Oh Boobie Milk, Wherefore Art Thou, Boobie Milk?

Before having Bug I never imagined I'd have a problem keeping the ole milk truck pumping. Low milk supply? How can any woman have a low milk supply? Well, shit happens. Here's how it seems to have happened for me...

I wasn't eating enough, drinking enough, or sleeping enough and I was extremely stressed out. I half thought my husband was going to have to have me sent to the booby hatch! Although, he might have joined me. As a result, my milk supply tanked and I didn't even realize it. All I knew was now Bug was screaming like crazy if I dared put her down after what I thought was a marathon feed. Can't put baby down... can't eat! Can't eat... get crazy... both of those contribute to "Milk Truck" (our nickname for me) running dry. A horrid cycle."

This problem occurred early on- before she was a month old. At one of her early well checks the nurse practitioner said, "The baby looks great- you look like hell!" She suggested we supplement some feedings with formula. I was reluctant, thinking I was failing her as a mother. I had my heart set on exclusively breastfeeding. Breast is best!!! Breast is best!!!

Let me tell you something. Breast may be best, but "crazy lunatic bitch" doesn't help ANYBODY, least of all- the baby. So started to supplement with a *little* bit of formula. We had to mix it with pumped breast milk. This gave my hooters a break and my body a chance to catch back up. I also had to force myself to eat more. With the supplementing, it also allowed my husband to do one feeding a night.

Finding the right formula was also a nightmare. For one, babies hate the taste of formula. Secondly, one of Bug's doctors erroneously thought she was allergic to dairy (which made the possibility of a dairy based formula problematic). Ultimately, we went with Similac Advance. To start we had to mix with breast milk and my husband had to be the one to give it to her as she wouldn't take it from me!

A word of caution on supplementing though- if you want to keep that boobie milk flowing, don't allow yourself to slide into supplementing with breast milk instead of the formula! This became an issue with us much later, after my supply rebounded. It was just easier to give her formula once she would take it when we were out in public- or during the night. (Husband started to take over all the night feeds). The more formula you give, the less milk you're going to produce. So just be careful. We're at 6 months and one week and I'm clinging to the last few drops of breast milk and I'm down to producing it from only one boob!!

Here are a few things I did to help bolster the supply:

• Almond Milk. For some reason, it really helped with the supply. I took it in my cereal and had on average, three bowls of cereal a day. I would notice a significant drop if I went a day without it. Yes, it's pricey but it's worth every penny. 
• Eat More. Try to make them worthy calories. This was tough for me because I was thrilled to finally lose weight.
• Oatmeal- They say to make sure it's the "good stuff" not the packaged oatmeal. I found both styles worked well but I'd often mix the two. 
• Hydrate!
• Relax. Ha! I've got all this going on and you tell me to relax!!? I know. But try. 
• Offer the breast often. Like I said, don't become too reliant on formula or solids. 

Hopefully this helps. Stay tuned for the post on nursing strikes!!