5 Ways to Increase Your Milk Supply (Without Going Crazy)

One thing I wish I could’ve done for my son would’ve been to breastfeed him a bit longer than 3 months. I tried these 5 things I’m about to share but unfortunately, I wasn’t consistent or patient enough. Looking back, I realized that’s the key! You have to be consistent. And I know patience is hard to have when you’re nursing a newborn, but give yourself some grace mama. 

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Now, I’m definitely no lactation consultant, and I’m not saying the milk would’ve been flowing in by the gallon – but I know I could have gone a few months more.

Milk works by the law of supply and demand – nurse more, produce more. But sometimes it can seem like:

a. Your baby is never satisfied
     OR
b. Your body is taking way too long to catch up.

In these instances, like what happened with me – my baby literally became another appendage out of my chest. I just got too tired, too frustrated, and too impatient, so I threw in the towel. So before you try any of these methods, take a deep breath and realize that you are an awesome mama and that you can do hard things—c’mon you did give birth right? (Unless you adopted, which is a feat in and of itself.)

1. Drink 12-16 oz of water before and after you breastfeed 

OR set a timer for every hour and drink 12-16 oz water every hour. Normally you should be drinking about half your body weight in ounces of water (so if you weigh 164 lbs, you should be drinking at least 82 oz of water a day) and this is even more important when you’re nursing!

2. Feed your baby from both boobs each feeding

– 10-15 minutes on one and then switch. For whatever reason, I didn’t really do this enough. I’m not exactly sure why. And when I started doing it more often, I was already at the point where I was supplementing. And once you start supplementing, increasing your supply becomes super difficult.

3. Don’t waste your money on expensive lactation cookies!

you can buy the key ingredients (brewers yeast and ground flaxseed) and add them to just about anything that will mask the bitterness like cookies, smoothies, or shakes. There are tons of recipes for yummy lactation cookies online! Oh, and if you’re going to make a smoothie, a teaspoon or two of brewers yeast and ground flaxseed is all you need or else it will be way too bitter – she said from experience. My husband, Daniel, made me a smoothie once and dumped in a few tablespoons worth (without even measuring). After seeing my disgusted look from one taste he asked, “is it more like a cup of suffering?”

4. Eat more foods that increase your milk supply:

Oatmeal***, almonds, dark leafy greens like kale/beet greens/spinach, fennel/fennel seed, alfalfa sprouts, fenugreek, chickpeas, and salmon — but honestly oatmeal is the best!

5. POWER PUMP!

(in addition to pumping both boobs AFTER you breastfeed— seriously tho…I know it’s the last thing you want to do, but it will help in the long run). I wish I did this one more! It works; I just wasn’t patient enough. Niki (currently still fully breastfeeding at 9 months old) says, “in my opinion, this is THE best and MOST FOOLPROOF way to increase your milk supply!” Power pumping mimics cluster feeding (which an infant does during growth spurts and acts seemingly starved/attaches himself to your boob for varying amounts of time). But you HAVE to do this at least 2, preferably 3 days in a row at the same time each day – typically later in the day as your supply decreases. If you can do this twice a day – DO IT. It’s a miracle-worker. Power pumping goes as follows:

– Pump 20 minutes
– Rest 10 minutes
– Pump 10 minutes
– Rest 10 minutes
– Pump 10 minutes

**BONUS POINTS**

If you want to TRIPLE your milk supply with our FREE Triple-Your-Milk-Supply Schedule, CLICK HERE.

 

Happy Milk Making!

P.S. Don’t stress. You are doing an amazing job mama and whether you breastfeed or formula feed, your baby will do just fine.

Here are some other related posts that may interest you:

3-Step Routine That Tripled My Milk Supply

10 Breastfeeding Tips for New Moms (So That It Doesn’t Suck)

The Best Lactation Cookies Ever!