I'll give you try to guess what I'm struggling with right now.
Any guesses?
Yep, I am struggling to produce enough milk for Ella.
A couple of weeks ago I came down with a little cold. I took Sudafed knowing that it's "safe" to take when pregnant and nursing.
What I didn't think about is how it can slow your milk production down. And it slowed mine WAY down.
She is already a skinny baby and doesn't even register on the weight charts (below the 5%). She's a tiny little lady with a crazy high metabolism. And she hasn't been having as many wet diapers as usual either. She's still having them...just not as great as they were.
Because she's 8 months I'd just as soon throw in the towel and give her formula. I had to supplement both of my boys and I had no issues with it at all. But my girl is PICKY. She refuses to take a bottle, sippy, cup, or even bowl full of formula. We've tried all the different ways to give it to her. She refuses to drink it (and frankly I can't blame her!).
So I've been really worried about her. It's keeping me up at night
But thankfully I have a friend who's a lactation specialist (as well as an awesome Scentsy rep); who lets me call her whenever I have a question.
So here's what I've been doing to boost my milk production.
1. Power Pumping
After Ella nurses I pump for 5 min. Rest 1 min. Pump 5 min. Rest 1 min. Pump 5 min.
This is exhausting! I barely have time enough to nurse her let alone do this. But I'm determined to not to quit. And the worst part about it is that I get like 3-4 drops total. So exhausting!
Pardon the graphic milk pic. I needed this for memory's sake.
2. Drinking Organic Mother's Milk Tea.
2-3 times a day.
I hate tea. I hate everything about it. And this tastes like black licorice. Which I hate even more than tea!
3. Drinking More Water.
This is a problem for me. I hate to drink water. I know...I'm weird. I've never liked it. And if I could live my entire life without it...I would.
4. Taking Fenugreek Pills.
Not too bad...it actually smells like maple syrup!
5. Drinking Wheat Beer.
This is my favorite thing to do to boost milk production. No complaints out of me for this one : )
So listen to me Baby Ella...this is how much I love you!
Please boobies...catch up so I can get some rest and my little lady can get chunky!
I had major lactation issues after Holland because I lost so much blood during delivery. That being said, I had a great lactation consultant who helped me have enough milk for him until he decided he needed 6 oz at every meal. So, about 4 weeks. But all that being said, she said the best things to take were supplements of fenugreek and blessed thistle. I think the Mother's Milk tea you'd have to drink something crazy like 12 cups each day in order for it to help much. She also said that the higher quality the beer is, the better it will work--so stick to microbrews. Good luck! You're almost there!
ReplyDeleteI had the same issue with Ben, I had multiple colds and a sinus infection about the time he was six months and began to lose my milk. I eventually had to supplement with formula. I will pray that you are able to get your milk supply up!
ReplyDeleteMy last cold did me in too. Aiden was 9 months and teething/biting it was time for us. I do understand your need to provide for your baby which is commendable. I pumped for a whole year with Gavin because he never latched it wad dedication. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteAww, I feel for you! Unfortunately I wasn't able to nurse any of my 3 babies for more than the first 2 weeks (God just didn't bless me with boobies that could handle it!) so I don't know what it's like to be in your shoes, but I do know what it's like to have to stop! Just a little thought i had though... my sister-in-law couldn't get her 9 month old daughter to switch either, when she had to go back to work, but read somewhere that if you tend to nurse after working out, your milk is more sour. So she tried putting a few drops of lemon juice in the formula, and although it's not her daughter's favorite, she will drink it that way! I know, random!
ReplyDeleteLeanne @ Because (I think) I Can
You're an awesome mom.
ReplyDeleteI had the same things happen with my daughter... all the extra stuff worked for me- but I emptied my freezer stash and was stressing so much. Now - looking back e mommies are way too hard on ourselves.
ReplyDeleteIn my case when we switched to whole milk later on - my milk was so sweet she wouldn't drink anything else. So our Dr. told us to add a little honey. She was over a year - and it worked like a charm.
Hang in there - get your rest and know that you are doing an amazing job.