Breastfeeding as a working mom can be tough. You’ve made the decision to breastfeed, and overcome all your doubts. It was awesome at first, but, then you have to go back to work. You’re not always with your baby to feed him on demand. You’re not always able to pump right on time. Pumping can also get old. Washing, drying, and keeping track of pump parts is annoying, and you just slack off on it. You can’t feed your baby because you’re at work. You don’t want to pump, you get stressed out, and your milk supply drops. It happens to the best of us! I’ve always been committed to breastfeeding my babies for at least 12 months. But there were times as a busy mom that I just couldn’t keep up. Luckily, there are natural ways around this. Here are my best tips for increasing breast milk supply.
First…is there really a supply issue?
At times, your baby may go through periods of feeding frequently, or getting fussy at the breast. He could just be going through a growth spurt. But, this can trick you into thinking you’re having a breast milk supply issue, when you really aren’t. This is when it’s important to check in with your Pediatrician. If your baby is growing normally, maintaining his weight, and having good urine output, then your supply is likely not the issue. Your Pediatrician can let you know whether or not your supply may need a boost, or if formula supplementation is necessary. I’m not against formula at all. Sometimes supplementation is necessary. But, even if that’s the case, I recommend pumping whenever your baby is receiving a bottle – even if you just fed!
Supply and demand
The absolute best way to increase your breast milk supply is to keep feeding or pumping! The more you express milk from the breast, the more your breasts send the signal to your brain to make more milk. When you start to slack off on feedings (like when your baby sleeps through the night), your supply can start to dwindle. In the first few months, I recommend feeding your baby every 2-3 hours, really just on demand. If you have to go back to work or are away from your baby, you should pump whenever your baby’s getting a bottle.
If your baby happens to sleep through the night before 4 months of age, I don’t recommend that you go longer than 5 hours overnight without pumping. I’m not saying to wake a comfortably sleeping baby. But I do recommend pumping to keep up your supply. As your baby is getting older and starts complementary foods (at 6 months), going longer stretches without feeding is usually OK. Breast milk is still very important until your baby turns one, though. So make a point still to keep up your feedings/pumping. Once your baby is sleeping through the night, I recommend breastfeeding before their bedtime. If you’re up for a little while longer, you should pump before you go to bed. This way your breasts are as close to “empty” as possible when you go to sleep (though they’re never really “empty”).
Pay attention to latch
It’s so important to address any breastfeeding or latch issues early on. The longer these issues go on, the less your baby’s likely expressing from the breast. This hurts your baby’s weight, and also hurts your supply. If your breasts aren’t being emptied the way they should, they’ll be “refilled” less and less. So, get help from a lactation consultant as early as you can.
Close contact
Skin-to-skin can work wonders for your supply. Keeping your baby close to your breast sends the signal to the brain that your baby is nearby and you need to produce more milk. With this in mind, if you’re away from your baby and have to pump, keep a picture of your baby close by. An article of clothing with your baby’s scent is even better!
Water
Since breast milk is mostly water, it’s so important to drink as much of it as you can to keep up your supply. Typically, we should drink 64 ounces of water per day as adults. But, as a breastfeeding mom, I found that drinking 100 ounces per day was what worked the best for my supply. You want to drink so that you never feel thirsty throughout the day.
I have to admit that I’m not a great water drinker. Forcing myself to drink this much water during the day was necessary, though. I had to be intentional about it, by bringing to work all of the water that I needed to drink for the day. I broke up my day so that I would drink a bottle of water every 2-3 hours. This way, I could squeeze in 6 bottles for the day. The days that I slacked on my drinking, I could notice a decrease in my pumping output.
Foods
There’s a long list of foods that have been suggested to help with increasing breast milk supply. The ones that worked well for me were Oatmeal, Brewer’s Yeast, Garlic, and Ginger. I honestly loathe oatmeal, but forced myself to eat it every morning while I was breastfeeding. I honestly got so used to it, and how convenient it is, that I still eat it now. And I stopped breastfeeding 8 months ago! I incorporated the other foods whenever I could. Keep in mind that none of these have been “officially” proven to increase breast milk supply. But they seemed to have helped me out. Other foods that have been suggested include: Papaya, Spinach, Carrots, Nuts, Sesame Seeds, Salmon, Barley, and Asparagus.
Herbal Remedies
I’ve relied on herbal remedies a few times, when my supply decreased, especially when I was in Residency. I’ve personally taken FenuGreek and Blessed Thistle with awesome results. Goat’s Rue, Moringa, and Fennel are other recommended herbs for increasing supply. Moringa is actually one that my mom raves about for it’s other potential uses in diabetes and high blood pressure, but that’s another story for another day!
With my older children, I took FenuGreek and Blessed Thistle Capsules on their own, as instructed by the International Breastfeeding Centre. Later on, I was introduced to Mother’s Milk Tea and More Milk Plus, which are combinations of herbs. They just make things a little easier. I had a cup of the Mother’s Milk Tea every morning, and took 1 More Milk Plus capsule three times a day. These, again, worked well for me!
Self-care
It’s so important to take care of yourself as a breastfeeding mom. You were growing your baby inside your body during pregnancy, but you’re still growing your baby even though he’s on the outside. You have to be well enough to produce breast milk, so try your best to take care of yourself. I know it’s not easy, especially if you have to go back to work, you have a fussy baby, you’re not sleeping at night, or you have other children to take care of. I’ve been there, believe me. But, I would notice a decrease in my supply whenever I wasn’t taking care of myself.
Try your best to rest when your baby does. Have someone else take the baby from you so that you can get some rest between feedings. Try your best to minimize stress in your life (which is much easier said than done, I know!). Get as much help on board so that you can focus on your baby and your supply. Eat, drink, take a shower – do what you can to make yourself feel refreshed.
Consider your birth control
As an aside, I would take caution when using hormonal birth control, since this can really decrease your supply. I’ve used different types, even those that only contain progesterone (Which should generally not be a problem). I still noticed a decrease in my supply when I started any of them. Of course, I would discuss with your physician what they feel is the best option for you. You don’t want to end up with an unexpected surprise!
Breastfeeding is an awesome thing for mom and baby, but can be a lot of work. Especially if you’re working and need to keep up your supply. But, you can do this. You can continue to give your baby something so precious. I hope these tips were helpful. Do you have any other tips to add to my best tips for increasing breast milk supply? I’d love to hear them! Just drop them in the comments below!
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