Eats on Feets

I began pumping when Addie was one week old. I thought I should start early so I could start building up a stash of frozen breastmilk for when I went back to work after three months. Addie began sleeping through the night almost immediately it seems, but was consistently sttn around six weeks. I was so scared I wouldn't have enough stored milk so I would set an alarm for 3 AM every night to pump. By the time I went back to work when Addie was three months, I was pumping once in the mornings when I would wake up, around 7 AM.

When the time came, I was so scared I would quickly run out of frozen milk before realizing I was still pumping three times a day while I was away from Addie. Therefore, my freezer input was still more than the output that Addie was getting at my moms. Eventually (see now) the time came when I knew I would run out of room in my freezers. Yes, freezers. Plural. Something had to be done, and quickly!

The milk was close to expiring (it's only good in a freezer for six months unless it's a deep freezer) and it was taking over the space where my much-needed icecream used to go. I thought about donating it, but then found out the Milk Bank only takes screened milk. Crap. I had five months of pre-screened donor milk. Now what?

I came across Eats on Feets on Facebook, a place where moms can meet up with other moms to donate or accept breastmilk. I decided to post the other night and by the next afternoon, a mom in Kyle (45 minutes away) was asking if I would be willing to donate to her premie. Her beautiful daughter was born six weeks early and on the day she responded to my post, it was her due date. I was so touched and agreed to meet her the next day. I put as much milk as I could in our little icechest (so, about 400 oz, or around 80 bags) and drove to meet her. She shook Zac's hand but I felt like we had so much more of a connection and we immediately embraced. I feel so honored, and so humbled to be able to provide this milk to her baby. She shared with me that her daughter is thriving and has zero health problems, to which she contributes solely to the breast milk her daughter has received from various donors. I am so blessed to be able to share this gift with her.

As we were departing, I told her I was sorry I couldn't fit any more (I had about 600 more oz at home still) in the icechest but that I would add her on fb so we could become friends. She was so grateful and insisted I take a box of Lansinoh breastmilk storage bags she had in her car. I am so thankful to her! I didn't stop to think about how expensive even pumping is, but $10 a box for these bags does add up over time. So, thank you again Kathy and I can't wait to give your daughter more milk!

Half a Year!!

Six months ago  at this time I was sitting in a hospital room with my new family of three. I was a proud mama of seven hours and was in complete bliss. Fast forward to today, and I am still in a state of bliss. I love being a mom to Addison! She's such an easy baby and every day I thank God that He gave me such a perfect tiny human to take care of.

She laughs, sits up completely on her own, babbles dadadada and HIIIIIIII, grabs and shakes her toys, sits at her high chair during meals, "drinks" water from her sippy cups, sleeps in her Rock'n Play from 8 PM-7:30 AM, laughs when she sees Goose, pets the cats and grabs their tails (gently!), and continues to put everything in her mouth.

I have to AW  myself for second: I've made it to my goal of exclusively breastfeeding for six months!! I never thought I'd be here at six months and at first thought this goal was unobtainable. I'm so proud of myself for accomplishing this goal, but I owe it to Addie for being so good at it. I hope to breastfeed for a year or until she weans herself.

La Leche League Round Two!

On Thursday night I attended my second ever LLL meeting. I walked in with two questions, but left with so much more knowledge than I thought I could get. I've only been doing the "mom thing" for four months now, but I've researched and experienced so much with breastfeeding than I ignorantly thought I knew everything there was to know.

Uh... no. This week's meeting was about how your birth experiences could affect breastfeeding. It seemed like it would be a waste of my time, but I'm so glad I was there. For my next baby, I'll do even MORE research regarding vaccinations, the newborn screener, the eye drops, the bath, suctioning... I mean, there's so much I just assumed EVERYBODY did, but I learned that it's okay, and might actually be BETTER for you to not bathe your newborn immediately. When I thought about it and looked back on my birth experience, I can honestly say Addie wasn't that bloody or dirty having just popped out of me. I could totally see how she would have been fine without bathing. As it was, I missed out on the first two hours of her life.

I love these meetings so much, and I really want to be an advocate for breastfeeding because I truly believe it is the best choice for your baby. So many moms don't have the support system to begin or continue breastfeeding and they struggle so much before ultimately throwing in the towel. I want to be the cheerleader telling them they CAN do it (bearing no medical reasons why they shouldn't or the fact that they just don't want to. Hey, it IS their choice...) and help them every step of the way. After my first LLL meeting in January, I left with such a great feeling thinking I could really help people. I'd love to become a lactation consultant, so I started looking into the certification tonight. It's much more intensive than I thought it was, and I don't know if I have the time or means to obtain it. However, I do want to become more active in LLL, so next month (first Thursday in April) I'll ask the leaders for some suggestions as to how I can become more involved.

Can't wait!!

La Leche League

After my sad blog post the other day regarding nursing, one of my friends invited me to a La Leche League meeting that's on the first Thursday of every month just minutes from my home. I was stoked to go and immediately told her SURE!!! when asked. I actually wanted to go back in November, but at the time I was exactly one week post partum, and it was just too soon. Had I known that I could (should) go during pregnancy, I would have gone months ago!

It was empowering being around such strong mothers with the same views as myself. After introducing ourselves we played the ABCs of Breastfeeding. Sitting in a circle we went around thinking of a benefit of breastfeeding for each letter of the alphabet. Liza (friend who invited me) had B for bonding. I chose C for calming both for mommy and baby. Other C's could be convenience, cost-effective. It was fun! Then we did a Q&A. I borrowed a book from their library to help me when I go back to work, Nursing Mother, Working Mother. Then I got to show off A's BumGenius 3.0s AND my new Ergo.

It was quite a struggle for the first three weeks of A's life. (Possible TMI) My boobs HURT like they'd never hurt before. They would get so engorged that I'd get in the hot shower to relieve them. I used heating pads multiple times a day. I was constantly applying Lanolin to my poor, sore, cracking nipples. I used gel packs stuck on to my boobs to soothe them. When A would latch on, I would SCREAM in pain. I didn't scream or make hardly any noise in childbirth yet breastfeeding made me scream. Something wasn't right. Why was something that is so "natural" this hard? Why was I choosing to be in so much pain? Quick answer = For A. I knew breast milk is best. I knew I could fight through it. I knew the pain couldn't last forever. And you know what? I was right!!!

Now breastfeeding is a wonderful time for A and I to bond. She's a pro at it and knows exactly what to do. I'm starting to feel like an old pro, too. She's actually so efficient now that she finishes before I'm ready for her to be done. I'm like, "Aw, done already?" :)

If you're a new mommy struggling these first few weeks, know that it will probably get better! Don't give up unless you know you can't give it any more. If anybody wants to go to a LLL meeting, the next one is Thursday, Feb 3.