When your baby nurses and you have low milk supply. It can be worrisome and stressful. If you are wondering how to increase milk supply fast, then this is the place for you.
There are so many reasons to want to increase breast milk production.
You might be worried that your supply is low and your baby isn’t getting enough milk when nursing or maybe you need to increase your milk supply so you can pump or your baby is going through a growth spurt.
Whatever the reason, the following ways on how to increase breastmilk supply will get your supply up and quickly!
I remember when I was on my first breastfeeding journey with my son, I had times where I would need my breastmilk supply to increase…and quickly!
Sometimes, my son would be going through a growth spurt and my supply just couldn’t keep up with him. It seemed like I nursed around the clock on those days.
I also had a time where I was going to be away from my little man, so needed to pump and get a bit of a stash of this liquid gold. Only, I found that I needed more breastmilk than I was currently producing to do this.
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I tried many different ways to produce more milk and found some natural ways of increasing breastmilk that really worked.
Remember, your breastmilk supply is related to supply and demand. Make sure your body knows that there is a demand and it will increase its supply.
Here are some natural ways to increase milk supply.
Also – please note that I am NOT a doctor, nurse or other professional. Just a Mom, who has been there and wants to share what worked for herself and her friends. None of this is medical advice. As always, you should talk with your doctor or midwife about any health concerns you have.
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How to Increase Breastmilk Supply
I’m focusing on easy and natural ways you can do to increase milk supply.
There are specific herbs you can take, but you need to research them to make sure it is safe for you to do so.
For example, with fenugreek, if you have thyroid issues it can lower your thyroid hormone level.
Some people have also said fenugreek dried them up.
On the flip side, there are people who swear by fenugreek.
I have a friend who says fenugreek was the only thing to get her through exclusively pumping.
So, you need to research carefully with herbs and be diligent about noticing changes happening to your body.
If fenugreek has the effect of drying your milk up, you need to be paying attention to the effect it has on your body and the second you see any signs that fenugreek is hurting your milk supply stop taking it.
Nurse Baby More/Nurse on Demand
Nursing your baby on demand helps your supply. The more your baby nurses, the more your body will produce.
If you are really trying to up your milk supply, you can park yourself in your bed with your baby and nurse, nurse, nurse.
Stay Hydrated!
You need to make sure you are intaking enough fluids to produce enough milk. I know it seemed like I was not only drinking a ton, but that I was constantly thirsty when nursing my babies.
According to Mother Rising Birth if you are nursing you should be drinking an extra 32oz of water. Add that to the 64oz of water that adults should be drinking and you are at 96oz of water!
That’s a LOT of water, so make sure you are drinking enough water.
If you aren’t thirsty, you don’t want to force yourself to drink more. But make sure you are drinking when thirsty.
So, what can we do to make sure we are drinking enough water?
Make sure you always keep water close to you. Make sure to grab a large glass of water before each nursing session with your baby. This way, you don’t have to wait to drink if you get thirsty while in the middle of a breastfeeding session.
I found keeping a water bottle with me at all times helped tremendously. I also craved the water to be really cold and refreshing. These water bottles from Amazon are wonderful at keeping your ice cold water…icy cold!
Breast Milk Tea
There are a variety of recipes for tea that will increase milk production.
One of my favorite teas to drink when nursing was Mother’s Milk tea from Traditional Medicinals.
Ingredients in this tea are fennel, anise, coriander, fenugreek, and blessed thistle, which are all herbs known for their ability to help increase supply.
I’ve also heard really great things about Lactagogue tea, nettle tea, and moringa tea from some of my friends.
Lactation Cookies
My sister had twins that she was nursing, so I made her some lactation cookies fairly soon after the birth of her boys to help her increase breastmilk supply naturally.
I was still nursing my son at the time and noticed a definite increase in milk supply after eating some of these cookies.
If you want to try making some lactation cookies – this lactation cookie recipe is a great place to start.
If you want lactation cookies, but don’t want the hassle of baking, give these premade lactation cookies a try.
Brewer’s Yeast
Brewer’s Yeast is known for increasing your milk supply.
You can add this into lactation cookies (already an ingredient in a lot of the recipes) or you can add some to other foods as well – oatmeal, mac & cheese or soups to name a few.
Get creative.
Some people drink brewer’s yeast in a cup of orange juice or another type of juice.
That doesn’t sound like it would taste good to me, but adding it to oatmeal and other foods would be a great way to disguise the taste in my opinion.
Using oatmeal is a great idea, since oatmeal is another great way to increase your breastmilk supply.
This brewer’s yeast has great reviews for increasing milk supply.
Oatmeal
I mentioned under the brewer’s yeast that eating oatmeal is another way to increase your supply.
I personally like oatmeal.
Everyone says that instant oatmeal won’t increase your supply, but I found on days that I did eat instant oatmeal my supply went up. So maybe it doesn’t work for everyone or maybe using regular rolled oats will increase your supply more.
I have friends who needed to eat 3 bowls of oatmeal for oatmeal to work for them, but they did find by eating this much it did increase their supply
Pump or Express Milk
Pumping or expressing milk also helps to up your breastmilk supply.
It goes back to supply and demand. You need to make sure your body is getting the message that you need more milk.
I know when I would first start pumping to increase my supply it seemed like I only got a handful of drops. The more I did this though, the more I was able to pump and the more my supply went up.
I would pump right after nursing my little one. I was always worried that if I did it more evenly between nursings that he wouldn’t have enough milk at his feeding – or at least for the first feedings after pumping he wouldn’t.
Eat
As a breastfeeding mom, make sure you are eating enough. Making all that liquid gold requires calories.
If you are worried about losing all the baby weight, just make sure you are eating a healthy diet. This is good for both you and the baby.
Rest
So I know this one is easier said than done, but try to get enough rest.
Your baby won’t be sleeping through the night anytime soon, but if you can try and go to bed early or sleep in. Maybe take a nap with your baby.
Tongue or Lip Ties
If your supply has seemed like it was enough, but it suddenly tanks after a month or so, check your baby for a tongue or lip tie.
Mama Natural has a lot of good info on symptoms and what to look for. You can read up and see how to check for a tongue tie here and a lip tie here.
Things to Watch for If You Suspect Low Supply
First, make sure your child has some weight gain. If you live near a hospital, many times the lactation center has a baby scale that you can use for free. You can go and weigh your baby, then do a feeding and weigh your baby again.
Next, make sure your baby is producing wet diapers or dirty diapers at least 6 times a day.
If either of the above is a problem, make sure to set up an appointment with a local lactation consultant.
If you have low supply, I hope this helped give you some ideas on how to increase breastmilk supply.
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