Well I saw my lactation consultant. We went through the whole routine... checked the pump, checked my breasts, had my baby nurse, had me pump one side while nursing. The reality is that my left breast simply isn't playing nice and my body doesn't care too much for the pump. Her advice... it's a mental block. It's funny that she mentioned that because I was able to "Will" a let-down by envisioning waterfalls once. She believes ( and I agree) that it's totally stress related. Combine spending 3 weeks with your mother in law, while your husband was gone for 2 of those weeks. I was having anxiety about returning to work because things haven't been good with my team since I left and I'm the one in charge :( Thirdly I've been having anxiety about not responding to the pump. Triple UGH!
Anyway - so I'm in a quandary. I can nurse my baby just fine - and will continue to do so. I have a friend taking care of my daughter during the day when I go to work - but I'm having trouble making a stash in the freezer. It takes an hour to pump and I get 2 - 3 ounces if I'm lucky ugh! So the first thing I'm doing is reducing my hours at work - in fact I plan on leaving my job - but that's another post for another day. Secondly - I'm going to call my acupuncturist. I honestly believe this is stress related. Maybe going back to my "happy place" will help things go better. And yes - I'm going to buy Mother's milk tea and fenugreek. I never thought I'd be going down this road! Well - the battle continues!
Good luck destressing :) I went through a similar situation and my babes did get some formula while I was at work. I nursed exclusively on nights/weekends/days off and pumped my measly amounts while I was gone. It kept me going and I always had enough when they were at the breast, but I never had an extra stash! However much breast milk she gets is so much better than none, so find that middle ground that works for you :)
ReplyDeleteThat's comforting. I know I'm definitely providing enough for her to nurse. When we're together I don't need to give her formula. Right now I'm fighting to get 6 ounces a day. That leaves enough for her to supplement her bottles ( 1 ounce formula for 2 ounces of breast milk ). I'm not anti-formula . In fact I think I'd still supplement a bit even if I was able to pump enough - just because formula does have lots of good stuff in it too ( like vitamin D) ! It's just so frustrating to come home with an engorged breast and be unable to pump it...
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