Breastfeeding Struggles

I'm feeling a little discouraged.  At Carter's pediatrician appointment yesterday I learned that he has not gained enough weight and is falling on the growth curve.  This was pretty upsetting considering he was right on track, albeit on the lower end of the growth curve, at his last appointment two weeks ago.

During the first few weeks as we were learning this thing called breastfeeding I met with a lactation consultant because my breasts were hard as rocks and filled with plugged ducts.  Breastfeeding was incredibly painful and we were having latch issues due to the engorgement.  I learned during this consultation that we didn't really have a latch issue, but instead were dealing with an issue of overproduction of milk.  Due to the pain I had to pump on many occasions, which confirmed that I was producing more than adequate amounts of milk.  But these issues kept recurring and soon I developed mastitis and have dealt with plugged ducts on more than one occasion.  Currently I have one in my armpit.  Not fun.

It is hard to know exactly how much milk he is getting as I am exclusively breastfeeding and now only pump on occasion.  However, when I do pump the amount I'm getting is much less than I was initially, and less than the amount he should be eating at a feed.  I definitely think that some of the issue is that your body produces less milk when you are in pain and I spent a lot of feeds almost at the point of tears due to discomfort.  And pumping, while the best option at times for me, is not pain free either.

The other possible issue we are dealing with is reflux.  Recently Carter has been spitting up more than usual.  Regardless of what the cause is, whether it is one, both, or none of the above, I do feel like I am producing less and the pediatrician wants Carter to get set amount of nutrition three times a day, which means we need to supplement.  I love breastfeeding, and feel that providing my son with breast milk is important for his health, but at the end of the day I want to do whatever I need to do to make sure that he is gaining his L-Bs appropriately.  If that means I have to give a bottle of pumped breast milk or formula here and there, I will do whatever is best for his health.  In reality I could be dealing with far worse issues, but part of me feels like my body failed him.  

I am going to try not to be discouraged and want to continue this breastfeeding journey if we can.  This is only a roadblock and hopefully a temporary one.  While I'm trying to bulk little man up I'm also going to experiment and see if I too can boost my milk supply.  I mean who doesn't love lactation cookies?  Am I right?  And if you haven't tried them do it!  I had my first lactation cookie before I was even pregnant.  Granted I worked in an OB office and a patient brought extra cookies in for us.  I'm not sure I would have gone and bought one or made one for clinical curiosity prior to being pregnant and having Carter.  

I'm feeling optimistic from reading other mom's struggles with supply issues and hope I can find a routine that works for me.  Only time will time...