3 causes of inefficient milk factories

Hey, there, All the Mommies!

As I mentioned in my previous post, I've had several bouts with reduced milk production this year. It is very discouraging because my goal was to breastfeed for a year, and if I don't make enough milk for Mr. B, then it isn't likely I'll make my goal. I have actually had to supplement with formula a few times. Today I'm going to list some things I think you should probably avoid to help keep your milk production going strong, based on what I've gone through this year.

Let me rewind and explain some things. In February, when B was 5 months old, I took a full-time job. My employers were emphatic that they supported the family structure and they were fine with my pumping twice a day (and just as a shout-out, they've been so great with this).

So here we go:

1. Skipping feeding/pumpings (for whatever reason)
   
   The company which hired me is a start-up. If there's one thing I'm learning about start-ups, it's that they require a LOT of time (baby businesses are not so different from baby humans, apparently). When I first started, there were a few times when I decided to stay late (like, 11:00 pm) and help out.
   
   This was a terrible idea, breastfeeding-wise. Instead of being separated from my precious baby for only 8 hours (as if that is a small amount of time), I was away from him for 14 hours. Three days in a row. My milk production dropped so low that I couldn't convince Mr. B to actually suckle to help stimulate it again. My pump was MY BEST FRIEND then.
   
   This problem surfaced again when I have been sick this year. When you feel like nothing but sleeping til you're dead, getting up to pump is one of the hardest things you can think of. Yeah, yeah, I'm being dramatic, but when you feel like crap, having things you MUST do, no matter how you feel is hard. Taking care of the baby? Worth it. Pumping? Yeah, that's like the dishes. I can do it later.
   
   You really shouldn't put it off, though. Have a snack and an ibuprofen (at the same time) to get you through it, but your milk is so valuable, even when you're sick. It contains the antibodies you're producing to fight whatever you have, so giving it to the baby can actually help protect the baby from your illness
   
   Basically, when you think about putting off pumping or feeding, consider why you're doing it. It is a physiological need, not an extraneous thing. When your bladder feels full, you go pee. When your breasts feel full, you pump or feed. Your house is on fire? Okay, pumping can wait. Your friend wants to come over? Well, have them wait a half-hour, or cover up (depending on the friend and your comfort level).  While there are some good reasons to skip, it's important to make breastfeeding a priority task if you want to keep going long-term.
   
2. Not taking proper care of yourself
   
   A healthy mommy makes milk better than a haggard, overworked mommy. Getting proper amounts of sleep contributes to better milk production. Eating healthy things helps also (though I'll admit, I probably eat my weight in chocolate every month - I still need to work on this).
   
   Recently I've been feeling like the quintessential "overworked mommy". With my full-time job, I have relatively little leftover time to spend on homemaking. I have an alarm at 5:30 because I have to get up and get myself ready for work, get the baby ready for daycare, and help my husband find his scrubs for the day (my fault - he could find them himself if I could find time to fold laundry) and make his lunch.
   
   In the evening, I pick up the baby a little after 5, and then I have less than 3 hours to feed him, bathe him, play with him and spend time with him and get him to bed. At the same time, dinner needs to be made for my husband and I, and periodically groceries must be bought, and the house kept clean (by "clean house" I mean dishes washed and laundry folded - nothing more at this point). And I would like to try to get to bed by 10, since I'm guaranteed to get up at least once during the night to feed B and my alarm goes off at 5:30.
   
   Now, I say all that to illustrate that I have a lot of demands on my time. I am constantly working on my attitude towards those responsibilities. I do not support complaining about one's responsibilities. Mommies, doing that contributes to not taking proper care of yourself. Make time for the important things, like eating healthy dinners, and cuddling your little. Last night, Mr. B fell asleep in my arms and I held him for almost a full hour. Just cuddling my little sleepy man. It was relaxing and it was precious to me.
   
   If you aren't careful, you will find yourself feeling so overworked that you start to deprioritize breastfeeding (see #1) and skip pumping. It's all connected - hence why it's a lifestyle.
   
3. CAFFEINE, the demon
   
   This is a big one for me, and it depends on how you roll. I have had several people tell me that caffeine affects everyone differently, but the way it affects me is to addict me almost immediately. I cannot drink caffeine every day because if I do, then I get extremely bad and long-lasting headaches if I don't have any.
   
   I had gotten into the habit of having a Dr. Pepper nearly every day at work for lunch. It was fairly expensive and of course, terrible for me. For a while, I was taking home somewhere between 6 and 8 ounces TOTAL for the day (both my pumping sessions at 10:30 and 3:00). this was when I had to start supplementing with formula (which absolutely KILLED me).
   
   Then I "quit" the Dr. Pepper and started drinking water, or Sprite or non-caffeinated root beer (IBC, anyone?) or decaf sweet tea. And amazingly, my milk production increased back up to 10-12 ounces takehome. I didn't quit all unhealthy drinks, just drinks that contained caffeine.
   
   And to further prove this point, my husband brought home a Braum's Special 2-liter a couple of nights ago (you guessed it, it contains caffeine). I had some with pizza and the past couple of days, I'm back down to 8 ounces. So, from now on, I'm going to stick with decaf drinks and see if my production increases again. I'll let you know what I discover.

In the meantime, All the Mommies, let me know if you've found other things that are barriers to making lots of yummy and nutritious milk for your littles! Keep on the breastfeeding lifestyle!

Love Forever, 

Mommy Midge

P.S. It's important to keep in mind that if you do drink caffeine and you don't have bad withdrawal from it, your baby is still getting the caffeine through your milk and, in addition to the behavioral changes the caffeine could cause, he or she might be downright addicted to it. It occurred to me a couple weeks ago (and this contributed to my decision to quit - the withdrawal headache took like 2 and a half days to run its course) that Mr. B might be cranky because he had a headache or a tummyache because he wasn't getting caffeine that day.