I Smell Like IHOP

As I posted earlier, Lil Man was going through a phase where he was not too interested in nursing (or even taking a bottle really). Even though he woke more at night to nurse, I could feel my supply was dipping. Then, both Lil Man and I got the nasty cold I mentioned. YUCK! As many nursing moms know- sickness can also cause a dip in supply. Lucky me to have both these things happen at once!

I had a day or two where I just thought- please, just let me make it to 6 months! If I can at least nurse him some until 6 months I will be happy.

Well, then I realized, 6 months is only a few weeks away and I am no where near ready to stop this nursing journey. I was renewed. I started pumping like crazy. The fact that my son is older, and can now play by himself sitting up, in an exersaucer, etc, has made pumping a lot easier then it used to be. I feel so much better now. I even decided, if he won't keep nursing, I will pump to give him what I can for as long as I can.

I am going to start back up on my 2 favorite herbs that support lactation. Fenugreek and Shatavari. I love Shatavari as it also has helped my let down become quicker. Fenugreek works faster though, so I start them together and then wean off the fenugreek.

The only down side to these herbs- they make me smell. Fenugreek- I start to smell like Maple Syrup. Yep, maple syrup. I start taking it and the next morning, I usually wake up and think "Are the people in the apartment above us making pancakes or waffles?" I start craving IHOP. Then I realize...that smell is me.

The first time this happened, I thought it was funny. My sisters, who are single and do not have children yet, got a huge kick out of me sticking my arm under there nose and having them take a big whiff. They agreed- maple syrup....YUM!

So, as I start back up on Fenugreek...I expect that come Saturday morning, I will be asking my husband to please take me to IHOP for breakfast. That is ok...IHOP for breakfast is a small sacrifice to make in order to keep nursing my son.

Becca

Sorry~

I apologize for a slow week. Both Lil Man and I have had nasty colds, I have been busy with my side business (photography), and we had Halloween. Plus, Lil Man has his half birthday in November, Thanksgiving is coming, Hubby and I both have our birthdays in November, and we are taking a long awaited vacation to Texas to visit some close friends!

I promise- I am working on some stuff for here, I just have not been able to sit down and post.
Please keep following- and keep voting on what you want discussed.
ALSO- I apologize. It was thought that anybody, google/blogger account or not, could comment. Come to find out, it was not set up that way. I have fixed that issues- so please comment. Comments are moderated however, and will not appear automatically after you leave them.

One Week Old!!!

As of Wednesday, October 27th- My Breast Thoughts is ONE WEEK OLD! The response has been amazing. Over 650 views! 20 followers without much word other than a few mamas posting on facebook! WOW! SO- to celebrate- Leave a comment about how you support breastfeeding mothers. I am excited that I have many women who are wanting to guest post or become authors and am hoping they will be set up within a week or so.

Mindset Matters

I mentioned in my (Becca) story about how when I was pregnant I said I would "try and breastfeed." Reflecting back on that- I wonder why I, and so many other women do this. When I hear other women say this- I always suggest they change the wording to "I WILL breastfeed."
I will try means you are already thinking that there is a chance you will fail. I think we, as women and mothers, want this "out" in case we for some reason are not able to breastfeed. But, what we do not realize is the importance of thinking positive, having confidence in our body's ability to do what it was intended as far as nourishing our baby.
I am in no way saying that supply issues are not real. As hormone issues are on the rise, so are supply issues. I myself have a low supply. Yet, I can not help but wonder- if I had gone into this pregnancy with the mindset of I WILL breastfeed, if it would have changed it. I think, if my mindset had been such, when I was told to supplement (which I feel was INCORRECT) I would have had the confidence to say no- I was not going to supplement my baby who only lost a few ounces more than the "acceptable" amount when he was in the hospital a day longer than most babies at discharge and had 0% jaundice. I would have not have had formula in my home "just in case." Women think it is no big deal to have the formula in the home as back up. That can of formula is very tempting after struggling to get your little one to latch for 10 minutes. Having it in the home makes it that much easier to just make a bottle. Not having formula would have meant having my baby on my breast even more (even if it was a struggle) during those first few weeks. That may have made all the difference in my supply. Maybe I still would have needed a little help but maybe I wouldn't have.
So often I think we as women doubt ourselves. We don't want to disappoint those we care about, but we don't want to disappoint ourselves. So instead of saying we WILL do something, we say we will TRY and do something. It may be losing weight, getting organized, or breastfeeding- but it is all the same. We are doubting ourselves before we begin, giving ourselves an out, and not having confidence in ourselves. My next child- I WILL breastfeed. No trying about it.

Becca

Vote On What You Want To Read About

On the right side of the page, under the blog logo, you will find a poll asking what you want our next topic to be. Please vote. You can only choose one answer, but we will discuss all these things at some point. Voting closes on Nov 8th at 1:00 PM so vote now.

When He Doesn't Want To Nurse

When I consider how I felt the first few months of Lil Man's life (like a giant cow- nurse and pump, nurse and pump) I never thought that in 5 short months my feelings would change so much. Since I have a low supply I find that I have really began to cherish nursing sessions.

But what about when Lil Man doesn't want to nurse? These last few days he just hasn't wanted to nurse much. There is too much to see and do. Add to that the fact that he is starting to teeth and the pain that goes along with trying to nurse, and he is as close to a nursing strike as one can be, without actually having a picket line.

For many moms, while they may be sad, they would simply pump and feed their child from a bottle. Or, if their child does not take a bottle, they would suffer through a few days of hard nursing sessions. For me, however, this poses yet another problem. My supply...my delicate supply...hanging by a thread. What will happen to my supply? I can almost feel my supply getting less and less and I find myself extremely frustrated with myself and my son as we fight through each nursing session, only to end with a bottle of formula or expressed milk, and me going to the pump during his next nap.

Some would say- don't give him the bottle after-however, after the scare we had with my son going through two separate weight loss spurts, we can not simply tough it out. We have to make sure he eats, even if he would be willing to go without. I would never let him go hungry in order to try to force him back to nursing. I, as a mother, can not do that. No matter how much I believe he needs to be, should be, and could be (if he were willing) on the breast, I can not as a mother leave my son without the nourishment he needs to grow.

So here I am, supplementing a little more than normal, and in the back of my mind, worrying about that supply. Each time we have a couple days where he seems to prefer playing to nursing I wonder if this will be the time my supply will not come back, but will deplete down to nothing. I pray and pray while he takes his bottle that I will be able to recover, while I make a mental check list of the herbs I still have in stock in my cupboard to help try and help keep it up.

If this is the time that my supply can not recover, I will continue to give Lil Man what I can. Even if it is only a few ounces a day. I will know I have given it my all, that he is still getting the benefits of breast milk for as long as I can give him something, and that he has gotten a great start to life. The short time we nurse is just that- short. While the benefits of breastfeeding can not be denied- the rest of his life can still be filled with health if I am not able to continue this nursing relationship any longer. Only time will tell if this is just another bump in the road or if we are heading to a dead end.

Becca

Now On Facebook!!!

After having such a response from friends on a local parenting site- I was excited to start talking to those on facebook about this site. To help get the word out My Breast Thoughts is now on facebook. Please, go to our page and press the like button. Suggest it to all your mom and soon-to-be mom friends. Let's use this as a tool to support each other, no matter how we choose to nourish our precious little ones.

Just A Small Laugh!

This made me smile- click to enlarge

United States Breastfeeding Report Card

Here is a link if you are interested in finding out your states breastfeeding rates. How is your state doing? How can you help make a difference?

Give Your Input!

This blog has been created so that women can openly share their feelings in support of breastfeeding and breastfeeding education. This includes formula feeding moms who still support breastfeeding.
I am excited for this blog and have already received emails and messages from many women that are excited to be apart of this blog. I am overwhelmed by the positive response that has been shown.
So- What do you, the reader want from this blog? My vision includes giving the reader what they need in order to succeed at breastfeeding, or being a breastfeeding supporter. Leave a comment and let me know what you want from this blog.
Also- next week we will be adding authors. I look forward to these women sharing all their experience and knowledge. Each woman has a unique experience. Some who exclusively pumped in the past, others who pump at work and nurse at home, some who have combo fed and then succesfully nursed a second child with no supplementing, and those who exclusively pumped but then were able to bring their child back to the breast. Some suffer from oversupply, others have the perfect amount, and some have a low supply. Each woman has something special to bring to this blog.
Please spread the word. Post this blog on your facebook. Women need to be able to talk as openly about breastfeeding as they do about pregnancy, sleeping through the night, and teething.
Welcome again and I look forward to getting to know those who read this blog.