Trying to Increase My Breastmilk Supply - Things I am doing to increase breastmilk
Man being a mom has sure been a bigger adventure than I ever could have imagined. Basically anything and everything that you do and think revolves around your new little one.
This past month we have been on a road trip. It as been absolutely amazing; however, during the road trip, and when we got back, I noticed that my milk supply had substantially decreased. I was producing about 3-4 ounces of milk per pumping session, and now it is only about 2-3 ounces. This is HUGE! Little Juniper eats about 3-4 ounces every feeding so ultimately, I am just barely getting by, or some days not even keeping up with her needs. Luckily I have some frozen milk that I froze from month 1, but that is almost gone. So, I reached out to my Tiktok community and my pediatrician to see what I could do to increase my milk supply.
My thoughts the last week have been nothing but how to increase my milk supply. I can’t seem to stop thinking about it. As a mama, this is such a hard thing to swallow. Now, formula is great and an awesome option, but I really wanted to only use breast milk. I have always wanted to nurse and pump in order to feed my little ones. I am definitely not against formula or saying that it is bad in any scenario, I just personally want to try to do this myself without supplementing.
I wanted to provide you with what I am going to be doing to try to increase supply based off of the suggestions that I received. I know if I am having this issue so many others are too! If you have any suggestions please let me know in the comments below.
Trying to Increase My Breast Milk Supply /
Things I am doing to increase breast milk:
Here are the things I am doing to increase my milk supply:
Pediatrician Advice:
1. Per my Pediatrician, she explained that I should try:
a Fenugreek Seed supplement.
Nursing
Ok, so my little one has decided she isn’t patient enough for nursing. I have tried this over and over and she just freaks out. As soon as I giver her a bottle she is completely content. I am going to continue to try nursing ever so often, but I really don’t have much hope for this.
The second option is the Fenugreek seed supplement. This one is easy and definitely something that I can do. So, I am starting that today.
Tiktok advice on how to increase breast milk supply:
2. Eating Oatmeal
This one is another easy one for me. I am going to eat oatmeal for breakfast most mornings. If you want make sure to check out my delicious protein oat recipes. They are so yummy!
3. Magnesium supplement
There are so many forms of magnesium so make sure to do your research. I actually bought like every kind just in case lol. Ya….. I know….
4. Mothers Milk Tea
My hubby bought me this because he is the absolute best! I haven’t tried it yet, but I plan on drinking this every evening. Hopefully it tastes good! I will definitely let you know!
So, I was actually already taking beet root for my hair. I stopped taking it for about a week and a half, just because of my road trip and honestly I got lazy. So I started back up again with this supplement.
People on Tiktok told me that this doubled their milk supply so naturally I have to try it!
7. Power Pumping
This is where you pump for an hour, one time a day. You will pump 10 minutes on and then 10 minutes off for the full hour. Ultimately, you will pump for 30 minutes, but your body is recognizing this as your baby cluster feeding so the power pumping will make your body want to produce more milk. I am doing this one time every day.
8. Pumping every 2 hours
So supposedly the more you pump, the more your body thinks it needs to produce. So I am currently pumping ever 2 hours instead of every 3 hours.
Why am I pumping instead of nursing?
Good question that is for sure! I ultimately started nursing but after about 3 weeks Little Junie started to only want a bottle. Now during the first 3 weeks, if I was out and about I would bottle feed. If I was at home, and during the mid night hours I was breast feeding. Well Little Miss decided that she wasn’t stoked on nursing any more and only wanted the bottle. The Pediatrician explained that she only wanted the bottle because it is quicker and easier for her (less effort to get more milk). So, we slowly stopped nursing because, honestly, I was tired of fighting her to breast feed and just gave in to solely pumping / bottle feeding.
What Pump Am I using?
The only pump I have tried thus far is the momcozy pump. I really like that it is mobile and that you don’t have to be plugged into a wall or carry around the pump. The thing that I am struggling with is that they are starting to squeak a pretty annoying squeak. I emailed momcozy to see what I can do to fix this. Fingers crossed I hear back from them. If I do, I will definitely update this post.
There you have it my friends, all the things I am going to try to increase my breast milk supply. If you have any suggestions please please comment below. I am struggling over here just barely getting by.
Wishing you nothing but amazing days!
Bess
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