Breastfeeding if I can do, you can do it too!

Now that I am almost 3 months in to breastfeeding my baby, I am ready to share what I did to boost my milk supply. Unfortunately my breast milk cup doesn’t runneth over. I know some moms who have a wonderful supply and others who have an oversupply which I can imagine is just as stressful as having a low supply. When I had Zoe, my milk supply was very low and due to that plus some emergency health issues my breastfeeding journey with her ended at 6 weeks. To say I was devastated is an understatement so this time around, I was determine to win at this breastfeeding challenge. I did tons of research, spoke to over a dozen nursing moms and prayed every night that my milk would come in. 

When Baby E was born I felt confident I would be rocking and rolling with breastfeeding. They gave him to me as soon as they finished up my c-section and he immediately latched on. I was so happy I cried. Well hormones played a part in that too. Well my happiness soon turned to stress and borderline hysteria because my baby was losing weight pretty fast and there was barely enough colostrum. That led to some stressful and tense days including a nurse I had to dismiss and a huge blowup with The Hubs. More on that another time. But things turned around and by day 5 my milk was fully in and our breastfeeding sessions became a joy. 

Water 

I have a rule about drinking a minimum of 100 oz of water per day. I stick to this and get even more on days I feel like I am dehydrated, extra tired or just because. Drink up. 

Tip: Start your day with 2 cups of water before you indulge in anything else. Also, keep water at your bedside. I drink at least 2 cups overnight. The baby will be up anyway so bathroom trips are ok. 

Coconut Water

Helps with hydration and gives you a little flavor. Did it help boost my milk? I don’t drink it daily so I can’t say for sure but it is said to help. 

Oatmeal 

I would say oatmeal is second on my list behind water. Oatmeal is known to boost breast milk. I love it and it serves as a great breakfast or even an evening snack. I add raisins, apples and blueberries. Sometimes I add ground flax. I tried it with brewer’s yeast and that was a NO! I’ll stick to the lactation cookies for that. 

Mother’s Milk Tea

This is a close second to oatmeal. It may even beat it. Drink it. It says 3 times per day but I went down to 2 times per day within a week and now I drink 1 cup every 2 to 3 days. 

Malta 

Ok so depending on the country you live in, people will say to drink a beer to help boost your milk supply. I haven’t tried it but I know some moms that have. What I did instead was drink malta. I love malta and since it has similar active ingredients to beer I figured why not. Malta is a big calorie investment so if you try it, don’t go overboard. 

Fenugreek 

I have the supplements but I don’t take them daily because the oatmeal and mother’s milk tea along with nursing on demand is keeping my supply to a level good enough for the boy to keep growing. At last weigh in he was 13 lbs so things are going well. 

Pineapple Juice 

I read this somewhere so I packed it in my hospital bag and drank 1 small can each day I was there. I continued this at home for the first two weeks. Once baby boy had his second weigh in at 11 days old and he gained a wopping 14 oz in 6 days, I stopped. Now I drink pineapple juice if I feel like having something sweet to drink. 

Skin to Skin

At almost 3 months in, I still love having skin to skin time with my baby boy. This really works. I think the whole milk let down when the baby cries thing is associated with this.

Pumping 

I pump every so often. I plan to ramp this up because the stimulation from pumping helps to increase your supply. If you are having issues with using an electric pump, try a manual one. I only use my manual pump now because it is the best thing ever. Try it. 

Did you try any of these options to help with your milk supply? Let me know what worked for you.