Waning into weaning

While I am not yet quite ready to admit it, and my stubborn nature will insist I continue to try and reach the arbitrary goal of "1 year" which I set out for myself, I digress - it appears we may be inadvertently waning into a state of weaning.  The Oxford Dictionary defines wean as

"accustom (someone) to managing without something to which they have become accustomed to"

while Wiki is more specific in describing the process of weaning as:

the process of introducing a mammal infant to what will be its adult diet and withdrawing the supply of its mother's milk

Sound pretty harsh eh?  Well, yeah - and pretty sad too, considering where we started all those months ago.  Hours and hours of practicing, focus, trying, bleeding, crying and more trying.  Then we settled into a nice hum breastfeeding bliss where the feeder and feedie were generally on the same page, albeit the feedie could be somewhat demanding from time to time (the whole point in demand-breastfed I hear you say, so touche).

Well, that was then, and now is now, and now more closely resembles a mid-air refueling of a very antsy F16 in the middle of a dogfight ...

Breastfeeding an eight month old boy, nothing

more than a mere 'refueling' for more jumping!

Gone are the days of blissful breastfeeding, like a snuggly momma dog with her delighted pup...

...no, these days, despite having only one suckling, with only one tooth, I definitely resemble this poor momma dog more closely...

I know, it could have something to do with the fact that our feedie has turned into a bit of a foodie and loves all things fish, chicken, beef, broccoli, spinach, breadsticks, cottage cheese, gosh - you name it, he'll probably eat it (including chili, garlic, onion, curry...) but when I rush home clear across town to make it for the lunch-time feed - I expect at least, well, a bit of a feed - instead, Luka thinks it is a swell idea for mommy to come home to play and jump around with him.  Which, I must admit, in the grand scheme of lunch hour dates, is not all that bad.  

But boy oh boy, I will miss the whole "but I'm breastfeeding" excuse for that last piece of chocolate...

So, while I'm not quite ready to give it up yet, the signs are there that our little man is moving on to greener (and spicier) pastures. 

Staying Abreast

International Breastfeeding symbol

After struggling for six weeks to establish breast-feeding with Luka, and then regarding us as quite the team, imagine my disappointment and dismay this past week when I suddenly experienced a reduction in production.  Talk about a chicken-and-egg situation as the reduced milk stressed me out, while stress is one of the largest causes for a reduction in milk...

There are many reasons why this can happen, some of which include (yes stress) dehydration, a sudden increase in exercise (related to dehydration), certain medications, illness (I had a stomach bug that I forgot about), or having your period.

Needless to say having an exclusively breastfed baby with a reduced milk supply is not a nice position to be in, so we had to jump into action to get the 'ol puppies humming again.

So what is a girl to do.

1. Feed more frequently
2. Rent a pump to help stimulate production more - pump after each feed - if you are in Australia, I highly recommend the Medela Symphony II, we pumped about 1liter of milk per day in Darwin, if you are in South Africa, the best you can do is the Medela Lactina - it's no Symphony, but the strongest pump you will find - you can get it from a number of well-baby clinics around the country.
3. Sleep or rest as you release more prolactin (the hormone needed for milk production) when you sleep (yes, this probably means getting some help to care for bub for a few hours so you can catch some zzzzz's)
4. Hydrate, hydrate!  Water, tea, rehydration formulas, that sort of thing.  If you are in SA (or can get these at a healthfood store elsewhere), they recommended "Jungle Juice" to me, recipe: 

   60mls Schlehen Blackthorn Berry Elixir
   1 sachet Blackcurrant Rehydrate
   1L Apple Juice
   2L Water
   Add 10 drops rescue remedy per glass

5. Herbal remedies - A variety of herbal supplements and remedies are believed to increase milk production: Fenugreek has been around since biblical times and Alfalfa (hold the cow jokes please!)
6. Prescription medication such as Reglan (Metoclopramide) (US) or Domperidone (Motilium) (non-US). In South Africa they love to prescribe Eglynol which contains Sulpiride which I decided against after learning it is an anti-psychotic drug used for treatment of schizophrenia.  It is claimed to be very good for increasing milk supply though (and as I was told, with the added benefit of being an anti-depressant), talk to your healthcare provider to see whether this is necessary or even right for you and your baby. 

Breastfeeding 201

Luka recently graduated from 'full top-ups' to 'half top-ups' during the day.  While this might seem insignificant, to a little guy that is only 35-weeks gestation, this is like completing an Ivy League education at sixteen.

Luka in full-on training mode...

Basically, this means that instead of pumping him full of his necessary nutrition via gavage feeds at regular intervals, he is only given 1/2 his feeds, leaving him to breastfeed for the other half.  The kicker is that he is weighed every day to make sure that he is progressing accordingly, and will be put back on full top-ups as soon as his progress is no longer satisfactory.  The weight gain range for him is between 15-30g a day.  So far, he has managed 25, 40 and 20g for the three days that we have attempted this.  From here on, we will move to 'no top-ups' (i.e., 'demand breastfeeding') during the day, meaning I will be tied to the all-too familiar recliner, ready to try and feed him whenever he fusses.  The challenge of course being that since he is still very premature, his signals are not as strong as that of a 'term' baby, and he needs his strength to keep growing, so we have to be careful that he does not exert more calories in trying to breastfeed, than he actually gains in the process - hence the daily weigh-ins.

With as much time as this little guy is spending on a scale these days, he might follow in his dad's footsteps as a collegiate wrestler yet. 

Trying something new

With Luka's weight gain, we thought it a good idea to try him on half top-ups (tube feeding) allowing him more opportunity to try and breast feed (ultimately the deciding factor in him going home) - so at the moment we are seeing whether he wakes up to 'demand feed' - then feed him what he wants or can take before he falls asleep, then we give him half his usual feed through the tube.  To follow his progress, and to make sure he is getting enough to maintain weight gain, we will be weighing him at least once a day to determine whether he is sucking enough.  Keep your fingers crossed.