Nutrition for the Breastfeeding Mom

Hi Merina,

Has anything changed recently that may have decreased your supply, such as going on birth control or restarting your period? These can cause a temporary dip in supply (that you can build back up!) that many women aren't aware of.

How is your diet? Are you eating adequately? 3 balanced meals plus snacks each day? Are you staying hydrated with water consistently throughout the day?

Though there is no scientific evidence to back it up, many women find adding the following foods into their diet regularly helped to boost supply, including: whole oats, flax, barley, brewers yeast, Mother's milk tea, and lactation cookies (many easy recipes for these online!).

It's worth noting that at 13 months, your baby's primary source of calories/nutrition should be coming from solids, as opposed to under the age of 1, the primary source of nutrition is milk. So it's natural for your baby to need less and your body to produce less as a result. How is he doing with solids? Is he eating three meals per day with 1-2 snacks?

I’m currently on my period sadly and he’s great with eating solids but he also doesn’t sleep threw the night and I will definitely look into buying some of those items today

It sounds like your current dip in supply is from your period. Good luck!

Hi Lisa, if you're looking for shelf-stable snacks to have on hand (and probably eat with one hand!) I love minimally processed bars like Larabars, KIND bars, and Rx bars, all with a decent amount of protein. Nuts are great for healthy fat and protein, and you can mix them with some dried fruit for an easy trail mix. You could also make a peanut butter sandwich before you go to bed, and it is fine to leave out for a few hours so it's ready for you in the middle of the night. If you can make a quick stop to the kitchen first, cottage cheese and greek yogurt make great high-protein snacks. I love Kefir (basically a drinkable yogurt) as you can put it in a cup with a straw and sip on it while nursing. You can also make things like baked oatmeal or muffins and make them higher in protein by mixing in things like yogurt, nuts, nut butter and even protein powder before baking. There are loads of "high protein" muffin and oatmeal recipes on the internet!

Thank you!

OTC cough drops are generally considered safe and won't reduce milk supply. However, you should avoid taking excessive amounts of cough drops containing menthol as large amounts of menthol can reduce supply. Ricola does contain menthol, but taking a few each day shouldn't be an issue.