The Girl in the Red Shoes

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The Breastfeeding Diaries: Emily from Simple Suburbia

Thank you for all of your sweet emails about the breastfeeding diaries series! The support everyone has shown each other has been amazing….and we are helping people too! I am honored today to introduce you all to Emily, this week’s guest writer for the breastfeeding diaries. She is a working mama and has been breastfeeding her sweet little boy for 9 months and is still going strong! 
Hi everyone! I’m Emily from Simple Suburbia. I’m Mommy to Carson and wife to Nick. I was super excited when Julie asked me to do a guest post as part of her breastfeeding series! When I got pregnant, I knew I wanted to try to breastfeed, but I told myself (and everyone else) that I wouldn’t be disappointed if it didn’t work out. Now? Carson is 9 months and I would be pretty bummed if we had to supplement! I see nothing wrong with formula (I was a formula baby), but I figure if I’ve made it this far, I can’t quit now!
I’ve been lucky to have a fairly smooth breastfeeding journey but my one struggle was with my supply. I went back to work when Carson was just about 3 months. At work I was only able to pump once each day. I knew this wasn’t enough but there was no way around it. Unfortunately the less frequent nursing/pumping caused my supply to go down drastically. At first, I panicked. I could have quit and started dipping into my freezer stash, but I was determined to try a few things first. I researched online (and asked friends) about boosting your supply. I found out about things like Fenugreek, Mother’s Milk tea, and Reglan. I don’t like tea so that would be a last resort. I definitely didn’t want to take a prescription that wasn’t necessary. I decided to try Fenugreek. I picked it up at my local grocery for about $5 and took 3 pills 3 times a day. It seems like a lot, but I had read that less than that didn’t work well. Please be warned, you WILL smell like maple syrup. I’m pretty sure it was coming out of my pores. I did this for about a week and also really started chugging water. Staying hydrated is essential for your supply! After a week my supply was back to where I wanted it to be and I was able to quit taking the Fenugreek!

I would say the most important thing you can do when breastfeeding is find some support! Whether it be a friend, a lactation consultant, a fellow blogger, your child’s pediatrician, or someone else…you need someone to go to! I am lucky enough to belong to a birth month group with over 200 members and believe it or not, we’re all very close. We have an entire breastfeeding support group where I can go to ask questions, vent, get advice, etc. My local hospital also has a free breastfeeding support group every week led by a lactation consultant. Make sure to see what’s available in your area! KellyMom.com is also a great online resource for breastfeeding.

Come visit my blog to find Carson updates, recipes, craft ideas, and lots of randomness in between! 🙂
Isn’t he the cutest? Thanks Emily!
Interested in guest posting as a part of the breastfeeding diaries series or have a question about breastfeeding? Send me an email (located under “contact” at the top).
Catch up with the Breastfeeding Diaries here:
 Part 1: Getting Started
Part 2: First Days
Part 3: Getting Established
Part 4: Pumping and Working 
Part 5: Moving Forward 
Guest Post: Holly’s Story

Comments

  2. This is awesome Emily! I've had a cold for two weeks now and it has totally zapped my supply…I've read about Fenugreek but was nervous to try it. Going out to grab some today!

  3. This is so helpful! I've been taking fenugreek for a few weeks now and hadn't noticed a difference. I was only taking 2 capsules twice a day – I'm definitely going to up my dosage! Thanks!

  4. What a great post! I agree that support is really important, especially at the beginning when BFing can be challenging.

  5. Great post! I took Fenugreek for a short time too and thought the whole smelling like maple syrup thing was so weird! Definitely worth it, but strange to say the least. I think Kellymom.com is a great resource as well, and having a support system is key!! Great job Momma!! Thanks for hosting Julie!

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