Adventures in boob land

With a whole month between posts you might think I would have more to talk about (Christmas, school, momming) but things are pretty routine. Desperately trying to keep my head above water, but routine.

This post from a newly discovered blog has inspired me to post again. My little guy is now approaching 4 months and has been exclusively breast fed so far. This is the ideal that is promoted at every pre-natal, post-natal, vaccination, lecture, bus stop ad and match book cover (or at least that is the way it seems). Despite it being the natural option it is certainly not as easy as it might look. Child birth is "natural" too and that was no walk in the park either so I am not really surprised.

Things have been going pretty well for me and the little guy. I have friends who have not been able to keep it up nearly as long for a variety of reasons. While on leave I managed a modest stock of frozen baggies and have pumped (usually) twice a day now that I have returned to the hospital. Being a medical student with absolutely no control over my time, pumping usually means stealing 15 minutes away crouched on a toilet eating with one hand and trying to hold two pumping funnels on with the other. If this doesn't evoke a mental picture I will just tell you, it is not fun.

Sometimes I find an unoccupied call room where my pump and I can have a little more comfortable alone time. Which has probably led most of the cleaning staff to think I am having some kind of elicit midday affair ala "Grey's Anatomy".

After a few weeks of this my supply started to drop off. Combined with a growth spurt this made for a couple frustrating days for the boy and ate up all of our frozen reserve. My doctor put me on Domperidone - a gut motility agent that has raised prolactin as a side effect; or a prolactin raiser with diarrhea and gut cramps as a side effect. Holding a scope for a lap chole while your small intestine spams is also... not fun. But it worked and we are back to pumping enough to fatten the little guy up.

These problems are minor but med school and mothering are already pretty challenging undertakings and I am starting to resent the extra effort. For now I will keep at it but I can sympathize with all the other mothers out there that have sped the transition to formula or solids.

Happy New Year