My milk came in on Sunday, 9 June 2019, but I started breastfeeding from the day he was born. First colostrum aka liquid gold and then onto milk as is the natural progression. My first post about breastfeeding can be viewed here, and in that article I said I’d do a follow up once my second breastfeeding journey was under way. Well here we are! Enjoy.

Supplements

When I say supplements I use the word quite loosely. I am referring to drinks & snacks that are believed to help with milk production and nutrition for nursing moms.
I have been drinking 2 – 3 cups of Carmien Mamma Nursing Tea a day with 1 teaspoon of Vitaforce Schlehen Blackthorn Berry Elixir. While still in hospital I also had about 1,5L of Rehydrate a day as I found my body needed the extra hydration as it was starting to produce milk.
I have also been eating 1 – 2 Mrs Milk lactation oat bars a day.

Do I think this combination of items have helped? To be honest it’s really hard to say because I had plenty of milk with Tristan and have been informed (by a qualified lactation Sister) that you have more milk with each pregnancy so I should be absolutely fine. However, I really want to feed longer than 6 months this time and feel that my body can only benefit from the additional ‘supplements’. I also feel it’s helping me keep hydrated and have extra energy as my body adjusts to motherhood round 2.

I have also had 250ml rehydrate once a week since coming home and have noticed that’s helped boost milk production as well.

Pumping / expressing

I bought myself a BabyWombWorld double electric breast pump which I have already started using. I’ve purely been using it to relieve some engorgement if Grayson hasn’t emptied the breast. I have also purchased their pumping bra and am really looking forward to using it.

Note on the bra: I ordered a large but should have gone XL; size up when purchasing. 

From 6 weeks I will be able to start introducing a bottle so hubby can help with 1 or 2 night time feeds so I need to have stored milk for that.

If I express after a feed I get about 50ml per breast; I haven’t and won’t express before a feed as Grayson needs the milk; I only express what’s left over for now.

Note: If you want to increase your supply you should pump every 20 minutes for a day or 2.

Support

While in hospital I requested a visit from a lactation consultant. Although I’ve breastfed before it was a long time ago and I wanted someone just to come check everything was as it was meant to be. A wonderful nurse visited me and checked which put my mind at ease. I then had her do a home visit when Grayson was 3 weeks old just to ensure he was getting enough milk, was still latching right, etc. It really helped me feel more confident because feeding isn’t easy and it takes practise and effort. I encourage you to see a lactation consultant if you can; it certainly helps.

I, on occasion, still get sore nipples (4 weeks in) but it’s usually from feeding at night. I have a night light in the nursery and it’s not bright enough to clearly see Grayson latching and he sometimes doesn’t quite get it right and I’m too tired to notice immediately so it can get a little sore. But other than that I think I’m doing pretty well.

Much love xxx