“What an overachiever”

That’s what The Man used to say in response to my texts updates about The Baby’s milestones in the early weeks, when I was staying with my parents and he back at The Nest with the furkids. It would be about The Baby’s latching, holding up of his neck, or various little things that only parents get excited about. I don’t know whether The Baby really was overachieving or not, it’s just gushing of a proud parent.

And now, I’m dealing with an overachieving BOOB – the left one (since details are important). It has always filled up faster and got hard lumps easier. And now, the overachiever has beaten the other boob to generate 4oz of milk in one pumping session. That’s quite something because 4oz is the amount of one feed for The Baby when we give him a bottle and so far, the most I’ve gotten from one pumping session is 3oz.

There are a few possible reasons for this: we were out in the evening and The Baby slept through most of them and nursed less than usual – which means more stored up milk; something I ate / drank; or because of the new way I’ve been pumping – experimenting because I think I may be onto something. Either way, it feels good!

Some thoughts on this “milk booster” business (meaning foods / drinks that give your milk supply a boost). I put the term in inverted commas not because I don’t believe in them, but because I am uncertain as to how it works for me. I don't know how some moms are so certain of them, maybe I'll come to master this aspect of breastfeeding in time to come. It works differently for different people – different foods, different level of effectiveness. Here are some of the milk booster items I’ve heard: Milo, Horlicks, fenugreek, oats, barley, red dates, kurma milk, rice, durian, chocolates, teh tarik, nuts, soya milk. I’ve also heard that anything that is high in calorie is a milk booster. I eat / drink whatever milk booster stuff that I can, partly hoping they boost my output (because every bit counts when you are trying to produce extra to stock up), and partly because I need to eat and drink stuff to stay alive / quench thirst, and so I may as well derive additional benefits from them. According to the internet, my output puts me in the (slight) oversupply category. But I am deliberately maintaining it as such, and trying to go over as much as I can - to build that freezer stash, and also in anticipation of how going back to work (and the attendant stress) will zap the output, and hopefully it will be just nice then instead of drying up too-worryingly-much.

I need to get myself to eat some durian – is it in season again? Some internet moms say durians double their supply instantly. Now what’s there not to love??