Boosting Milk Supply

I had to learn to feed two! 

Nursing my firstborn was so easy that I didn't even realize there could be issues breastfeeding. Of course, I had the cracked, bleeding nipple stage in the beginning, but we latched easy within seconds of birth and my supply always matched baby. It was just natural.  In fact, nursing became my go to parenting skill. Cold baby, nurse. Hungry baby, nurse. Vaccines, nurse. Sick baby, nurse. Tired baby, nurse.

Flash forward to my twins the second round, It. was. not. easy. It has not been easy.

Aside from other issues, maintaining my supply has been a full-time job this round. The girls don't nurse on demand well because I have one baby who can't latch.  This means, I not only have to produce enough milk to exclusively feed two, but I have to somehow communicate that to my body when I only have one baby latching. 

We are now five months solid into breastfeeding and while the path has not been easy, it has been successful. We are now introducing our first foods so the pressure has officially come off my boobs a little. Phew! Along the way, I have learned some highly effective tricks for increasing supply. Assuming there are others who dont just naturally produce fountains of breast milk, I will list them in their order of effectiveness for me.

1) Water!

Make sure you are drinking enough water. Breast milk is 90% water.

2) Power Pumping.

Power pumping is 1-2 hours of pumping 15 minutes on, 15 minutes off. This is the most boring tool of all, but, it is by far the most effective. I power pump daily. This means I put all of the kids to bed, shower and straighten up, and then from 9:00 pm to 11:00 pm, I sit and pump. I hate it! But it simulates a baby cluster feeding and even if you aren't lactating for each mini pump, you are tricking your body into thinking baby is growing and needs more milk. The reason I do this daily is by power pumping, I can skip pumps during the day. Instead of pumping every 1-2 hours as recommended, I can limit my pumps to one morning, lunch and evening pump and skip the every 1-2 hours or midnight pump.

3) Fenugreek.

Take a minimum of 2,000 mg 2x daily.

I buy the Nature's Way brand because it is about $6.
The '"breast feeding" brands can price well over $25. 

4) Lactation Shake

I make my own mostly because they can be so pricey. Plus, I happen to like my recipe. I add 1/4 cup of cooked oatmeal, 1/2 cup of spinach, milk, blueberries (optional) and plant based protein powder. Then blend together and drink. I will use as a breakfast replacement or drink during my power pumping sessions. What I love most is it give my milk a slightly green color from all of the veggies. I have to admit that is satisfying to know my babes are benefiting from the extra veggies.

Breast feeding, kid safe and plant based
protein powder for less than $25 on Amazon. 

5) Dark Beer

I only use this method when "I am in trouble."  Stress, exhaustion, being sick, or off routine significantly effect my supply. If I have a drop, I will drink 1/4-1/2 a bottle of dark beer for 3-4 days while pumping. The beer has a couple of qualities that helps both increase production and encourage let down.

In addition to these tips, if you are pumping, you have to make sure you have good pumping technique. For example, leaning slightly forward while pumping, massaging breasts throughout sessions, using clean pumping gear, checking lines for fluid, maintaining a tight suctions, etc. There are a few other things to do as well, but these have been the most bang for my buck during my journey. Whether you are looking to build your supply for your exclusive nurser or for pumping moms, adding any or all of these should certainly help!

My typical morning haul after an evening of power pumping.
This is still after nursing one babe during the night. 

I'm Not a "First-time Mom" Anymore

As many of you may know, I am no longer a first-time mom. I originally thought that the second round of parenthood would be more or less the same as the first... but apparently, the process doesn't "repeat" itself. From conception, to pregnancy, to labor and delivery, nothing was comparable to the first round and my second pregnancy clearly established itself as its own whole new experience. Part of this may likely have been because my first born was a singleton and my second pregnancy was twins! But, I think many Mom-ease could relate to the following:

1) Conception: Our children are conceived with the help of fertility treatments. We tried several things with our first born and finally found a combo that resulted in our pregnancy. Come second round we thought we just had to repeat that same magical combo. NOT! Turns out, my body wanted a whole new magical combo that was unfortunately a lot more expensive. I think many woman experience differences in their fertility with each attempt (planned and unplanned).

2) Pregnancy: The pregnancy for each trimester was not even comparable. This was largely due to carrying twins, but I am sure many moms can relate to showing sooner, different early pregnancy symptoms and variations in morning sickness. For me, my firstborn gave me morning sickness for 5.5 months and then it returned again at about 35 weeks. My second pregnancy gave me a much shorter period of morning sickness which ended at about 12 weeks. The third trimester however, was like nothing I have ever done (or would like to do again...). That was hard!

3) Labor and Delivery: My labor with my singleton was textbook. Looooong, but progressed in regularly intervals over the course of 25 hours. Contractions became regular, increased in severity, and finally it was time to push. With the twins, my labor was so inconsistent. Contractions took place over 16 days, but were extremely irregular and varied in severity and intensity. In fact, it wasn't until I was dilated to 8 that I was even confident I was in active labor. I had back labor with my first and thankfully not with my second; therefore, labor with my son was immeasurably more painful. Many woman share that their labor the second time around is easier and I would have to agree.

4) Postpartum Recovery: Wow! The first time around, I was completely unprepared. I didn't know that I should expect bleeding for weeks. I didn't consider that I wouldn't feel confident sitting, that my boobs would be leaking, or that I wouldn't be able to use toilet paper. I was just sore and confused. With my twins, I immediately felt relief. Even the postpartum pain and bleeding while painful - still felt better than being 40 weeks pregnant with twins. The recovery period was much quicker too. I was taking steps and chasing my toddler within a few days. This did not happen with my first.

5) Hormones: Its not until now, two months postpartum with twins that I realize I likely had postpartum depression or anxiety with my first born. I chalked it up to "baby blues," lack of sleep, and nursing hormones. I thought all moms felt that way and it would just take time to recovery. It wasn't until my twins that I realize I didn't "need" to feel that way. In fact, I feel great! Ironically, I am an Licensed Clinical Social Worker and treat clients with Postpartum depression and anxiety. Apparently, that didn't mean I would recognize it in myself.

Overall, my girls require me to be a different kind of parent than my son did. Im sure this has to do with birth order (now I have a toddler to consider), that they are multiples (I just cant technically practice attachment parenting in the same way - I don't have enough hands!), and their personalities. All three kids need me to be a different kind of mom with them. So while, I am familiar with the technical stuff from round one, in many ways its a whole new experience again.

To motherhood!

The Accidental Pressure I was Putting on Little Bear

By the time my Little Bear was 1 year, he was speaking in sentences and could articulate his needs. Now three, I have unique insight into his little toddler mind because he can actually share how he is feeling and what he thinks about things in a semi complex manner. This means making phone calls or ordering at a drive through is particularly difficult, since like me, he has an opinion about everything; but, it also gifts me with insights that not everyone parent has access to.

Potty training has been a struggle for us. And not because he isn’t potty trained, but because he is resistant to committing. He has been using the potty inconsistently since before he was one, but frankly some days he prefers his diaper and some days he prefers the potty. As a social worker with a psychodynamic background, I am probably too sensitive to the idea of pressuring him to meet this milestone.  What if Freud was right? As a result, I have just been following his lead.

One day, I had this conversation with me son:

Me: "Maybe its too confusing to use diapers, pull ups and underwear. Do you think we should pack up your diapers and save them for your baby sisters?"

Little Bear: "No. I like my diapers."

Me: "Okay. Can I ask you why you aren’t ready? Is it too boring? Scary? Hard? Annoying?"

Little Bear: "No, I’m just not ready to be big…"

The simplicity of this statement hit me like a wall. He’s not ready to be big. That’s okay. I get that. Upon deeper thought, I realized there is another layer to this. I, through my "loving affirmations," have accidentally been pressuring him to stay little.

Me: "Will you be my baby forever?"

Me: "You’re growing up too fast."

Me: "I need my baby."

Also, Me: "You’re my perfect little baby."

All of these cuddles and loves, which we both cherish, really reinforces him staying little forever. I know you Moms get that urge to slow down time… but each milestone reached and growth observed is equally exciting. I just want more of it all! But, I wasn’t relaying that to him. I was telling him that I was not ready for him to be big.

Since this conversation, I have had to be mindful of how I talk to him.

Me: "You will always be my beautiful boy."

Me: "I am so proud of how you are growing."

Me: "I need my big boy."

The new Me: "You are my perfect big boy."

We all know he will always be "my baby"…. He can be 40 with three kids and I will always remember that little chubby, hairy, neckless miracle I pulled from my womb, but meanwhile, I need to be more mindful of the messages I send him.