The End Tale of Two...Boobies.

Ah, so I haven't posted in a while and I figured it was time for me to make a post. Yesterday I gave a near 10 ounces of milk to SuperMommy...which was nothing compared to all the milk she had just picked up from another donor. While I am so so so so glad (and she is going to murder me when she reads this) that she got all that milk, it makes me feel bad because I made a promise to be her one and only donor, and it has proven almost too much for me. No matter what I do, I can't seem to make enough milk to support two babies. It saddens me to do this, but I will pump when I need to but this is proving too big for me.

Please don't be angry with me, but sometimes you gotta know when to throw in the towel, and my body is telling me its time.

Interesting theory.

So while surfing the internet today I came across someone else's blog on breastfeeding. It takes another look at why breastfeeding effect everyone, and not just the family/mother who is breastfeeding. Its looks at the cost of not breastfeeding from the taxpayer perspective and WIC.

Not So Average Hippie Mommy made a blog about it. Her post Formula v. Breastfeeding takes a look at how we could save billions a year if every mom on WIC breastfeed their babies instead of buying formula. Yes, I said BILLIONS. That money could definitely be used elsewhere. No, this is NOT a hit on formula fed babies/moms nor is it a hit on WIC. I, myself, am I on WIC! But just think of how we promote breastfeeding then shun those mothers.

This status is now going around Facebook. Repost it on your wall, Twitter, myspace or whatever if you agree:
"Think breastfeeding has no impact on your life because you don't have children or you're not a woman? Think again. Here's a great reason for YOU to support breastfeeding women. If all WIC babies in the U.S. were breastfed, our economical savings would be $33,000,000 per month. Yes, BILLIONS every year."

This is another reason why I am trying to support another mother who cannot make her own milk. It SAVES MONEY. Things around here need to be re-thought. It shouldn't go brestmilk, formula. Plenty of mothers make more than enough milk for their babies and would share it if it didn't seem so taboo. It should go: mom's milk, donor HUMAN milk, then formula if necessary. Breastmilk and milk sharing is not disgusting, clinics could be set up to screen milk and donors with the saved money.

All we need to to establish better support systems for our pregnant mothers who want to nurse. That's just my opinion.


By the way, milk count: still at 3-4 ounces. Every attempt to pump today has not produced more than a drop. ):

Finally! Yay!

Ah, so after SAYING I was going to pump, I have finally gotten the chance to! I have been fenugreeked and blessed thistled to no end and I smell like maple syrup all the time! Which, in reality, is not bad. Always smelling like sweet, tasty, delicious pancakes. Probably makes people think I bathe in maple syrup, oh well. :P

So, I now have 3-4 ounces of milk! The bags aren't really very accurate so..that's about where I stand right now! I truly wish I had something more exciting to talk about, but alas, I do not.

I could always tell you that I have start crafting! I am making babylegs, which if you don't know what they are, they are like awesome leg warmers for babies! I'm thinking about selling them, but haven't decided yet. Hm..we'll see. :)

Milk count: 3-4 ounces! :D

Second Attempt

Alright followers. For those of you still reading, thank you. I appreciate you reading my rather slow blog. For the other who stopped, well you're not reading, but I'm sorry you stopped. Its my fault for having a rather large hiccup in my first attempt at something greater than myself.

I now have renewed energy to get this started and I am trying again. I've started drinking more water/juice and eating a LOT better. I started taking fenugreek and blessed thistle again as well. The blessed thistle is new, so I hope it works. I have old fashioned oats in my cabinet that I will be fermenting tonight for tomorrow's breakfast. There is thawed fruit in the fridge ready to be put on top of my oatmeal.

Sadly, I need to return my rented pump. I'm nearing 300 dollars in fees for renting it so I need to return it and pay the fee while I can. SuperMommy loaned me the pump she bought, so I'm going to see how it works. Hopefully it'll do the trick of being able to pump my milk out. If not, I'll have to put forward the money to buy a new pump myself. I'm going to spend the next few days pumping as much as possible while I can and get use of the pump while I've got it.

So, here's hoping for a second attempt to do greatness.

Milk count: 0 oz. D;

Pretty lame.

SuperMommy ended up coming to pick up my milk for her last week, which was fine. She got to see my crap-tastic apartment but I got to meet her wonderful five year old who was hyped up from his Valentine's Day party. He was so cute. Of course she brought the little man who would be drinking the milk. From the last time we met to that day, he had already started sitting up on his own! So handsome, too!

Since then I've fallen victim to a double ear-infection. I swear, if its not one thing, its something completely different! My supply has dropped due to me being sick and not having the energy to pump isn't helping. I feel like I'm failing at my attempt to help someone, and I don't like it. I need more support or help or something.

Maybe someone can wish me good luck and give me some encouraging words?

Starting Over

Okay, so since I started this venture I've had road block after road block preventing me from doing everything the way I want to do them. I'm starting over, I think. I'm not even going to get into all the crap that's happened, but everything is fine now in case you think the Apocalypse happened in my house or something, it did not. Sickness rained down...I guess it was a sorta Apocalypse. :)

Anyway, tally of milk! 9-13 ounces! Not sure how much, I found a couple random bags of milk hiding in my freezer. They are safe, but I need to deliver this milk to SuperMommy very soon. As long as my husband comes home at a reasonable time tomorrow from his new job (yay!!!), I'm looking at tomorrow. Other than that, I've been eating well, drinking more water, and pumping when I get the chance (which hasn't been often, sadly.) I wish this venture was going smoothly. But I will make it go smoothly. I have to.

Day 5: Well, maybe not.

Okay, so this last week has been made of more fail than Saturday. Since Saturday I've only been able to pump two more ounces, so I have 11 now. If its not one thing its another. With the addition of my husband being home, that means more cleaning for me to do since there is another person in the house plus more running around outside the house which makes it difficult to pump.

Wednesday (today, yesterday, whatever), my husband had the stomach flu so I was busy taking care of him and the kids. This is all so lame. We were supposed to have a blizzard or blizzard like conditions. I guess we did, but with out apartment facing east, and everything happening from the Northwest, I have no idea. Tomorrow is a new day, I will pump more. I've been taking fenugreek and am perspiring it. I constantly smell like it, which is nice because it does have a pleasant smell...to me, anyway. So, more milks tomorrow! Cheers!