Can I Produce Milk?
Did you know that every pregnant woman is producing milk before their baby is born? When I was a new mum I didn’t know this. Our hormones are busy helping our body produce our baby’s first milk which is called colostrum.
Colostrum is a thick, sticky liquid produced just for newborn babies. It is the right density for a newborn baby’s stomach. This milk usually starts to change to the normal milk around three days after birth.
Your breast will start to produce milk usually around 5 months into pregnancy. You can even hand express to see the milk that you already have!
I did notice during my second pregnancy that my milk started to change to colostrum, 5 months into my pregnancy. I hand expressed just a little bit and a bit of yellow milk came out. If you are curious to see if you can produce milk, you can do this as a test. If nothing comes out straight away, don’t worry about it, it might come out better when your baby is suckling.
While I was in my second pregnancy I was still breastfeeding my one-year-old. She naturally weaned off the breast when she could taste the colostrum. It wasn’t her cup of tea! Haha. It helped me to wean her off the breast in the easiest way.
So is it possible for ALL women to produce milk? Well, the answer is a Big Fat Yes! Our bodies have been designed in a special way to be able to make milk for our babies. The only way a mother could not produce milk is if there is a medical issue. So if this is the case please consult your doctor.
Let’s just accept it, yes you can totally produce milk!
One might say, “What if I have inverted nipples, how can I feed my baby?”.
Actually, during pregnancy, this can be sorted out. You can use nipple aspirators. Nipple aspirators are designed to bring the inverted nipples outwards using a suction method. This would have to be done as a daily exercise to see the results. Also, it can be done manually by using your finger and thumb to gently manipulate the nipple to come outwards.
How can I produce enough milk?
Okay, now that I know I can produce milk, how do I make sure that I am producing enough milk? Breastfeeding can be difficult as you can’t see the milk your baby is drinking, it’s all about trust and looking for these main signs: soiled & wet nappies/diapers and baby looking content and satisfied.
For you to produce a good amount of milk you need to first drink lots of water.
Drink water
Drinking water is so important when you are breastfeeding. Every time you breastfeed you need to drink a glass of water, just to replace the milk that has been taken from you. Consider yourself as well. If there is water at the bottom you can fill up the bucket. If the well is dried up then you’re not going to get much water in your bucket. So make sure your well is full.
I noticed my well dried up a few times. One time when I was ill and another time when I was just not drinking enough water. I noticed a very big difference when I was drinking water. I saw lots of wet nappies and a satisfied baby.
Raspberry Leaf Tea
Raspberry leaf tea is great for women’s health in general. It is great for menstruation, menopause, pregnancy and breastfeeding. As it is a tea, you will be receiving the water from the tea and also it has a lot of amazing nutrients for mother and baby.
It is packed with antioxidants which help the body fight off free radicals. Raspberry leaf tea has also been known to have a positive impact on breastmilk volume, along with other herbs such as hibiscus, fennel, fennel oil, vervain, and fenugreek. It has been known to help weight gain in babies giving them a faster return to birth weight.
I have seen a difference in returning to birth weight with my 2 babies after my first. They only lost an ounce of their birth weight and they put the weight back on easily, plus after a while, they got pretty chubby.
Malt drinks
Malt drinks have been proven to increase milk supply, midwives have advised to drink a malt drink 90 minutes before breastfeeding for the best results. It stimulates prolactin. It also helps with added hydration and staying hydrated for longer. There are many malt drinks to choose from. Have a shop around to see which one suits you.
Fruits & Veggies
Having your fruits and vegetables can help you and your baby. If you don’t take in enough nutrients your baby will just take it from your body. This will in turn start to deplete your nutrients giving you less energy. So please keep on to of it.
I remember my doctor said to me, “You have a low white blood cell count and you need to keep your levels up!”.
He scared me a little so I ate lots of grapefruits and eggs! Within 2 weeks my levels went up!
I also had a time when my iron level went very low. (that was when my baby was a bit older) I was a busy mum looking after my other kids I wasn’t looking after myself properly. So, I started to eat more iron-rich foods. I can understand that sometimes you can miss certain nutrients so it is really good to have supplements to support your body.
I tend to look for supplements that are from Whole Foods (ingredients from food like fruits, vegetables & herbs), so they are easier to digest and I am not taking synthetic supplements. I would recommend using Wild Nutrition. Wild Nutrition use natural ingredients to make their supplements, they are easy to digest without causing any annoying side effects like constipation and nausea. Plus you know that all the nutrients will be digested into the body. Click here to look at their range of breastfeeding supplements.
So the fruits and vegetables that help to boost milk supply are:
Papaya, apricots, strawberries, bananas, grapefruit, pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe melon, honeydew melon. They are all great for hydration and are packed with nutrients like potassium, vitamin K, magnesium, niacin, vitamin C, Vitamin A, iron, calcium, and potassium. Papaya in particular increases oxytocin! If you are not into picking on fruits you can make a nice smoothie. You could even add a bit of malt in there!
Leafy greens are great for milk production because they contain all the vitamins and nutrients that the baby needs as well as mum. Veggies like spinach, kale, broccoli, carrots and salads. Fenugreek is a plant that has been used for centuries and has been know to increase milk production. You can add legumes, beans and lentils to give you iron, fibre and protein. It is also good to have those little snacks along the way like: nuts and dried fruits.
What to avoid
It is best to avoid as much caffeine as possible as the tannins and caffeine can block certain nutrients in the body. It can also cause dehydration. This happened to me as I was drinking a lot of tea and when I got ill I was very dehydrated.
It’s okay to have caffeine now and then but try to give yourself more water to compensate for the dehydration loss. Another tea to avoid is peppermint tea. This tea has been known to decrease milk production, drinking this tea is advised for when you want to stop breastfeeding.
Pumping
Pumping is another way to boost your milk supply as it is all about the nipple stimulation. Nipple stimulation releases oxytocin which then produces the milk. When it comes to pumping it is best to invest in a pump that will last. It also depends on what your needs are.
If you are looking to pump and store milk for later when you want to go back to work (or something similar) it is best to invest in a good quality pump. If you want to just pump to boost your milk supply and maybe store milk for those emergencies, then look for something more handy.
The best time to pump is usually in the evenings because your milk increases at night due to prolactin reaching its peak levels in the evening hours. But of course, you can pump in the day too. On another note, it is good to look at a picture of your baby when you are pumping as this will cause your oxytocin levels to go up and will cause your milk let down to come quicker.
If you are looking for good quality pumps and my go-to pumps CLICK HERE.
Feed on demand
Feed when the baby needs feeding. If your little one looks hungry feed them. Even if they have had both sides and they still look hungry, feed them again, they might be cluster feeding or they just need a top-up. You might find that they will have a BIG nap afterwards.
This is going to be the biggest go-to when it comes to milk supply. Your body will adjust to the demands that your baby needs. After a few months of feeding your body will adjust to when the baby needs a feed. It will recognise the times when your baby usually feeds.
Also having skin-to-skin and looking at your baby will increase oxytocin levels. The night feeds are very important as well, as your body tends to have higher prolactin levels as I mentioned before. When I was breastfeeding my first child I was combi-feeding (feeding using formula and breastmilk). The formula feeds were at night and the breastfeeding in the day.
I started to notice that my milk was decreasing because my little one wasn’t satisfied, and as soon as I got her formula she drank it all up! So then I decided to try to feed her at night with only breastmilk, I was up probably every hour, but eventually, my milk supply increased and she was satisfied with just breastmilk.
Be cautious of feeding schedules
I am not saying that you can’t do feeding schedules, I’m just saying just be prepared. I started a routine of feeding at certain times of the day.
My baby was so hungry when it came to a feed. She became so tired, she had such long afternoon naps (which was the idea), but on the other hand, after a week or so I noticed she had long periods of her not having a poo. She had lots of wet nappies but no poos for about a week. To me, this was not normal, so then I just fed her when she was hungry or when she wanted to feed. Then she started to do a lot of poos again. Also if you do feeding schedules just make sure you are pumping extra, as your milk supply may decrease.
So there you have it, the best ways to increase your milk supply.
To conclude
- Be confident because your body is made to produce milk
- Drink plenty of fluids including water, malt and raspberry leaf tea
- Eat fruits and vegetables
- Add supplements to your diet
- Avoid too much caffeine and peppermint tea
- Pump for milk production
- Feed on demand
- Be cautious of feeding schedules.
Once you have these in place, you are well on your way to having a stress-free breastfeeding journey with your baby. You will be confident and know that your baby is getting what they need.
If you want to learn about getting a good latch so that your baby will feed well, check out the blog here!
Keep persevering and keep striving to get your milk supply right for your baby. Just eat, drink and feed your baby. Don’t worry about losing weight because you lose 500 calories per day. Plus at the beginning stages, breastfeeding helps to contract your uterus to its original state.
So keep it going mama, feel free to leave a comment below or contact me with any questions you may have.
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