My Left Breast

Alas, my left breast, which has never been as good a producer as my right, seems to be dwindling even more since the surgery for the breast abscess. At work, I pump three times a day, and I consistently get about 5 times as much milk out of the right breast as out of the left. And I think I really have an oversupply of milk nonetheless: I read in several places today that the average woman gets about 2 ounces of milk, total, per pumping (that's for both breasts combined). I'm routinely getting 6 ounces (5 from the right and one from the left). I'm not surprised that I had mastitis, then -- oversupply can leave you prone to it.

Trouble is, I don't really want my supply to decrease. I was able to pump enough in 3 sessions at work today to prepare Andrew's 3 bottles for daycare tomorrow, plus produce a spare 4+ ounces for the freezer! If I do this every day, I may not have to pump on weekends, which would be great. Now, I know that lots of things can cause my supply to dwindle, especially as the week wears on (fatigue, the fact that the pump isn't as efficient as the baby in removing milk, etc.), but this is kind of nice.

Andrew pretty much wanted to nurse nonstop from when we got home (at 4:30) until bedtime (8:00), with the exception of bathtime and some rocking chair time. Last night, weirdly enough, he went almost 7 hours between feedings (I know, I know, you're not supposed to let a baby this young go that long between feedings because it'll ruin your milk supply, but see above!) That means he went from his 10:30 feeding until 5:15 this morning. Now, I did wake a couple of times in the night wondering what the heck was going on, and he did wake once or twice to make little twittering noises, but he went right back to sleep. So, hmmm...I'm not ready to assume this is a pattern yet, but I'll take it as it comes.

They really do have periods of lighter and deeper sleep. He's been down for almost an hour now, and all the books and websites say that now is when they enter a period of lighter sleep -- and lo and behold, I hear his little sighs and coos on the baby monitor. He's really been the textbook child today. Knock on wood.

This past Sunday was sheer hell, though. In the late afternoon, he started vomiting. Not spitting up, but vomiting. Who knew such a tiny little person's stomach could hold so much? Anyway, we took his rectal temperature (for the first time ever: 99.2), and we called the pediatrician after the fourth or fifth outfit change. Since he didn't seem dehydrated and was still interested in nursing and didn't have a fever, etc., we just monitored him. By evening, he had taken a long nap and nursed and produced wet diapers. We were far more traumatized than he was. I'd been sobbing, and MDad had to make that emergency trip to the drugstore for unflavored Pedialyte. Which A staunchly refused to take from the bottle; we had to give it to him from a medicine dropper. Sigh; the poor dear. So I've spent the past 2 days obsessed with when and how often he poops, and what the consistency is, and whether he seems distressed while producing it. I called daycare this morning at about 11:30 and learned he hadn't yet pooped (he didn't go for me all last night, either), and so I worried for the rest of today until I picked him up, at which point the ladies cheerfully told me "Oh, he pooped RIGHT after we hung up with you!" Thanks, guys! I have an ulcer now, I swear.

I have a checkup with the breast surgeon this Thursday at 5:00. I'll ask about reduced supply after surgery, but I'm afraid he's not going to tell me anything I don't already know: increase demand on that side, and supply will increase, i.e. nurse the baby on it and pump it more often. OK. I'll try and do that. In my spare time!