Being a single working parent is quite the task.  Hence the reason it's been so long since an update. My bad!  I tried the Bamboobies over the weekend and LOVED them! So much so, I went and bought 2 more pair. The problems with chafing that I felt without them was gone.  I did learn that you can't wear Lanolin with them.  Between the compression and the stickiness, I was peeling them off like bandaids.  Not fun at all.

I managed to go through all the milk in my stash to count it.  When I started back at work, I believe I had around 75 ounces.  A good start.  I'm now up to 130.  That sounds amazing!! Or does it? The problem I've had from the start with KH is her latch.  I'm wondering if she's not emptying me out like she should.  Night time she sucks it all down and my boobs are like pancakes that sag halfway to my belly button.  Throughout the rest of the day, that's not the case.  I guess we're doing alright since she's still gaining properly and she's happy.

I'm almost to the 3 month point and I'm starting to worry a little.  Shannon said at month 3 your body stops doing the autopilot production and starts to make us do it on our own.  So far I've been extremely lucky with the ability to stop and pump at work.  The longest amount of time I've gone is 3.5 hours.  I did that on purpose because I know her last meal of the day is the one that puts her to bed and I wanted to have a little more in there for her to access.  Aside from that, it's been every 2-3 hours like clockwork.  The guys have been SUPER awesome.  If I get sent a call they don't complain about covering it for me.  I keep hearing, "Do what's best for your family. The job comes second." It's funny because people said that before and I laughed.  I enjoyed my job way more than I enjoyed my family.  Then KH came into my life. I now fully understand the meaning.

The pain from engorgement that I felt when I first went back to work is gone.  I do notice that my right boob doesn't always empty and I can feel knots.  That makes me worry about mastitis.  Remember, before I went back to work, I hardly ever pumped.  My kid has a latch problem so the "correct" way to feed is not how we've been doing it.  It still takes almost an hour for her to eat a full meal.  The pump is, um, different... The legal assistant in my attorney's office is the leader of the local La Leche League.  She told me that, on average, you get 30% more out of your pumping session if you look at something other than the bottles while you pump.  I already was one to watch videos of KH or play games so that wasn't too different for me.  Now that I'm noticing it's not emptying properly, I've started doing more massaging and, unfortunately, staring while pumping.  I figure my body will get used to it at some point.  When that point is, I don't know.

I may take another break from posting.  I work Fri-Sun and then have 7 days off.  If a new challenge finds its way into my weekend, I'll happily post about it.  Otherwise, I'm going to enjoy my days with my little munchkin.

Until next time...