I had a hard, hard, hard time breastfeeding. For many reasons, it was hard, as lots of mothers will experience. But my supply was low – always. No matter how much water I drank, supplements I took, oats I ate, protein I stuffed down my throat – it was low. I power pumped, I over pumped, I double-pumped. I pumped night and day. I nursed, I nursed again. I alternated.
My body was just not keeping up with my baby.
With my first, I lasted six months before being forced to supplement to just keep up (then after that, I fully transitioned to formula). With my second child, it was even harder. I didn’t have the time to do all that pumping with a toddler running around and a baby to take care of. My breastfeeding journey, sadly, was even shorter-lived with my second baby.
That is all while saying – I still tried my darn hardest to make it work to the best of my ability at that time. I pretty much ate and drank every product out there to increase supply, and listened to all the experts (and non!) I could.
Finally, I visited a goddess-like lactation specialist who gave me permission to let go of the guilt of not producing enough for my babies. The bottom line of what she said was “some people just don’t, can’t, and won’t produce any, or enough breastmilk to feed their child. People telling you to keep trying harder, and to do more, is just like someone telling a person who is in fertile to just keep having sex and it will happen. It just won’t happen for everyone.” I will never forget her and am so grateful I finally found that wonderful women who spent more than an hour with my babies and me to talk about all things nursing, milk, body type and baby’s needs.
I still firmly believe that for a lot of mothers the practices and products available to increase supply can help. I know some of it did help me, even though it only got me so far.
Follow all the guidelines:
- Drink lots of water
- Eat protein
- Consume oats
- Drink warm or room temp (not cold!) beverages
- Rest/sleep/mediate
- Use skin-to-skin contact
- If needed, pump and power pump
- Keep your breasts warm before a pump
If you are looking for more ways to help boost your production, there are a bunch of products on the market to explore:
Vitamins & Tablets:
- Pump It Up Lactation Supplement – Breastfeeding Postnatal Vitamins
- UpSpring Baby Milkflow Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle Capsules for Breastfeeding
- Swisse Premium Ultinatal Breastfeeding Support Tablets
- Pure Mom’s Vegan Capsules Organic Breastfeeding Supplement
Drinks:
- Organic Milkmaid Tea by Earth Mama | Supports Healthy Breast Milk Production and Lactation, Herbal Breastfeeding Tea Supplement
- UpSpring Milkflow Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle Lactation Tea, Chai Latte, Powder Drink Mix Lactation Supplement to Promote Breast Milk Supply
- UpSpring Baby Milkflow Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle Powder Chocolate Lactation Supplement Drink Mix
- UpSpring Baby Milkflow Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle Lactation Supplement for Breastfeeding Women
Liquid Drops:
- Lactation Supplement Breastfeeding Support Liquid by Benevolent Nourishment
- Let There Be Milk Lactation Liquid by Birth Song Botanicals
- Fairmile Organics Lactation Supplement Breastfeeding Support Liquid
Eats:
- Milkmakers Lactation Cookie Bites, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip
- Mommy Knows Best’s Lactation Cookies Mix – Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Breastfeeding Cookie Supplement Support for Breast Milk Supply Increase
- Milkful Lactation Bars by Nourisher
- Traditional Medicinals Mother’s Milk Chocolate Fruit & Nut Lactation Bars
- Boobie Bar – Herbal Breastfeeding Bar – Gluten Free Peanut Butter
**I am not a health expert. I am not giving medical advice. You should evaluate each and every product you consume and ingest on your own terms, determining if it if healthy and right for you. If you have questions and concerns, you should talk to your healthcare provider about every and all the products you are planning to take while nursing.**
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