WARNING: graphic details ahead...
I've received a few questions about how I was able to get my milk supply from NOTHING to 16-24 ounces when Easton was 4 months old. Unfortunately that was all I was able to get to, but it took a lot of work.
So, I would like to share my journey with you all. I know it helped me a lot to hear of other moms who had been through similar struggles.
The week before I went into labor, I woke up sick. I had a killer sore throat, but it felt like just allergies. So I treated it like allergies. I used my oils & felt great! Easton was born on Friday, May 9. Then, when he was 2 days old, I spiked a fever. We spent the day in the ER. I was so, so sick. They said it was probably a UTI, so they prescribed an antibiotic. I still didn't have milk. The next day, 2 of the people who attended my birth came down with strep throat.
I took loads of vitamins, placenta pills and fenugreek. I ate well and was well hydrated. I latched him at every opportunity, and pumped for 15 minutes after latching him. He didn't latch for long, but there wasn't anything coming out so I didn't think anything of it. He was hungry, so we began to supplement with donor milk. We tried spoon feeding & syringe feeding so that he did not get used to any nipple but my own... but he wouldn't take either. So, we had to start using a bottle.
At 7 days postpartum, I was just 2 days short of completing my antibiotic, and we decided to wean me off of that and try using the bacteria protocol for Essential Oils. We were concerned that while the infection was probaly the initial reason for my milk not coming in, that the antibiotic had been shown to cause a reduction in breastmilk supply. Since I had NO milk, it was just keeping my milk from coming in. I love my oils & was willing to try anything! IT WORKED!
When Easton was 10 days old, I finally got something! However, it was only colostrum. I could pump a half ounce of colostrum after a 20 minute pumping session. I was doing this every hour.
This is when I had to get serious. I needed milk... like, yesterday. When he was 3 weeks old, nothing had changed. Our lactation consultant suggested everything I was doing, PLUS adding in some more supplements. I increased my placenta pills to 3 pills, 3 times a day. We also added in the same amount of Fenugreek, Goat's Rue, More Milk Plus, and GoLacta. I was double pumping every hour, plus latching him first. He hated the latching, but I pushed through. We began bottle feeding him upright, rather than cradling him, to keep bottle & breast feeding separate. I also was eating lactation cookies, oatmeal, and every other food that was shown to increase supply.
My milk slowly began to come in, but Easton was not gaining weight. Babies who are stressed or have a stressful environment often do not grow. We were keeping an eye out.
At 2 months, we were still supplementing with donor milk from my amazing sister-in-law. I had increased the size of my pump shields twice after several blocked duct issues. That alleveated those issues & my supply was at 12 ounces. Coincidentally, this was the amount that I had when nursing my 2 1/2 year old throughout my pregnancy with Easton. So not only had I not had new milk come in, but I lost my supply for Ezrah. He was happy with just comfort nursing for a while, until it got worse.
When Easton was 10 weeks old, we went back to the lactation consultant because of some other disturbing issues that had come up. My nipples. They were bad. They were bleeding, had broken out in a rash, and were bright red. I had also developed rashes all over my body. I had what looked like an infection on my bottom. I had started using oils, but was not using them very agressively. As soon as she saw me, she knew something bad had happened. I had a serious bacterial infection. Was it the strep from before his birth that morphed into something else? Maybe. Was it the UTI that morphed into something else? Maybe. Did it matter? Nope! All that mattered was NEITHER of my boys wanted to nurse. Ezrah quit cold turkey & Easton would arch his back and refuse the breast. He hadn't latched in 2 weeks. He also was severely underweight. He was cranky. He wasn't pooping. He now had Failure To Thrive and had dropped off the breastfeeding growth charts completely. I didn't know what to do. I had done everything!
We tried to supplement formula & he got even worse. He just screamed at me all the time. He was miserable.
So, we had to address the infections. I took an antibiotic as well as the Essential Oils. I also used a topical antibiotic on my nipples. Within 48 hours, we were seeing huge results. I was still taking all of the supplements from before, as well as a prenatal, Juice Plus+ and probiotics.
After the infection cleared up, we tried to get him to latch. Not once. He was done. We continued to try, but here I am at 7 months with a baby who screams if I make him latch.
The issue at hand was his weight & increasing my supply. Once the infection was clear, we were able to get my supply up to 16-24 ounces. It was hard work, but I was able to maintain that for a couple months by pumping around the clock after feeding him. Then, I reached out on Facebook. I shared my story & asked for help. I had 6 moms commit to regular milk donations, then a couple moms offer us their freezer stash! Things were looking up!
Easton was 3 months old and those donors pumped for us for about 2 months. It was such a blessing. Once he started getting PLENTY of donor milk and no formula, he began to poop again. Then he began to slowly gain weight.
By 5 months, our donors began to trickle off, but I always was able to find someone to take their place. At 6 months, I had a hard couple of weeks. My supply was dropping again and 3 donors told me they would need to quit pumping for us all in the same week. I was devastated. We had made it this far & I was starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. We found a formula that he would tolerate, but if I gave it more than twice a day, he would stop pooping. So we did that & was soon connected with another momma with milk.
I also had to start solids early. I know this doesn't sound like a big deal to most people. Most people want to start their kids on solids as soon as possible. I do not. You see, we had 4 out of our first 5 kids with some sort of food intolerance or allergy. One is a severe allergy. Two of our boys have ADHD. One has Autism Spectrum Disorder. That same child, and one other have Sensory Processing issues. All of these things are related to GUT ISSUES. In particular, food allergies and sensitivities are linked to beginning solids before the intestinal tract is ready. Our first 4 children started solids at 4 months... THAT IS TOO EARLY. Lots of research agrees with this. So, just as I was beginning to heal emotionally from thsi traumatic Post Partum experience, I got this lovely thing added in. I was so scared that one more thing would go wrong. I mean, just imagine our meals... I have 2 with a serious dairy intolerance, 1 serious peanut allergy, 1 gluten intolerance. There is very little that EVERYONE can eat! We frequently make multiple meals. Throw in the awesome sensory issues and that means nothing blended or too soft for one child and nothing to crunchy for another. I couldn't handle one more food issue!!! I just couldn't. So we started slow, but are definitely avoiding all dairy and all grains for quite a while. I just pray everytime we try a new food that he won't have a reaction.
So, we are making it. This has been the hardest thing I have ever had to walk through. It's been a chain of situations that all were linked together. It has felt like just one thing after another, but I know it has made me stronger. And just think... 7 months ago I didn't have this experience to draw from as a Doula and Childbirth Educator. So, I'm just thinking of this as a really intense training...
and I sometimes throw the pump pieces across the room. ;)
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