Breastfeeding Survival

First days breastfeeding…

I was super impressed with myself and my baby. She latched naturally, with absolutely no problems. And I had no pain or problems in the beginning either.

Once home for a few days, I realized that she was beginning to eat a little more and my breasts were not keeping up. This caused me a lot of stress. I was so worried that my little one wasn’t getting enough and that I may not get to continue breastfeeding. I was also kind of stubborn and didn't want to supplement with formula.

Eventually, I gave in and began to supplement here and there with formula. I was not happy about it, but I wanted to be sure babygirl stayed healthy.

Troubles with the pump

Unfortunately, the pump and my breast just did not work together. I tried multiple different flange sizes and types and it was just not happening. I kept hearing that pumping regularly on a schedule would help me build supply but the process was hell and I was getting only 0.2 oz while pumpingwhich just wasn't encouraging.

Eventually, my sister let me in on a little secret. If I put the baby on one breast, and the pump on the other, the baby would cause the letdown and since I was taking milk from both breasts, I would begin to build a good supply this way. This REALLY helped me for a good period of time. Another thing that made a huge difference, was beginning to drink between 10-12 bottles of water a day(16 oz bottles).

Boob Shells

After doing this for a while, my supply went up dramatically. But it was too much! I begin to have problems with oversupply. At first, I was able to fix this by using Boob Shells. I used these for close to 2 months. I would put these on between feedings so my boobs would be able to empty themselves. I would then bag the milk and freeze it so I didn’t let any milk go to waste. It felt nice to know that the milk wasn't just being soaked into a breast pad and then going into the trash.

Mini-Fridge

Another thing I did to make my life easier was I bought a mini-fridge. This is not your regular mini-fridge, it's even smaller. You could fit about 6 soda cans inside of it. My bedroom happens to be upstairs and I would find myself wasting milk because I didn’t want to make the trip downstairs to put the milk in the fridge or freezer. Once I got the mini-fridge, I was able to pop the milk in the mini-fridge for the night, and then I would take it downstairs in the morning. I placed my fridge on a small shelf right next to my bed so it made my life a whole lot easier.

Another great bonus of this fridge, is that it is portable. It comes with a plug for your car, so you can keep your milk cool on trips as well!

Sunflower Lecithin

Eventually, the oversupply got worse. I became engorged so often that I ended up getting lumps in my breasts. These lumps would not go away and they were extremely painful. The worst thing about these lumps is that they were not allowing my milk to flow well. This led to my baby being fussy during basically every feeding. She wasn't able to get much out of them. I found myself burning through a lot of my frozen milk during this time. I was so thankful that I had been saving it.

During this time, I would find myself in the shower for up to an hour running scalding hot water over my breasts and doing massages. This would work temporarily, but the lumps would be back by the next feeding. I also tried to use a heating pad but that didn't do much for me. I was terrified that I was going to get mastitis and find myself in the hospital.

Finally, after doing a lot of research, I found Sunflower Lecithin. This supplement is said to help thin your milk and prevent or loosen up lumps in your breast. I bought it and began taking 2 pills in the morning and 2 pills in the evening. By the second evening of doing this, the lumps along with the pain were gone. I was overjoyed!

In the process of doing research, I found out that this does not work for everyone, but a good majority of people said that it worked for them. I would definitely recommend trying it if you're suffering from lumps in your breastA

You can alsouse this as a preventative measure. If you feel that your milk is very thick or you begin to feel lumps form, you can take 1 in the morning and 1 in the evening.

Haakaa Pump

Finally, I was gifted a lifesaver! This is something I will recommend to any mom who is having problems with a regular pump. My sister in law gave me a haakaa pump. She didn’t even know what it was meant to do, she just bought it to help catch and save milk. When I first got it, I had no idea how to use it. So I looked up a few videos and tried it for a few days, and I fell completely in love with itIt's so easy to use. It is hands free which is amazing. It provides constant suction and you can decide how much suction. The suction works well enough that my baby can kick it and it still doesn’t fall of.

Somehow as I used this more and more, my supply finally leveled out. I nowhave zero problems with oversupply, and I never get lumps. I rarely need to take the sunflower lecithin, and feedings go SO MUCH SMOOTHER!