Birth Control ... A Nightmare

When I first started pumping, I was pumping about 4oz on each boob once a day. Then I decided to go on birth control about 5 weeks ago. Those who listen to the Uptown Girls podcast three weeks ago, know that I was surprised to find out that the estrogen in birth control can drastically decrease your milk production. With so much reading, I don’t know how I managed to skip such very important information. 

I noticed that Riley was feeding more and longer. At first I thought it was another growth spurt but his cries were hunger cries. When I pumped, It was only 2oz out of both boobs together. I was stressed. I promised myself that I wouldn’t give up on breast feeding. I was determined to get my milk production up. I got off the orthotrycycline-lo  pill right away after reading the effects it had on breastfeeding women. It was a tough decision to make because we are not ready to have more children right now and we also did not want Riley to starve.  At Riley's two month check up I made sure that he was gaining weight and asked his pediatrician about my options. She told me about the mini-pill and also said it's only effective if taken at the exact same time every day. I called my OBGYN and got a prescription. 

For the last three weeks I’ve been drinking leche de avena , chocolate de agua, and Malta con leche condensada. Nothing was changing. My back up milk for when I had to leave Riley for a few hours was finishing. As of yesterday I had a total of 4 oz in the freezer. With podcast duties and a wedding on Saturday I was freaking out. I even told myself if I did not produce enough milk to hold my son down for at least 16hrs, I was not going anywhere. I also haven’t been away from Riley for more than three hours and was looking forward to having some social time. 

I did some research. Massaging my boobs, got oatmeal milk and some 24.99 lactation cookies at Babies R us ( Found them a little cheaper at Target) . Last night I was able to pump double the amount that I’ve been pumping for the last two weeks. The crazy thing is that I only had half a cookie and did not drink the oatmeal milk. One thing I did do yesterday was have Riley on my boobs longer and more than usual . I literally stood in bed cluster feeding for most of the day. I don’t know exactly what helped my milk production last night, but hopefully it increases more before Saturday, so that Riley is fed and mommy & daddy can go out and have a good time. I will be keeping you guys posted!