planning to try and go back to breast get a good LC to give you advice and support. it can be rough. my hospital gives unlimited visits for the first 30 days. ask yours!

along the same lines, look at some good breastlike bottles to avoid confusion or preference if you are using bottles. i like adiri, but im also using a medela specialneeds feeder (formerly known as haberman feeder) while we get through the tongue tie. Other options are Supplemental Nursing Systems with tubes and syringes to help baby until feeding@breast can be reestablished.

its hard to use a laptop for typing while pumping, at least for me, so i set my laptop up with netflix. my pumping usually takes me about 20 minutes and then a few extra to cream up and let some bmilk dry on the nips: just enough time to watch an episode of How I Met Your Mother :).

having pumped milk is fine and dandy to let daddy feed some too, but consider having his feedings be at night. and you can give day feedings to bub, so the awake baby knows milk comes from mom. may help when going back to breast if you can. besides, it's nice to be able to hold her close in a breastfeeding position, and look into her eyes :)

set alarms in the nighttime to pump. yes its hard on the brain and body, but your supply will thank you.

pumping doesnt have the same effect on the body as baby, so ask your doctor or LC about fenugreek or Blessed Thistle or Mothers Milk Tea if youre concerned about your supply. but dont try to fix what isnt broken :)

bringing baby in the room with you may help your release of oxytocin, by seeing baby's face :)

have support! I go to a group on Facebook (Breastfeeding-give it a go!) and i talk to those ladies all the time about my concerns and frustrations being attached to the pump. its nice to have support worldwide!

and remember, youre still giving breastmilk. youre making a really good choice in the midst of undesirable circumstances, be it going back to work or school, or a medical reason for not being able to have him or her at the breast. remember your reasons, you are succeeding!

Positivity.

today im choosing to look at the positives.

yes im bummed things arent how i want them, and my baby isnt at my breast.

but im looking at the positives. positivity is huge, and i know positive thinking gets people places :)

today im feeling great because:

first of all, i have supply. this fact is not lost upon me, and i am very pleased to have milk that my daughter can drink. with my son, my supply ran low due to a couple of factors, and i know there are lots of women who have babies at the breast that want so much for supply...and i do not take that for granted.

i pump every 2 - 3 hours depending on day or night. - this guarantees me alone time to reflect, watch something on the laptop, blog, or do homework or research. guaranteed quiet time. how many moms get that?

i can hold my daughter any way i want during a feeding, and i can look into her eyes without craning my neck to see her :)

expressing breastmilk means that i can easily slip my son some breastmilk in his cup when im preparing baby girls bottle, and he gets some of the goods too without a problem!

if i were only feeding at breast, i might not have the overflowing "we need to get a deep freezer" supply in the freezer that i do have right now for a rainy day :)

i get to have frequent trips to the lactation consultant...seeing as how i want to be one...its nice to be immersed in the culture i want to work in.

Tongue ties are a pain, and having multiple babies with it is rough! but ill have experience with it to help other struggling mothers when my education is over and i am working in the field of breastfeeding.

i have really nice breasts right now :) and after a pumping i get to spend a few extra minutes letting them airdry with my cream and chillin topless.

skin to skin doesnt have ulterior motives. my baby is loving my skin time...not just searchin for a boob. :)

and im feeling great because even though it looks bleak right now...there is still hope. and as long as i do NOT give up...there will be hope.

and more than anything...im thankful she is HEALTHY and well. even if i had no breastmilk - that fact alone would get me through.

just my thoughts for the day.