Friday, June 15, 2012

17w0d

I wanted to update on my lactation induction efforts. Inducing lactation is HARD WORK.. Much harder than I thought it would be.. I knew it would be a job to get going, but if I am being honest, I figured it would come easy to me, since I have breastfed twice before. PLUS, at the onset, it WAS coming easy to me.. But now?... Yeah, not so much.. I am having to pump constantly it seems like just to get 4-6oz PER DAY. I am not downplaying my success, I mean this is AWESOME considering I haven't had a baby in almost 17 years, BUT I expected more of myself, ya know?

I have decided to increase my domperidone to 120mg per day.. The maximum is 160mg per day and has been known to cause headaches, so I don't want to increase it that much, since I am already prone to headaches.. I gotta admit, I am getting discouraged.. I thought I had more milk stored than I actually have! :( Now I am not so sure my baby will be able to exclusively have breastmilk for the first year.. We are more than likely going to be supplementing.. At a rough count, I have 177oz of breastmilk frozen. That will probably last about a week! So either my supply needs to increase dramatically or between my friend and Christy, they are going to have to dump buckets of breastmilk our way! I have my days (like today) where I feel sorry for myself and feel like I am going to throw in the towel. But I know I won't.. I know I can breastfeed at least a few times during the day and then supplement with frozen milk, but I thought I would be able to breastfeed MORE than I am actually going to be in reality, unless my supply kicks in even more once baby is here.. So that's my pity party for the day.. 

   This is what 173oz looks like!




On another note, I wanted to say that things with Christy and I are going much better.. I know not everyone agrees with me about posting and commenting publicly, BUT I have never withheld information about my story and journey on this blog and I don't want to start now.. I think people need to know that it's NOT gonna be sunshine and roses everyday, BUT you work through it and you keep pushing forward because it's important. I hope this blog is helpful to someone else that is in my situation and in Christy's situation, being the surrogate and can find this useful.. OK, now on to the fun stuff! We find out the gender THURSDAY!!! This is going to be a busy week! Our pre-birth order hearing is TUESDAY (crazy it's already time for that!!!) and then TWO days later we find out if that bun is a hotdog or hamburger! Can't wait to start adding gender specific items to our registry. Yes... we started adding items to it and it is kinda fun! Of course it's not public so maybe that's why it's fun to me, HA! The thought of going public with a registry is almost as nerve-wracking as going public with the baby news! I know, I am weird y'all.. So that's about it over here in crazyland.. Oh and it's hot as sh!t#@ outside!! OMG, too hot to do anything. And it's raining everyday again..Awesome for my grass, not so much for me being able to do anything since my wipers JUST broke on my van.. (#$*&!!) hubby got the driver side to work until the part comes in for him to fix it.. Gotta love it.. LOL. Enjoy your weekend!!



 

15 comments:

  1. Girl, that is a good amount of milk and you still have months to get caught up! Did they discuss things in your diet that may help bring up the supply?? For me, fatty fat stuff helped a ton!! I know it sounds horrible, but cheeseburgers and shakes did the trick and made my milk supply over the top. Of course, I wanted to eat healthy as well for the babies, but adding in lots of daily fatty foods made a HUGE difference. And, I also think once you have your baby actually doing the breastfeeding, your supply will increase. I always got more with a baby sucking rather then a pump doing the work. So, keep it up and hopefully things will get better for you. Oh, and if I may give you some advice on using breast milk from multiple women- I would definitely mix them or keep it consistent. I never thought breast milk had different tastes, but apparently they do. My surro triplets would NOT take from another woman after I had given them my milk for a few months. They wanted nothing to do with it!! It was very strange, but just keep it in mind.

    I can't wait for your gender reveal!! Sooooo exciting!!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. THANK YOU!!! That's definitely good to know.. As it stands it's me, Christy and a good friend of mine who has a TON of leftovers, so I should mix all three when doing a bottle or in two's? Help a sistah out Ashley! LOL.. I eat a "normal" diet I would say, not really fatty but not super healthy.. I always have a veggie with our dinners but we will have say broccoli with fried chicken and a side, lol.. Sometimes we do like a grilled chicken salad but with a fatty caesar dressing, etc.. Is that fatty enough? Memorial day was the last time we had cheeseburgers.. We rarely eat out, can't remember the last time.. I will try anything at this point! I haven't had a shake in YEARS girl! Thanks so much for this tidbit! :)

      Delete
    2. Ok. As for mixing, I would say to mix a combo of 2 together. BUT, I would always have yours be one of the ones always in that combo. The last thing you would want is for the baby to not favor yours. I am no lactation consultant so this is purely advice, but I would just alternate mixing yours with Christy's and then yours with your friends. Does that make sense? But, you never know, the baby could be welcoming to all flavors!!

      As for the diet, they say you should eat around 1800 calories a day. Remember, breastfeeding burns calories, so if you aren't eating enough calories, there will be less milk to give. What worked for me (when I didn't have a cheeseburger or shake for the day) was having a big bowl of cereal each night before bed. Also, I would LOVE to go out and get frozen yogurt. Or, you can just buy some ice cream and make your own shakes =)! I would find ways to add extra fat here and there; add cheese to my eggs, mayo to my sandwiches, etc. And, I noticed the minute I started to diet and try to cut out the fats in my daily diet, my milk supply went WAY WAY down. Oh, and some women swear by oatmeal. I guess that helps to increase the supply, but I HATE oatmeal!! Blah!! Worth a try??

      Sorry I wrote a novel, but since I was able to feed triplets all on my own for 4 months without any formula I thought I could be of some help. If you need any other pumping advice, I'm here!!

      Delete
    3. I HATE oatmeal too! But I started eating it (with an ugly look on my face every time too, LOL!) See I don't eat breakfast (I know bad!) and I eat lunch and dinner and a snack at night to take my multitude of pills with.. I am not drinking nowhere near enough (did you drink lots??) Oh and I HATE cereal.. I know, I'm not helping am I? LOL!!! OK I can do the mayo, can't stand eggs (don't slap me!) LOVE cheese HATE milk (only drink it if it's with a cake or cookie dessert or to cook with) I have been trying to watch my eating to lose some more weight so I guess I need to put that on the back burner for now.. I am open to ANY help and advice you can offer!! I am taking the standard herbs that they say take with inducing, but I think the true true issue is I didn't give birth, so I am starting with a handicap.. I don't know if I will ever have a full supply BUT I definitely want to work up to the best supply I can make! So write all the novels you want girl, I'm all ears! :)

      Delete
  2. Some (unsolicited) advice... If you aren't already using a hospital grade pump, rent one. It isn't very expensive to do, and the difference is pretty impressive.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am using the Medela pump in style. The lactation specialist and Dr. who wrote the protocol said to use that.. I tried the hospital grade (symphony) and wasn't impressed, it was pretty much the same as the PIS and even though it's not expensive to rent for one month, it would add up considerably to my already packed plate of expenses.. Funny thing is I have tried using the manual hand pump from the Avent Isis Duo and THAT thing can pump! But it hurts my hand after 5 or so minutes so I usually do the manual only once a day and the rest of the times use the PIS.. I don't really think the pump is the problem, I think it's just me or could be I just need more time.. I will say I should drink more (drinking water right now!) I definitely DONT drink as much as they told me too. I try but I never hit the mark.. So it could be as simple as forcing myself to drink the TEN 8oz glasses of water a day..

      Delete
  3. Don't give up! You are doing such an awesome thing for your baby:o) I agree that water could be a big part and I think that the stimulation from the baby could make a huge difference. When I was nursing, my baby got plenty of milk, but I could only pump a smidge, so it was obviously different. Keep trying everything and you are doing a great job. Your baby is one lucky kiddo to have such a dedicated mommy:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. THANK YOU! I am trying to consciously drink more water today and yesterday to see if it makes a difference.. I believe it will because I have much more of a "tingly" feeling like I need to pump right after pumping.. Fingers crossed that it was just that and I will get some type of increase! I definitely know had I been able to deliver I wouldn't be having this problem, I actually would be scared if I produced like I did when I carried, it was a scary amount of milk, LOL!

      Delete
  4. Hey there! You're doing great!! Don't be so hard on yourself. Like all the others said, I am sure that as soon as you have an actual baby nursing, you're going to be producing like a champ!! Of course, this coming from someone who is on week 1 of inducing lactation herself... I wanted to chime in though b/c I'm definitely having some light headaches mainly each night and in the morning, and I have only done the lightest dose so far! Today is the day to up the domperidone. I definitely don't like these headaches. Maybe I'm not drinking enough water, perhaps but I'm definitely trying to drink alot. It could also be because I've had some alcoholic drinks this past week. (It was my anniversary for goodness sake! I wanted to celebrate!) Anyways...hoping it gets better. One question though...Lenore recommended pumping much later in the process, but you're pumping really early. Should I / Could I start pumping early? And if so, as early as when? How long were you on the meds before you started pumping?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey girl! I hope actually nursing brings it in better, but the increasing the fluids is key. I think really TEN 8oz glasses is the MINIMUM, which is scary, I got up every 2hrs last night to pee, UGH! Yeah, Lenore does recommend much later and I am SO glad I went with my gut and started earlier! After a few weeks on the protocol your boobs are GONNA HURT. This made me wonder if i could get milk and it was suuuch a relief! After that I couldn't go back to that engorged feeling, it was quite painful to lay on.. PLUS I knew I wanted to have a stockpile started in the event I couldn't get a full supply in so all that I am getting now is my safety net. I have to look back on my blog to see when I started pumping but it was a few weeks (6 maybe?) in to the protocol..

      Delete
    2. Just read back and it was THREE weeks after starting meds, BUT I have breastfed before and supposedly this helps your milk come in better/faster.. Also you should know you CANNOT mess anything up by pumping earlier... Some women induce solely by pumping and with no protocol, just herbs and constant pumping! I have some other links you can check out, I will email you! :)

      Delete
    3. Thanks!! I'll look into it. And yes, I went back to the AskLenore website and saw that she was recommending 60 days into the meds...and I thought you must have started pumping earlier than that. I figured it wouldn't hurt to pump earlier since I knew someone who had at least tried doing it without the domperidone first b/c she'd breastfed before too, and was hoping to kickstart her body by just pumping and herbs. (Didn't work. Only a few drops here and there.) Once she started the dom though, she started producing much more. In the end, she had twins and couldn't supply all the milk for them herself, so she got donor milk. I don't know whether she mixed the milk or not, as Ashley mentioned above. I sent her a FB message to find out. I'll let you know what her experience was.

      Anyways...so excited at how well you're doing and how far along you guys are! Let me know if you ever want to Skype chat! Could be fun to compare notes!

      XOXO

      Delete
    4. p.s. Just looked at your running tally so far of $$ spent, and I realize that we've already beat it with our one transfer!! Ohmygod. It kind of makes me feel sick again. And we're not even halfway there yet. :-\

      Delete
    5. WHAAAT!?! That just made me wanna pass out! MORE than we've spent already!!! *shudders* yeah we aren't finished yet either, I know for sure we have to add about 10K to that amount possibly more.. OK gonna pump then email ya, I will send my skype info too! :)

      Delete
  5. The other ladies have given great advice already, but i'll repeat what I know worked for me. Increase your calories. Drink LOTS AND LOTS of water. When you think you've had enough, drink more! Also, there are special teas that you can drink to help increase your milk supply - I have yet to try that but I've heard they work. I've also heard that BEER helps to increase your supply too. I would do that in moderation, obviously, so maybe one a day?

    I had a really hard time with my milk supply with my daughter. I ended up having to supplement with formula. But you know what, I kept up the breastfeeding as well as pumping and I made it work for 10 months. It's definitely tough, I know, but you will be so proud of yourself - so don't give up and keep up the great work! You have a great supply started and you've got a long time ahead of you to build to it. You'll be fine. :)

    We find out gender this week too! So exciting.

    ReplyDelete

Check it out