Hallelujah!!

I was nervous when Jill came early and I was only halfway done with "Breastfeeding for Dummies," but I thought I had enough knowledge under my belt to tackle the task at hand. I had heard breastfeeding was a challenge and it was more difficult for some than others. "Peggy," our evil night nurse, made it nearly impossible and I'm surprised she didn't make me quit right there during our second night of Jill's existence. Tony and I had researched (well I reiterated) the benefits of breastfeeding vs formula and decided we really wanted to go for it. It never came to my mind that my body wouldn't produce enough milk. Breastfeeding for Dummies didn't touch on that. Well if it did, it was in the second half of the book!

Three days or so after Jill's birth, it seemed like the milk had come in. Breastfeeding was still a challenge but I attributed it to a learning curve for both of us and her lower weight (and strength, that's what I told myself anyways). After almost daily trips to the doctor's office for weight checks, the pediatrician finally told us that we had to supplement feedings with formula. That's fine, I said. But deep down, I was disappointed that we couldn't go all breastmilk. Oh well, what are you going to do, right? And so we supplemented and Jill's weight increased. She started gaining a solid pound a week. Her progress was great and the thought of feeding her nothing but breastmilk left my mind. That is until yesterday.

One day shy of her 2month birthday, my breastmilk came in. Yes, it had come in shortly after her birth, but not really. It's like other things that you think happened but then when it really happens you realize it hadn't before ... HALLELUJAH! We went from supplementing about 14oz a day to nothing! All breastmilk yesterday. It was crazy! Nursing was soooooo much easier and then I realized what my Mom meant when she told me it was easy and I wouldn't have a problem. I just needed the goods!

So now I have to wonder what happened to make the milk magically appear. I think it's a combination of working out (I started the day before), starting Fenugreek again and wearing a sports bra. Sounds silly but those are things that I did differently Friday and Saturday and then POOF! milk galore! Whatever it was I'll take it. :)

On a not fun note, Peanut has her first cold. She's super stuffed up, miserable and snoozing on the couch right now with her Dad. Very cute.