Lactation

My milk started to come in about 36 hours after Quinn’s arrival.  I was hoping it wouldn’t.  Wouldn’t my body know what happened?  The nurse at the hospital explained how to stop the milk but I didn’t listen.  I glazed over her and nodded, but had no idea what she said.  I was in denial.  There is no way my milk would come in after something like this happened.

It did.  After two days I could feel my breasts hardening.  This was particularly emotional because I successfully breastfed my older daughter for 13 months and had dreamed of doing the same for Quinn.  It was so hard to experience the physical reaction of my body wanting her and needing her.  By the third day my breasts were rock solid and felt like they were going to explode.  I wore a bra and 2 bellybands on top.  I couldn’t look at them or touch them.  They hurt. 

I feared mastitis so I called the lactation line at the hospital.  The first question out of the nurse’s mouth was, “How old is your baby?”  Dead.  “My baby was stillborn,” I said.  The other end was met with silence then finally a very quiet, “Sorry.”  The nurse said I wasn’t in danger of mastitis because I was not having a plugged duct issue.  Apparently you can’t get mastitis if the baby never suckled to begin with.  Oh how I wish she could suckle.  She said it was the tissue around the ducts that was inflamed and that’s what led to the pain and hardening.  She said keep wrapping and put cold compresses in your bra.

I had heard of the cabbage in your bra tale but thought that was simply ridiculous.  However, desperate, I tried it and it worked.  It is the perfect shape and holds the cool temperature.  My daughter Riley brought a smile to my face as she regularly asked me if I had cabbage in my bra and to this day she does not think cabbage is a food, rather something for your bra.

The pain and hardness peaked during day 3 and 4, then started to subside.  By day 7, my breasts were back to normal.  My advice: just keep them wrapped (bellybands work great), yes use green cabbage (you’ll never look at it the same), be wary of the letdowns that can occur in a warm shower, and hang in there.  You are not alone and I am here to support you.