Breastmilk is precious!

My Breastfeeding struggle- one of the largest things i've learned so far
"Something is wrong with my breastmilk"
I learned that it takes exactly three weeks for baby to become adjusted to "mommy being at work". (well a breastfeeding mommy that is). I say this because at three weeks is when all heck broke loose with my breastfeeding. Here I was complaining because I wasn't pumping enough milk, and because I thought he was feeding too much. Well, that was just petty stuff.


The way my milk drink snuggler looks at
me during breaks in feedings!!
04-26-2012

On Monday, April 16th, marking my third week back at work, Lincoln started to refuse my precious liquid gold pumped milk! My mother called me at work and said "He's not taking your milk, I smelled and tasted it, and it doesn't taste sweet like it usually does?"  OH NO!! I thought- is this the end to my little "milk drunk" snuggler?   What to do? Of course turn to Mr. Google.com himself, the answer to all my questions. (LOL, but really!) What I found was that the problem could be excess lipase and I may have to scold every pumping session of milk or I could risk it going bad within 24 hours.  After turning to my very small breastfeeding support group; my cousin Gracie, my only three friends that I know who breastfeed, Loretta, Tanya, and Shelly; our local La Leche contact, and Similac Strong Moms' hotline, the best information I found was on http://simplyrebekah.com/excess-lipase .  Simply Rebekah was in fact my life saver.

My support group was there for support, but most had never heard of the issue and those that did had very little information. I'm sure they were thinking.. "How weird is she!?" But, I learned the more you share you breastfeeding issues, questions, concerns with other bf mom's the more you learn from one another! After carefully reading Rebekah's article, I found that scalding was likely my answer. So, there I went starting the milk "experiments"....  As if putting a powered pumping machine with plastic breast shields over your nippity nips every two hours while at work isn't enough.... now i have more steps added.

1) once pumping session ends, place milk in bottle warmer, plug in warmer and let the heating begin

2) place thermometer inside milk and wait until the thermometer hits 175 degrees, turn off bottle warmer

3) Move bottle into an ice bath and let milk cool for 5-10 minutes

4) Place milk in refrigerator

As you can see many steps.. and yes, its tiring.. There I go after each pumping session (four times in a work day!) running to the break room to get fresh ice and water, waiting for the thermometor to beep, etc. I broke down and spent $14.99 on a digital thermometer, because it beeps when it gets to 175 degrees, and I don't have to sit and watch it. I would have never known to to solve this issue if it wasn't for my guardian angel, Rebekah! (I mean geeze, even my pediatrician thinks/thought I was crazy!) He said there is no such thing as "excess lipase" and I should not be scolding my milk. And, so I listened and tried not scolding, and he wouldn't take it.. so psssshhht to my pediatrician. He can stick to caring for my baby, but when it comes to boobs, I'll stick to google.com and Simply Rebekah!

my milk drunk snuggler, 04-28-12 (look at his little hands)  

Oh and before I forget, let me mention the infamous "freezer stash". So, of course if he isn't taking my milk, then he's not taking the "stash" either. Gratefully I only had about 27 ounces of precious milk stored (the rest he took prior to me discovering the liapse issue). I've read several other womens' lipase stories and they have had 100's of ounces stashed that had to go to WASTE!! So, I recommend a test run for all breastfeeding moms before they start freezins non stop! So, despite it all, I am one of the lucky ones, indeed. Though, when we get desperate for milk (which is quite often), sometimes he does take milk from my old stash. But it has to be mixed with formula.. so not all 27 ounces was wasted!  So, now I have to scold before I freeze and it will last about two weeks max.

So, if you were not convinced that I am a dedicated breastfeeding mom, I hope your convinced now!  As my mom says, once I put my heart and mind into something, I won't let anything get in the way. The "F" word isn't bad, but I only want to use the formula if I need it! So far he has to take very little or none each day to make up the difference for the amount of milk I pump at work each day (which is about 13 ounces max). But, I try my best to squeeze in pumping sessions whenever possible, because the more liquid gold the better.  The low amount that I pump is a whole other breastfeeding issue, but I am making it work, so that is all that matters.

And, you know the funny thing is that through all of the these recently found struggles, I never once cried! Wowza's I guess that means that post pardum has left this house.. I really feel like I should have been balling my eyes out, but I kept my head up and made it work. But, if I didn't find the details in Rebekah's blog, I think my eyes would have been tear filled for quite some time. So, thanks again to her, and all other women who took the time to write and share about their struggles with lipase or breastfeeding in general. Because, lord knows it is not EASY!

Oh, and you probably are thinking.. what the heck is "excess" Lipase, can it be cured or removed from the body? Well, there is not enough research on it to determine if changing your diet will help, but most moms who tried changing their diet, found that it did not work.. so I'm not abnormal, okay.. : )

Don't worry breastfeeding stories are put to rest for a while, the next post (which is actually almost done) will be all about Lincoln, his growth, his graduation to sleeping in his crib in his room all by himself. And, daddy Graduating back to the bedroom, etc.!

Thanks for listening, and any breastfeeding feedback/ motivation/ cheers are always appreciated!!!

P.S. This post is coming out hand in hand with the controversial "Time" cover page of a 27 year old mother breastfeeding her three year old bub. Do I agree with it? Its a mothers choice; if her bub still wants her milk and she is ok giving it to him, then so be it! It takes a ton of commitment to breastfeed, if she wants to do it for more than 12 months and is able, then good for her. Now, would I do it.. I honestly doubt my boobies will produce for that long! But if I was a mother who had not breastfeed, I am sure I would be like "heck no" but I've been through the experience and I know what it takes, so now I have no bias whatsoever.