I will never forget how panicky I got when my breast stopped filling up around 4 months with Luna, I wasn’t ready to stop my breastfeeding journey and tried everything and anything to get my supply back up, eventually I got through it and second time around I was much more prepared. I realized that it wasn’t just me though, after doing much reading and talking to other mamas I found out that the milk dip is such a normal thing and so many moms experience it but I also know that so many mamas struggle to get through it and end up saying goodbye to their breastfeeding journey. There is absolutely nothing wrong with ending your breastfeeding journey if you feel like your ready and the time is right, or maybe baby is ready or switching over to bottle is just what works best for your situation. This post is for the mamas who’s not ready to give up yet, the mama who still wants to breastfeed her baby for the next year or two but is struggling with her supply, breastfeeding is not always easy but just push through, it’s does get better and there is ways to increase your milk supply.
My breastfeeding journey with Hamilton has been far from perfect or easy, from day one I had to express milk to make sure he always had milk during his NICU stay while still breastfeeding him every opportunity I had. This cause a double-up in my milk supply which left me with sore aching breasts for weeks. A few weeks later we finally figured out our whole supply and demand concept and had a few weeks of happy feeds but somewhere along the line during all the craziness of immigrating and moving I lost track of rotating breasts between feeds and before I knew it he was only feeding off one side and I was walking around with one A cup and one D cup breast, looking absolutely ridiculous. It took weeks of pumping and building the milk supply up on the lazy breast and it’s still the lazy breast but we finally got to a place where he drinks from both. Fast forward a few more weeks to 4 months and that 4 month milk dip, to make it even worse, I also had a 3 day trip away from the kids during my milk dip that caused my milk production to slow down even more but with help from the right items we got through it and I can finally say at 5 months in, we are at a happy/normal breastfeeding place and ready to continue with our BF journey for another year or more.
So how did I get through all of this and build my milk supply up? With these 4 essential things:
1.The Medela swing breast pump - when my milk production slowed down I used my Medela pump to express every day and help build my supply up by increasing the demand. By stimulating the breast more frequently I told my body to produce more milk than it would have by just doing my normal amount of feeds.
2.Mrs Milk lactation Bars - Getting the right ingredients into your body to build your milk supply is one of the most important parts of the breastfeeding journey and Mrs.Milk Bars provides you with everything you need to increase your milk supply. I had two bars every day until my milk supply increased and still eat one with breakfast every second day.
3.Fenugreek Capsules - This is a golden oldie, it’s recommended by doctors and is well know for increasing milk production from as early as 24 hours from taking the capsules. I take fenugreek every morning and night to ensure that my milk supply continues, rather too much milk than too little I always say.
4.Water - Hydration, Hydration, Hydration. It’s such a normal aspect but being a mom we often focus more on our babes and tend to forget about ourselves. The moment I started filling up bottles of water and making sure I get in all my littles I could immediately see a change in my milk production. We all know the importance of water but how often do we get distracted and forget to hydrate, I know personally if I don’t keep a bottle with me as a reminder, I end up maybe drinking one glass a day. Get a well sized bottle and track your water in take, your body can not produce milk if it’s water deprived.
Breastfeeding something I honestly love so much and because its something so close to my heart we want to give another mama a chance to help her on her breastfeeding journey by giving away a Mrs.Milk gift set with fenugreek capsules and 12 lactation bars.
To Enter, share your Instagram handle and how long you would like to breastfeed your baby in the comments below.
Winner will be announced on 1st of June on Instagram.