Girl- Teach Me How You Make All That Milk....
Girlfriend how are you making so much milk. If you have been in the season of breastfeeding/ pumping you know that this is a holy grail question. Us mamas are obsessed with building that stash and are always looking for the “secret” to upping production.
Today I wanted to share with you my two cents on what has worked for me. Please realize I have no lactation certifications or what not, I am just a mom who has been making milk for lots of years now sharing what worked for her.
Before I share my tips I want you to know the I am a huge supporter of the theory that fed is best. While breastfeeding can be something really special to some moms, it can be a nightmare to others. I hope that you can find the courage to know what makes you and your baby the happiest. A stressed out mama isn’t good for anyone involved. Once you figure out what is best for you do it and own it.
With my first pregnancy I breastfed and gave a bottle for my son's first four months of life. I gave a bottle about three days into life and also gave him a pacifier. He handled bottles well and it allowed for the opportunity for others to feed him. This was important because I was going back to my classroom to return to teaching at 8 weeks. He was daycare bound so this was important to me. As much as I didn’t want to send him I HAD to work so exclusively breastfeeding wasn’t an option. I lasted until June pumping each day during my planning period and lunch break in my classroom closet. It was horribly stressful and I was only ever a few days or a day ahead of him in my milk stash. It stressed me way out. I decided that I was over breastfeeding and pumping and called it quits. I switched to formula at this point. I didn’t regret it or feel ashamed. Instead I was proud of the awesome start I gave him.
My daughter Grace was different. I was no longer working anymore outside of the home so I had the luxury to truly EXCLUSIVELY breastfeed. It sounded great out-loud, but it became a very stressful situation for me as well. I’ll explain… this time around the lactation nurses pushed no bottles for several weeks and encouraged me to also not give a pacifier. It seemed odd because I had done both of those things with Carter pretty quickly, but went with it anyways. After about three weeks of life we went ahead and gave the bottle a try. That of course DID NOT WORK. Girlfriend only wanted her mama. I bought every bottle under the sun, I tried every trick and nothing worked.
I was very proud of my breastfeeding journey with her and actually made it 16 months. While that was awesome, I will say it was hard on me. It meant I could not go anywhere without her - at least not for very long. It meant it was always ME getting up at night for the feedings and it also meant I was her pacifier since she wouldn’t take one of those either. I got used to multi-tasking and breastfeeding in public- neither of which bothered me. The only reason I quit actually was because I was pregnant with Sadie. I think I would have gone longer, but my body was flying thru the calories and I needed them to nourish the baby I was growing. Since we had a history of miscarriages I decided my body needed to focus all of its energy on growing life and keeping me healthy so we called it quits.
This time around I actually considered not breastfeeding at all. Yep- read that again. Me the queen of breastfeeding. The one who nursed Grace for all that time was considering not doing it. Why? Well truth be told I was terrified how I could keep Grace my 22 month old entertained and safe while breastfeeding this one. My husband actually is the one who talked me into doing it again. Not in a way that I felt pressure, just in a way that he reminded me how special it was that I got to provide them with such a great start. He would have supported me either way, but kept encouraging me to reconsider. The day Sadie arrived I had this desire to nurse her right from the get- go. It felt right and was absolutely what I wanted to do.
She nursed like a champ in the hospital and for the first weeks at home. The only issue was she was a lazy nurser. It took her ages and she wasn’t draining my breasts. It meant she was wanting to nurse more frequently because her belly wasn’t all that full before she would fall back to sleep. She was still not at birth weight so I decided to start pumping for a few reasons. Number one - I wanted to be sure she was getting enough and was on a mission to get her back to birth weight. Number two - I did not want another baby that didn’t take bottles or a pacifier so I introduced both as soon as we got home from the hospital. I was loving the extra help I had because of the bottles. My husband and I were able to share night time feedings and it allowed loved ones to help too.
This also fixed the HUGE problem we were having with my toddler. Everyone told me that during the time I nursed Sadie would be a great time to bond and read or snuggle with Grace. It actually turned into the exact opposite. She was lashing out, kicking me and the baby and having meltdowns left and right every time I would sit down to nurse the baby. Lots of jealousy when I would do it. I decided to start pumping more often and see how she responded to that. I asked if she could “help” mommy and allowed her to turn it on and sit with me. It worked because pumping was something she could be a part of. We would wait until Sadie was sleeping then pump together. This in turn allowed me to also have her help feed her the bottle of pumped milk that we pumped together.
Sadie is now almost a month old and I am at this point exclusively pumping. I thought I would feel sad about it - but I don’t. I feel happy that I found a solution that is allowing me to still give her breastmilk and keep my toddler safe and happy at the same time. Motherhood has taught me it’s only to go with plan B sometimes.
So back to that question about the milk. Here are my secrets.
1. I am following a super structured meal plan that is specific for postpartum breastfeeding moms. I have be eating a TON of healthy foods and incorporating many healthy fats. I create a weekly meal plan and have been sticking with it since my first week of postpartum. While I am not exercising yet I am seeing quite a change in my postpartum body. Many women worry that they will see a drop in supply if they follow a meal plan. The truth is I think most women actually are not eating ENOUGH foods to lose weight the healthy way while still keeping up with their supply. If you want to learn more about the program I am doing or do it alongside me in one my my groups feel free to check it out by clicking here
2. I pump every three hours. Around the clock. Yes I am tired, Yes I am over it some days but it’s working really well for me. My sash is quite large and building it has become fun to me. I love looking in the freezer seeing so many filled up bags. At night I have my husband feed her and change the diapers while I do the pumping. We keep each other company and I don’t feel resentful that I am up at all hours of the night while he gets to sleep. We are both in the trenches and exhausted together. I find that my biggest pump session is always first thing in the morning so I make sure I don’t miss that one or cut it short.
3. Blue gatorade - lets’ be honest it’s all over Pinterest and the mommy blogs and YES I have totally tried it. AND yes it totally works. However, I would encourage you to read the back label. There is a BOATLOAD of sugar and not so awesome ingredients. Instead of the gatorade route I do drink an electrolyte replacement. It’s called Hydrate and it’s from the Beachbody performance line. The ingredients are much better with much less sugar. Both work about the same as far as upping production at least for me personally they did. While I can’t promise that or put it on a label, I can talk from experience. How do I know? Well because I “tested it out” a few weeks ago. In the event that you want to check it out you can use this link
4. Lactation bars - These are convenient and something that you can make yourself or buy. I make a lot of things myself since I love to cook but wanted some pre-made ones as well to have on hand. The ones that I have is from Milkful. They are made with several lactogenic ingredients that are high quality and good for you. My favorite flavor is the maple walnut one. In the event that you are skipping out on gluten or dairy these are a good allergy free option. You can check them out at www.milkful.com if you want to get a discount you can use my code - sarahelizabeth27
5. Lactation tea- I find that my supply is the lowest around 9 pm each night. This is when I try to have a cup of lactation tea to to help boost my supply for the upcoming pumps in the middle of the night. If you know me, you know I am an Earth Mama brand girl so I love their milkmaid tea the most. I have tried a few other brands in the past but like the flavor of this one the most.
Here is the link to snag it. https://earthmamaorganics.com/products/organic-milkmaid-tea.html
You can use discount code sarah20 (it will work on regularly priced products- no bundles or gift sets.)
Disclosure: Please keep in mind that some of the links in this post are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase I will earn a commission or receive product exchange for reviews. I link these companies and their products because of their quality and not because of the commission I receive from your purchases. The decision is yours, and whether or not you decide to buy something is completely up to you.
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