We are a little over 2 weeks post-Leo now and I am finally starting to feel ‘normal’ again. My healing is going really well (after tearing a few times and an episiotomy) I feel a little more focused and am running more on regular energy and love rather than adrenaline. I’ll have to say we still have a TON of company and there is still lots going on in our busy lives … we take possession of our new house on the 31st and there is so much planning to do! … but that’s a whole other subject lol!!!
With that said … I never imagined my days to be so full of meaningful ‘chill time’ but also have no time to spare!! Everything takes SO much longer to do and to get to with a baby in tow (current mamas you are all nodding your heads right now I am SURE)! I am managing to schedule in a few events a day (like grocery shopping, visiting great grandma, getting our passports done etc) and the rest of the time is being eaten up with Leo time!!! As much as I would love to do NOTHING right now, I do go back to Love it or List it Vancouver, early October so getting back on our feet is really important!
With little Leos arrival, juggling the important time we need as a family and keeping busy with the new house AND company … I’ve found that it has left me with not much time to focus on cooking or be in the kitchen … not to mention I haven’t had the appetite that everyone told me I would have. I keep thinking HOW important it is for me to eat well, for my energy levels and health, but as well to keep up my milk supply for Leo.
I will be honest, I haven’t been able to be as strict as I would like to be with my plant based diet recently (but still sticking to local, ‘ethical’ products!) … mainly because Justin is not plant based and he is doing a lot of the cooking, I find it hard to make someone cook vegan if they aren’t. I also think that eating animal products for the last 35 years of my life, when I’m hungry now … I just need to eat. I haven’t had as much time to think of or play around with alternatives like I was. My biggest priority right now is to make sue that I am giving Leo all of the nutrients that he needs and enough to give this mama the energy and health she needs to mom!
What I’ve found works best for me, is starting my days with this nutrient filled, nursing goodness that I like to call “The Boobie Smoothie” that I take with my placenta pills (I will go into more detail about these in another blog this week so STAY TUNED) and 2 of the Honest company lactation pills. If you’re a momma and need a quick lactation fix that’s easy to make and is healthy … try these different options out!!! It gives me peace of mind every morning knowing that I’m providing Leo with enough nutrients to start his day … and mine … (and Justin’s!). Beyond that, I am drinking TONS of water and trying to snack a lot on almonds, eggs, fruit & toast!
Here are 6 tips that I’ve been following to help produce more milk …
- LOTS of water… lots and lots (you won’t make milk if you are dehydrated)
- Mothers Milk Tea (I have this mid afternoon/evening )
- Lactation smoothie in the morning “The Boobie Smoothie” … recipe below
- Keep taking your prenatal and a lactation supplement (I take the honest company lactation pills in the am).
- Hot bath every night (helps with stress, massage boobs in the bath, gets the milk going!)
- Pump about 30 minutes after feeding and at least 1 hour before your next feed (I usually only fit in one or 2 of these a day, mornings are best!)
Boobie Smoothie recipe
Ingredients:
1/4 cup of flax
1/4 cup of oats
2 tablespoons of chia seeds
1 frozen banana
1 tbs of raw honey
1 tbs of coconut oil
1 1/2 cups of Almond Milk (or more if you’re smoothie becomes too thick)
1/2 cup of frozen papaya (this is best) or any other frozen fruit of your choice. However, after all of the research that I’ve done, I’ve found that papaya is the only fruit that is really recommended while breast feeding! I’ve used cherries, blueberries, pineapple and peaches which are all not recommended but my milk seems to be fine!)
Directions:
- Put all ingredients into a high-speed blender and blend until smooth.
- Throw a straw in and drink up
Do you have any other tips to share with me to help produce milk supply??? I would love to hear in the comments below …
xo
Jilly
Loving your “mommy” posts, I recently had my babe end of June he is 8 weeks and love following your journey, I can relate to so much – Leo is a doll, thanks for sharing your motherhood journey ….. And tips! Didn’t know the honest company made the lacatation pills…. I find oatmeal with ground flax seed and fresh fruit help with the milk supply, it’s been my go to! Also skipping regular coffee for decaf!
Do not over hydrate. That will decrease milk supply. I am an OB RN and lactation consultant (over 40 years).
Love that sweet picture of you two!! So, so sweet! Enjoy! And yes, the first 3 months are just survival!
Loved the post and can’t wait to hear more! I had my baby at the end of April and I’m so impressed with how much you’re doing. It’s shocking how long it takes for the physical body to get back to normal! Besides soooo much water and mother’s milk tea, I also take straight fenugreek supplements and add brewers yeast to smoothies, cookies, oatmeal etc. Keep up the amazing work! It’s honestly the hardest, most challenging, wonderful job out there.
Honey should be pasteurized as honey is the only food item a child under 1 should not eat. Potential for botulism. Love the snaps and advice. I had baby number two end of March 🙂 and also ebf
I agree regarding the honey. In my weekly breastfeeding support group, the ‘honey’ topic comes up often.
Such a precious little babe you have! I just had my little guy at the end of March and have since returned to work. My advice would be to pump as much as possible now to keep your supply up and to create a stockpile for when you aren’t with him. The lactation smoothies are great along with boobie bites (a mixture of flax, brewer’s yeast, oatmeal, honey and peanut butter) and Fenugreek. Hopefully those things will help keep your supply up! I’ve been able to keep up with my LO up until now (he’s almost 5 months), but my supply is dwindling — hoping we won’t have to supplement with formula too much.
Motherhood is such an adjustment but worth every minute! I was able to nurse my little man until he was 2 years old (my goal was only 1 year…He likes the boobies) Oatmeal is a good booster for your supply, along with brewers yeast/nutritional yeast. It’s really good on popcorn too and a yummy VEGAN snack that tastes Cheesy. 😉 I also found if my supply was getting low, coconut water helped too. Saw an increase the next day. It was my go to booster. Also, I don’t know if this is the same for everyone but any time I had a glass of wine, no matter how small, my supply would tank… I have no idea why. Any other alcohol was fine. Go figure. There are lots of recipes on Pinterest for Lactation cookies as well. Usually packed with flax, oatmeal, nutritional yeast and other yummy ingredients to boost supply. Good luck mommy! You are doing a fantastic job. Sorry you have to go back to work so soon.
Hi. I am surprised regarding the comment of pumping before the feed. Is it to help boost more milk in one breast and then you feed him off the other? Breastfeeding is very tricky especially if you are having difficulty producing milk while your breasts are still adjusting to supply/ demand. But, you are really doing an amazing job as a new mom! Just doing the research and educating yourself is definitely the right step as we all try and give the best we can for our kids if we can. It’s not easy to breastfeed and anything you can do deserves a big high five! Enjoy the one on one bonding time. It goes by so fast. My babe just turned 3 months and I feel like I blinked and here we are!
I have a 5 week old & my appetite didn’t really come back until after the 2nd week so hopefully you will notice it increasing soon! ?
Feeding baby whenever baby wants to eat is an important one! Especially during the first 6 weeks when our bodies establish our milk supply. Our bodies know what to do! Unless you are specifically dealing with milk supply issues, we don’t need to take supplements and pump extra in order to produce enough. Feed on cue rather than on a schedule, and you will (usually) make exactly the amount baby needs!
I agree with this 100%. Feed on demand and nature works itself out. I found the best way to build up a supply of pumped milk for my return to work was to pump after each feeding (or as many as I could). This way babe got all of what he wanted and I continued to make a little bit extra for my stash!!!! Mornings always seemed to produce the best results. My little guy is almost 2 and our nursing relationship is still going strong! Congratulations on your beautiful family!
Ps. It must be so strange to receive well meaning advice from all ends of the spectrum from total strangers. But, we do it because we care, both about you and any other mommas reading these comments who need encouragement.
One thing I kept in my back pocket was if I had a day where I didn’t get enough calories or I ended up running around and burning all my extra stores – I’d unwind at the end of the day with a tall can of Guinness. Has to be the real deal – not the light kind.
The alcohol content is very low (4.4%) and it’s so dark that it always took me forever to finish. But I kid you not the amount of Brewers yeast in Guinness fills the boobies right up!
To each their own with breastfeeding and alcohol – but one can of beer seemed to do wonders for my milk supply on the tough days.
Best wishes xoxo
I love that picture of you guys snuggling!
You’re doing amazing ! What an intense but wonderful whirlwind the first days with a newborn are.
For milk supply – all of the above AND as much skin to skin time as possible to increase oxytocin levels. Also, keep it up with those nighttime feeds – as exhausting as it can be for our (lack of!) sleep, those middle of the night feeds boost prolactin the most and increase supply !
Xx
Night time feeds yes and skin to skin (especially skin to skin at night), so right.
Jillian, when I had my babies in the nineties, the nurse attending me in the hospital told me to have a small handful of mixed nuts and half a bottle of beer every day to help my milk come in. It was the best advice I ever had, I had tons of milk all the time. I was able to nurse each of my three children for a year. So sorry to hear you tore and had an episiotomy as well, they are so painful. It is not fair to go through everything we do and have that to deal with as well. Doctors are supposed to massage the perineum and ease it around the babies head to avoid tearing and episiotomies. They often don’t as they are in a rush and hope we don’t insist on it. I was lucky to have read about it and insisted that be done to avoid more pain than need be. I was able to avoid that with my last two. I hope you Heal and rest up soon. I love your show, and love your decorating style! Hugs from New Brunswick, Tracey Gallagher 🙂
The only thing I did, was eat as healthy as possible, lots of water, which wasn’t hard as I was thirsty all the time and most importantly, breastfeeding whenever baby needed it. My first baby was a sleepy baby, so for the first few weeks I would wake her every three hours, if she didn’t wake first. I’m currently still feeding my 3rd, a little boy, he’s just turned 2. Never had problems producing milk. Good luck and just do the best you can. Love from Australia, we love Love it or List it!
I took fenugreek and it helped a lot!! They suggested to take it along with blessed thistle but I could never find it in the store. Definitely pump an hour after feeding. Don’t stress about it too much, I actually wound up with an over supply, which despite sounding like it’s kind of a good thing actually isn’t!
Keep up the good work mama!
I took fenugreek as recommended by my doctor to boost ny milk supply and ut worked like a charm. Instead if the capsules my husband ground up the seeds that you buy in the ethnic food aisle and added it to smoothies, soup etc or just ate the spoonful straight. Best of luck 🙂
I’d watch how much fish and nuts you eat. I love these 2 items and was always eating them and peanuts, a lot of nuts etc when I was pregnant and nursing my daughter. Since that time my doctor and I narrowed my daughter being allergic to these items…whether it happened while me being pregnant or breastfeeding or the combination. Then I was pregnant with my son and didn’t eat these while pregnant or breastfeeding, and he isn’t allergic although he will never eat peanuts or any nuts he just doesn’t like them. So she’s 20 now, still allergic and my son is 19. He will eat fish but still no nuts… Just footed for thought!! So happy for your family! Leo is one gorgeous little boy!!☺️
Brewers yeast and oatmeal! I made lactation cookies to boost my supply. I didn’t have an appetite for the first month but then became ravenously hungry soon after. These helped with my appetite in the middle of the night!
Jillian!!! Your posts are wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing these details with us during this incredibly busy time! I am expecting my first in January, and you have given me so much valuable info – from stylish Maternity clothes to nutrition and little anecdotes, I really appreciate it! Looking forward to hearing about your experiences with placenta encapsulation. My midwife suggested it and it sounds like something worth trying. Thanks again for sharing, Jillian! You are an amazing Mom!
Helou! Midwife from Finland would recommend to have the baby skin to skin with the mom as much as possible. That will also help the breast to produce more milk. ? and ofcourse breasfeed always from both breasts. The more you breastfeed the more the breast will produce milk. (Also at might)
The “drink a lot” you already knew. ?
I simply feed on demand. My baby girl is 8 weeks old today and is in the 97% for height and weight. After having a rough start to our nursing journey and her not quite making her weight goals for the first 3 weeks I’m proud to say my little love is gaining 58 grams a day! I only pump when my breasts are rock hard ? Because she slept an extra long time ??? nursing is really good now, I’m glad we soldiered our way through the hard part!!!
Yes Laura! Feeding on demand is a great way to support and maintain your milk supply. Sounds like you are doing great!
My Egyptian mother in law made me tea by boiling fenugreek and adding a sweetener (honey, sugar, agave) and/or milk to taste. This REALLY helped up my supply. The capsules worked too, but I found the tea even better
My South African friends swear by this Jungle Juice Lactation concoction:
1 litre apple or cranberry juice
2 litres of water
60ml Schlehen elixer (also known as blackthorn berry elixir)
1 sachet Emergen-C
1 sachet rehydrate
Mix above together and keep in fridge. Drink 1 to 2 glasses during each feed.
Pumping one side while nursing on the other helps a lot too! You’ll get a ton to store and your body will produce more to keep up. Leo is beautiful!! ♡
A yeasty beer a day, fenugreek and oatmeal 🙂
To establish good milk supply, the best thing that you can do is let the baby (Leo) be “attached” to you as much as possible. The more sucking he does, the more milk you will make, and the more milk you will continue to make long term. It works…. babies know how to survive, and they want to be latched to you as much as possible so you will make more milk for them. Pretty cute stuff. Also, avoid scheduling feelings. Feed on demand.
A good latch is so important to help with supply! More milk out = more milk produced. Sometimes mamas think baby is latched well but it could be improved upon. With my first we struggled a lot with nursing and latching in the begging and my supply suffered, but after seeing a lactation consultant things got much better. Second time around we nailed the latch right away and I have SO MUCH MILK. It was actually a problem in those early weeks! Congrats on little Leo, he is so sweet!
Glad to hear that nursing is working out well for you Jillian!
As so many women look up to you and trust your opinion, this post would have been so wonderful if co written by an IBCLC.
Truth is that there is no actual breastfeeding diet. That’s not actually how making milk and human lactation work. Of course they all look delicious and a happy mum is definitely a step in the right direction for maintaining supply.
Pumping is also not necessary unless you are actually planning to give your baby bottles or your baby’s latch isn’t great and not transferring and stimulation milk production.
Really the best way to make milk is supply and demand and skin to skin in the early weeks.
Good luck on your nursing journey!
Hi Jillian & Justin, Congrats and love to you both and little Leo.
My little guy is 10 weeks today. He also had a very painful latch. In addition to a lactation consultant, I also took him to a Pediatric physiotherapist in Pitt Meadows who is amazing with babes. She worked on his jaw and mouth muscles for about 45 minutes. He was 6 days old and he was completely at ease with her. Her name is Ada Lou Ellet; she is skilled, experienced, and gentle. More importantly his latch was greatly improved after only one session and has been beautiful since.
I also take him to a Pediatric chiropractor regularly to help make sure his spine (and so his neck and jaw) and nervous system are working well.
The two best things I’ve found for healing my nipples when beat up are: a) applying lanolin or coconut oil between feedings and covering with a piece of Saran Wrap (this is seriously amazing!) and b) nursing him on all fours or laying him on the bed and learning over him (using gravity to your advantage).
All the best to all of you!
I get light post partum with each of my babies and with that comes ZERO appetite. I think this contributed to my less than stellar milk supply. I truly think drinking water and keeping up with your food intake helps but alas….feeling better took precedence over breast feeding. Sounds like you are headed in the right direction. MORE leo snaps, please!!!
THIS IS MY BEST MOMMY TIP EVER! When pumping look at photos of little Leo on your laptop. You get way more milk when thinking about your little one!
Take iron. And if you are having trouble with breastfeeding, find ways to relax… Watch a good movie while breastfeeding. Learn to breast feed lying sideways, so you can sleep and breast feed at the same time.
Does ¼ cup flax mean flax SEED or flax OIL??