We’re in 2022 but we’re still hearing all the common out-of-date sayings like “breast is best” vs “fed is best”. Our journey so far has been exclusively breastfeeding mixed in with a little pumping after getting mastitis. I’ve had people ask how I’m feeding my baby more than I ever thought would happen. When I say that I’m breastfeeding still at 8 months I’ve gotten a lot of ”wow, good for you” and “that’s a lot of work”. Which, yes, it is and the acknowledgment feels good. But I know if my journey was different and I wasn’t able to breastfeed or just decided to stop and use formula some people would look down on that.
That being said, however you choose to feed your baby, good for you! As long as your baby is happy, healthy, and growing. You do you.
Carolynn has decided that she wants nothing to do with a bottle. We had maybe a month-long span where she would entertain it, then she couldn’t be bothered. We’ve tried Avent, Dr. Browns, ComoTomo as well as training cups from Nuk. No dice… however she does like her training cup and recently decided she likes straws for having some water. Apparently, we’re just skipping bottles altogether in this house.
When I found out I was pregnant I was really excited about the idea of being able to breastfeed. So far we’ve had a pretty good experience overall though I will say it’s exhausting since I’m the only/main (now that once a day or so we have other food) food source. For the first month and a half I had to use a nipple shield, which I had never even heard of before. I did a zoom call with other new moms from our pediatricians' group (great idea by the way) and over half had to use them. Who knew. Once we got the hang of things and didn’t have to use the shield anymore overall it’s been pretty smooth sailing.
Now we’re going to get into the TMI area if you’re not a woman or mom. When I got my cycle back my supply dropped drastically and I panicked. Especially since bottles aren’t working I instantly was stressed Carolynn wouldn’t get enough food.
Here are a few things I did that worked to get my supply back and keep us on the right track.
Strict Feeding / Pumping Schedule
I set a timer through Baby Tracker for every 3.5/4 hours for feedings. After she would eat I would pump for 10 minutes. Every time.
Power Pumping
Once in the later afternoon, again after feeding, I would pump 10 minutes on, 10 minutes off for an hour.
Lactation Support
At the recommendation of my cousins, I made the most delicious chocolate chip oatmeal lactation cookie by How Sweet Eats. I’ve literally made them weekly since, they are that good. See the video below for the recipe!
The final result, absolutely delicious. Let me know if you try them out yourself!
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