Finn is 5 months old tomorrow and our breastfeeding journey is still going strong! That may mean little or nothing to some but to me, it's great! I was only able to EBF (exclusively breastfeed) Max for 3.5 months and by the time he was 4 months old, my supply was totally gone. I have absolutely NOTHING against formula. I am so thankful that science has created such a great alternative for breastmilk. Without it, I would have been at a total loss when Max was a baby. The thing is, I WANTED to breastfeed him longer. Honestly, I just didn't know what I was doing. I should have asked questions. I should've contacted a lactation specialist. Shoulda woulda coulda. I was 24 years old with my first baby and I thought that it came naturally. And if not naturally and easily then well, you just buy formula. Now, I'm not an expert but I wanted to share some lessons that I have learned that have helped me be more successful (thus far) this time around.
1. Getting a good pump. My AWESOME friends got me a Medela double electric breast pump and it is AMAZING. With Max, I wasn't prepared. I got a Medela manual hand pump AFTER my milk came in and had a friend show me how to use it. It's fine if the alternative is no pump. But truth be told, it sucked!!!!! It killed my hands to use it and it didn't express much milk. I basically only used it when my milk first came in and was painfully engorged. This time, I got my pump beforehand and it has helped so much! I have been able to store some and it expresses MUCH more than my hand pump could've dreamed of.
2. Pumping does not equal supply. This may seem like a contradiction from my first "lesson" but it's not. I LOVE that pump and a good pump can make a huge difference BUT it doesn't mean everything. I thought that pumping was a direct reflection of how much milk I made. It wasn't. No matter how great the pump is, it is true that nothing can express milk from the breast like a baby can. I thought that since my hand pump was only expressing half of an ounce after 45 minutes of trying, I had no milk left. This was not the case as Max weighed around 16 pounds by 3 months so CLEARLY he was doing fine. If baby is gaining weight and has enough wet diapers, there is no issue. Also, some women just do not respond as well to a pump like others. I know some that can bust out 10 ounces in 5 minutes while others take 30 minutes to get 3-4 ounces. Maybe there IS a supply issue, but maybe there is not. What I'm saying is, you don't have to give up based solely on what you are able to pump. That's what I did with Max and I was wrong. I did not have a supply issue until I started giving him formula and slowly stopped breastfeeding.
3. Drinking & eating. When Max was first born I was so concerned with taking care of him that I didn't take care of myself. I drank next to nothing and ate about as much because I didn't have much of an appetite in the beginning. Sure I lost all of the baby weight by one month postpartum but I wasn't healthy. The thing with breastfeeding is, you HAVE to drink a lot of water and consume enough calories to have a good supply. This time, I made it a point to eat those first few weeks.. Even if I didn't "feel" hungry. Then, once my hormones balanced out a little, my appetite came back with a vengeance. Now I'm constantly hungry. I'm still 5 lbs from my pre-Finn weight and about 15 from where I want to be but that's okay with me for now. I'll get there soon enough. Also, I drink lactation tea and I eat oatmeal several times a week. They say it's good for your supply. Not sure who "they" are, but I do it and I think it does!
4. Engorgement does not equal supply. Sure, when your boobs are full they swell BUT once your supply settles in, they become less engorged. This doesn't mean they are empty. A nurse I had with Finn (bless you, Tanya) told me "the older the baby, the softer the breast" and that really stuck with me! With Max, I thought that if my boobs weren't rock hard and bursting that they weren't full. They were, they just weren't engorged. There is a difference. I know that now but I didn't then.
5. Babies need to nurse for long periods of time. Not true. Some babies nurse for 30 minutes on each side, some only nurse for 5. My boys were/are not long feeders. I can count on one hand how many times Finn has nursed for longer than 10 minutes. I thought this was wrong with Max because I thought that they needed to nurse for longer. The truth is, some babies (and especially over time) become more efficient at the breast. They may be able to empty the breast in 5 minutes while others take longer. There is nothing wrong with either way, it simply depends on the baby! It is not a reflection of supply. Baby may just have their groove down pat and don't need to nurse as long as others, or maybe as long as they did before.
Maybe it was my own insecurities about not being able to be as successful as I imagined with Max, but hearing those "breast is best" speeches always rubbed me the wrong way. Like I wasn't doing what was best. It especially upset me because I wanted to do more, I just didn't know how. So maybe this could help someone to learn from me! Remember: if baby is gaining weight and has enough wet diapers, there is nothing wrong with your breastfeeding! On the flip side, if you choose to go the formula route, good for you! We are fortunate to have the option of formula and you ARE doing what's best. Keep up the good work!
Now........ my next task is to get him to stop biting me. It's a wonder he hasn't taken a nipple clean off with his little razor teeth. If I solve this problem, I'll let ya know!
