I always knew I wanted to breastfeed. I also thought because my mother was so successful at it, it would be an easy thing. I was sadly wrong. It was probably one of the hardest tasks I would learn in my life. All the things I heard about, mothers not being able to produce milk or having no choice in the matter, I was starting to be afraid that this was going to be my outcome. I wasn’t naturally getting it, I was struggling and I did not want to give up. I started reading anything I could get ahold of and reaching out to any resources I had available to me. Luckily, Kaiser offered me a lactation nurse right from the beginning.
First mistake, I was not holding the baby correctly. Yes, I was that mom that thought, ok, I don t need classes to teach me to put my babies mouth on my boob. I was again, wrong. I held him as if he was an older child, according to the nurse. It was the normal baby holding stance. She redirected me and told me to try holding him like a football, meaning my left hand was holding his head and my right boob was going too feed. She said that this gave me better form to guide and feed him. It was awkward in the beginning but the nurse was right, it helped him latch faster.
The next few days I suffered from those sad nipples that hurt and eventually crack. Yes, again, this means my son was not latching correctly. He was not getting the whole areola into his mouth. I was tired, hurting, frustrated but still determined to get this right. I reached out to my mother, who said it was an easy transition, so she was not quite sure what I was doing incorrectly. Finally, I reached out to Kaiser again and they set me up with a bi-weekly lactation nurse schedule. If possible, please seek out a lactation nurse from whichever provider you have.
Of course, as I went to see the nurse, he was latching better, he even ate more. Then another issue I recognized, after reading further into normal breastfeeding and consulting with my nurse, was that my son was taking a lot longer (40mins) to eat and eating more often, about every hour instead of the normal 2.I thought maybe I was not producing enough milk I came across articles about foods that would trigger my milk supply. I even changed my diet ( See Diet plan below) to have the best production for my milk. At the next nurse visit I brought this up and the nurse told me if I wanted more milk to try a Mother’s Love Special Blend. There is a tea form but she warned me that it was strong with a harsh taste and being a not so avid tea drinker, I already decided to get it in the pill form. I also I started pumping more often to trigger my milk supply.
Finally, about 3 weeks in and many lactation visits later, We found out my son was tongue tied. All this time I thought I had the wrong boobs LoL. It was something I had no control over. Thankfully, we caught this and I switched him to bottles so he could eat better. I switched over to exclusively pumping and I did this just as any mom would breastfeed. I was on a schedule (see scheduling information below or see my Scheduling Your Baby Post if you want more tips on daily schedules). I did this for about a year. I had an abundance of milk, so much so, I even had enough stored to feed my niece for 3 months and plenty leftover for storage.
Please make sure you consult with your Doctor and utilize all your resources. I’m not a medical professional this is just my story and what helped me (see disclaimer page lol) but I know many mothers who have had similar challenges. Breast feeding is an amazing bond but sometimes it isn’t available to you. I was determined to give my baby breast milk, even if that meant I had to try new things and get help from outside sources and devices. Some days were hard and I found myself saying one more month but looking back, I don’t regret it one bit and I would do it all over again. I successfully gave my son breastmilk for a year!
Diet Plan
Mornings: Oatmeal and eggs in the morning helps boost milk supply. Coffee dehydrates- follow with water or try herbal teas. Some teas that help milk are milk thistle and red raspberry.
Snacks: Keep up on eating regularly , your milk needs the extra calories to keep up. Try to stick to healthy options everything you eat baby eats. I did a lot of fruits, yogurt, smoothies, avocados, and nuts.
All day: Lots of water (hydration keeps up milk). Also feeding makes you extremely thirsty. Another good drink for hydration that boost up your supply is coconut water.
Lunch and Dinner: Main foods that trigger milk are salmon, lean red meats, sweet potatoes, lentils, chickpeas, brown rice, quinoa, leafy greens, carrots, and Curry.
My Newborn to 2 week Schedule:
About 8 to 12 times a day
Around 6am: Early AM pump/feed is the most milk. Perfect time to empty your boobs from some rest. So after feeding pump or pump longer ( if exclusively pumping). 3 to 6 naps (30-90mins) 3 longer ones usually. Hours will vary depending on your schedule, this is just an example. I always made sure my baby was eating before and after naps. He was a good napper.
6am —PUMP! RELEASES the most milk if you rested well.
| 7am
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Baby wakes- Feed/Pump (F/P)
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| 9:30m
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F/P— Nap
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| 12:00pm
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F/P—Small Nap
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| 2:30pm
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F/P- Nap
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| 4pm
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Small Nap
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| 6:30pm
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F/P-Start bed time routine Bath/ Story
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| 7pm
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Bedtime
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| 10pm
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F/P- Sleep
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| 1 am
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F/P- Sleep
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| 4 am
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F/P- Sleep ( possible skip, depends on baby)
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| EARLY AM
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Try and sleep your Boobs or baby will wake you up, sometime around 6ish.
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