I fixed my boobs!

::throws arms into the air victoriously::

Who knew boobs could be so much work?

I used to be lopsided, dear friends.  Terribly, terribly lopsided.  Last week I noticed a very serious problem with my pumping situation...  At first I mistook the issue to be my supply in general, but I quickly realized my pumping output hadn't changed at all.  I was still pumping an average of 15 ounces while I was away from Lulu.  The problem was simply that Mrs. Right was only contributing about one fifth of the total volume.  (That's three ounces for the mathematically challenged.)

Three ounces in a ten hour period is pretty damn alarming.  And to be honest, I kind of lost my shit.

I have a tendency to over analyze, jump to the worst case scenerio, and eventually work myself up into a massive ball of stress.  In my mind I thought this was the end of my breastfeeding career, not with just Lucy, but with my future children.  And the idea of losing our nursing relationship now, after only six months, was absolutely crushing.  We all know that I love breastfeeding, so I'll do my best to contain my word vomit...  The bond that I've developed with Lucy through nursing has been one of the most beautiful and rewarding parts of being a mother, and, in my eyes, nursing is one of the best parts about being a mother.  And I am not ready to give that up. 

Ok, so, back to my boobs.

I immediately consulted my go-to breastfeeding gals (my Mom, Jaye, and Stacy) and Kellymom.  Going in, I sort of knew what the outcome would be.  Stimulation.  Breastfeeding is about supply and demand; if there is a demand, the milk supply increases.  Over the months I repeatedly made two mistakes in the stimulation department:  consistently offering Mrs. Left to Lulu first, and pumping Mrs. Left longer than Mrs. Right.  So you know what I did?

BOOM, baby!

I finally bought my double pump, and what a difference it has made.  Both boobs get pumped the same amount of time and for a longer amount of time.  And as an added bonus, I'm saving at least ten minutes per pumping session!  I test drove the new pump with a couple power pumping sessions last week and it was absolutely glorious.  

The breastfeeding gals even had me considering herbal supplements to encourage milk production.  And even though I had heard/read so many rave reviews about the use of Fenugreek, I was ultimately reluctant to use it.  The (rare, but still possible) side effects scare me too much, you can read about them here.  So I opted for some Organic Milkmaid Tea.  It doesn't work for everyone, but it seems to be helping me!  I drink it twice a day while at work, and holy geez does it has an interesting flavor; I can only describe it as unsalted chicken broth.

Yesterday my boobs were almost perfectly symmetrical in their output, but I began noticing a difference in Mrs. Right after day two of power pumping.

The things I do to feed my girl...

Has anyone out there ever been a little lopsided?  From what I hear, most women usually have an oversupply in their right breast, not the other way around - I guess that's just my luck...  Virtual high-fives to all those with double pumps!!!