Our Five Favorite Tips for Boosting Milk Supply

What is more frustrating than wanting to breastfeed and not having enough milk? When my son, Max, was just a few days old I took him in for a weight check. With my other two babies, they didn’t have any trouble gaining the weight back, so I went into this appointment feeling confident. I was assuming I’d hear what I heard before, “your baby has regained his birth weight, go home and pat yourself on the back.” Instead, I was told my baby had not regained his birth weight and had lost a few ounces. I. was. devastated.

Straight from the doctor’s appointment, I went home and started googling. I had noticed that my breasts hadn’t seemed quite as engorged as with my first two and decided I had to do everything I could to up my supply.

At my next appointment, five days later, Max had gained quite a bit of weight. I have no way of knowing if any of these tips and tricks helped boost my supply, but they certainly didn’t hurt.

Here were my five favorite methods.

1. Take fenugreek

Fenugreek is an herb that is rumored to help increase milk supply. I both took a pill (I just found one at Walgreens in with the vitamins) and I drank the tea (I found this at Whole Foods with the teas). It tastes a bit woodsy, but wasn’t so bad. I swear I immediately felt a difference in how much milk I was making.

2. Make lactation cookies/balls

Any excuse to eat something delicious is good in my book so I googled recipes for lactation cookies. My favorite ones were these no bake balls from Inspiralized. I’d eat a few every day.

3. Pump after every feed

Yes, this is very time consuming and annoying, especially if you’re not used to it, but it definitely helps get your supply up. I would feed Max and then hook myself up to my trusty pump for 5-7 minutes. Sometimes I would get a few ounces which was great for freezer supply, and sometimes I wouldn’t get anything. Either way, I knew I was telling my body I needed to make more milk and luckily, it listened!

4. Use a haakaa

A relatively new invention, the haakaa is a suction pump that you place over the nipple, squeeze to suction, and while your baby is feeding on one breast, the one with the haakaa should secrete enough milk to fill it up! What a cool invention. I would use it whenever I nursed, attaching it to the breast he wasn’t latched on. It takes no work other than to just stick on the nipple. Not only does it encourage more milk supply, but it will help you fill up your freezer stash much more quickly.

5. Stay nourished and hydrated

Such a simple concept, but in the time right after a new baby your own hydration and hunger has the tendency to take a back seat to your baby’s needs. I had two other little kids and a new baby, my thirst didn’t even register. So I invested in a huge water bottle, got some of those Costco sized snacks, and took care of me. My milk supply thanked me.

At the next appointment, Max had gained weight, my supply was higher, and I was able to relax more and try to enjoy the newborn snuggles.

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