Top 3 Recipes to Boost Lactation
Breastfeeding is the normal, natural, and most perfect first food for your baby, but that doesn’t mean that breastfeeding comes without any challenges. There are many common problems that breastfeeding mothers sometimes run into such as sore nipples, poor latch, clogged ducts and mastitis.
The good news is that all of these problems can be fixed if you simply seek help. In some cases, you may want to seek help from your obstetrician or regular doctor such as if you get mastitis, but in most cases, a lactation consultant is the best choice for any breastfeeding related problems.
Low Breastmilk Supply
One particularly common complaint of many breastfeeding mothers is low supply. There are some things that you can do to combat this problem as well. One of the most common suggestions that breastfeeding mothers struggling with low milk supply receive is to eat certain foods or use certain ingredients in their food. This can definitely be helpful, but it does not solve your problem.
Lactation-boosting recipes are a great idea to help you boost your supply, but they won’t solve the problem causing your low supply. For this reason, it’s a good idea to see a lactation consultant to help you figure out the root cause of your low supply in addition to enjoying some lactation boosting recipes.
Do You Really Have Low Supply?
In many cases, when a breastfeeding woman thinks she has a low supply, she actually doesn’t have a problem at all. There are several things that are completely normal that may lead a woman to believe that she has a problem with low supply.
1. Feeding Often
One of those normal things that can be mistaken as a sign of low supply is that their baby wants to eat all the time. However, it is completely normal for a baby, especially a breastfed baby, to eat often. Some women feel like since their baby wants to eat so often, that they must not be satisfied, but it is important to remember that a baby’s stomach is very small and therefore empties quickly and needs to be refilled often.
Breastmilk also is very easy to digest which means that your baby’s body absorbs it quickly and then needs more to fill your baby’s tiny stomach.
2. Lack of Engorgement
Another normal occurrence that can lead a woman to believe she has a low milk supply is that she is suddenly no longer engorged. When your baby is first born, your body will be producing a highly concentrated milk called colostrum perfectly designed for a newborn. Then by the 3rd to 5th day of your baby’s life, your mature breastmilk will begin to come in. During this period of time, your body will produce an abundance of breastmilk, often causing engorgement, to make sure that there is plenty for your baby.
As your body gets used to how much milk your little one actually needs, it will adjust to producing the correct amount of milk and you will no longer be engorged regularly. This period of adjustment usually happens during the first 6 weeks of your baby’s life. Your breasts will likely feel softer and less full but that does not mean you have low supply.
3. Real Signs of Low Supply
There are some things that you can look out for that may actually signify that you do have a low milk supply. There are two main indicators that you may be struggling with low supply. Those two things are your baby’s weight gain, and your baby’s diaper output. Every baby is different when it comes to weight gain, so as long as your baby is gaining weight consistently, there is no magic number to look for in regard to their weight gain. Diaper output will be the main concern when determining if you may have low supply.
By the time your mature breastmilk begins to come in, your baby should be having at least 5 wet diapers a day, but more is not unusual. They should also have at least 3 dirty diapers a day in their first weeks of life, although they may have much more than this. Breastfed babies may start to have much less frequent bowel movements over time as well and this is also normal.
Lactation-Boosting Recipes
If you determine that you really do have low supply, you should definitely seek the help of a lactation consultant, but you can also go ahead and start enjoying some lactation boosting recipes as well. The good thing about this is that these tasty recipes can help boost supply while you wait to see a lactation consultant about the problems causing your low supply. You can even eat these things when you don’t have low supply just to help maintain a good supply.
They are full of healthy ingredients that help with milk production and are good for you even apart from just boosting lactation:
1. Triple Chocolate Lactation Cookies
These delicious cookies are a chocolate lover’s dream. They’re super tasty and decadent, and they also include two very important ingredients that help to boost your supply of breastmilk – flax seed and brewer’s yeast.Both of these ingredients are well-known to help increase supply.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Yields: Approximately 30 cookies
Ingredients:
- 1 ¼ cups butter
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Pinch salt
- 2/3 cup cocoa powder
- 4 tablespoons brewer’s yeast
- 3 tablespoons flax seed meal
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Soften butter in the microwave.
3. Beat butter, eggs, sugar, and vanilla together in one bowl.
4. In a separate bowl, add all remaining ingredients, other than the chocolate chips, together and stir together.
5. Add the dry mixture into the butter mixture slowly while stirring to combine ingredients.
6. Once the mixture is combined well, fold in the chocolate chips.
7. Use a tablespoon or small ice cream scoop to scoop balls of the mixture onto a cookie sheet.
8. Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool before serving.
2. Blueberry Lactation Smoothie
Here is a super healthy and still very tasty recipe packed with ingredients to support and boost the production of breastmilk such as flax seed, brewer’s yeast, oats, and even milk and yoghurt! This smoothie is a great choice for breastfeeding mothers and can even be used as a meal replacement option, especially for breakfast.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Yields: 1 smoothie
Ingredients:
- 1 cup frozen blueberries
- ¾ cup plain or vanilla Greek yoghurt
- ¾ cup milk
- 1/3 cup rolled oats
- 1 tablespoon flax seed meal
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon brewer’s yeast
Directions:
1. Add blueberries, Greek yoghurt, honey, and milk to a blender and blend until well-combined.
2. Add remaining ingredients into blender and continue blending until smooth. Keep in mind that you may have to blend longer than the average smoothie due to the rolled oats.
3. Pour mixture into a cup and enjoy!
3. Milk Boosting Granola Bars
Here is another yummy recipe with multiple milk boosting ingredients! These are easy to make and easy to eat! Perfect for eating with one hand, which is a must for breastfeeding mums, these are a tasty and beneficial treat! They are also great for on the go!
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Fridge Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
Yields: Approximately 15 bars
Ingredients:
- 2 ½ cups rolled oats
- 1 1/4 cup peanut butter
- ½ cup coconut oil
- ¼ cup flax seed
- ¼ cup sunflower seed
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- 1 teaspoon brewer’s yeast
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
Directions:
1. Melt and combine peanut butter and coconut oil in a small pan on the stove.
2. Turn heat off and quickly add all remaining ingredients while gently stirring.
3. Once everything is combined well, pour the mixture onto a baking pan that is approximately 20 cm by 30 cm. Make sure mixture spreads over pan evenly.
4. Cover pan and allow to cool in the fridge for around 2 hours.
5. Pull the pan out of the fridge and allow it to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before cutting into bars.
6. Store in the fridge or freezer.
Seek Help Too
These recipes are tasty, healthy, and can be very helpful when you want a little boost to your supply or feel like you need a little help maintaining your supply. Just remember that lactation-boosting recipes are not an actual way to solve your low supply issues, but just a way to help with any problems you may be having. You will still need to seek help from a lactation consultant in order to actually find the cause of your low supply and make a plan to solve the problem.
