Saturday, May 28, 2011

To top it all off, now I smell like pancakes


Remember how I said my allergies make my eyes really puffy and I look like Sloth from The Goonies? (If not, read my Sloth Love Chunk post.) Well, I found a combo of allergy meds that seem to work most of the time. Thank goodness. Getting odd looks from cashiers and scaring small children take a toll on the ol’ ego after awhile.

This should be good news. Except one of the magic meds is an antihistamine, and antihistamines can reduce milk supply in nursing mothers. So I need to take other measures to ensure I make enough boob juice for the little guy.

There are lots of great natural remedies that increase milk supply. Some suggest drinking this tea, but black licorice is not my thing. The easiest (and least nasty) remedy for me is to take Fenugreek pills. You take a couple of these babies a few times a day and then… POW! POW! Milk galore.

Problem solved. No more Sloth Effect for me and plenty of milk for Baby Q. You’d think I’d be thrilled. And I am, except there’s a catch. There’s always a catch. Fenugreek pills smell like maple syrup, and those who consume them also smell like syrup. Like, really bad. In fact, the lactation consultant said the smell is a sign that I’m taking the right dose. So it’s supposed to do this to people. Fantastic.

You might be thinking, “Don’t worry, Mel. I’m sure no one else notices your sweet, syrupy stench.” Aw, that’s nice of you, but no. My husband hugged me this morning and said, “Wow, you really do smell like pancakes.”

I was running at the gym yesterday (more on that endeavor later), and I could smell myself, like I was sweating maple syrup. I know, gross, right? I’m not sure if anyone else noticed. I didn’t see anyone giving me funny looks, and the smelly people at the gym always get funny looks. But if anyone could smell it, they were probably wondering why someone would come to the gym right after eating at IHOP.

So I can either look like Sloth or smell like pancakes. These are my options. Awesome.

It probably didn’t help that I had a couple Eggo waffles for breakfast this morning.