I did it!!!

As you all know, I've been breastfeeding Sam, and it's been going well. It's been no secret that I'm quite the "Dairy Queen" around here, or as I like to call myself, "The Grand Champion Heifer." My milk supply has been overly abundant since the beginning, and around 3 weeks after Sam was born, I started pumping twice a day to start a freezer stash for when I went back to work. Little did I know that this freezer stash would grow so quickly. As I noticed the amount I was able to pump increase over the weeks, and as I watched the freezer continue to fill, I started setting goals for myself. (I'm nothing if not competitive, even with myself) At first my goal was 500 ounces. That total came and went quickly. One day, I told Justin, "I'd like to have 1000 ounces frozen before I go back to work." At the time, that goal had seemed lofty and I didn't know if I would be able to achieve it.

Fast forward to 12 weeks postpartum and.....I'VE DONE IT!!! Yay!!! The proof is in the pictures...


Justin told me one day, "I'm starting to have nightmares about breast milk, because it's everywhere I look." Haha!! I also asked him to look in the freezer one day to see if there was anything he wanted for dinner. His reply was, "Breast milk sandwiches??"

No, that's not 1000 ounces in the pictures. I've had to outsource freezer space, and thankfully my parents have been storing some for me. My dad didn't realize what he had done one day when they brought a cooler and he told me to "fill it up." He about threw his back out trying to lift the cooler after I'd loaded it up.

What am I going to do with all of this you ask? Well, my supply may decrease when I go back to work and am not breastfeeding Sam all day. I'm going to pump while at work in hopes of keeping up my supply, but I'm fully aware that things may not go as planned. If my supply starts to dip, I will use the freezer stash to continue to give Sam breast milk bottles as long as I can. My goal is to make it to 6 months with exclusive breast milk, and any longer than that, I'll be very happy with.

Indiana also has a Mothers Milk Bank, and the milk is used to give to premie babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Units of Indiana. Premie babies weighing less than 2.2 pounds have difficulties digesting and tolerating formula, and breast milk is best for them. Often their mothers cannot produce milk due to the stress of having a baby in the NICU. Donations of milk are taken and distributed around the state for help these babies during a very sensitive time in their lives. I'm donating 100 ounces of breast milk at this time to help the NICU babies. Some milk may even be sent to Haiti to help the infant earthquake victims. While we haven't been able to provide a monetary donation to the earthquake victims, it makes me feel really good that I can provide such valuable nutrition to sick babies everywhere. And if my supply continues to do well even after going back to work, I will continue to donate as I'm able.

So there's a little bit of what I've been doing during maternity leave besides taking care of the Sammers!