A friend of mine, after reading my blog, mentioned she was an exclusive pumper and said to ask if I had any questions. So I did. I asked for suggestions to remedy my Holstein without making bruises. She had a few suggestions. One was bigger flanges. For the record, when I started pumping more, I used the bigger size. It was painful so I went to the smaller size. Alas, my issue started! Of course I never put 2 & 2 together until she said something. I'll say, not regretfully, that I am a blonde. Aside from being sleep deprived, forgetful, and a woman, I have airhead working in my favor too. Anyway, I changed back to the larger flanges.

She also said to try using lanolin before pumping. Huh. That was definitely a new concept that makes perfect sense. If lanolin is supposed to help with comfort post-feed, why wouldn't it help with pre-pump? I decided to give it a go. Lanolin plus larger flanges... I'm not gonna lie, I was a little scared to turm the pump on due to the pain I'd experienced early on. So deep breaths. 1, 2, 3! 4, 5, 6! Okay okay. 7, 8, go! Much to my surprise and excitement, it didn't hurt. Who would've thought something that simple would have such an outcome?

On to something completely different... As I said early in the blog, KH and I have struggled with latch. One of her problems has been the refusal to open wide enough. She only gets fed in 1 of 2 ways. Either cross cradle on a boppy or side lie in bed. Side lie in bed? Yes, we co-sleep. Anyway, I noticed last week there were times she'd be done a little quicker. One day she was pretty hungry when I laid her on the boppy. Before I could get my boob out of my shirt, she had her mouth wide as can be, anticipating what was to come. I watched her latch on and it looked perfect! Remember, I am no lactation consultant. However, I've seen one so many times, I know what a good latch looks like. I say that to say this: don't think it can't be fixed! KH is 14 weeks old and is finally making a consistent, good latch. If we can do it, you can too!

I typed this up real quick while feeding her and now it's time for bed. Until next time!