Oooh, you rebel, you rebel, sneaking out before your first month is over!! I didn't know you had a postpartum nanny -- that's great! I think we worked my mom to the bone both times, she had no help doing all the postpartum stuff for me. Did you guys enjoy yourselves? Doesn't it feel weird the first time you are out without your baby?! Anyway, sounds like you are doing great. Keep up with the BFing and pumping; your body WILL respond, it just might take a while. This seems to be an issue for a lot of Asian moms; I'm convinced it's because we have less body fat (on average). Also, take heart -- even if you don't build a milk supply to your satisfaction with Caleb, you're almost certainly going to have more milk for your next baby.

Johnny actually got to go to the cast & crew premiere of Avatar and meet a lot of the actors and James Cameron!  It was for work. I was jealous.

@My_Enigma_Heart - Yeah, isn't it a ton of work? I felt so bad for my mom during my postpartum months. I got up and fed both Jack and Derek myself at night, but she was up early in the morning, making my special meals for me AND meals for everyone else. Then during the day she would help me with the baby so that I could get naps. The only thing I did was feed (the baby and myself! LOL). It would be really tough to manage by yourself the first few weeks. I can't imagine. But, so many of my (non-Chinese) friends manage by themselves starting day 1. It must be SO stressful. I wouldn't want to find out!

The herbal stuff is good. It'll make you smell like maple syrup, but it does seem to help. Oatmeal is also a good milk booster.

Oh, I was going to say -- if you want to increase your milk supply, one of the best ways is to BF Caleb in the middle of the night, when he wakes up. If you do a feeding between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m., it'll boost your supply in a few days naturally. See this article, or this one, or this one. It's lovely to be able to sleep through the night (my mom really was upset that I woke up in the middle of the night during the first month), but unfortunately if you do, and you're BFing, your body thinks that your baby is several months older that he really is, and therefore doesn't produce as much milk. When I was pumping for Jack (since he couldn't BF due to his tied tongue), even after he was sleeping through the night, I got up at 3 a.m. each night just to pump, so I could keep up my supply (that's because pumping moms usually get less milk than directly BFing moms -- if you're BFing Caleb and he STTN on his own, you don't need to get up!). You could have Lisa bring Caleb to you for the feeding, supplement him if need be afterward, and rock him back to sleep, so that all you're doing is the feeding part. Just a thought ... but also no pressure. Just something to think about if you're looking for other ways to increase your milk supply. It's hard to be a new mom; you do what makes you happiest!

@My_Enigma_Heart - Hon, with all that action, you're soon going to be producing enough milk to be selling it in bottles at Costco. Haha, just kidding. Middle-of-the-night feedings WILL get you producing more than if you didn't do it at all, if that makes sense. It'll take about a week for your body to adjust. But seriously, BFing is just about supply and demand, and when you feed in the middle of the night, your body thinks, "Oh! Wa must have a young, growing baby. Better make more milk!" The most important thing is that you're rested (as much as possible while getting up in the middle of the night ) and not stressed about it, though. Your body is made to produce milk right now. And remember, the pump is not a very accurate measure of how much you're producing. Let's say you BF Caleb, and two hours later you pump and you get one ounce. You're like, "OMG! Ony one ounce! I must be starving Caleb!" Not true ... most women produce less for the pump, and the pump is just not as efficient as the baby, even when you have the best pump in the world. You could really be producing 4 oz in two hours, and you'd never know. The pump is good for stimulating between BFings, but the surest way to get your supply up is feeding on demand (BFing whenever Caleb wants, even if that's once every half hour), and to get ADEQUATE CALORIES (ahem, Ms. Looking So Slim and Beautiful Already in Xmas Card Photo ... hate you!), and rest. Remember, for the first six or eight weeks, it's touch and go with BFing. Very few moms start out thinking, I have enough milk! Caleb is SUPPOSED to act like you're starving him right now, to stimulate your body to produce more with frequent feedings. He's growing lots. If BFing is really important to you, keep at it and soon you'll see the reward -- a big, fat baby.

Now, that all being said, I do feel like a lot of Asian women do have legitimate supply issues -- don't beat yourself up if, after a few weeks, you're tired of feeding all the time and you want to supplement a little. My motto when it comes to BFing is, try try try as much as you can, and don't feel guilty about using formula if you make that decision. The important thing is that he's getting fed; what he's fed with is secondary, and ANY breast milk he gets is great.

(Can you tell I've done a lot of research about BFing? LOL.)

Yes, any oatmeal is fine, you just have to eat plenty of it. Eat a nice big bowl for breakfast, bake it into cookies, have it as a snack ... if nothing else, it gives you good, nutritious calories and the idea that you're doing something actively to boost your milk supply.

You will be just fine w/o Lisa. I remember feeling scared when I was done with my postpartum month with Jack, and when Johnny, Jack and I went home to our apartment, and Johnny went off to work. I stared at Jack and thought, "Now what?" Oh, how I laugh at that memory now. You will be awesome and amazing!

Really, if you remember nothing else from this novel I've written, remember: There is NOTHING WRONG with your milk supply. If you ever want to vent or have a question or just want to talk (about this or any other topic), just CALL me! Even if it's 3 a.m. Or text. I'm here!

Hey, girl, you should be sleeping!