Thoughts on Thankfulness: Milk Supply

Today I thawed out and disposed of my tiny "freezer stash." Every bit of it was pumped when Logan was in Children's hospital at one week old. 

I never once had to rely on my stash, and for that I am very, very thankful. I know many women have issues with low milk supply and I feel lucky to have not had that problem. 

After feeling so thankful for that I decided to share

Our Breastfeeding Journey 

One of my 44 in 404 goals is to breastfeed for at least a year. At almost 10 months, I do not see it being an issue at all. It is such a natural part of our daily lives. Logan still nurses 6-9 in a day (depending on how many times he get up in the night!). 

Our breastfeeding journey has been fun, with our fair share of challenges, but nothing I would consider major. 

Logan latched soon after birth and nursed for 10 solid minutes. The next five days were full of challenging feedings, working on getting a good latch established. I was so grateful for my mom's help in those early days. 

Then on day five he really seemed to be backsliding. Then he just wasn't eating at all, even when we dribbled the milk into his mouth. Of course, that is what put us in Children's where he was diagnosed with PDA. 

Because of his PDA, Logan would get very tired during feedings, and sometimes his little feet would turn blue. Nursing is like a workout for tiny little babies! I started pumping and bottle feeding, and kept meticulous notes on when and how much he ate.

For four and a half weeks I wrote down every bit Logan ate down to the quarter ounce. It started in the hospital when the nurses wanted to know how much he was consuming, and it became a habit I couldn't seem to break. 

I knew I wanted to switch back to the breast eventually, but I had become accustomed to knowing exactly how much he was eating and was nervous about him being physically ready. I visited with a lactation consultant, she was so sweet and helpful, but I can't give her the credit. My mom and sister visited for a weekend and gave me the real push I needed to stop writing and to start trying. 

It was a sticky, wet, milky mess at first. Lots of skin on skin and letting him just "play" around with it. They convinced me to start on the Sunday morning that they left, and the only times I pumped after that were just a few middle of the night feedings when Logan was just to sleepy to put forth the effort. I was so amazed at how fast and how easily he was able to transition from bottle to breast. 

Since then we have had only very minor bumps in the road. A few times I think my monthly cycle changed the taste, because he would be very fussy at the breast for a few days then everything would settle back in to normal. 

Only in the last few days has he started to bite me. Yeouch! He has only done it a few times, but when he does he looks up at me for a reaction! I think he knows he isn't supposed to, so he is testing his limits. I give him a firm "no," and take away his "num num." He is smart, so he shouldn't take long to catch on. 

We both feel like pros now, and I look forward to the months ahead. I know I will be sad when he weans.