I see many moms who make breastmilk by the gallons (exaggeration of course, but to someone who doesn’t make much – seeing those moms pump that much makes it feel like it’s that much) but I also see many moms who barely get an ounce. I was lucky to get two ounces from both boobs each time I pump. Now that my baby is 3 months old, it definitely isn’t enough for his growing body. There was even a time that he went to the doctor and had barely gained any weight. This was when I knew something needed to be done.
I was making common mistakes that I really didn’t know were mistakes when feeding my baby.
Mistakes I was making were as follows:
· Using a nipple shield
· Only nursing off one boob at a time per feeding
· Skipping feedings if he was sleeping through the night
When we had that horrendous appointment, I felt very upset with myself thinking about what I was doing wrong. This is a common mom feeling but you cannot let that get you down because no mom is perfect. Here are a few tips that the lactation consultant gave me that day during the appointment.
· Brewer’s yeast
I mix two tablespoons in with my smoothies and this increased my supply by at least one ounce each time I pump. When I was starting to get 4 ounces per pump I knew I was doing something right!
· Mommy knows best
The lactation consultant said this brand has proven to do great things to your supply. Since the brewer’s yeast works so well for me, I haven’t tried these products yet.
· Fresh oats
I see from many moms that putting fresh oats even on toast with some honey makes your production go up in an instant!
· Supplementing Formula
Knowing that I am still only getting 4 ounces per pumping session and that my baby was always still hungry, I started giving him one ounce of formula in a bottle after feeding. Sometimes he even takes two ounces! Many moms get very upset about supplementing with formula because they wanted to provide their babies with plenty of breastmilk. However, fed is best. We don’t want our babies going hungry.
So I am curious, what did you do to increase your supply?!