So the breastfeeding saga continues...I have been playing phone tag with The Birth Center since Friday. I call and leave a message for the midwife to call me back, she calls me back when I can't get to the phone (i.e. I'm feeding the baby), I call and leave another message for her to call me back again, you get the idea. Well, she finally called back and I was able to answer. I wish I had just let it go to voice mail again.

I told her I was calling about my test results and that I understood that the results were in the normal ranges but wasn't it possible that there still could be a problem since I was not producing any milk. She said that the normal ranges indicated that there was not a problem so there was no need for further testing in regards to the test results. I asked her why I wasn't producing any milk then and she told me that some people just don't produce milk. That is interesting coming from them since they are such huge advocates for breastfeeding and while sitting in their 2.5 hour breastfeeding class their lactation consultant told the class not to let anyone tell us we could not breastfeed our babies. So why are they not willing to help me, go the extra mile, whatever? She told me that I should call Dr. Soble (the doctor my lactation consultant recommended to me).

I told her that I did not feel like I was getting any support from them and that I was really disappointed about that. I think that tomorrow I will call the other doctor and then I will see what she has to say. After that I will write a letter to The Birth Center and tell them how I feel about things. I am so disappointed because they have been so wonderful to me up until now.

It is fine if I cannot produce milk, I understand and accept that. However, I have a problem with them leading everyone on by telling them we can all feed our babies. They need to spend the first hour of their class telling people the difficulties with breastfeeding (which they do not cover in the class at all) rather than discussing the global politics of breastfeeding.

Ok, my rant is over. I'll keep you posted.

I had a great visit with the lactation consultant, Robyn, today. She called yesterday and told me that she wanted to get Lorelai started on The Supplementer. The supplementer is basically a small bottle that I wear around my neck and it has two small tubes coming out of it. I tape one tube near each nipple and then when Lorelai latches on to the nipple she gets the tube too. This way, even if I'm not making enough milk, she still gets nutrition.

It works great and Lorelai is able to latch on and feed for about 10 minutes on each side but because it is much more difficult to breastfeed then to bottle feed she tires out easily and is really only getting about 1 oz so I finish her off with the bottle. To get her more used to it Robyn suggested I try to find a day where I can spend with her just experimenting with the supplementer until she gets used to it. I have most of the day tomorrow so I think I will take advantage of it.

Robyn still feels like there is something going on with me that is causing my milk not to come in. She believes that it is retained placenta but that when she spoke with one of the midwives where I delivered the midwife didn't seem too concerned. I'm going to call the midwife tomorrow and try to get one of them that I know a bit better and see if I can make any progress with them. If I can't, Robyn gave me the name of a doctor that is also a lactation specialist and I will call her.

It feels good to be able to "feed" Lorelai and especially good not to be chained to the pump. Woo hoo!!!