5 Breastfeeding Hacks To Save Your Milk Supply

When I found out I was pregnant, I knew I wanted to nurse. But, I had no clue what I was getting myself into. I was not prepared and I wish someone would’ve shared some of their breastfeeding hacks with me – so I’m going to share some of mine with you.

With my oldest son, Kairo, I primarily breastfed him straight from the breast for 20 months. I literally never fed him from a bottle. He would take them from other people, but not me. Although nursing takes a lot out of you, our journey was pretty seamless. My original plan was to nurse him for 6 months, then 12 months and then he just wouldn’t get away from me LOL It turned into an obsession of sorts and since he never took a pacifier, I became the pacifier. And I just KNEW that when I had another baby, I would do things differently.

The “differently” meant I would focus on primarily pumping instead of only breastfeeding so that he wouldn’t have such an attachment to me. I also gave him a pacifier so that I wouldn’t become one. 

Now, don’t get me wrong – implementing these changes had some positive effects, but it definitely tanked my supply. So, I want to share the breastfeeding secrets I’ve learned that can hopefully help you avoid the stress and anxiety of a drop in your milk supply.

Trust me when I tell you, there are very few things more stressful than looking down at your baby who wants to nurse but no milk is there… It was an absolute nightmare. 

So basically… everybody lied about how easy breastfeeding would be.

Here are just a few breastfeeding hacks I wish someone would’ve shared sooner:

Breastfeeding Hack #1 Pumping was WAY harder than nursing directly

Pumping is literally a full-time job! When I was nursing Kairo, I would just pull up my shirt whenever he was hungry and he’d eat. When I had to keep up with pumping, it was way more demanding. I had to ensure I was on a consistent schedule and that’s where I went wrong. One day, I went 3-4 hours between pumping instead of 2 hours. That time, I got a lot more milk and then convinced myself that I should just wait 3-4 hours each time. MAJOR FAIL!!! That was telling my body that my baby was only hungry every 4 hours when he was still eating every 2 hours. That tanked my supply.

If you plan to primarily pump, be prepared to set your alarms and pump around the clock every two hours (yes, in the middle of the night too) When I was nursing with Kairo, we co-slept and he’d nurse throughout the night as needed, I didn’t have to have any milk, supplies, suction cups or anything else at 3 am. 

Kenzo was a different story. At first, I would nurse him through the night but when he started sleeping in his own room at 4 months, that was no longer possible. That’s actually when my supply really took a hit. 

I definitely understand working moms who work outside of the home have a very hard time managing either, so give yourself the grace to do what works best for you.

Breastfeeding Hack #2 Hydration Helps

Here’s a breastfeeding secret you may not know – Human breast milk consists of 87% of water! With this in mind, it would seem like common sense that you’d need to hydrate in order to keep the flow of milk going, but it can be tough to get an adequate amount daily without being very intentional. You know those water bottles the gym girlies use to make sure they’re drinking enough? Yeah – get one! 

 

Breastfeeding Hack #3 Monitor Your Calorie Intake

This goes hand in hand with water intake! Your body has to have enough calories each day to nourish both you and your baby. They say you’re eating for two when you’re pregnant (which isn’t true) but it definitely feels like you’re forced to eat for two when you’re breastfeeding! This is especially difficult when you can barely remember to eat because you have a newborn baby, new responsibilities, a new schedule, and tons of new things to stress you the hell out.

Breastfeeding Hack #4 Supplements Work… Sometimes

Now this breastfeeding secret just doesn’t make any sense:  The same active ingredients that can increase your supply can also cause it to drop. How Sway? 

Most of the popular supplements contain fenugreek (do your own research!) which has been shown to increase breastmilk supply after 24-72 hours. But I have heard horror stories in the Facebook group from women who were heartbroken when they ended up in with a worse supply after taking supplements.

The one pill that actually worked for me and helped to increase my supply was brewers yeast. Now don’t make me lie about why this works, but it worked for me! The downside to these tablets is the gas! You will have gas and your baby will, too! But I was willing to suffer through it to hopefully increase my supply. I was thrilled that they worked pretty quickly for me.

Breastfeeding Hack #5 Donor milk! There are probably donors in your area

Now this was one breastfeeding secret that I learned SUPER LATE in the game when I was down and out and desperate as hell. If your milk supply drops and you are dead set on not supplementing with formula, hop on facebook and search for HUMAN BREASTMILK DONATION in your area. There are amazing moms who have milk to donate to mothers in need. 

Typically, the donor banks prioritize NICU babies so you won’t have as much luck there.

Breastfeeding Hack #6 Stress Messes Up Your Supply!

Now how crazy is this? You’re stressed out because you just had a baby, and now your supply is starting to drop so you stress even more and then that makes your supply drop even more… it’s literally an insane cycle. 

 

Unfortunately, I don’t have any breastfeeding hacks to help ease your stress. This one alone damn near took me out because this was literally one of the most stressful situations I’ve ever experienced. My only advice would be to seek support, find a friend who lets you vent, and understand that your body is doing the best it can. 

These are just a few simple breastfeeding secrets that I wish someone would’ve shared with me before I stressed myself out. I would highly encourage you to seek the support of a lactation specialist in your area, many insurance plans cover your services.