Maximize Breast Milk Production

This post is sponsored by fairlife® ultra-filtered milk. All opinions are 100% my own.

Hello fellow mamas! Oh, the breast feeding topic. Some people are extremely open and opinionated with breastfeeding and others like to shy away from the subject. I have talked about it on here before but I am by no means someone to pressure someone to breast feed. When I breast fed Braydon – I actually wasn’t a fan of it. With Walker I didn’t breast feed him for very long and with Charli – this is the first time I have honestly enjoyed it. I do not know if it varies depending on the baby and how they feed or if I just figured out what I was doing better and so it became easier and more enjoyable.

I have always been a huge producer of milk. I am very lucky that it came naturally and I produced way more than needed for those first few months. That being said, I tried to make myself aware of what I was eating for multiple reasons. First one obviously being the health of Charli but secondly – I didn’t want anything to suppress milk production. For example caffeine and alcohol both can cause issues with your milk production so if you’re having trouble producing those are two things you can cut out. I still have my cup of coffee every morning and a glass of wine on Friday nights – I mean with three kids I don’t know that I could survive without those. Ha!

Other things I did to help with milk production were first and foremost, relax and rest well. This is so important and I think part of the reason that I didn’t like breast feeding with Braydon.

So, a little personal story….When we had Braydon, Ryan deployed to Afghanistan when he was 8 weeks old. I didn’t realize until he was a few months old that I was having pretty severe postpartum depression. I wasn’t sleeping, wasn’t eating enough, and was far from relaxed. I had gotten down to 87lbs and didn’t even realize it until my best girlfriend from home sent Ryan an email telling him she was really worried about me. I then ended up getting on medication and started to eat and gain my weight back. The reason I am telling you this is because, from this, I learned ways to breast feed better and more successfully for our other children. I also stopped breastfeeding at this point because I realized my milk that I was producing didn’t have enough calories and that is half the reason Braydon was so fussy which was causing me more stress. Basically, it was a vicious cycle I didn’t even know I was a part of.

Another thing I did was skin to skin every day and a few times a day, especially before or (even after if she was too fussy) feedings. I felt as if it told my body when she was about to eat and it would start to let down. I am not sure if this really helps to be honest but it did make the whole process more relaxing and gave us time to bond.

Back to my story when I wasn’t eating enough. It wasn’t that I was trying to lose weight – I just was depressed and honestly didn’t realize I wasn’t eating as much as I should be. I learned then the importance of getting enough vitamins, protein, EFA, Omega 3, calcium, etc. I found the easiest way to be sure I got all of this in was through cow’s milk. Did you know that consuming cow milk while breast feeding also can decrease the chances of your baby having milk allergies? We have been drinking fairlife® ultra-filtered milk for 2 years now – I honestly have not drank any other milk in 2 years! It has 50% less sugar than regular milk, 13g of protein, is lactose free and has 9 essential nutrients. The vitamins it has are Vitamins A,D and B12, Calcium, Magnesium, Riboflavin, phosphorus and zinc. It was actually recommended to me to consume 2-3 glasses while I was breastfeeding. I typically drink skim fairlife® ultra-filtered milk in the morning and at dinner and then chocolate fairlife® ultra-filtered milk on the couch before bed while we are catching up on our shows. Other foods that are great options to add into your breast feeding diet are spinach, I make salads or throw it on sandwiches. Oatmeal – I personally am not a fan of oatmeal but it is a great source! Water, obviously. Barely, carrots, salmon, almonds, oils and healthy fats. Avocado is my favorite!

And last but absolutely not least is to pump or nurse frequently. At the hospital and for the first 2 weeks I literally pumped or nursed every two hours. Yes, my nipples wanted to fall off and I would cry when I first would start because it hurt so bad but it got SOOOO much easier. Like easier to where I didn’t even feel it when I was pumping or nursing. I then worked down to every 4 hours and then only 4 times a day because I had so much milk saved up from the beginning that I didn’t have to pump every time she ate any more.

 

Let me know if you guys liked this post and would like to see more posts like this!!

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