Nutrition for Mom

Bringing my milk back

• Janel F. Hi Briana, Yes you can bring your milk supply back up! First, you want to make sure you're pumping as many times as your baby is getting a bottle, and more if you're able. This increased frequency and emptying of the breast will signal your body to make more milk. You can do gentle hand massage of the breasts while you're pumping (using a hands-free pumping bra means you have hands free to do this if you don't already have one!) as this can help increase output. Also, some moms actually have more success getting milk with hand expressing as opposed to the pump. Are you familiar with hand expressing? After your baby gets a bottle, you can bring her to breast to latch and try to nurse. Even if she doesn't get more than a few drops, the contact with your baby and her sucking will help stimulate the body to make more milk. Think of it like "dessert!" Once your milk starts to come back more, you can bring her to the breast first as her vigorous sucking will help with milk production, and then you can follow up with a bottle if needed. You can also use gentle breast compression while she's sucking to help coax milk out, as she may be frustrated with your supply being lower initially than she was used to. Ideally you'll be bringing baby to breast 10-12 times a day to reestablish breast feeding. This might sound like a lot!, and more than she's used to getting, but it doesn't have to be for full nursing sessions. Remember even non-nutritive sucking is beneficial, so plan on hunkering down and doing lots of cuddling and skin-to-skin with your baby so she has easy access to the breast. You want to make sure your diet is adequate with 3 meals and some snacks throughout the day, as well as staying hydrated with at least 13 8oz glasses of water. While there is no scientific evidence backing it up, many moms have success with boosting milk supply when including certain foods in their diet. These include whole old fashioned oats, barley, brewers yeast, flax and lactation cookies. Many moms also like Mother's Milk Tea. Make sure to discuss with your doctor any supplements for boosting milk supply such as fenugreek.

• Briana Thank you so much! I wanted to get back to nursing now that I can and I was beginning to feel discouraged when I wasn’t making enough. I love the idea of more of a dessert after a bottle while I start!

• Janel F. Great! Feel free to check back as you work on this and I’d be happy to help! Good luck!!