This morning, as I was sitting on the couch reading, Lola climbed into my lap, pointed to my chest and said, "Om nom nom!" and pulled down the top of my tank top, latched herself on and got comfortable.

And I realized that I'd gotten what I'd wanted all along. My goal to nurse a toddler has truly been reached.
Through all the ups and downs, ins and outs of having low milk supply, we still made it.

And I am grateful for those I've met on this journey who helped me get through the difficult times, who inspired me to keep going through their examples of nursing into toddlerhood and beyond. And I'm inspired by those who have given their all despite low milk supply, whatever that means for each mother and baby.

Every month, Lola has a nursing strike, nursing as little as twice a day, for the week leading up to my period, and it always terrifies me that she's really weaning. And so far, she hasn't. And I breathe a sigh of relief for another couple of weeks. I don't know how much longer our nursing relationship will last, so I'm going to savor every moment.

Every Ounce Counts

I got to donate milk tonight! True, it wasn't much, but it is probably the only time I will have the opportunity to donate.

Kind of reminds me of the widow's mite, ha ha.

A friend of mine was desperately seeking breast milk for her niece, and I had a couple of bags of donor milk I'd been hanging onto in case Lola every got sick and would benefit from having all breast milk supplementation.

Well, no use hanging on to it for a just-in-case when someone needed it NOW, so I dug it out of the freezer, and found these two bags I'd pumped a few months ago.

Originally, my plan was to set aside an ounce every night to donate. But then I thought about it, and since I really never had an "extra" ounce, it would make more sense to just to keep whatever milk I could make and give it straight to my own baby. Selfish, maybe.

But I finally got to give back a little bit. A very little bit, ha ha.

IGT/Low Milk Supply Memes to share!

Made by Brandy M. 

IGT-Lactivism

Love these videos Melissa K. made to celebrate and honor those of us with low milk supply for World Breastfeeding Week 2012!

World Breastfeeding Week 2012!

A year ago, Lola was almost 5 months old, and we had the SNS thing down to a science (sure, it wasn't an exact science, but it was working well enough for us),and I remember wondering if we would still be nursing when the next WBW kicked off.

I hoped so, but, often times, for mothers like me, it's hard to predict the future of nursing with low milk supply.

Though many times I have entertained thoughts of throwing in the towel, or wondered the best way to continue, second-guessed myself and questioned my sanity, Lola has always had an answer for me. And I listened. 


She is now a far busier baby, having learned to walk, and doesn't nurse nearly as much as she used to, but she knows she always has me, and her boobahs, when she needs them. And thanks to the SNS, it doesn't matter if I'm having a very low supply day* (week, month), she can still nurse to satisfaction.

 Will we still be nursing when next year's World Breastfeeding Week rolls around? Only my Lola knows for sure.

(For those of you unfamiliar with my story- here's a link to a post I wrote about our initial struggles.)


 *I have taken up pumping again, but on a much looser, sanity-saving schedule, -as needed- to help keep my supply up when Lola doesn't nurse as often as needed to keep up my milk supply. If I ever get a moment, I might just right up a blog post about it.

***

I’m celebrating World Breastfeeding Week with Natural Parents Network!
You can, too — link up your breastfeeding posts from August 1-7 in the linky below, and enjoy reading, commenting on, and sharing the posts collected here and on Natural Parents Network.

(Visit NPN for the code to place on your blog.)