4th Down

When last I left you, gentle reader, I was trying to decide whether to drop an additional pump or to wait. I ended up dropping the pump due to circumstance, and for the first day, everything seemed well. Then supply dropped. We also introduced new bottles around this time and consumption increased. I'm also under a lot of pressure at work (in a good way, but still stressful), so I decided maybe then wasn't the best time to try dropping the pump, so I added it back in. No increase. Damn. Damn, damn, damn. I don't have time to do power pumps these days, and I really need to get my pumps down to at the most 4.

The time spent pumping is really beginning to wear on me (and I know it is on Mr. Milk as well, though he doesn't say so and understands the importance of the BM and is really, really great about taking care of her when he's home and I'm pumping so I can relax a bit more). I think the thing I miss the most is the time spent with her. I'm back in the office 5 days a week now, and even though my schedule allows me to spend a few hours with her in the morning, one of those hours is eaten up by pumping. Sucks.

At the beginning of this week I had a couple of particularly bad days. I figured at this point I have nothing to lose by dropping the pump, since I'm already having to dip into the freezer stash. So two days ago I dropped the pump again. So far, production has gone back up to what it was before the drop (I'm not sure this will be quite enough to keep up with her, but she's off her feed due to a cold, so at least I'll be able to catch up). This morning I could feel some clogs starting in my ducts (both sides) but I think I've managed to massage them out. We'll see how it goes.

Rough Day

I'm not sure what was going on with the ladies yesterday, but production was waaaaaay down. Like scary down. I'm thinking (hoping) it may have been the membranes on the horns I was using most of the day, because when I changed them out for my last pump production went back up to normal, and this morning everything seems normal (except I might have a little clog on Leftie). Other possibilities: I could be getting a period; I may have just been stressed out by the out of character fussiness of the cookie yesterday; work is a little stressful (in a good way, but still stressful) right now. I had planned to drop down to 4 pumps a day beginning Friday, but I'll have to see how the week progresses.

Today's tip: Stay hydrated, but not too hydrated. When I first started pumping, I read everywhere that drinking lots of water was the key. So I drank lots of water. I was drinking a 32oz. cup of water at every pump -- and that's when I was pumping 7x a day. That's 3.5 gallons of water per day. Then about 2 weeks in I was reading a book about breastfeeding, hoping for some tips on increasing supply. It said that overhydrating can be just as bad as underhydrating and suggested a maximum of 12 8oz glasses per day. I lowered my intake and saw an immediate increase in production. Now I stay right around that (though I will have a bit more if it's hot).

Dear Blog,

I'm sorry for neglecting you this past week. I have no excuse except that there's, well, there's another blog in my life. I didn't mean for it to happen...this other blog just came along and swept me off my feet. You understand, don't you? I'm not leaving you...you just have to understand that I'll be posting there more often than here. I'll get you a pretty new design, too -- one with pictures, even. Remember, you'll always be my first blog. Nothing can take that away from us.

Love,

Laura Y.

Today's tip: Keep a log of what time you pumped and how many ounces (or mL -- whatever floats your canteen) from each breast. This will help you keep your pumps evenly spaced out as well as helping you keep track of production and maybe even give you a heads up about a plugged duct.

Happy Happy Joy Joy!

The clog is well and truly unclogged, the blister has healed, the bruise is fading, and production is (almost) back up to where it was. Okay, the production's still a tad shy of what I was typically making before, but I attribute this to a) still recovering ducts -- it took over a month for Rightie to recover from mastitis and b) easing back into my regular schedule from the overdose of pumping I did over the weekend. I'’m still making more than she'’s taking, so it's all good.

I joined the gym today. This is not as big a commitment as it sounds like --– I get it free through work. But still, it's a step in the right direction. I hate exercising, but I'’ve gotten to a point where I hate my body more. It's not even the baby bits. It'’s things like my upper arms. Ugh. I told the (really very odd and sort of pushy) manager who was doing my paperwork that for me the gym is like AA -- I'’ve admitted that I have a problem and want help, but I'’m not sure I'’m going to make it. I am a bit afraid that exercising with any intensity is going to adversly affect supply -- right now her body is more important than mine. You get really funny looks when you tell people who work in a gym that your fitness goal is to tone your muscles but not burn any fat.

Also, keep your eyes peeled for an updated design sometime in the near future. And if you'’re a knitter, spinner, weaver, or otherwise fond of the fiber arts, you might enjoy my other blog.

I Don't Want to Be a Weanie, But...

My right nipple is starting to blister again. I know that at this point I'm stuck with getting through it if it blisters up like last time, but I really, really don't think I can deal with it well. I'm seriously considering weaning if the blistering happens. The whole reason I tried so hard to avoid mastitis was because of the damn blisters. Now, I am better prepared than I was last time around. I recognized the first signs, I have APNO on hand, and I already have the larger horns. I'm taking it very easy with the suction. But deep down, I am terrified that I'm going to have those blisters again. This might end up being a very short-lived blog.

I'm afraid I exacerbated the problem with my massive lack of common sense, too. Yesterday I went down to my SIL's with DH and the cookie -- 2 hours each way. Lots of pumping with the battery pack (I went through two sets), and I didn't really get to pump as often as I wanted to. Plus, the cookie turned into Babyfreaksoutalot, and wouldn't let anyone but mom or dad hold her for the first few hours we were down there, so that just added to the stress. I wanted us all to stay home, but it was birthdays for the folks-in-law and DH wanted to take the baby down. Last time we went down it took an extra hour and a half because of traffic. No way I was going to put DH in a car alone with her for that long -- not because I don't think he could handle it (he totally could), but because being stuck on the (often aptly named) Parkway with a screaming baby is nobody's idea of a good time. If I'm along for the ride at least I can sit in the back with her and entertain/feed her, as necessary. Of course yesterday she slept the whole time both ways. And now I have the beginnings of a blister on my nipple.

Today's tip: If you're having a problem, don't go on a trip that's going to require you to pump in uncomfortable places at irregular times. Stay home, take care of yourself, get your poor boobies back to normal.

The Goggles! They Do Nothing!

That's how I felt about the Vicks this time around. Maybe the clog was too big, maybe it was too far below the surface, whatever. The Vicks did nothing. This time around, what worked was a heating pad and lots of rubbing during pumping, which happened frequently. As of 7pm last night I did 30 minutes every 2 hours, then stretched that out to every three hours between 1 and 7am (Dude. I physically cannot function if I'm only getting an hour and a half of sleep at a time, especially if I'm not feeling great to begin with.). The clog dissipated during the 7am pump. I'm pumping again now (9am) just to make sure the clog's gone, because we're hitting the road and headed south to my SIL's, and I truly hate pumping in the truck. But I'm pretty sure it's all done and over. Rightie's still tender, and Leftie's annoyed (I can just tell) about being pumped so often. I suppose I could have capped Leftie's port and just done single pumps on Rightie, but honestly, that's just too much trouble at 1am. Anyhow, here's a little tip:

If you get a clog, screw the staff meeting. Go to the drugstore immediately and get what you need. Start pumping it out. I don't care if you have to take a sick day -- do it. When I left my house yesterday I had a tiny clog. By the time I got to work and pumped 5 hours later, it was large. By the time I finally started treating it, it was huge. Didn't have to be that way, and I wouldn't have had to stay up all night (though to be fair, the cookie was up all night so I'd've been up half the night anyway {remember, my incredibly wonderful husband takes half usually -- he got stuck with the whole enchilada last night. Poor sweet man. I'll have to do something nice for him.}).

Pain, Pain, Go Away

Please do not come back another day. At my 6am pump today, I looked down and suddenly realized that Rightie had only produced about half her normal volume for that time slot (Side note: you may have noticed that I tend to avoid mentioning ounces. This is on purpose. I think a lot of women fall into the trap of comparing their production to someone else's, and you just can't. Every woman and every baby is different. The amount I produce would not be enough for a lot of babies. For mine, it's a little bit more each day than she needs. Now back to our regularly scheduled yammering.). I felt around and sure enough, there was a little clog. Unfortunately, I was very near the end of my pump, so I rubbed a little Vicks on and extended the pump by about 10 minutes. It didn't clear up the clog completely, but I didn't really expect it to, and Leftie was starting to get a little sore so I went ahead and disconnected.

When I got to work, my first pump was clearly not going well, so I rubbed on more Vicks and continued to massage the clog throughout the pump. I got less than half the normal yield for that pump. So after lunch (we have a staff meeting every other Friday, so I couldn't go sooner), I popped down to the drugstore downstairs -- I cannot tell you how much I love working in Manhattan -- and bought some of those air-activated heating pads. Now by this time, I was really engorged and starting to be in pain. Having had mastitis once, I'm not looking forward to having it again. So I popped a pad on and decided to give it a while to do its thing. 30 minutes later (50 minutes ago), I started pumping (with the pad still on). The heat seems to be helping -- I'm getting about the normal amount for this time slot or maybe even a bit more -- but there's still a huge clog (yeah, it grew since this morning).

{7 hours and 3 pumps later...}

This clog is not kidding around. This clog means business. I'm applying heat, Vicks, and pressure, and still I have an extremely tender lump the size of a quail egg in my breast. I am absolutely terrified that I'm going to blister my nipple again. I've gone to a two hour pumping schedule now, with pumping time reduced to 30 minutes. This is at least helping to keep the pressure off the clog. However, lately Leftie hasn't been letting down really until about 45 minutes into a pump, so I'm scared I'm going to get a clog on that side. Not too scared yet, as Leftie hasn't been filling up all that much today, but it's in my mind as a distinct possibility. The good news, I suppose, is that milk is getting through. Also good news is that I choose well when I was picking my baby's daddy -- he's going to take baby duty all night so I can concentrate on getting this taking care of.

No tip today -- I'll make up for it next time, promise.