Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Moo.

If reading about nursing or the technical difficulties bothers you, please don't continue reading.  I was initially hesitant to post stories about my boobs, because you know, that stuff is so way Personal.  But then I got to thinking, that maybe my issues might be able to help another Mom having similar technical difficulties.  If it works or doesn't work for us, maybe that will help some other mother.


When Jacob was born, everything was great.  He nursed like a champ from the very beginning.  In the hospital with both older boys, I had to call for Lactation Consultant Reinforcements on multiple occasions.  This visit, apparently, Jacob and I were "the easy ones".   They told me they saved visiting me for the end of the days, because we were easiest, and didn't have to do much. By the third, it comes easier, so they said.   And Jacob was a natural.  It just so happened, each and every time the Lacation ladies came in, I was nursing, and they'd look at his form and leave.  He had great form.  They'd make sure he had the nipple in his mouth and his jaw/ear were working to indicate he was getting enough to swallow.  He was Right On every time. Like I said, Jacob is a natural. 


Then came our last day.  My milk started coming in, I could feel the Swell.  I told the Lactation Consultant as much when she came in.  She began to ask a few questions, and I answered.  To sum up, she 'diagnosed' me as having Over Active Letdown.  I had never heard of such a thing!  Apparently, it's possible to make too much milk and have it come out too fast.  Well, if there were bosoms that were too big, or could make too much, they certainly would be mine.   The wild spew that would come on when I nursed the boys, apparently can be too much too fast for the little ones.  Also, breasts can make more, the more children you have, so like my body is good at it...a little too good.  So, we discussed it.  
She told me not to pump.  Pumping this early in the game can bring on a larger supply.  As much as I wouldn't mind producing enough to be able to donate again, like I did with Sam, I've got to get Jake on a good routine First.  So I agreed to not pump.  Not Pumping is hard when I'm feeling full, or sore.  When the letdown comes on fast and strong, I can catch with towels or boob pads, so that's something.  A hot shower also helps, now that I'm healthy enough to take them.  The other, most logical, thing to try to establish a reasonable supply is called Block Feeding, where I nurse him off one side for an extended period of time, I don't think she said an amount of time, but I came off thinking it was to be all day.  So I came home with the notion to nurse 12 hours on one side and 12 hours on the other.  But after the first day I wanted to explode, and cry.  It hurt so bad.  And my milk wasn't even fully in yet, so we skipped that.  I kicked it down a notch and tried nursing 6 hours on each side.  So from 12-6 on right, 6-12 left, etc.  That has worked pretty well all week.  We are lucky I think, that we caught it early before my milk was fully in, so I've been better able to control the supply.  Still it's a painful process, though.   It does lead to me being able to tell time by my boobs, I get a bit achy about 5 and 11. So 6 hours is pretty extreme.  Lucky for me, Eric is around to help me out so much this week while we work out the kinks.

This morning, I woke up with a Sore boob.  Like sore enough I could tell it was developing into a Plugged Duct.  So I nursed the crap out of Jake on that one side....for longer than the pre-requisite 6 hours, and then did both sides so the first one didn't explode.  It seems to be helping.  






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