More Truth...

Namastè!

Good afternoon lovelies! I hope you're experiencing copious amounts thereof this bright but cold Tuesday.

Today I have something I wanna share, that I hope will help you stay lifted OR lift you if you're feeling low.

It's for my Boobie Rangers, the breastfeeding and pumping moms. (No shade to anyone else, but this is something we grapple with daily. No exclusion, just a little spotlight.)

Picture it. You've made the decision to nurse, and you're reading up on all the things you need to do to keep that milk flowing. You've envisioned bags and bags of expressed milk in the freezer, all awaiting your chunky baby who sports rolls and rolls of sweet baby fatness.

OR...you've determined you can't/won't nurse directly at the breast (personal choice, work conflicts  whatever led to the choice) and you've set up your pump station. You've got the pump. You've got the fancy yet functional bag. You've got everything--bottles, bags, adapters, flanges, nipple cream, JUST EVERYTHING so you can express all kinds of gallons of liquid gold.

...except, it doesn't happen. You don't have a giant stash, or even a big one. Baby is growing and seemingly happy--making enough wet and dirty diapers, gaining and/or holding steady with weight, and generally an ok kid.

So you self-diagnose yourself with low supply. You can't be making enough if you don't have a stash, right? Shouldn't you be pumping at least 5 or 6 ounces at a clip? Is it possible your baby isn't getting enough to eat?!

Slow down, mama.

Breathe.

Here are some facts I have learned, things I know to be 100 percent true, and I want to give them to you before you take a second mortgage for galactagogues, cookies, teas, and witch doctors with large nose rings.

1. Galactagogues are primarily placebo.

While I have tried--and liked!--and few galactagogues during my nursing journey, my lactation consultant gave me the real skinny before I ever drank a drop. The mind is a powerful thing, first off. We can convince ourselves of anything  and begin to feel the effects thereof, if we but believe hard enough.

My adventures in galactagogue started well before I even knew it. How, Tayè? What are you babbling about?!

Well...they are in the foods I eat. Foods I ate before nursing. Before pregnancy. Heck, before conception! Almonds and almond milk--I adore almond ANYTHING, and I drink a lot of almond milk because I don't drink cow's milk. (I'm not a baby cow, so I don't need baby cow food.) Fennel and fenugreek--pasta sauce and curry. Other herbs appear in my tea. No special science there, just me eating.

However, if I believed those drinks would work, they would. There's little science to suggest they do OR don't,  just strong anecdotal evidence pointing in that direction. Most won't hurt you, but they aren't guaranteed to help either. They just taste good, or don't taste good, and if they're in drink form you're likely feeling a bit better because you're hydrated. Speaking of...

2. Nursing moms needn't down excessive amounts of fluids in the name of milk.

Drink a little more than to thirst, and you'll be fine.

Many adults are dehydrated almost constantly--we don't necessarily feel bad, so we assume all is well. Thirst is a late indicator. If you're chugging water and teas, you're likely not thirsty, and you naturally need to be hydrated to produce milk. I mean, it's liquid. Can't squeeze water from a rock, know what I mean?

3. Breastmilk is actually blood.

It is derived from it, anyway. You need to be in stable health, period. However...if you are alive and can latch a baby or attach a pump, you can produce milk. Your body will produce UNLESS you have some physiological bar.

4. The low supply paranoia seems to be a Western thing.

As you know, Hubby Namastè hails from India by way of a tiny village in Sri Lanka.

Formula is a myth there. The women breastfeed the babies because it's simply how it's done. They don't have a Target or Publix to run to and grab formula, and if they did it'd be so astronomically expensive that they wouldn't buy it anyway. There are no campaigns, no propaganda, no pressure--they just feed the babies and go about life. If there were no other option available, what would any sane mom do? She'd nurse, and she'd nurse enough to keep her production up and meet baby's needs.

Note: NO SHADE TO FORMULA MOMMIES. I say all the time that FED IS BEST, and I mean that. However in giving my breastfeeding moms the real skinny, I must illustrate how the availability and promotion of formula can and does sway moms who aren't firm in their resolve to breastfeed. This is fact, and being offended or arguing with it doesn't change it.

The unavailability of formula means, those women will breastfeed or even use a community wet nurse to ensure the babies are fed. (Wet nurses are generally expensive as well--they would be given room and board.) There does not exist, nearly as much panic over low milk supply, because there does not exist, nearly as expansive a set of options.

If I want pizza, and love Pizza Hut,  yet don't live near one for delivery or pickup, I will either eat what's available or go hungry. Same with breastfeeding.

4. If it is not removed, it will not regenerate. Period.

When my supply dipped after a bout with pneumonia, I was not nursing and pumping as normal. I was under heavy medication, so I was essentially letting baby live off his stash as I healed. I began resuming my normal schedule (and when I say schedule, I mean I started back on-demand feeding and pumping afterward, not an actual time schedule) I was devastated to see less in those bottles than before and I panicked. (I do not like to pump, so building his stash is of high importance to me as we approach the one-year mark. I want to hang up my flanges around that time, and I cannot if I don't have enough milk already pumped to carry him to and beyond the 18 month mark with getting breastmilk!) I KID YOU NOT...I legit gave in to my doubts and purchased a $40 can of formula. It was available, I was still feeling bad from the illness, and I just wanted my baby fed. Period. But then it dawned on me--I was unwell for weeks after his birth  due to my fractured pelvis and slow recovery. I was sick from meds (pain killers do a number on me, and I very rarely take medicine at all so the effects were stronger) and in pain, pain, pain. But I managed to nurse my newborn and pump for our other princess.

...so the formula went unused. I just started nursing or pumping around the clock again instead of my 6 scheduled pumps. I told myself I didn't have any other option and conducted myself accordingly.

I am back to regular production now, and it was without magic or mystical potion. I just increased the demand, which led to an increase in supply.

5. The stash is only as important as you make it.

For me, it's a big deal. I want Baby Namastè to have the benefits of liquid gold for as long as possible. He is already beginning to wean himself off actually feeding at the breast, so I took the steps to find a bottle he likes (our Mimijumi, reviewed here) and revamped my pump mojo to ensure we can nurse as long as possible, even if solely by pump and bottle.

However, the stash isn't the hallmark of a successful breastfeeding journey. It's the bond, the benefits baby and mother reap, that make this difficult dance so worthy of effort.

6. CHECK YO'SELF!

By self, I mean pump.

During the haze of pumping while nursing a newborn, I came across many tips to save time. One of which involved refrigerating the pump kit (flanges, connectors, and valves, I think it was--may have included tubes but I can't recall 100%) to save time. In theory it was cool. Since the milk in those parts wasn't hitting room temp, it wouldn't go bad. No need to wash, just chill and reuse.

Ew. Ew. Ew.

Personally, I didn't cotton to it. (No judgment if you do.) I wouldn't give him a bottle, then refrigerate the empty bottle and reuse it later, so I wouldn't do the same for the pump kit that touches his milk! I just use my dishwasher and my portable sterilizer (I have the Avent 4-in-1) and the cleaning time hasn't deprived me of any more sleep than I'd be missing anyway.

Most important maintenance of all--serviceable parts. I am very diligent about inspecting and replacing my pump parts. My pumps are Medela, and the replacement valves, connectors, and tubing are all available online and in most stores as well. I replace the tubing monthly, and valves every two weeks. (That seems a lot but my pump gets a LOT of use.) The flanges don't require replacing, but I do have two sizes in case I need bigger or smaller. (I do 27 mm generally but I also have 24 mm.)

...all that to say this: The most important gauge in the success of your breastfeeding journey is YOUR BABY. If they are making the right amount of wet diapers, gaining and keeping weight, and meeting milestones,  you are producing enough and baby is fine! Babies are natural calibrator. When they need more  they cluster feed. When they are getting enough, they remain steady with number of feeds.

Also, not a pump exists nor likely will ever exist, that can remove milk as effectively and efficiently as a baby. I have legitimately pumped two ounces in fifteen minutes using my Medela (which are touted to be the best) only to weigh my son later, after his nursing sesh, and see HE had gotten a total of ten ounces in that same time frame of ten minutes.

Take heart, mamas. Don't quit.

No honest mom will tell you breastfeeding is easy. It is not. Natural and easy do not coincide, almost ever!

As always, I have to encourage you to seek out an IBCLC if you have questions that require more than anecdotal information. I'm NOT an IBCLC,  nor am I an MD. I myself consult with IBCLCs when I need hard cut facts. Google isn't always the best bet in regards to breastfeeding, much like most major subjects. Read and research, but do your due diligence in deciphering what's fact, what's anecdotal, and what's just plain horse pucky.

Namastè!

-- Tayè K. ♡