Ever since I decided to abandon ship on the breastfeeding directly from the breast, my life has settled down somewhat. Initially, I was intent to succeed at direct breastfeeding, seeing that it had so many benefits. It’s the main reason why I got the co-sleeper, so that I wouldn’t even have to get out of bed at night. Just grab, pop in the boob, feed and go right back to sleep. But Kirsten had other plans. After having tried the bottle during her stay in the hospital, she realized boob-feeding is a lot tougher and every time I tried to latch her on, it would inevitably result in a major screamfest.
Not good for my already frazzled nerves. So I’ve gone the route of expressing, which is the next best thing I suppose. It kinda sucks that I have to spend a good 4 hours of every day with the pump attached, but I’ve somehow mastered the art of typing, feeding, burping and chasing Tru around the house while expressing milk. It’s all a matter of multi-tasking.
The good news is, the milk supply has gone up significantly. From my measly 10ml, I just achieved a record of 140ml at 1am last night. That’s like almost 1 full bottle. Great success.
*Victory dance*
It still fluctuates between 70ml to 140ml, depending on the state of my nerves, but it’s still a marked improvement from my humble beginnings. Although with my insatiable milk machine, there’s still a long way to go before my supply exceeds her ever-increasing demand. Believe it or not, I actually know of someone who can produce 1.7 liters of milk every 24 hours. True story. That totally gives me hope.
I also want to give a shout out to the mothers who’ve been so forthcoming with providing tips on how to improve my milk supply. The blogosphere rocks and I would have probably given up completely if not for all the help I got. There’s even a mom who sent over a lovely nursing cover, which was a godsend. I can now express my milk even with visitors around. For all the designs, check out www.bigbellymama.com
nursing cover from www.bigbellymama.com
On another note, thanks to the breastfeeding, the weight loss has been phenomenal. Just two weeks in, I’ve lost 12kg. Now just another 15 to go.
8 Comments
Well done for 12kg in couple of weeks!!
Losing weight and bringing in the tummy – one of the best things nature does for us during breastfeeding. amazing!
@leslie, Yes the uterus shrinks noticeably (and there are some rather gross discharges as well, but I don’t want to go there).
No doubt about it – breastfeeding HIGHLY recommended!
They gave my second son a bottle in the nursery at the hospital, which totally ruined it for him. It’s called nipple confusion. They disrupted his innate pattern for eating, breastfeeding, and the difference in sucking confused him. Sometimes giving up nursing is emotinally liberating, especially when it’s a battle. However, by the time I had my 5th son, I had it all figured out!
@maryleigh, Your FIFTH son!!! You are my inspiration! I’m off to read your blog to find out how you cope.
Wow!
Stopping by from SITS to say Welcome!
Good job on not giving up on expressing milk for your son even though you aren’t breast feeding directly. It takes a lot of commitment to do what you are doing and shows you are putting your son’s needs first.
@Donna, it was physically and even emotionally draining at times but it is worth it.
Plus, I save a fair bit on milk powder! *wink*
[…] Expressing milk 8 times a day for 40 minutes each time has rendered my nipples as sore as a distended hernia. Sometimes, I accidentally brush against stuff (yeah, they are THAT BIG) and I feel like I’m about to pass out from the pain. Good thing there’s this amazing cream to the rescue. Now I can go on my merry way and pump away pain-free. […]