A Leak

(be warned, weird subject matter ahead - I may be starting to lose my marbles.)

There appears to be a leak in our house. It springs up every once in a while. I try to fix it, but it continues to be problematic.

You see...the leak...is me.

Breastfeeding is definitely an ongoing adventure. Lefty is my biggest problem. Andrea and I have come to an agreement that the arm we hold the baby in most is the side that produces the most milk. Something about stimulating the muscles in that area or some such thing. I am right handed, therefore I hold Joshua in my left arm to keep my right had free to do things. Lefty produces a lot of milk. Andrea is left handed and has experienced the opposite situation.

Lefty likes to leak.

But for some reason, Righty has upped her game. I'm not sure what brought this on. But she has been getting pretty full and demanding more attention.

I had been using disposable breast pads. I wanted to be cost conscious and maybe even a little eco-friendly and decided to buy reusable cloth breast pads. What a joke these things are. I didn't last one night. In fact, the first night I wore them was the first time I ever leaked over night. Even during the day they didn't hold much. They are smaller around than the disposable and really don't seem to absorb much. Even when I would start leaking, the pad itself didn't seem to be holding much.

So I have gone back to the disposables. They still have their issues, but last a little longer.

Today is a prime example of the leak in this house. Since Joshua has been sleeping through the night, the mornings are a little rough for both of us. I need relief and he needs food. It's a team effort in which we both benefit, but Josh's little tummy can't quite give me the full relief I need. I always debate pumping, but know that I need to feed him a little closer together in the morning and don't want to jip him of the supply. Lately he'll feed at 4:30, 7:00 and 9:30 and every three hours after that. The 9:30 is typically the first time we can get a good full feeding in as he is awake enough and his tummy has been primed by the earlier feedings.

At our 9:30 feeding today, he fed really long on Righty. As is his custom, he audibly filled his diaper while eating, so when Josh was through with Righty, we changed his diaper. I made a pit stop to the bathroom before commencing with our feeding on Lefty. I look in the mirror and see that Lefty is not waiting for us. She has already left quite a trail all down my shirt. I hope there's enough left for Josh! But of course there is because he never feeds as long on the second course.

I hear this is supposed to slow down, so I will await the time when there is no more leak with great anticipation.

(I apologize for today's subject matter. It's Monday and it was a long weekend with a very unhappy baby.)