10 Ways to Increase Your Milk Supply

I am a big advocate for breastfeeding babies when you are able to. There are so many health benefits and it is literally the perfect food for your baby in a way that formula could never be. I have had two babies born during cold and flu season (not to mention one in the middle of a pandemic), so I am put at ease knowing my babies are getting my milk that adapts to what they need. So, if the baby gets sick our bodies make extra white blood cells and antibodies that travel into our milk and help fight the infection — how amazing is that?! This is why I am putting off introducing formula for as long as I can, but I still love my freedom every once in a while, which means spending a lot of time pumping and stocking the milk supply in the freezer. I produce more milk in these early days, so I have already been using my new Medela “Pump in Style” daily and have a nice start to the stock pile in the freezer already. I have always been interested in ways to keep my milk supply up and have tried quite a few different things over the years, so I put together a list of the top ten things that seem to have helped the most.

10 WAYS TO INCREASE YOUR MILK SUPPLY

1. Get enough rest. I know this is easier said than done, but it does make a difference.

2. Eat a healthy and nutritional diet

3. Stay hydrated (at least 64 ounces a day)

4. Nurse frequently, breast milk is based on supply and demand.

5. Avoid infrequent feedings. Do not go long stretches without feeding or pumping or your body will think the baby doesn’t need as much milk.

6. Avoid short feedings. The breasts should be fully drained after a feeding. If that is not the case, you can consider adding a pumping session after the feed. This will stimulate your body to produce more and start increasing milk supply.

7. Add a pumping session between feeding. Again with the supply and demand. It is also nice to have some breast milk stocked in the freezer!

8. Power Pump — this boosts your milk supply by mimicking cluster feeding. Pump off and on for about an hour a day (for example, pump for 20 minutes, then rest for 10, then pump for 10, then rest for 10 and so on). It may take up to a week to see results.

9. Replacing pump parts — this was an interesting one I hadn’t considered. The expert advice is to replace your pumping parts – especially the valves and membranes – every month to six weeks if you are pumping daily

10. Try lactation supplements. If you are looking into supplements or different products to help build milk supply, these are the ingredients that you should be looking for:
    - Fenugreek seed
    - Blessed Thistle
    - Fennel

I hope this list helps you breastfeeding mamas. I found it so interesting that we need to be replacing our pump parts that often! I have gone through nursing two babies using the pump daily and never thought to update any of the parts! Luckily, this time around I got Medela’s new Pump in Style pump, which I am loving! I usually get about one ounce more than I do when using my older Medela Freestyle pump. Not only do I get more milk, I get it in about half the time, so it is way more efficient. This is very helpful when I am chasing after three kiddos. If you are in the market for a breast pump, this would absolutely be my top recommendation.

Thank you Medela for sponsoring this post.

Much Love,