Sleep loss? No problem. Less free time? Not too hard of an adjustment. Breastfeeding? The most difficult thing I’ve done in my life, and I get on stage to act in front of judgmental audiences for a hobby. One show I even entered doing a cartwheel and always had the lingering thought of what if I land on my head or break an arm? Breastfeeding makes that cartwheel look like a walk in the park! Thus today I want to lament on lactation, and what it has taught me.
DETERMINATION!
I’ve set a lot of goals in life. Some of them I’ve met; some of them I haven’t met. I thought these taught me grit and determination. Wrong! Do you know what teaches determination? A stubborn baby with an equally stubborn mama!
Lil Kisby was very energy efficient (the PC way to say lazy) when it came to nursing. Instead of latching, he felt the best way to eat was either from a syringe or a bottle especially the one that was leaky. He was born late May 20, and he decided to latch on June 7. For those counting that was 19 days!
In addition to him not latching, my milk production was around 50% of what it should be. Now a baby can’t just eat 50% of the time! Unlike mama, he doesn’t have extra fluff to lose. What did this mean? A strict regimen of nurse, supplement, pump and repeat every three hours. Yesterday – July 30 – he finally made it through a day with no formula supplementation because he was able to get full on breastmilk! 72 days after birth!
Now I get what determination means!
Supply, Supply, Supply
When your supply is low, you will do just about anything to help increase it. At least you will if you’re me. Seriously, if the lactation consultant had told me to stand on my head 7 hours a day to increase my supply, then I would have found a way to stand on my head 7 hours a day. Thankfully, that wasn’t recommended, but here are somethings I’ve tried!
Motherlove More Milk Special Blend – I’ve used the liquid and capsule forms. Both smell terrible and taste like they smell, but they were the number one recommendation. So my breath my smell like an herb garden, but if it helps then it is worth it!
Hot Tea – I’ve drank raspberry tea and Mother’s Milk tea. I don’t know how much they are helping, but they’ve turned me into a hot tea drinker. They are both decaf, and I find them to be relaxing before bedtime. Give me my tea and a book, and I’ll sleep like a baby!
Lactation Cookies – I bought some, then I found a recipe via Google to make my own. Store bought cookies were good, but mine are great because I added chocolate chips and peanut butter chips!
100 Grams of Protein Daily – This is the hardest for me as I am not a big meat or bean eater. My main sources of protein have been chicken nuggets and peanut butter with the occasional pork and hamburger. If I liked steak this would be a lot easier!
The Pink Drink – This drink is made at Starbucks and women on the Internet claimed it worked. There is no scientific evidence to support that it would help, but it tastes delicious! I’m a sucker for refreshing strawberry drinks! If it does help then cool, if not then it is $5 of tasty!
So…
So for those of you out there who have also struggled with breastfeeding, I want you to know that you are not alone! The lactation struggle is real! However, persevering through is worth it! I’d love to hear your stories of perseverance in the comments!
Now I must go make tea!
XOXO,
The Great Kaysby
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