I took a peek in my scary freezer today and decided to count the number of bags of expressed breastmilk (EBM) I have in storage.
Naomi is 1 month old today. She is fully breastfed, mostly directly, though I give her a bottle of EBM almost everyday, fresh from the day's pumping sessions. I pump only because I can't take the pain of engorgement, and I've tried to be careful not to empty my breasts so as to stimulate even more production.
And still, the number of 3/4Oz (90-120ml) bags of EBM I have in the freezer is... 72. Yes, seriously. I really am a cow.
I know many mums who struggle with producing enough milk to meet their baby's needs so I know I am very blessed in this respect. I am grateful that I was able to fully breastfeed Noey for a full 17 months, and I hope to be able to do so for at least a year with Naomi.
Still, having an abundance of milk is not an easy thing to live with. I try to stave off pumping when I can in the hopes that supply would regulate itself, but engorgement is really painful. I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night just to pump because I cannot take it anymore. I also absolutely hate the fact that I leak milk all the time, so I have to bathe and change frequently to get rid of the icky sticky feeling. But the most trying thing is that the oversupply I think contributes to a more forceful let-down, such that poor Naomi often chokes and splutters when the milk starts flowing. I feel so guilty when she does that. Unfortunately that also means that she will pull off, resulting in both of us getting drenched by all that milk dripping everywhere.
It also doesn't help that I seem to have the most over-eager let-down reflex. The baby cries, I get a let-down. I prod the boob to check engorgement, I get a let-down. I clean myself before a feeding, I get a let-down. I think "oh dear, please please please don't let-down now", I get a let-down.
Sigh.
I've been trying to help Naomi manage flow by leaning back while nursing and it seems to help. I just realised that Kellymom on Forceful Let-Down and Oversupply also recommends doing this, together with a couple of other tips which I will try as well.
In the meantime, I've just got to try to manage this so that supply will meet demand. I've been doing some reading and this article on La Leche League seems to suggest that I've been pumping too much. It's all supposed to even out by 12 weeks. I certainly hope I'll be able to sort this out before then so that breastfeeding can carry on its merry way -- and I won't have to buy another fridge!
(Thankfully one of my colleagues will be taking over a good proportion of the frozen EBM. She's going back to work after maternity and struggling with low supply. She's thrilled to have it and I'm so glad I can do a good deed, the milk won't go to waste, and I can reclaim some of the freezer space back!)
hurray for extra freezer space! and i couldn't agree more with the icky sticky feeling. My bras and tops are all scented with Au de Rancid Milk. Not happy at all with that.
ReplyDeleteBut like you said, it's a good problem to have. Hopefully everything regulates in time and in a year or so, our breasts will finally belong to us again!
This will be a happy problem for me to have!!!!
ReplyDeleteIt is a happy problem...and my problem now is meimei wont take the bottle again. Argh.
ReplyDeleteOh, abt your quick meltdown leading to Naomi choking and milk getting everywhere, I have that issue when nursing kx also (oddly only when I feed from my right breast). I sometimes tuck a hanky under his chin to catch the 'spills' and mop up the mess...
ReplyDeleteI meant letdown. Damn this autocorrect..!!.*shakes fist*
ReplyDeleteI would love to have your problem. Heh. But it's great that you are giving it away, too precious to go to waste!!
ReplyDeleteHi. When I had an over supply, I used to mix some EBM for my elder's formula feed. She was none the wiser. :)
ReplyDelete@sockling we're really in the same boat! even down to the part where it only happens with the right side. haha. i find a bib really useful, when i remember to put one on her, but the BEST thing are the nappy cloths that I use as her blankets. they absorb everything.
ReplyDelete@pei fen i know -- sending you good breastfeeding vibes!
@lilsnooze oh no! good luck with that! it caused me a lot of stress when noey was like that!
@Amanda yes, i'm glad someone will find it useful. i wish we had some kind of system here that would let me donate excess milk to people and babies who need it. i know they have that in other countries.
@Yve hi there! i wish i could do that, but my elder boy is a terrible milk drinker. it's so painful getting him to drink his milk everyday that i dare not risk it by mixing EBM into his milk (he drinks fresh milk), Maybe when I get brave enough :)
That is amazing!! I must try to time my third kid with yours, my supplies usually run pretty low..
ReplyDelete72!!!! That's a very happy problem to have, V! I was never very good with the pump and was always producing *just enough* for one or two more days feed! (I am also suspecting that was why my supply dried up so fast after I switched to pumping and bottle-feeding Sean!)
ReplyDeleteAnd that's a very nice thing you are doing for your colleague. Best gift ever :)
@Daphne hahaha, honestly, i'm not sure i'll be having a 3rd kid at this point!
ReplyDelete@Debra i was always too lazy to pump with noey as well, which was why he ended up rejecting the bottle i suspect. this time round it's more the engorgement that's forcing me to pump than anything else.
Been reading ur blog and I just had a baby too, she's a lil older than Naomi so I'm just finding the time to read blogs again :), two under two ain't funny.
ReplyDeleteOversupply is a nice problem to have and ppl like me who have just enuf are often jealous till I got a small lump and ohmygoodness it hurt so bad just trying to clear it took a day of hard work and lots of help from Jordan, so plus and minuses :)