Breastmilk Chronicles

Imagine going to pick up your breastfed infant on her first day of school. You were a little nervous to begin with because she was used to the bottle at first but things got pretty hectic and you stopped being as committed to pumping your milk. So you work up the nerve to pump 6-5oz bags of milk for her the week prior but you feel confident she won't need all of that. You arrive at the school and they hand you 1 of those bags of milk and you ask
"Did she really drink all of that milk!?!" to which her teacher replies,
"Oh no, she only drank like 1 oz every time."
"Where's the rest of my milk then?"
"Oh it's our policy to discard it after an hour."
That's right! This is something that actually happened to me. My newborn was getting readapted to the whole bottle phenomenon and she only drank 1oz per bottle on her first day, and the following days after she went to 2oz and out of nowhere 3oz within a matter of weeks! This led to several situations where I had to run and get her early, and even agree to letting her do half days. The entire time i couldn't wear my mind around hope you could just throw away a whole 20oz of breastmilkmilk because of the school policy being out of date. Her school was out of the know concerning breastmilk, and the storage guidelines. They were oblivious of the lifespan breastmilk has and in fact my daughter's school just updated their policy about a month ago and staff at her school had no clue.
You may be wondering what I did in response to this. First of all I sent a long email requesting 6 days of excused absence for my daughter where I could rebuild my supply and protect it. The second thing I did is find a remedy to boost my supply and I researched tons of ideas online as well as ones given to me by my Lactation Specialist at WIC. The last and final thing I did was find out exactly how much my baby was drinking because that's exactly how much I was putting in each bottle-no more and no less. Here is exactly how I did it.

1. Mother's Milk Healthy Lactation Tea:

I had already known about Mother's Milk because I had discovered it at Kroger. Unfortunately Kroger doesn't allow you to buy it via EBT. In fact some of their speciality teas are just totally not covered by EBT. So last Sunday while I was at Walmart I scooped it up. I knew they weren't as strict with their EBT system so I purchased it. As soon as I got home I tried it. I put a little lemon and honey in it like I usually do, and as soon as I drank it all I felt my milk come in. I got on the pump right away and pumped at least 3-3oz bottles and I still had more to render.
When I get home with my baby I usually eating dinner first then nurse and pump at the same time.

2. Medela Breast Pump and Supplies

• Though WIC:

Now I'm not about to tell you go spend your life savings on Medela. I mean it's a worthy investment if you do, but I had few advantages as a breastfeeding mom. I got my breast pump for free at the WIC office. As an exclusively breastfeeding mom I qualified for a pump. I believe my son was at least 6 months old when they gave it to me. The reason they are so fickle is because of the statistics of how many mom's commit to breastfeeding long term. They wouldn't want to waste equipment on someone who won't commit. Their goal is to convert you to a breastfeeding mom because hands down it's what's best for you and your baby. So they're not going to be giving away free breast pumps to someone who is doing half breastmilk half formula. Either you're all in or nothing. So go check out your local WIC office!

• Through Insurance:

Since my WIC breast pump is in storage I actually had to get another one so I researched where i could get one with my medical insurance. All I did is fill out the form, put my doctor's information down and within a month or so they sent me my breast pump. I guess they have to verify whether your medical insurance covers you and then verify your doctor's information and whether you are really a patient. I don't know that process really. All I know is that I used my Medicaid card to get my free breast pump.

You can see if you Qualify by filling out the form here:
https://aeroflowbreastpumps.com/qualify-through-insurance

Once you are approved then you will receive an email saying you can move on to order your breast pump, and trust me you'll be glad you did. Mine is coming in handy right now. Especially since it's been so difficult getting our things out of storage. My pump came just in time. The baby was about a few weeks old and it finally came. I was living in a shelter with my family and the package was sitting right in the office, which actually makes me wonder how long it was actually sitting in there?

The breast pump generally comes with accessories, however I just buy $1 bottles from my local dollar store and I put them into the adapter and pump directly into the bottle so this way my daughter can drink right away when she is in school. I usually freeze the milk if i have to pump over the weekend and Sunday night I take them out and put them in the refrigerator to thaw for school the next day. Now with the miracle of Mother's Milk healthy Lactation tea. My daughter generally only drinks 3 bottles while she's there but I come with 6 in case she gets a little more hungry than usual during the day.
I said purchase them from the local dollar store however you can also go to Walmart and get it. I believe i saw some Parents choice 5oz bottles for 98¢. Getting several of those things could help.

3. ROSE Community Transformers
Okay this group may or may not have anything to do with how I overcame the blunder at my daughter's school. However I did call them for the support, because their primary focus is to feed the baby, protect the milk supply, and support the mom. In that moment I felt angry, but hearing a supportive voice helped a ton. I'm in the process of getting my certification as a Peer counselor through their program and I'm so devastated that I had so many hindrances during that time forcing me into a situation where I couldn't complete it right away.
ROSE has an initiative to change their community by teaching about breastfeeding and Lactation. Their ultimate goal is to basically convert you to breastfeeding mom prior to having your baby. Personally with all of my children combined I have an experience of 4 years total of breastfeeding. I've always breastfed my children way longer than 6 months.
When I get my peer counselor certificate I'll probably create a support group at my daughter's school where breastfeeding mothers can find the support they need to get through the standards of the school policy. My baby is small but I can imagine what mom's with older children may go through right about now. They are not very educated about the whole breastmilk phenomenon and why "Do you want to substitute for formula?" Is taken as more of an insult than it is a suggestion. Especially after having a policy that is not up to date. I mean if I'm not lactating at all by all means feed the baby but as long as I have breast milk and I can increase my flow with a remedy or something then why should I stop?

If you are interested in being trained to be a Peer counselor follow the link to the ROSE Community 

Transformers Training application:
http://www.breastfeedingrose.org/community-transformer-training-application/

There you will be able to apply and in 7-14 days they'll be contacting you to ask you some questions about your experience breastfeeding. After they train you they will certify you. They are having a training come up in September in the Atlanta area (really Decatur GA) on September 17-18. It's really worth going to so put it on your calendar once you do sign up!!! In order to be certified you have to do your monthly club and a Baby Cafe visit. Your club would basically be your breastfeeding Support group where you do latch and learns, swap tips and tricks with all your different mom's and keep one another encouraged. Baby Cafe is a place where mom's gather to ask questions about breastfeeding and it's from 1-3pm every Monday at their facilities.

It is my goal to encourage moms on their journey supporting their families and meeting their career goals. I get it, it's hard, but just because it gets frustrating doesn't mean it's impossible to do. There is always a way, and I dedicate my time and effort to informing you on a way to finding your own way.