Motilium

I just made what I hope is my last order of Domperidone. My dosage had been all the way up to 4-10 mg tablets 4 times a day. I went up to that dosage slowly and weaned my way down slowly. I had been down to 5-10 tablets – 3 in the morning and 2 in the evening. Last week my supply plummeted when I got the stomach flu. So I am now back to 3-10 mg tablets 3 times a day. I fear that I am going to have to up the dosage even more.

Getting everything to be just right so that you have enough milk for your child is so hard. Most moms have no choice but to work. Most places of business are required by law to give nursing mothers a place to express milk. The place they give you is not always the greatest though. I started out in a dark room. YES, a place where they practice making copies of x-rays! How fun that was. After almost being exposed one too many times, I asked if they could find me another place to pump. My supervisor was wonderful! She was able to find me an unoccupied office to use. The door has been knocked on once. Other than that it has been smooth sailing.

Every day I struggle with pumping. I really hate it. I hate the whole process of cleaning and putting together all the parts. I really do not get why someone would choose to exclusively pump over breastfeeding. The only reason I continue is to make sure that my son gets the best possible start to life. I really wish that he would have gotten the hang of things so that I would only be pumping at work. There is always the next one!

My plan is to keep pumping until June 2009. That is when we plan to start trying to make Kenneth a little sister or brother. I have a feeling the only way I am going to start to ovulate again is by stopping the Motilium. Kenneth doesn’t seem to want anything to do with solids and a sippy cup. I really hope that changes before June. If it doesn’t, then we will push back trying to conceive again. I will stay a slave to my pump for as long as my son needs me to be.

In a little over 3 months I will have made it to the 1 year mark. I can’t believe how much time has gone by. I am so proud that I was able to get my supply back and not have to give him formula anymore. And with the way the economy is, formula is one less thing we have to worry about paying for. Now if we could only get day care to use cloth diapers…

This is sad to say...

I think I am going to have to give up on my dream to breastfeed Kenneth again. No matter what I try I am not able to get him to do anything but bite. I do not see this as the end of the road or as a failure. I was able to breastfeed him again and have the picture to prove it. I will keep that in my mind forever!

I have learned SO much and have been able to help others. My son and I have been able to bond in other ways. This was not all for nothing. I was able to get my full supply back. He has not needed formula in ages. He is happy and healthy!

I will continue to learn as much as I can. We plan to have at least one more child. So when baby #2 is born, I will keep down this road and learn from my mistakes. Things are going to be very different next time. In a way I am happy that this happened with Kenneth so that I did so much more research.

For the next one I will know the following:
~I can get help at home if I am not able to leave the house.
~No nipple shield unless my milk has come in AND nothing else is working.
~No finger feeding. I can supplement what I pump at the breast.
~SKIN-TO-SKIN all the time!
~Let the baby root and initiate the first feeding.
~Call the lactation consultant in as much as possible.
~Let the baby feed as often as he or she wants and for as long as he or she wants.
~Make sure the latch is correct.
~LLL meetings are a must.

I am sure I will come up with more to add. So this is not the end of the blog. I will continue to post little reminders for next time. When #2 does come around, the posts will pick up again. This is a road that will not end until our family is complete and the last one has self weaned!