This is a post I wrote as a guest-post for another blog a couple of years ago.  I keep seeing women with questions about increasing their milk supply, so I thought I’d put this here for easy reference:  I’ve nursed three babies and have had supply issues with all three. I was not able to correct the issue with the first two, so I ended up supplementing with formula both times. When I discovered that my supply was low the third time around, I decided to work with a lactation consultant. I ended up supplementing with formula for about a month; in total, I think Christina ended up having about 2 1/2 cans of formula before my supply was enough to make it unnecessary. Here are the things we tried, in the order in which we tried them:

- Pumping. I pumped as often as I could, but at least 5 or 6 times a day, for at least 10 - 15 minutes each time. (The pumping was in conjunction with all of the other things I was doing — I’ve heard that for some women, pumping alone can help, but I wasn’t one of them.)

- Herbs. I took fenugreek, blessed thistle, and alfalfa — the highest dose of each that I could find at Whole Foods — two or three of each, three times a day. (This did increase my supply some, but not enough that I could stop supplementing.)

- Domperidone — I take 20mg capsules. I started out taking five of them a day, then — once my supply was established — dropped down to four. I tried cutting back to three and discovered that that was too low to maintain my supply, so I rented a pump for a week and jumped back up to five again. Now, I’m down to four capsules a day, and I have enough milk that Christina only nurses one side at a time — and doesn’t usually even empty that one! (I don’t like having quite that much extra milk, so now every couple of days I’ll take only three capsules — it seems to be working out….)

- Oxytocin nasal spray — 1OU/ML. (1 spray in each nostril, 2 - 3 minutes before nursing.) In addition to my supply issues, I’ve had problems with my letdown reflex. Sometimes it worked just fine, but it was not uncommon for me to nurse her for 45 minutes or more without having a letdown! I also tended to have them at random times throughout the day/night, and then I couldn’t have another one for at least an hour, so I had to try to nurse her whether she seemed hungry or not! The nasal spray has changed all of that: if I don’t have a letdown when Christina starts nursing, I pull out my nasal spray and I have a letdown within a couple of minutes. The only times it hasn’t worked are when I was experimenting, trying to see if I could do just one nostril, or use a drop instead of a spray. (It does work as drops, but I have to do a couple in each side, not just one.)

Now that I have it all under control, my days of sobbing in frustration seem like a bad dream — it almost makes me want to have another, just so I can see what it’s like to get it right from the start! Imagine: me, with a baby who has never tasted formula….  It could happen! : )

*Some of you may know that the FDA issued a warning about Domperidone several years ago. (On the same day that the National Breastfeeding Campaign was to begin!)  It’s actually a stomach medication, and was prescribed off-label for breastfeeding mothers.  Because of the FDA’s warning, it’s no longer possible to just walk into a pharmacy and get a prescription for Domperidone; you have to go to a compounding pharmacy to get it, and even some of those are afraid of FDA reprisals if they fill the prescriptions.  Fortunately, for those of us who need it to maintain a normal milk supply, there are still doctors and midwives willing to prescribe it for us, and some compounding pharmacies who will still make it.Domperidone is widely considered a safe drug when administered orally, and many were outraged when the FDA issued its warning — especially since the cases it cites in the warning were decades old.Official statements from prominent physicians can be found here.A very good summary of the controversy can be found here, and many more links here.Side effects of Domperidone.Side effects of Reglan, another drug that can increase milk supply, which has no warnings issued against it – even though it is NOT approved by the AAP for use in breastfeeding mothers, and Domperidone is!

I’ve been dealing with weight issues since a couple of months after Christina was born (5/15/07), which I’ve since discovered were caused by a thyroid condition. Until all this started, I was one of those skinny girls who everybody hates, because I could pretty much eat whatever I wanted and not even think about it. Boy, did THAT ever change. 

I’m almost 5′1″, and my normal weight has always been somewhere between 105 - 120, occasionally as high as 128. Over the last 2 1/2 years, I have not dropped below 150, and have mostly stayed closer to (and even occasionally gone a couple of pounds over) 170. I haven’t looked or felt like myself, in the least. Even my face is all padded. Ever see Shallow Hal? Remember Gwyneth Paltrow in her “fat face” makeup? That’s how I’ve felt for the last two years. (I try not to post pics that show it. If you pay attention at all, you’ll notice that any pictures I post have my face at at 3/4 view, to minimize it….)

Since starting my thyroid medication about six months ago, I’ve had more energy, and been able to think more clearly, but I haven’t dropped more than a pound or two, and the couple that I drop keep coming back. It’s pretty depressing, since I don’t feel that I actually eat all that much to account for it. (Yes, I’m thinking of having my medicine adjusted again….)

Well, I noticed a couple of days ago that my waist was appearing to be a bit smaller, and I finally got around to measuring it this evening: down FIVE inches!!! And my hips are down TWO! I still have a long way to go to get back to normal, but I think the thyroid meds are FINALLY helping, even though the scale doesn’t show it. )

*BIG sigh of relief.*

I’m actually starting to think about what it might be like to get back in my own clothes again, and to NOT have achy joints all the time, from carrying all the extra weight. I can feel my stomach flattening—however slightly it may be—and dream of it being how it used to be.It could happen, right? I could get my old body back? I don’t even mind having to work at it, to get it and keep it, even if I never had to before….

It’s been a busy summer!

The kids have been taking riding lessons, and loving it! Mr. Campbell is a great role model for both of them.  They’re learning SO much, and gaining confidence. It’s going to be harder to work into the schedule during the school year, but I think we need to find a way to make it work.

We found a sitter/mother’s helper—Jessica—who is a godsend!  She comes for several hours a day, during the week, and entertains Christina for us so we can get some work done.  During the summer, she’s also been getting lunch for Angelina and Alexander, and taking them to riding lessons, so we don’t have to interrupt our work-time.  She pretty much feels like part of the family now!

I’ve been taking lots of pictures and working on our website.  Once the website is ready, I plan to jump into marketing mode and try to get our schedule filled up.  I’m very much looking forward to that. . . .  It’s funny: I’m fairly certain that we’ll have MORE free time once our work schedule is full.  All this prep work is stuff that has no definite time assigned to it, and it seems to expand to fill all available time.  Once I start shooting more, I’ll be on definite timelines, and I’ll feel more comfortable defining work/play time.

Also this summer I learned that I have a thyroid problem.  Hypothyroidism, caused by Hashimotos disease, to be more precise.  You might think I would be very upset to learn  this, but you would be wrong!  I’ve been so miserable for so long now, and not feeling like myself, that I’m happy to find out that there’s a definite reason for all of my symptoms—not just “getting older”—and a definite course of treatment.  It requires a couple of pills per day, and some bloodwork every month or two, to keep track of things, but if that’s as bad as it gets, I’ll take it.

Observation: I’ve been feeling much MUCH too busy to come play over here, or even on Twitter, but I actually feel that maybe I can be a bit more productive, for having done so tonight.

Maybe I ought to do this more often. . . .

• This is just hilarious! (I feel bad for the poor guy, but it’s funny anyway….) http://tr.im/v16S #

• Question: Does anyone who’s following me have anything to do with book publishing? Anyone who can give advice to a newbie? If I say please?? #

• We’re giving away shirts at a show Wednesday, & we’re trying to decide which design(s) to go with. Help? http://tr.im/r2eK #

• Tucking kids in and getting ready to fix tacos for dinner. Exciting life I live, huh? : ) #

• I finally updated my Twitter background! Yay!!! What do you think of it?? #
• @bettina75 Thanks! I had so much fun making it! : ) #

• Too many choices for printing photos! I think my head may explode if I keep trying to hold it all in. #
• Just ordered new wedding-specific window decals for our van! Yay!! : ) #

• I miss Twitter!! I’ve been too busy OFFline to be on here much, and I miss you all!!! #