But 6 months in and still nursing strong so let's talk about that...and how it's an issue. (those that know me may not think I have one since it seems so easy for me... but I do) here's my secret: It's NOT easy.
I went just about 2 years with G, we had a few reasons beyond just wanting the best we could
give for her brain and body for going that long...Gluten issues made her stop growing as a baby so breastmilk was very important nutritionally, kidney surgery at 16 months meant weaning then would be too much stress at once and aslo during follow up procedures at 17 months, she was still very tiny and we were working through all the gluten and dairy issues getting her to grow and eventually started weaning naturally from there...basically she just got too busy to nurse all the time and we were done, easy peasy.
Easy peasy...Not at all! What about how I got sick to my stomach every single time she nursed? Isn't morning sickness supposed to stop when you aren't pregnant anymore?? I thought I was crazy! Or I had deep-seeded issues or was mental (I'm not debating my mental capabilities now...so leave jokes aside...lol). I never found anything online about it because who would even think to look up "getting sick while nursing"? Is that even a thing? It was for me, and it sucked. And I think around a year maybe it went away...I don't remember. I can't believe I made it that long with the feelings I got, add that to PPD and no wonder I felt all out of sorts and a mess. With a baby eating every 45 mins and that sick feeling all the time? yuck.This time, it's even worse. I get ANGRY and sick all at once every single time. I realized about a week in that I actually got mad and yelled at G when I was trying to nurse C, and there was no reason for me to be mad. It just swept over me and I yelled that "I needed some space". Another time, my very first outing with C, I got sick standing at a soccer game and I had no idea why, I thought it was a blood sugar drop...but then I let down my milk (thank goodness for 'boob pads')...and the sickness went away...."OH YEAH, that's right, it was letdown, I'm not hungry" (a saying that I say probably once a day because at 6 months I still forget!) I did finally realize it was linked with my letdown of milk. Which for some would be not bad, but I letdown All. The. Time. (yay for oversupply AND overactive letdown...choking newborn anyone?)
I'd had enough, multiple times a day and now out in public I got sick and foggy headed. I had to look it up. I finally found something called D-MER, Dysphoric Milk Ejection Reflex, and I felt so relieved. I was NORMAL...kind of, if you count 2-4% of breastfeeding moms normal.
I just hope that by sharing this personal bit into my life someone will feel better. Many of the articles came out AFTER I had Gia, this is not a new thing but there is new research going on about it. I found that Rhodiola was tried in 1 person, yep, "1" person...not a very big sample size, and it helped. But basically it wont go away until you're done. They can supplement with dopanine meds but it's not proven.
So no science from me, you can read about that in any of these links that I used:
http://www.d-mer.org/Home_Page.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysphoric_milk_ejection_reflex
http://kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mother/d-mer/
No comments:
Post a Comment