Thrush is evil

Disclaimer: this post is merely me venting.

Matthew developed thrush about 3 weeks ago now and it has completely ruined our entire breast feeding routine. For those unaware of what thrush is, it's a yeast build up in the mouth that usually occurs when on antibiotics or from bacteria on bottle nipples or pacifiers. Google it. Never heard of it before and Leah never had it, but apparently it's pretty common.

Anyway, it is not recommended to breast feed when your baby has thrush because it could transfer to your boob then you would be on antibiotics and the entire cycle starts over... Get my drift? Evil.

So we were doing really well with our breast feeding routine: I'd pump 2-3 times at work, and nurse at home. Now that we haven't been able to nurse for 2+ weeks, and I can't seem to keep up with pumping and bottle feeding, my supply has gone down. Way down. And to top it off, he now won't latch on! He has realized the bottle is much faster I guess.

My current dilemma - continue pumping and try everything possible to increase my supply or just say it was a good 5 months and call it quits?

My reasonings to continue pumping:
1. It's the best for Matthew (compared to formula)
2. It's free - I already have all the necessary equipment - and formula is expensive (even with my coupons!)

My reasonings to potentially stop now:
1. My milk supply has suffered and can't keep up
2. Pumping is a pain in the butt. Any mom who has ever had to do it understands. It's a huge time commitment.

This probably doesn't require a blog post or this much thought, but it's a huge decision to me and I can't make up my mind either way. I didn't know the last time I nursed was going to be the LAST time! It's difficult to explain.

Ironically, I am writing this while pumping in the car as we drive back from Phoenix.