Over-Active Let-Down...or Over-supply...or maybe...
Too much of a good thing? Don't read any further if you don't want to know about our breastfeeding journey thus far. I've found it helpful to read real mom's blogs about their struggles, so maybe this may help someone else ;-) Plus, this will be a way to help remember what we have gone thru thus far.
No, this is NOT my stash of milk. ( I just googled it to find non-boob pictures for this post, and I stole this pic from
here.) Can you believe the amount of milk this lady has???
So, when a lady is preggo, the question of how she is going to feed her baby inevitability comes up. Usually right after the following: "when are you due, boy or girl, are you going to breastfeed?" Then comes the horror story of why they couldn't breastfeed, about how awful it was, how painful it was and that eventually no mom ever makes enough milk. With so much negativity surrounding the issue, I just assumed it would be challenging for me, too. I always said I would try it and if it worked, great, but if it didn't then formula was made for a reason. I knew that if I put pressure on my already OCD self, my chances of succeeding would be less than ideal.
When Cohen was born and had to go to the NICU, I was absolutely
devastated that the doctor had to give him formula for his blood sugar right away (like within the first 15 minutes after birth). I thought I had no chance at all for breastfeeding - that Cohen would already have a preference for the easier feeding nipple. Those first couple of days were hard. HARD. I wanted so badly for my milk to come in....and in it did. My mother and Patrick will attest, I think they did more laundry from
my leaks than Cohen's diaper leaks those first few weeks!
I have been blessed with an easy latch-er, an efficient eater, and a good supply. Breastfeeding has never hurt, I've not used lanolin, and so far haven't had any plugged ducts/mastitis. So far, things have been easy...maybe a bit too easy? I began to notice something was off while we were in Maui, when he was about 2 weeks old. He was constantly fussy, mylicon for gas wouldn't take his pain away, he would scream when trying to poop...and his diapers changed in both consistency and color. It took me until the last day there to finally find the answer (internet research at its best - I mean, come on, what else do you do when you are feeding a baby every 2 hours?). OALD. Over Active Let Down plus a foremilk/hindmilk inbalance. I. Make. Too. Much. Milk. (Go to
LLL or to KellyMom.com - you can read all the gory details there, I won't bother repeating them here)
So I do what my doctor told me to do when she anticipated that I would have issues like every other mom - called my lactation consultant. But you know what? They don't deal with weirdos like me. They deal with the 'normal' cases of not
enough milk. I was/am an anomaly. The first solution fixed Cohen's issues for a couple of weeks. I went from feeding on both sides to just one feeding per side. However, I was pumping the other side because she said I would dry up. Ha! The pumping plus Cohen's 6-week growth spurt put me over the edge. There was just too much volume and poor Cohen was getting the raw end of the deal.
After dealing with another week of symptoms, we tried to block feed based on time. Basically, I do two feedings on each side before switching. It is uncomfortable, and by the end of the day I can tell my supply is down, but Cohen is back to his usual happy self and that is worth it. We also discovered that he has a dairy allergy so I am eliminating that completely from my diet (before I just didn't drink milk or eat yogurt). We are only two months into this journey, but every day is something different. Slowly we are working through each problem and hopefully will come out ok on the other side. My new worries are
under supply issues when I go back to work next week, and how to build a diary-free stash. I have 150 oz in the freezer, but they aren't totally dairy-free. How do I pump during the day? Will this affect my supply like before and make Cohen sick again? Le sigh.
So if you are dealing with OALD, you aren't alone and its ok to get frustrated. While I am blessed to have
enough, it isn't any easier to here people say 'well, at least you are making some.' I feel like my milk supply poisons his system and when it takes over a week to regulate, I dread each feeding. Luckily the leader of our local LLL has been a great support when I need her. She supports me through the painful engorgement, the screaming baby, and the worry that too much block feeding may have a negative effect on my supply.
This is too long already - ;-) If you've made it this far, thanks for sticking with me.
Blessings,
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