New Obsession

Its amazing how quickly a baby takes over your life.  From the minute I gave birth our lives have been dictated by a not-so-little, chubby cheeked little girl.  Everything else seems so minuscule in comparison to raising her.  Everything we do revolves around her.  This is probably why neither one of us has managed to take 2 consecutive showers since she was born.  We are a stinky family.

Ever since July 16th, when we had our three-day nurse home visit I have been obsessed with my milk supply.  Penelope had lost a considerable amount of weight due to my milk not being established yet and her posterior frenulum (tongue-tie) issue.  I cant even begin to explain the amount of guilt I felt not being able to feed my baby.  It was a horrible feeling.  And of course being the new, hormonal mom I am, it led to many tears.  I was really afraid we would have to give her formula.  I am not against formula at all but I wanted to be the one to feed her, I didn't want to rely on something foreign.  Once my milk came in and we had her tongue-tie issue taken care of the pounds kept on adding to our chubby baby girl.  It is an amazing feeling.  Not only did I nourish this little creature from conception but now I am the reason she is flourishing.

My obsession began with researching ways to increase milk supply.  I am trying EVERYTHING! And I mean everything.  I feel like everything I put into my body is to increase my milk supply.  Penelope has gained 2 pounds since being down to 8 pounds 3 ounces so I know my milk supply is adequate but with school fast approaching it is one less thing I would like to worry about.  And besides chubby babies are the best kind of babies.

Here are the things I am currently trying to increase my supply:

• Mother's Milk Tea- Just like it sounds, a tea that helps with lactation.  I drink 2-3 cups a day.

• Motherlove: More Milk Plus supplement- I originally went in to Whole Foods to purchase Fenugreek (the main ingredient in More Milk Plus that stimulates lactation) but was told many women have had great results with this so I gave it a shot.  However, it is quite expensive.

• Dark beer- We learned in the breast feeding class we took that dark beer helps with milk supply.  The lactation consultant even recommended drinking 1 dark beer per night, preferably an oatmeal stout.  I don't really like dark beer so I have yet to finish an entire beer, I usually get half way.

• Water- Nursing is a dehydrating activity.  Its amazing how thirsty I get just sitting here with Penelope while she eats.  I have a 32 ounce Nalgene bottle attached to my hip at all times.  Wherever I am, the Nalgene is.

• Dehydrated Placenta- Yes I had my placenta dehydrated, ground, and made into pills.  I blogged about it here back in March when I discovered the benefits of consumption.

• Lactation Cookies- Cookies that increase milk supply? Yes please! I haven't made these yet but plan to this weekend.  The ingredient that is supposed to increase lactation is Brewers Yeast.  Here is the recipe I will be using.

• Pumping- At Penelope's most recent visit to the birth center for a weigh-in I asked what the midwife recommended for boosting supply.  She suggested pumping after Penelope had eaten.  Thus fully emptying the breasts and tricking your body into producing more.