"C" is for Cache (cont.)

The milk monster is back, and so is my supply!  YAY!  I had to give myself a break from Tully updates on the blog last week and earlier this week until things were back to normal.  It was really rough these past few weeks.  There were days when Tully wouldn't nurse more than a few minutes because I didn't have much milk.  I pumped like a madwoman though, including getting up not once but twice (2am and 5am) each night, while Tully slept peacefully.  This made for one very tired momma, but it was SO worth it.  I have three, count them, THREE bottles of pumped milk in the fridge, and just recently I have been able to give Tully a full feeding without the bottle at all.  When I started out, Tully was nursing for a couple minutes and then getting 3-4 oz of formula.  Then when I started pumping we would give him breastmilk from the bottle and then formula.  He was still taking 2-4 oz or more from the bottle.  Breastmilk can stay room temp for up to four hours, so my milk rarely made it to the fridge.

In addition to pumping I had lots of support from John and my mom, and a neighborhood girl started coming by for a few hours on MWF to help with laundry, dishes, and dinner.  This reduced my stress tremendously, which definitely helped my supply increase.  I bought Fenugreek supplements and saw an immediate improvement too, but now I smell like maple syrup!  I also went to another LLL meeting to talk with other breastfeeding moms and visited the lactation consultant a couple times, which made me feel so much better.  The lactation consultant also raised a really good point while I was visiting with her.  I was doing an elimination diet (no milk, nuts, eggs), but Tully was getting cow milk-based formula.  If he had a problem with cow milk proteins in my milk, he should exhibit the same problems with the formula.  Since this was not the case, I reintroduced milk, followed by nuts and eggs, into my diet.  It was SO hard not to eat things with milk, so I'm happy to be eating "normally" again.

It's been three weeks since our last doctor's visit and my baby boy has gained another pound and a half (we stopped by for a quick weigh in with the lactation consultant last night).  It feels so good to have him nursing again, and I can't wait for our 2 month appointment next week!  I'm also happy to not be mixing up stinky formula or washing 500 bottles a day.  It was such a pain to pack up all of the formula and bottle supplies just to leave the house.  Nursing him is a thousand times easier for sure!

Here is Tully's one month photo with Lambsy.  He looks so tiny here.  He'll be two months next week, and it will be fun to compare the pics.  He has outgrown all of his newborn clothes, shoes, and diapers.  We're on to size 1 now!

Tweet