It's all Greek to me.

It's been a stressful 3 weeks (between the fever, the cold, being dumped by our nanny and now it looks like the little guy is working through his top two teeth... all the while 3 of the 5 attorneys in my department have been at conferences and on vacation and my mother and her friends came to stay with us - mid-week - ... so needless to say, the stress has been ramped up). And as any mother knows, a stressed out mommy can make a stressed out baby. And as any nursing mother knows, a stressed out mommy can lead to a dip in the precious milk supply.

So what's a mom to do? There is always the pain of trying to pick up an extra pumping session (on top of the usual feedings). Mornings are usually best, because that's when most women's milk supply is highest. But if your mornings are anything like ours (on weekdays there is no way and on weekends we fight over who sleeps-in and who gets the little charge for an hour) it can be tough.

Scene: Master bedroom, big four-poster bed. 7:15 a.m (yes, we got past that early morning wake-up - the fever led to a nice new wake-up time of 6:45-7:30, even after day-light savings. Now we just need to kick the new midnight snack - but I'm convinced that's just the teething/cold right now). Saturday morning. Mommy, daddy and baby all lay peacefully, smiling and playing after baby just nursed for 20 minutes.

Daddy: If you change his diaper, I'll take the first hour shift.
Mommy: I hate to remind you, but we have a low milk stock in the freezer, so I need to go pump. You have no choice but to take the first shift and change his diaper.
Daddy: That's not fair. Pumping is like a break for you.
Mommy: Pumping is only a break when it happens at work and I don't have to take a conference call on mute.
Baby: dadadadadadada [Smart kid.]

End scene. Mommy dutifully takes baby down the hall to change his diaper [Martyr.]

So I figured there had to be something else I can try! And what does the Momish love to do? Research, research, research. Everything I consulted (pediatrician, my mom (she is mother to 6 AND a nurse) and the internet (great sites: http://www.kellymom.com/ and http://www.askdrsears.com/) kept coming back to a single galactagogue that women the world over swear by: Fenugreek. The herb is reported to increase a woman's milk supply within 3 days. You can go straight to the herb, take it in capsule form or you can buy it in tea form.

My Whole Foods had 3 varieties. I went with the Traditional Medicine's Organic Mother's Milk. It was the cheapest, organic and came in tea bag form and so I didn't need an infuser (key when I want to keep some in my office). The instructions say that you should drink 3 cups a day and you may see results in 3-5 days. I'm always a little weary of herbs because they are not FDA regulated, so I tried to find the negatives. One side effect that have I read about is that mother and baby's excretions (including sweat) can smell like maple syrup (fortunately we haven't had that -unless you factor in that baby smells like pancakes from his HealthyTimes Maple teething biscuits). Also, because of Daddy's nut allergy, I'm always super-sensitive to allergens and try to do anything to minimize my son's exposure. So I note that fenugreek is a legume. Anyone with a family history of peanut allergies may want to not try this at home. Since our allergy is not a legume allergy and baby has successful eaten peas and soybeans (tofu), I figured we might as well give it a try.

Let's cut to the chase. What happened with my research trial? Well, we have had great success. Maybe it's psychosomatic - but I definitely notice a difference. At peak nursing, during my 3 pumping sessions, I would pump 20-24 ounces. A couple times I even needed to cram a fifth bottle into my small pack. And I have had those days when not paying attention where I'll feel something wet and realize I've busted through the bottle (no pun intended). [I know... my cups overfloweth... my whole life I've cursed/hated/hided/been ashamed by my ample chest - but I now realize their true calling... just a few months ago I was researching a milk bank to donate to... but I digress]. Well... on peak stress day I pumped only 8 - yes 8 - ounces total during my work-day. After one day of the tea (only one cup) I was up to 12 ounces. After 2 days (again, only one cup) I was at 14 ounces. And on day 3, 16 ounces. The baby only takes about 15 - 16 ounces now that he's on 3 meals of solids, so this is fine by me. But then on Thursday, day 4, - I pumped 19 ounces. Bonus. I still have my freezer supply to build back up.... but at least I know that pretty soon I can go back to sleeping in at least one weekend day! (assuming I can trick/barter/beg the hubby to go along with it :)