What The Frig?!

Greetings, lovelies.

Today I'm starting what I'd like to call What the Frig Wednesdays.

(I've been meaning to do this for, um, ahem, weeks. Whoops.)

These will be dedicated to all of those WTF?! moments us new parents inevitably encounter.

Those moments NOT expected, or explained in all the popular books out there.

Those moments I am SO glad a few close friends warned me about, and when they happened to me I wasn't dialing up our Pediatrician in hysterics.

Okay, let's start with one of our first huge WTF episodes with Huxley:

Galactorrehea.

Galactorwhat?...Oh, I've heard of that band. Great funk band.

No, Galactorrehea. In this case, Neonatal Milk AKA Witches Milk.

& no folks, it's not an STD.

ga·lac·tor·rhea definition or chiefly British

ga·lac·tor·rhoea

Pronunciation: /gə-ˌlak-tə-ˈrē-ə/

Function: n

a spontaneous flow of milk from the nipple

Neonatal milk or witch's milk is milk secreted from the breasts of many newborn infants. It is caused by a combination of the effects of maternal hormones before birth, prolactin and growth hormone passed through breast feeding and the postnatal pituitary and thyroid hormone surge in the infant.

Witch's milk is more likely to be secreted by infants born at full term, than by prematurely-born infants. Breast milk production occurs in about 5% of newborns and can persist for two months though palpable breast buds can persist into childhood ("'Witch's milk'. Galactorrhea in the newborn")

I am so thankful that one of Matt's coworkers warned me of this, but was a little thrown when it happened to my son. In her case, it was with her daughter. I thought it far more likely of a scenario to have a little girl who is born with those components for later in life to have this happen to her than to have a little boy with tiny swollen moobies.

Fret not, there was no need for treatment, and there is only cause for concern if the area becomes red, or tender to the touch.

Huxley is 10 weeks and still has a little engorgement to him but he does not seem to mind, and this Mama definitely will omit this milestone from his baby book.

Many more "What the frig!!??" moments to come in the future, until then, Happy Wednesday!

xo