One of my goals with Oliver was to work harder at breast feeding and keeping up my milk supply. I had ok supply with Beckham (nursed until 7 mo but had to supplement some formula and no frozen milk saved up), but things didn't go so well with Creighton. I resorted to only pumping/bottles with Creighton around two months because I was frustrated with how breastfeeding was going... it seemed like I didn't have enough milk to satisfy him. Once I started doing that, what little supply I had kind of dwindled off and by four months I had pretty much no milk left.
So this time around I was much more intentional about my milk and I nursed Ollie through 9 months, not because of supply, but just because I was ready to be done and had enough frozen milk to last at least another couple months (which was a big deal for me!).
I know there are many sources for increasing your milk supply on the internet, just thought I would add my input too :) here's what I did this time around:
+ taking a lactation supplement. this one from Honest is the one I used and liked it. I think it was the biggest key to keeping up my supply.
+ drinking lots of water/fluids. this is a no-brainer, but it really is something you have to consciously think about. It can get annoying, but I took water with me wherever I went and always had a water bottle with me at home (yes, I had to pee like every hour!). If I ever actually felt thirsty, I would chug a bunch of water.
+ keeping up my calories. even if I didn't feel that hungry, I usually ate a small snack in the morning and afternoon. I also tried to eat plenty of good fats - avocado, nut butters, avocado mayo, coconut milk.
+ not going crazy with exercise. I don't remember how quickly I started working out after Creighton or what I did, but I'm sure it was more intense than what I did with Ollie. I started with running about once/week and added a couple other light workouts during the week, but the more I work out, the more I have to work on drinking extra water and it seems to negatively affect my supply.
+ when Ollie ate once at night, he would feed on one side and I would pump the other side... and for a couple months after he slept through the night, I would get up around 3-4a and pump
+ eating lactation bites and overnight oats (and adding flax + brewers yeast to baked goods and homemade pizza crust). I made this recipe of lactation bites and sometimes added chia or coconut. They have a slightly bitter taste from the brewer's yeast, but the honey and nut butter hide the brewer's yeast really well. I like NOW brand of brewer's yeast, which is debittered, so that probably helps. this is the overnight oat recipe I liked:
1/2 c. oats
1/2 c. coconut or almond milk
1/2 c. frozen berries
1 T. chia seeds
drizzle of maple syrup (or a tsp of lemon curd, which was really yummy)
sprinkle of cinnamon
splash of vanilla (if I felt like it)
put all ingredients in a jar or bowl and refrigerate overnight. I usually added a little extra milk in the morning to thin out. these are good for several days in the fridge if you want to make 2 or 3 at a time.
Nursing can be stressful, especially if you are feeling low on milk supply, so I hope this is helpful info! what have you done to help with your milk supply?
