How I produced more breast milk.

One of the first questions people ask when you're pregnant is "will you breastfeed?" My answer was "yes, I will." It turned out, for me, things weren't so simple. I didn't have adequate milk flow and wasn't able to feed my baby. I cried and cried and kept crying.

I started pumping every two hours (as recommended) and it wasn't always easy. 

I'm writing this for moms who pump and get 0 mL and 5 mL. Yes, thats a total of 5mL I would get sometimes. IT BROKE MY HEART. I remember pumping out 20 mL... it was both exciting and sad. I was excited to get out SO MUCH and sad because I knew it still wasn't enough for a feeding. Luckily, I had people who cared about me who encouraged me to keep it up. They told me that the milk will come. They said for now the small doses of breast milk was better than nothing. So thats what I did.

I had UPS and DOWNS. Sometimes I felt good and other times I felt like giving up. I started recording the amounts I pumped to see if there was improvement. 

Spoiler Alert: At one point I was able to feed my baby only breast milk. Not only that, but I was even able to store surplus in the freezer. I never thought that would happen, especially in the beginning when I was getting 15-20 mL out. So, if you're struggling ...there's hope. Keep going! And you're doing great Mama!

2 Weeks of Pumping:

60 Days:

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My goal is complete 6 months of recording amounts. 

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Producing more Breast Milk:

1. Pump every 2 hours. (At times it would be 3 hours, especially at night. Also, I moved to every 4 hours once I was making enough milk.) 

2. Pump for 20 min. (I used a double pump)

3. Every time I pumped I drank 500 mL of water

4. I drank Fennel tea or Weleda tea (with fenugreek, fennel, etc)  three times a day.

5. I made sure to eat often.

6. I played classical music while pumping to relax me.

7. I tried to have my baby near me while I pumped.