Top 6 Tips To Increase Your Breast Milk Supply

My first experience with breast-feeding was a struggle for me. My daughter wouldn't latch correctly causing cracked nipples, my breasts used to hurt that much I would literally cry every time it was time to nurse again, the pain was horrendous (i didn't realize how strong a babies suck was) . Through all of that my milk supply dropped. I had to substitute with formula milk, and this broke me because I really wanted my baby to have nothing but breast milk. Every day i was so close to giving up, but i persevered with it and i'm so happy that i did. Never give up, it may take a little time but you will get there in the end.

Every bit of breast-milk I expressed, I gave to my daughter in a bottle before her formula feed. But as you can imagine, introducing a bottle so early on made it near impossible to get her to latch back onto my breast (I still made sure to introduce the breast in-between every feed). It took almost 3 months but all that hard work payed off, we no longer have any latching problems.

I invested in a breast-pump and made sure to pump for 20 minutes every 2-3 hours (all through the night as-well). More than often I would get minimum amounts of milk to nothing after expressing, but I still made sure I stuck to my schedule. Gradually seeing an increase in my milk supply. I finally got to the stage where I could exclusively breastfeed, and I will continue to do so for as long as I can.

Here are my 6 top tips on breast-feeding that really helped me increase my milk supply through a difficult time..

Nurse frequently - Breastfed babies need to nurse more often than formula fed babies, every little bit of milk drained from your breasts increases milk production. They also love to comfort feed which can also help your production of breast-milk. Be sure to alternate between breasts when nursing.

Pump after you’ve finished nursing - Expressing milk after you have finished breast-feeding stimulates your body to produce more milk as you’re completely emptying the breast.

Eating oatmeal - though not scientifically proven, some moms have experienced an increase in their milk supply on the days that they have eaten oatmeal for breakfast.. So maybe its worth trying out some home-made oatmeal cookies for a yummy snack with the added bonus of enhancing your milk.

Skin-to-skin - Loads of skin to skin contact with your baby stimulates the hormones Prolactin and Oxytocin. Prolactin is the hormone that produces the breast milk, whilst Oxcytocin in the hormone that releases it.

Power-pumping - Power-pumping (cluster pumping), also known as a super charge for your milk supply. The aim of power pumping is to trick your body into producing more breast-milk by swiftly emptying the breasts, mimicking the way babies cluster feed.

Lastly don’t forget to take care of ‘mom’. Having a new baby can be overwhelming - I had severe anxiety with my 3rd baby, I would watch her sleep constantly, would never put her down. I got separation anxiety if someone else was holding her; even though they were only sitting right within my reach (sounds dramatic). All that aside we often forget to look after ourselves - your no good to your baby if you don’t look after yourself. So rest when baby is resting, take power naps, sleep whenever you can. Drink enough water to clench your thirst, maintain a healthy diet and don’t feel afraid to ask for help.