While writing this post, believe me when I tell you that I am currently breastfeeding my newborn child. At first, breastfeeding was a struggle for me and I was always questioning “do I have enough breastmilk.” I thought I was not sustaining my baby’s need. But I was wrong.
Are you one of those mothers who are discouraged by relatives, friends and doctors to breastfeed your little one because they’re thinking your breastmilk is not enough? Well then, here is my personal experience about breastfeeding.
When my second baby was born last September, I was not able to hold him for the first three days of his life. Few hours after giving birth, I was paralized because I was injected with wrong medicine. It made me lethargic for few days and it was only on the fourth day that I was able to hold my newborn and breastfeed him.
He was properly latching and after being fed, he always fell asleep. So I believed then that I was giving him the proper nourishment. His pediatrician told us that we would know if he is getting enough milk if he is pooping twice a day and has diaper change thrice a day.
Upon returning home with my little one, I immediately breastpumped and that’s when I started to doubt myself. I found out that I was only getting 5ml at the most. I became anxious and stressed seeing the result of every breastpump session. It was a total disappointment and made me feel like a weakling.
So I started to ask myself if I should continue breastfeeding my baby or just surrender to my relatives’s plea: shift to formula milk. But instead of giving up, I challenge myself. So here’s what I did:
1. Believe in Demand and Supply Law
I didn’t stop reading blogs about breastfeeding and there is one thing that all articles are saying in common, the “demand and supply law”. Simply put it this way, the more demand for milk, the more supply. It is the woman’s body that dictates whether you need to increase your milk flow. In order to succeed, you need to convince your body that your baby needs more liquid gold.
2. Consume Lactation Drink
Like all mothers who attempted to exclusively breastfeed their children, I was introduced to lactation foods. My twin sister invited me to join a facebook group called “Expressers Pumping Moms Ph” where I learned about Lactablend. According to some mommies who tried the product, it is really effective in increasing milk supply. So without dilly dallying, I immediately ordered at Shopee KOrganics a box of Lactablend and a small tub of Nipple care. I drink Lactablend choco flavor twice a day since then.
I also tried Mother Nurture Lactation Drink. My favorite is the 7 in 1 Malunggay Coffee mix because it really goes well with Malunggay pandesal.
3. Drink Malunggay Capsules
Aside from lactation drinks, I do intake Malunggay capsules twice a day. I tried Natalac but lately, I switched to Mega Malunggay because it has higher content of Malunggay or Moringa.
4. Eat Oatmeal
I was not a fan of oatmeal but when I learned that these are galactagogues, foods that promote or increase flow of mother’s milk, I started to put oatmeal on my lactation drink. Believe me, it is a delicious mix and indeed, the milk started to flow.
5. Do Powerpump
Since my little one is unlimitedly latching on me, I do breastpump twice or thrice a day. A session may last 20 to 30 minutes or until the last drop of my breastmilk. I do this regularly to be consistent with the demand and supply law.
To avoid wounding my nipples, I applied Nipple Care balm before and after pumping. It helps opening the milk ducts and make the process smooth and painless.
6. Invest on Good Breastpump
I was using an old electric breastpump that was painful to my breasts. It didn’t drain my milk and I needed to do hand express after every pumping session just to squeeze out all the milk. So I canvassed for a good double electric breastpump that’s within my budget. I bought online a Cimilre F1 Dual Electric Breastpump at Moms and Beauty. It’s worth the price because it really drains my breastmilk without pain and increases my supply. I’ll do a review on a separate post.
To give you a clearer picture on my milk production, I created this timeline chart.
As of now, I am producing 5-6oz of breastmilk every pumping session. It was way way far from the 5ml output on my first week. And therefore I am confident that I am producing enough breastmilk. Truly, if there is a will, there is always a way. Don’t get tired believing that you can give enough breastmilk to your baby. To mommies who are struggling on producing milk, may your mantra be like “Everything is possible.”
very informative. I wish I had this kind of reference after I had my both babies! thank you for sharing!
Another tip I would add is don’t rely solely on how much you produce while pumping as an indicator of how much milk you are producing. Some women do not respond well to the pump. My son breastfed like a champ and had no problems. But when I would pump I would get maybe 1/2 ounce from each breast.
Yeah i totally agree with you. The yield on the breastpump is just the remainder of your breastmilk after your baby latches.
These are great tips! I had a hard time keeping up a supply with all my kids. This would have been nice to read then!
Hope it helps you 🙂
So much great info here! I don’t have kids yet, but I know from my best friend that breast feeding can be such a struggle! Thanks for sharing!
This is such a helpful post! It is always great to know tips and tricks for breastfeeding especially for new moms.
Definitely! Always utlise thr support available to you whilst breast feeding, just a tweek could make all the difference. Great post!
Looks like all your efforts are working well for you. Good luck!
Your tips are valuable for many women who wish to increase their milk production.
What a serious issues that do affect a lot of moms! Glad that you have a solution to the problem!
this is very good information. I know alot of new mothers struggle with this issue
I’m not a mother yet but I find this article informative. Will surely forward this to my mom friends. 🙂
Ohh. I remember my Housemate regarding this topic. She just had her kid and it was very hard for her to produce milk. I hope we found this out sooner.
I heard some Moms are blessed with excessive breadstick, they can have some for donation. And my Mom said that our body will us, if it’s time to stop producing milk.
This is very informative! I know this will help both my supply and my best firends supply. Thank you!
My wife struggled with breastfeeding, she had very less for our daughter. I guess the most important when breastfeeding is the right latch of the baby.
This is very informative! I have a friend who just gave birth. Would definitely share this to her ❤️ thanks!
But I’m not a mother but this is. Scary for the folks of my brand new niece. I wish all you struggling moms out there the best.
This is so informative momsh! Though its been already 2 years of breastfeeding my baby boy I can super relate your feeling way back on our first days of breastfeeding journey. And I am very glad that just like you, we never surrender! My son is healthy and I am looking forward for more years of breastfeeding journey with him.
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Naku na paralyzed po pala kayo, grabe talaga ang hirap sa panganganak. Di din pala talaga biro ang breastfeeding, I’m glad that you gave your best and did whatever you think will help you with your problem. This is very informative po. Lalo sa kin na walang knowledge about this matter.