You're gonna do what?!?!?!

Having a baby is an exciting time! There are lots of roles that parents and caregivers can take and each of those roles take an important position in making about 7,932,457 decisions (give or take a few). Once we found out we were pregnant, it was a no brainer that we wanted our little bundle of love to be breastfed.

The thought of breastfeeding our child is not something that Chris felt comfortable with. After some extensive research and speaking to other same-sex couples we decided that I would be the one to nurse our child. SAY WHAT?!!? You may be thinking to yourself “Lady, you must be crazy…you have to actually be pregnant to breastfeed a child” and to that I say “Nuh-Uh…I do what I want”.

This process is called “induced lactation”. Induced lactation is making milk without being pregnant or giving birth. The way to do this is (putting it VERY simply) is a lot of meds, a lot of dedication, a TON of patience, and a whole chunk of time. After doing a little bit of research I decided it would be best to contact a lactation consultant.

A lactation consultant is a person a health professional who specializes in all things lactation. I wasn’t sure where to start so I googled lactation consultants in Columbus, Ohio. I found A LOT of lactation consultants in the area and was shocked and surprised when MOST of them responded to my email like I was a total freak of nature. I knew that inducing lactation was rare but rare doesn’t mean you gotta be rude. I finally heard from a woman named Jill who was not only willing but excited to work with us and to help me induced lactation. After meeting with Jill, making a few doctor’s appointments, and picking up a few lengthy prescriptions I was on my way.

There are several medications you need to take to induce lactation and the sooner you can start them the better. I started the protocol in May and will stop ½ the medication and start taking a few herbs in September. As if the medication isn’t time consuming enough, in September I will start the pumping. 10-15 minutes at a time every 2-3 hours…FOREVER (or at least until the baby is born). All of these things together will HOPEFULLY help me to produced breast milk which will feed our baby.

You may read this and think, “wow…you’re nuts…that takes too much time and you get bored really easy…” Well the truth of the matter is, this is an important factor of parenting that we feel really strongly about. Not every family feels this is important and I won’t get into the debate about who is right and who is wrong. This is the path we have chosen for our family and although I’ve only undertaken the medication portion, I am excited to share the rest of this journey with others!