Progress

For the past week, I've been feeding at least 10 times a day and pumping for about 10 minutes after each feeding.  And this hard work paid off, at least for the moment, since Seba.stian was up 10 oz. over that week.  Since I'm taking every supplement known to man, I can't figure out exactly what caused this increased supply, but I think it might be the acupuncture.  Google "acupuncture" and "insufficient lactation" and you'll see studies and protocols.  Or maybe it was the More Milk Spe.cial Blen.d, which is the foulest-tasting shit on the planet and involves grain alcohol but which some people say works well on low-supplyers.  Or maybe it's the Meta.mucil, which -- I'm not joking -- one woman on the MOBI (Mothers Overcoming Breastfeeding Issues) board swears doubled her supply.  (I figured it couldn't hurt to take it.)  In any case, I can't keep up this schedule of feeding, so tonight we're going to let the little lad sleep a four-hour stretch and hope it doesn't foul up my supply.

I had my post-operative appointment this week and was pleased to find that all of that horrible reflux paid off.  You see, the reflux kept me from eating after 3pm most days, which meant I didn't gain that much weight.  And lo and behold -- it's all gone already.  Now, that doesn't mean I look normal -- I certainly do not.  But at least I don't have to worry about the actual poundage.  Then again, I think that with So.ren I was one of the few people who managed to gain weight while breastfeeding, so I shouldn't count my chickens, etc.  

Having two children under two is tiring because it requires man-to-man defense, but it isn't as bad as I would have thought.  So.ren has rallied and is very interested in his baby brother, and we hope that his memory of the "before" time is fading away already.  

So, all in all, things are very good right now, even if I'm so tired I can barely string together a subject and a verb.  Stay tuned for more from the low-supply battlefront.....