I decided that I would write this post when I first started this blog. I share this information with you knowing that I am an open book and hoping to help someone who may be dealing with the same thing and not know it. I also hope that it's not too much information for some of you. :)
In a
previous post I mentioned the fact that I went and saw a lactation consultant. I went to see the consultant when Hallie was three months old. I had told people that I was constantly nursing her and they all said that was normal for a newborn. It wasn't until we took a trip out to Utah that my family really saw JUST how much I was nursing Hallie. I wasn't exaggerating when I said I was nursing every hour. Plus when we would occasionally give her a bottle she would inhale it. (Which I was told wasn't normal for a newborn.) Plus, my breasts never really felt full. Which would make sense since Hallie would eat every hour-they would never get the chance to fill up. I was at my wits end. When I would call the midwifes they would all say that I just needed to nurse Hallie more to get more milk. Supply and Demand right? Wrong! I knew there was no way I could nurse Hallie more. I desperately wanted to continue breastfeeding but I was worried Hallie wasn't getting enough because I just wasn't capable of producing the amount of milk she needed. Enter Lactation Consultant.
When you go to see a lactation consultant you have to nurse in front of them so they can observe you to see what you are doing right and what you could do better. As soon as I took off my shirt she said that she knew what the problem was. I have what they call "Tubular breasts". Funny term I know! Ben and I laughed about it for days. It means that my breasts are not perfectly round like all the movie stars who had boob jobs. My breasts are also widespread. The lactation consultant commented, "didn't you notice you never fit into bras?" I told her of course I did I just thought it was because I was small. She laughed and said, "Honey, Asian women are small and they still fit into bras!" Suddenly my life made sense. All those visits to Victoria Secret to find out what bra size I truly was weren't in vain. What was even better was the fact that she solved my nursing dilemma. Because of my tubular widespread breasts I could not STORE a lot of milk. I was producing enough milk I just wasn't capable of storing it all at once. I HAD to feed Hallie more often than most women feed their babies. It wasn't all in my head and I wasn't exaggerating. What a relief! I walked away from that consultation a new woman. Not only did I know that Hallie had Acid Reflux but I also knew why I was constantly feeding her.
I hope learning about my breast dilemma hasn't scared you off. I also hope that it doesn't make you stare at my chest in the future wondering how weird they really look. I'm not a mutant or a freak show! With all that said my goal in writing this post is to let you know that tubular widespread breasts are actually very common. Out of the few friends I have told some of them have commented, "hey maybe I have that too". Most women don't know they have them and will never know. I mean how would you ever find out?
So if you don't have the cleavage that the movie stars have or if you don't fit perfectly into a bra you might have tubular widespread breasts. Which as a result it might be more difficult to nurse your babies. Although, I am proof that it is still possible. I supplemented Hallie's feedings with a bottle or so a day until I could feed her cereal. She never lost weight and is actually very "healthy" and chubby-all with my own milk supply.
Any of you have nursing problems or stories?
