Adelaide and I were really lucky when it came to breastfeeding. My girl latched immediately after she was born during skin to skin... they hadn't even cleaned her off yet and there she was, happily latched and eating at my breast. In fact, the nurse had to break her latch to get me cleaned up to go to our hospital room. The only struggles we had after that were her overall sleepiness on day 1 (making her completely uninterested in eating) and my engorgement on day 4ish, which led to having to soak in hot water right before feeding her.
Adelaide latched, my supply came in great, and we were off to the races. No pain, no cracked nipples, no struggle. If anything, I had too much milk, which often led to my poor girl getting sprayed in the face. I remember waking up one morning to find dried milk all over her face from a 3am feeding, during which I had been too tired to get out of the bed, never mind turn on the light.
I thought we were in the clear. For 2.5 months, everything was going great and I was loving being Adelaide's sole source of nutrition. Then, just as we find out that she's not gaining enough weight, my supply starts to dip. Honestly there was a couple of days, just before her three month birthday, that I thought our nursing days were coming to an end. I immediately started drinking Milk Maid Tea (Earth Mama, Angel Baby), and when I didn't notice a huge difference, I added Fenugreek to the regime as well. I also started feeding her every two hours (which was both to pack on the pounds, and hopefully increase my supply) and I added an evening pumping session.
My supply definitely increased, but I was still feeling... empty. I know that I'm not supposed to feel full like I did in the beginning, but everything was different. Adelaide's swallows were very shallow and short. I wasn't hearing any of those satisfying, deep swallows, even at her morning feedings, which should have the best store of milk to work with. Feeding started to become painful. I felt this strong pulling pain, and my nipples were tender from Adelaide having to work so hard. I was getting frustrated, and really worried. I was supposed to be putting weight on Adelaide, and yet I wasn't producing enough milk.
When we went back to the doctor last week for her weight check (she was exactly 3 months old) I talked with the doc about it. She gave me a prescription for domperidone which apparently helps increase milk supply. While I'm not thrilled that I'm on any kind of drug while breastfeeding, the doctor wanted to make sure I have the supply that she needs to continue to grow. I started taking it right away. Originally I went off fenugreek, which was a mistake. My supply dipped dangerously low again, and after some frustrated tweets, I learned that it takes longer for the dom to kick in then I thought, so I went back on the fenugreek.
I'm happy to report that my supply is way up. My girl is giving me those satisfying, wet, swallows... and the pain and pulling sensations are gone. The only thing I'm concerned about is some headaches that I've been getting since I started the pills. I'll talk with the doctor on Wednesday (Adelaide's next weight check) and see what she says. For now though, we're back in business. I plan to invest in a better pump to see if I can improve my pumping efficiency. I'd like to avoid formula for as long as possible, including when I go back to work. The bigger my stash, the longer I can do that.
I'm hoping not to have to take the Dom for long. A friend of ours in an acupuncturist, and I've seen some good success with treatment of lactation issues in my research, so I may enlist his help and drop the dom... but we'll see how it goes.
One day at a time. I will say that the #bfcafe ladies on Twitter are a lifesaver for advice and just encouragment. I don't know what I'd do with out them.
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