On my son’s six month well check-up, we noticed that my son, Macks, was not gaining as much weight as he did in the previous months. This was not uncommon for my children as it’s happened with both of my girls around this same time. The doctor didn’t seem concerned but wanted us to come in for a weight check in one month just to check out how he was doing.
On his seven month weight check we learned that Macks had lost three ounces. It was then that I realized that I really needed to focus on our nursing sessions and I wanted to do what I could to make sure that my milk supply was enough to keep him properly nourished.
While I focused on our nursing sessions to make sure that he was not distracted, emptied my breast from one side before switching, etc., I also wanted to do some research on ways that I could naturally increase my milk supply.
It’s been about two weeks since starting this routine and it was just a few days ago that I noticed a drastic difference in how much milk I was producing. It was such a great feeling knowing that this hard work that I’ve put in is finally starting to pay off.
Here are five ways that I’ve increased my milk supply:
1. Limit caffeine. This was a hard one for me. I love my coffee and my espresso drinks, but the caffeine can have an impact on your supply. I’ve limited myself to one cup a day and the rest of the day I am strictly drinking water.
2. Lactation cookies. I am a big sweets person, so this one was easy for me. There are a lot of natural ingredients (oats, flax seed, and brewers yeast) that can boost your milk supply. Thankfully these ingredients can also be mixed together to make delicious cookies. I’ve been eating one of the Chocolate Chip Cookies by Milkmakers each day. The cookies contain all of the key ingredients that can boost your supply. I love the grab and go box because each cookie is individually wrapped and I can grab it before heading out the door with the kids. The cookies satifie my sweet tooth while also boosting my supply. It’s a win/win in my book.
3. Herbal supplements. There are many herbs that are supposed to increase your milk supply, including fenugreek, blessed thistle, nettle herb, and fennel seed. I found a capsule by Mother Love that includes all of those ingredients. I take them four times a day. It’s an easy way to try to increase my supply.
4. Pumping. I don’t love pumping, but I know that it’s key in helping stimulate my breasts for more milk production. I have increased the number of times I pump throughout the day. I’ll pump first thing in the morning after I feed Macks, and then after two of the feedings during the day. I don’t have time to do it for all feedings otherwise I would. I used to only pump a couple of ounces after each session, but now that’s almost doubled.
5. Milkmaid Tea. Everyday before bed I’ll drink a cup of hot Organic Milkmaid Tea. The ingredients included in the tea are supposed to help increase your milk supply.
Like I said before, it did take about two weeks for me to see noticeable results, which can sometimes be frustrating if you are impatient like I am. But I can tel you that the wait is worth it and you will be so happy when you finally see the results!
We go in for a weight check for Macks tomorrow and I am hoping that the scale shows a difference too!