Breastfeeding – Tips To Increase Breast Milk Supply
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Breastfeeding – is the normal way of providing young infants with the nutrients they need for healthy growth and development. (source)
For those of you who know me personally know that I’m a huge advocate for breastfeeding. Although I don’t go around publicly speaking about it (until now, lol), I have been nursing for 5 1/2 straight years now (well, in 13 days it will be exactly 5 1/2 years). —> yes you read that correctly! Five and a half years!! I know, it’s a long time, for today’s society at least. Anyway, I nursed my oldest until she was 19 months old…and I was 7 months pregnant (took two months off) and then nursed baby #2 until he was 29 months old…and was 2 months pregnant with baby #3. Baby #3 is now 10 months old and we’re still going strong. I’ll leave it up to him to decide when he’s done. (edited to add: baby #3 decided he never wanted to stop nursing and was well past 3 years old)
By now, some of you may be cringing at the thought of nursing a kid as long as I have – or the opposite -applauding me for nursing as long as I have. I’ve found there seems to be a pretty fine line when it comes to the length a mom/baby chooses to nurse.
I’ve been asked over the years by tons of inquiring mommies “how do you keep up your milk supply?” I’ll be honest, I’m like a cow. I have never had an issue of producing enough milk…but I do think that is because of a few reasons.
1) WATER – I drink TONS of water…and I mean TONS! Think of it this way, you can’t create a liquid without consuming a liquid! I suggest that you drink a glass of water right before nursing. This is a conscious effort to replenish your liquids. Back in the day when I returned to work as a Recreational Therapist after baby #1 was born I pumped 3 times per working day. I had 100 (exactly) of these cute little Medela 2.7oz bottles filled in my freezer plus more in the refrigerator!
2) PUMP IN-BETWEEN FEEDINGS – If you feel like your milk supply is getting low, try pumping in-between feedings. You basically are working towards tricking your body into believing that it needs to keep feeding that little baby (or big in my cases) 🙂
3) PUMP AFTER YOU FINISHING NURSING – Similar to tip #2, pump AFTER you finish nursing your baby. Again, you’re tricking your body into thinking that the baby is still hungry and isn’t finished yet. Your body will think it needs to keep producing. The more you use the more it will replenish.
4) MOTHER’S MILK TEA – I would occassionally drink 1 cup of Mother’s Milk Tea that I personally just bought at Kroger. The tea has Fenugreek in it which is known to promote healthy lactation.
5) ALFALFA – Just this past week I’ve started taking Shaklee’s Alfalfa Supplement because it too is known to increase breast milk supply. I will honestly say, that in the 5 days I have taken 1/2 of the suggested serving size, I am noticing a huge difference! I can completely tell that there is a big increase.
Perseverance is key! Keep at it and it will get easier. The rewards are beyond measure. My kids, when nursing never get sick. Occassionally they would get a runny nose, but that was always the extent of it. I love the bond that nursing brings to a baby and a mommy, there’s nothing comparable.
Best of luck to you in your breastfeeding endeavors! Please email me or leave a comment if you have any questions or would like further advice! I’m more than willing to help!
What struggles or successes have you had with nursing? I’d love to hear from you!
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This post correlates with my A-Z Blogging Challenge:
A is for ADD / ADHD
B is for Breastfeeding
C is for Cleaners ***ENTER MY GIVEAWAY for a YEAR WORTH OF SAFE, NON-TOXIC CLEANER!!!
OK never had children and wow to you! My mom was a firm believer in breastfeeding and this was at the time when the Dr’s etc said it was better to bottle feed and sterilize everything. She believed firmly mother’s milk is the best for nutrition but she stopped after 6 mths.
Wow, Stephanie! You are amazing! I must admit, I struggled at times with breastfeeding. These are great tips for anyone in the throes of it. My problem was I never drank enough water and with lack of sleep, stress, and not enough fluids, I ended up getting mastitis several times. So not fun. 🙁
It is great to read your post–your love of breastfeeding is contagious! 🙂
well done you, there should never be anything wrong with breastfeeding, or breastfeeding in public, my issues is the bullying of women to do it when they don’t want to, and the way women who don’t are seen as ‘less’ than women who do. Great post.
I’m not a mom, so I haven’t gone through breastfeeding but back when I was younger, I’d hear stories of people’s nipples cracking and completely freak out! I don’t think it’s as bad as I was imagining it. You always hear the horror stories!