A common concern of nursing moms is “am I producing enough milk?” Bottles are easy to measure, you can read how much your baby is getting right on the bottle. It isn’t to easy with breastmilk. The easiest way to tell if your baby is getting enough milk is not by how often he/she nurses but by how many wet and dirty diapers he/she makes.
The healthy amounts are:
After the milk comes in, expect 3-4 dirty diapers and 5-6 wet diapers each day.
So what do you do if your baby isn’t gaining well or not putting out enough healthy diapers? (For healthy weight gain rates, see this info from Kellymom.com)
Sometimes, you just need a boost in supply.
There are lots of things that can contribute to a lower milk supply – stress, hormones, thyroid issues, diet, and health. Here is a very incomplete list of tips to increase supply – for a comprehensive resource see KellyMom and La Leche League. And please share in the comments tips you have!
Diet
Drink lots of water! I remember drinking a ton of water when I was pregnant, and you need just as much to keep yourself hydrated and produce milk for the baby after pregnancy. Some moms find it helpful to get a nice big glass of ice water and keep it where they nurse the most – on a table by their easy chair for example – so they can drink while they nurse.
There are different teas you can drink that will increase supply. Bulk Herb Store, for example has a very helpful tea. Or you can go to the organic section of your local grocery store and buy the “Mother’s Milk Tea” from Traditional Medicinals. I have a friend that testified to me that both of those teas increased her supply.
Cookies! Yes, eat your oatmeal, and you can eat it in the form of a cookie. Gypsy Jewels makes some delicious Mama Munchies cookies packed full of milk boosting ingredients. My personal favorite is the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip with Granola – it is soft, chewy and just sweet enough to quiet my sweet tooth. When you eat these cookies feel free to eat as many as, well, you normally eat of cookies. I ate like 4 cookies in one night and didn’t notice a huge change – mostly because to notice a change I’d have to have a problem, and I already make a ton of milk.
Juliea, the owner of Gypsy Jewels, said her cookies boost supply because, “the lactogenic ingredients are Oatmeal and Brewers Yeast. They help the body produce more milk while the ingredients like coconut oil, flax seed meal and hemp protein help to enrich it. These cookies are not only delicious, but they really are healthy, too!” And for only $6 for a half dozen you can afford a bulk supply.
Stress levels
If your life is super stressful it can take a toll on your supply. If you are able to, try and minimize the stress level. When you are nursing, relax as much as you can and enjoy this special time with your baby. Don’t look at the clock, look at your baby. Don’t stress out if your baby wants to nurse for longer than “15 minutes on each side” as some resources say. Every baby eats differently and the more you nurse, the more you will produce.
Please share your tips in the comments – what has worked with you or a friend?
So, you are nursing on demand and the baby demands to nurse while you are at the mall. What do you do? Run to the bathroom? No! There are so many ways you can nurse discreetly and comfortably on the bench in the middle of it all.
How to nurse in public without feeling embarrassed
I remember the feeling. Lizzie was hungry just as I was sitting down to eat my chicken fried steak. Being my first, I was not sure how to nurse at the table, I was still at the fumbling stage. So I excused myself and nursed her in my car. There is nothing wrong with what I did – in fact I was more comfy there than at the table! But I want to share a few things I learned that helped me to nurse without shame.
Wear Layers
By wearing a tank top under your shirt your stomach can stay covered – just lift up your top shirt and pull your tank top down with your nursing bra. I am so self-conscious about my stomach and this tip saved me! This is especially helpful for wiggly babies that don’t like blankets on their heads.
Use a nursing cover
This will not work for every single baby. Some babies are so wiggly they flip that blanket right off their head! But a nursing cover was a godsend when Lizzie was an infant. I could put it on and adjust her and my shirts then take it off. I loved it! Gypsy Jewels makes a handy Nursing Clip for only $10 that can turn any blanket or fabric you have in your bag into a nursing cover. It is far more affordable and easier to pack than any nursing cover.
In the photo I am not breastfeeding, but wanted to show that it is fully adjustable – you just clip it anywhere on any In2Green blanket you have on hand. Talk about convenient.
Practice in front of a mirror
This helped me so much – when you sit down and nurse in front of a mirror you can see what other people see when you nurse. And it might surprise you how little is showing when you do. After a few practice sessions in front of a mirror I was able to know how to position baby’s head perfectly and sit in a comfy position for both of us that showed as little as possible.
What are your tips for nursing in public comfortably?
*I received the cookies and nursing clip to review. All opinions about those products are my own.
Stay tuned for a giveaway to Gypsy Jewels!
Quite frankly, I have a hard time believing that anyone gets through labor and delivery and still is afraid to NIP! By the time I was one day old mother, I was walking in my underwear to the bathroom, with milk dripping from my bare breasts and didn’t even flinch when someone walked through the door. I didn’t care who it was. They didn’t wait for more than 2 seconds after they knocked to walk through the door, so if they got a look at my rack, oh well. Oh and YES I was a VERY shy and private person 2 days before that. I got over it. They are breasts people, mammary glands, aka milk ducts, teats, well you get the idea. It’s what they are for, and if anyone questions you, ask them to call the police, followed by: oh by the way, did you know that it’s illegal to try and force me not to feed my child? You’ll be the one in trouble, now move on, it’s none of your business. It’s true. You are feeding your child in the most natural way possible. No one has any right to tell you what to do. I’ve even heard people proclaim that it’s un-Christian to nurse in public. I want to tear my hair out at this. Get a grip people: Jesus was breastfed, in a BARN for God’s sake. Do you think Mary had any privacy with the cows staring at her? OR maybe she was just so glad to be holding her baby that she didn’t give a care what anyone else thought? hmm… my tip is just to pretend like you are at home. Do what makes YOU feel comfortable and forget everyone else is even there!
Jill, I can always count on you to say it like you see it – and your honesty is refreshing! I love your comment about Jesus being breastfed! So true!
And no one should feel bad for breastfeeding in public, I totally agree. With my first, I was embarrassed for no reason – I thought people “thought” something but turns out it was all in my head. Now I can nurse in public and not even think another thing of it.
Yes, pretending you are at home is exactly what you should do. Because if you are comfortable then baby is happy and every one is happy. Thanks!
My tip for NIP is to not make a big deal out of it. The more you do, the more attention you draw to your self. I’ve nursed just about every where without a cover, only a burp rag covering my shoulder. I’ve even had people stand right next to me and not know we were nursing.
I agree with layering and drinking lots of water! My skin is so dry from nursing.
I too have had people come up to talk to me and not know I was nursing! Just relax and people won’t be able to tell.
The skin being nourished is another benefit from the water I totally forgot to mention. My skin is not so dry from nursing as from the winter. I cannot WAIT for spring.
Thanks Melissa!
I always nursed in public because I REFUSED to nurse in a restroom. Ugh – just the thought of it disgusted me. Like you mentioned, I wore layers (nursing tanks were a MUST for me) and I used nursing covers that I had custom made (by my mama!). No one ever even acted like they noticed — the only place where I excused myself to nurse was Church. But, our Church has a nursing mothers room that was just easier and more comfortable to use. 🙂
For supply issues, I made lactation cookies, used Mothers’ Milk, ate TONS of oatmeal, drank gallons of water, and used a tincture of Fenugreek. Occasionally, if I had a bigger issue with my supply (I had problems thanks to PCOS), I would have a “Pump Fest” where I pumped every hour for ten minutes for an entire day. The extra stimulation REALLY helped.
fantastic article. I’m finishing up 3 yrs of breastfeeding… well almost 5 yrs if you add in my 1st child.
As far as increasing my milk I was always told to nurse and nurse often. Looking back seemed like I never got a break he was always latched on. Nursing in public had never been a concern for me My moto was if you don’t like it don’t look!
What’s really great though is that many stores have special nursing rooms to nurse in and some have curtains and some just comfy chairs with television. Sometimes babies don’t want to wait til you can walk across the mall to get to those rooms so I do love that if you have the cover up you can basically nurse anywhere. I always used a blanket. BUT who eats under a blanket
Thanks for sharing. keeping you liquid intake up and drinking water while your nursing helps too
those cookies sound so healthy! i dont ever have a supply issue at all, maybe its because I tend to have a great diet anyways! I also drink loads of water. She has some great jewelry on her site. I am very entriqued by the birthing bracelets!
I’m a modest person (very modest) and I breastfed in public. I was covered up totally, but I did it. When my son was hungry, I fed him.
I ate the oatmeal cookies alot and I pumped too. That seemed to always help me when I was lower on my milk supply.
I got over the NIP thing pretty quick, too. I used a cover to start, and then, didn’t have one one time and just went for it. I was sitting against a wall, and I don’t think anybody even noticed, but I really didn’t care. It’s natural, and that’s what my boobs were made to do.
And, to increase my supply, Fenugreek helped a bit. Towards the end, I ended up getting an RX of reglan, because nothing else was working (I was pumping 4x a day while working.)
If I needed a quick boost, oatmeal always worked. I also used Fenugreek, but then I smelled like maple syrup.
I never nursed in public. It’s totally ridiculous, I know, but I was just too nervous about it. I always just went to the car or packed bottles. I’m currently pregnant with my 2nd and feel like I have a totally new outlook on parenting and will definitely be more relaxed about the idea of nursing in public. Thanks for sharing the link for the nursing clip.
I have a tip for boosting supply. I used to pump at work and sometimes I’d go out for lunch at California Pizza Kitchen and eat the grilled veggie salad with avocados and I always had a huge boost in supply afterwards. I don’t know what the heck it was about this particular salad, but it would seriously give me at least an extra 2 oz of milk!
Thank you for the fun tip Brandy! Perhaps it was the avocados? I have never heard this confirmed but could be!
Yes, with the 2nd baby you will probably be a LOT more relaxed. I know I was a ton more nervous with my first! Congrats on your 2nd! that is so exciting!