Lactation recipes

Oh mama! Are you looking to up your milk production? These lactation recipes are delicious and sure to up your milk supply for your new baby!

Can we talk breastfeeding for a minute? I feel like I could talk about breastfeeding for days to be honest. I spent so much time researching and googling and reading while I was pregnant with my third that I feel like I have a vast expanse of breastfeeding knowledge.

Not that that’s a bad thing! It just doesn’t always come up at parties or events as often as one would think.

Wink.

With my first two babes I had no idea what all breastfeeding entailed. Yes, you put the baby to your breast and allow them to suckle, but there is so much more to it then that. Are you drinking enough water? Is the baby latched properly? Are they able to transfer enough milk? Are you making enough milk??

Oh boy. That last question is the one that gets me every time. Once you start to worry about your milk supply it can actually have a negative effort on production. Stress and worry plus lack of sleep are big baddies when it comes to milk supply.

I’ve learned so much from when I first started breastfeeding and I want to pass that on to you. Nursing is beautiful and so good for your baby, but it’s also hard work. I feel like no one tells you that up front.

Breastfeeding is hard. It hurts sometimes and it’s frustrating and some days you just feel “touched out”. But I don’t want you to give up! I’m sharing some easy lactation recipes along with some breastfeeding tips that I wish someone had told me early on. I am not a medical professional or a lactation consultant, just a breastfeeding mama hoping to help.

Things to consider along with lactation recipes:

Proper latch –

I am just going to touch on the importance of having a proper latch. It is something that can make or break a breastfeeding journey. If you are having pain every time the baby latches onto the breast – you may need a deeper latch. The entire nipple and most of the areola should be in the babies mouth so that they can properly pull the milk from the breast.

Please see a lactation consultant if you are having latch issues. It can be an easy fix such as learning to get a deeper latch or it may be the sign of a lip/tongue tie issue. I just want to say don’t give up! There is a most likely a solution that will help with breastfeeding.

Water –

You need to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day to keep up your milk supply. Eight 8 ounce glasses. Keeping hydrated is so essential to breastfeeding. In order to produce breast milk (a liquid) you need to keep your body full of water (a liquid). Makes sense, right?

It can be hard at first to drink that much water a day, so try infusing it with fruit or adding some flavor!

Rolled oats in a blue bowl on a napkin with berries and spoon

Foods to increase breast milk –

There are some foods that will naturally increase milk supply on their own. They are great to eat alone or to add to a lactation smoothie or cookies or any meal! Some of the top foods that boost milk supply are:

Oats
Spinach/leafy greens
Flax seed
Brewer’s yeast
Coconut oil
Fennel
Ginger
Raw cacao
Nuts
Quinoa
Avocado

Try and add these foods to your daily meal plan as tolerated. My suggestion is to try one or two new lactation boosting food a week. This helps you identify which foods are helping increase your supply and which ones you (and baby) don’t tolerate as well.

Supplements to help increase breast milk –

I tried all of the supplements under the sun to help with milk supply when I was nursing. Some of them worked and some didn’t seem to have an affect on my supply. Each nursing mama is different though. Make sure to only try one supplement at a time so you can pinpoint which one is helping!

Fenugreek
Mother’s Love More Milk
Mother’s milk tea
Blessed thistle
Goats rue
Prenatal vitamin with iron – I found that iron was very important during pregnancy and nursing. If you are struggling with your milk supply even after trying the lactation boosting foods and supplements, I would suggest getting your iron checked.
Sunflower lecithin – This supplement actually helps relax milk ducts and help milk flow. It was recommended to me when I had mastitis and helped tremendously!

Also, if you have any questions on supplements I HIGHLY suggest talking to a lactation consultant. They are so full of breastfeeding knowledge and can lead you in the right direction. I am not a lactation consultant or medical professional, just a mama who wants to share her lactation knowledge.

Support –

I can not stress how important finding support during your breastfeeding journey is for success. There are days when you will want to just toss in the towel from pain or exhaustion or lack of sleep. Have someone you can text or call that will understand.

Social media is another great way to connect with other breastfeeding mamas. There are Facebook groups or Instagram accounts that are dedicated helping mamas succeed at nursing. You can ask questions, find other mamas in similar nursing situations and find great information. A few of my favorite breastfeeding centric Instagram accounts are:

Lactation recipes –

Chocolate chip lactation cookies – These cookies have less then a cup of sugar for the whole batch! I love that this cookie helps increase production while being on the healthier side.

Chocolate peanut butter lactation smoothie – Yes, I will take my increased milk production with a side of chocolate and peanut butter! This smoothie has peanut butter, oats and flaxseed which are proven milk boosters.

No bake energy lactation bites – These no-bake lactation bites were a LIFESAVER after I had my third baby. I took them to the hospital with me and had some on hand for when we got home. They are packed with foods to increase milk supply.

Blueberry dark chocolate trail mix – This trail mix is easy to make and has dark chocolate, flax seed and chia seeds to help with lactation. It would be great to have on hand for late night snacking!

Sugar-free almond butter lactation smoothie recipe – I love that this smoothie is packed full of foods to help milk supply AND sugar-free. Plus its dairy and gluten free as well!

Blueberry oatmeal lactation muffins – I would LOVE to wake up to these delicious muffins, breastfeeding or not! But these ones have flax, brewer’s yeast and oats so they are sure to increase supply.

Baby mama lactation bars – Another tasty lactation recipe with chocolate chips, oats, brewer’s yeast and other milk supply boosting foods. Perfect for snacking!

Peanut butter apple pie lactation smoothie – Oats and flax seed are the milk producers in this yummy smoothie.

I hope that these easy lactation recipes help increase your milk supply and your nursing confidence! Don’t give up mama. It does get easier and it is so worth it! You got this.

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Kelley

Hey y'all!I'm Kelley. I'm a recipe making, picture taking, coffee drinking momma to 4 crazy kiddos. Join me as I share our family favorite dinners and my copycat coffee drinks too!

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