Huh? My boobs aren’t leaking anymore 

So I know losing your milk supply isn’t much of a joking matter but I found it typical of myself to complain about not having the one thing that I was complaining about having…extra milk! I was lucky enough to breast feed from my baby’s birth and my milk seemed to be ready by the bucket load! I was struggling to keep my clothes dry, as my milk leaked through the breast pads I was using as well as my bras.

I remember waking up one night and seeing a wet patch in the middle of the bed. My daughter was in the bed with me at the time so I just assumed it was wee. I was half asleep at 3am, sat up in bed trying to figure out why her clothes were still dry. I must have been sleepy because it wasn’t until I got my boob out to feed her that I realised it was me who was leaking not my baby’s bottom!

After that episode I decided to start expressing using a manual pump. I was needing to start getting her used to taking my milk from a bottle anyway as I was due to start back at my – uni course. She took really well from the bottle and for a few weeks everything was going well. Last week I sterilised the breast pump and got ready to use it while she was sleeping. I sat there pumping for 15 minutes or so before realising hardly anything was coming out. I tried again over the next few days and I was having the same problem.

I was panicking because I knew I would have to get her bottles ready for the times I was out of the house at my uni course. I honestly couldn’t believe that I had started off with so much milk and now I couldn’t even fill a bottle. I began to feel really sad-which surprised me. I was getting emotional about no longer having my leaky breasts. I didn’t have anyone to blame but myself I knew I hadn’t been eating and drinking as well as usual, but I honestly had no idea it would have so much of an effect.

I am now on a mission to get my milk back. Which means I’ll be keeping a big bottle of water with me at all times, and will stop being lazy and skipping meals. It’s actually crazy because I’m usually not one for missing out on meals – I love my food! But when you’re a mama time just goes out the window, and I don’t even remember if I’ve eaten breakfast. Now that I’ve had a reality to check that the only way to feed my daughter is by feeding myself, I will definitely be on it from now on.

Maya x