just rambling

[KarenP]

Ugh, yesterday I was so close to just convincing myself formula would be easier and to just switch. Last night I was just exhausted and felt like I'd been hit by a freight train. Maybe it's because I'm out of of 'guest mode' since my parents went home yesterday. And my house is a mess to prove it, but today I feel much better and I know it will get cleaned up.
With DS, he wasn't back up to his birth weight by 3 weeks and I started supplementing then. Went back to work at 10 weeks and tried to balance pumping and working... gradually lost all my low supply and fully weaned by 5 months.

Now with DD she's been supplemented from day 1, and not home with me until 1 week. I've been pumping like crazy, and popping fenugreek, drinking MM tea, eating oatmeal, etc. and still only getting less than 1 ounce per pumping. They say the first 2 weeks is super important to get your body geared up for this, and this is day 10, so I hope I see an increase soon.

So I decided this morning to make myself a deal -- give this my best shot for the next 10.5 weeks until I go back to work. Compared to trying to fit it in with work, I'll have the luxury of being able to pump whenever I wish, and maybe DD will pick up soon on how to feed straight from the tap anyway.

[CammysMom]

:hug: I'm sorry Karen. My situation with PJ sounds very similar to how things went with your DS - and I gave up with Cam within the first week thanks to me being young and naive and a peditrician that probably knew nothing about breastfeeding. I thought breastfeeding would work just as easily as bottlefeeding with Cam (again, I was naive). After having him, I got assigned the topic of breastfeeding for a college research paper and I was amazed to see how NOT easy it could be!!! I think it was kind of like fate that I got assigned that topic because I knew what I was in for with my second attempt with PJ. I don't know... I guess I'm just rambling now too... I hope you see results from the fenugreek and tea - I know I relied on a lot of that stuff with PJ - although I started a lot later than you (when I was already back to work and PJ was 2-3 months old) and I just couldn't make it past 5 months. Keep at it and I hope things get better real soon for you.

[Juju]

I commend you for keeping at it and hope that you can make it work. I have a friend who nearly hemorrhaged to death during her son's birth, and her LC later told her that the extra week she had to spend in the hospital as well as the healing period, probably kept her supply from ever reaching full capacity. She just supplemented with formula from day one and gave him everything she could produce. I say, whatever choice you make is sure to be right for you and your child. :)

[hedra]

Just plain major blood loss can delay the full onset of lactation for 10-14 days... so be patient (fortunately, our bodies CAN sometimes catch up after that, but it does take work).

Hang in there. I think you have a good approach. I hope you have good support, too (good LC, etc.).

[CodeNameMom]

My milk wasn't actually in until about 9days after J was born. I thought it was after 4 days because I felt engorged but looking back on what I pumped it was still colostrum until 9 days. I can't help with low supply as all my issues have stemmed off of over supply and overactive letdown.

I do think you have done wonderful to stick it out this far. The only thing I can think to add to all the wonderful advice you have gotten is to relax. stress can decrease your supply and you definately had a stressful start with Meg. One "cure all" that I have seen in multiple BF books and advice that has been given to me in the past is to have a bed day. Modified instructions to this since I know you are a single parent would be for one day curl up in bed, rent movies or read books. Just nurse on and off as much as Meg wants. Cook microwave easy meals (ideally you would have someone wait on you but improvise) and just baby yourself and your kids. Dont worry about the house or anything. Just have a nice quiet day of relaxing and nursing.

That is probably better advice for a low supply than a weak latch but it could work. :hug: I hope you and meg get over this and go on to have a great BF relationship.

[JulieD]

I was also going to say that surgery will greatly affect your supply start... and I sooooooo know those first days and weeks are really hard. I had to resort to telling Graysen I would nurse him for ONE MORE DAY every night and taking it literally day by day. It's not simple sometimes. It was worth the effort I put into it, but it was a struggle and some days it was harrowing...

HUGS and major understanding. You're doing great Karen!