For many breastfeeding mothers, low milk supply is a constant worry. During my first few months as a nursing mother I dealt with minor supply issues. However, I was so distracted by other breastfeeding issues that I didn’t fully address the problem of low milk supply until my daughters were over 6 months old.
I have twin daughters, Julia and Aria, they were born April 27th, 2011. We had planned on having the twins naturally at home, but they ended up being born by c-section after a long 3 days of labor. Needless to say the birth was traumatic, but my work was far from done. I was DETERMINED to breastfeed. In my mind there was no other option.
I’ll recap the first 7 months for you. It was a seemingly endless test of my determination to breastfeed. I had grown up around women who breastfed their babies and knew it wasn’t always a walk in the park, but I had no idea how hard it would be.
Both girls had clampdown bite reflex. It took Julia 4 months to outgrow this and I was so concentrated on Julia the first months I didn’t realize Aria had the same problem. Because of this, Aria formed a habit of bad latching that will still show up if she’s stressed or overly hungry. I also dealt with thrush, mastitis, post-partum depression and have Raynaud phenomenon.
Raynaud’s is basically a circulation problem. I won’t explain more about it here other than it is intensely painful. Breastfeeding did not let me win without a long hard fight, but I did finally win. I have a wonderful husband, supportive family, a faithful God and a determination inherited from my mother that saw me through those tough months.
Breastfeeding Crisis: Low Milk Supply
When Aria and Julia turned 7 months old my milk supply started to diminish. The girls became very fussy, and I began to use the milk I had stored in the freezer for extra feedings.
I increased my liquid intake, food portions and nursed frequently. In the past that’s all I had to do to resolve low milk supply. But I didn’t see any difference even after weeks of doing this. In fact, my milk supply was watery, and diminishing.
After everything I’d gone through I couldn’t and wouldn’t believe that low milk supply would be my Achilles heel!
My diet during this time was full of pasture raised organic eggs, grass-fed beef, broths, lots of veggies and an occasional smoothie with raw milk. I was healthy, exercised, cooked 99% from scratch… I didn’t know what I was doing wrong!?
I had loaned my copy of Nourishing Traditions to a friend, so I headed to my library to see if they had it. I searched Sally Fallon in the database and found that the library’s copy of the book was checked out, but another book showed up that Sally Fallon had written the forward to: The Untold Story of Milk by Dr. Ron Schmid. I took it home and started reading.
I’d always been a supporter of raw milk, but had never really read up on it. When I saw the book at the library I figured I should research the raw milk issue more thoroughly. As I made my way through the book I was fascinated by the corrupt history of pasteurized milk and the benefits of raw milk. I hated drinking plain milk, but it was obviously very nutritious so I half-heartedly bought a whole gallon of raw milk and intended to increase my smoothie making. It sat in my fridge for several days until I read this about Dr. Francis Pottenger MD:
“Pottenger’s research so convinced him of the importance of raw milk that he recommended one quart of raw milk per day to pregnant and nursing women. According to Pottenger, women who did not have access to raw milk, or who refused to drink it, put the development of their babies in jeopardy and should not breastfeed.”
Ouch!
It was late at night and I had already pumped. But I went into the kitchen and gagged down a huge glass of raw milk. It wasn’t that bad, but I was still grossed out at the thought of drinking a quart a day! I thought, Oh well, that guy was just over the top and it probably wouldn’t even help. I brushed my teeth very thoroughly and went to bed.
Low Milk Supply Resolves After One Large Glass of Raw Milk
Then the miracle happened…I woke up around 5am engorged and leaking everywhere! I pumped almost 6 ounces, and then nursed my girls when they woke up an hour later.
Well, that was the end of me refusing to drink raw milk!
My milk that I had just pumped was thick and my daughters were obviously happier than they had been in days. I was an overnight raw milk advocate!
It took me awhile to get used to drinking plain raw milk, and I did cheat… I added carob, homemade chocolate syrup, or made smoothies with it the first month or so, and I didn’t always drink an entire quart… But I now drink 2 large glasses a day, and crave it if I’m tired, hungry or after I exercise. It’s a mother’s dream food because it doesn’t require cooking or prep, just open the fridge and pour a glass.
In March my milk supply was once again put to the test. The girls were 11 months old at this point… So, they had large appetites. Both of the girls got the chicken pox and exclusively nursed for almost a week. Aria had them worse than Julia and so she exclusively nursed for over a week. I was tired, but didn’t have any supply issues. In fact, I was still able to pump extra at the end of each day. After the chicken pox was over I knew I didn’t need to ever worry about low milk supply issues again.
Raw Milk Helps Moms With Low Milk Supply!
Aria and Julia are now 13 months old. They nurse 3-4 times a day each, and are happy healthy little girls. I’m not really thinking of weaning at this point. It took almost 9 months to finally figure out breastfeeding, and the past four months have been awesome. Last month they started tandem nursing again… Being a mom is tiring. If it wasn’t for the pauses of nursing during the day I don’t know if I’d sit down and just enjoy my children. It forces you to sit, think and notice your baby. And when nursing is over they’re so endearing that I end up playing with them and ignoring the dishes and laundry. If I was giving them bottles they would independently feed themselves and I would probably continue on with my chores.
As a mother of twins I feel compelled to share my story. I believe it’s vital to breastfeed multiples because of the bonding time. If you’re pregnant with multiples most doctors will assume that you won’t even try to nurse, or that you’ll automatically supplement, but prove them wrong. The first 6 months is insane and even though it was so painful to nurse I’m glad I did. I was able to really get to know each one individually and I’ve never really felt guilty about ignoring one over the other.
One more note to breastfeeding mothers. I did talk to different lactation consultants during those months, but discovered that the research I did on my own was far more fruitful. The lactation consultants were very nice, but I don’t think any of them expected me to succeed.
In our culture it seems to be instilled in us to “try your best, but not to worry if you fail because no one will blame you.” That attitude is particularly prevalent in the medical world towards breastfeeding. Lactation consultants, nurses and doctors would give me a pat on the back for attempting to breastfeed, give me some useless advice, then proceed to tell me that “no one would blame me if I supplemented with formula. In fact, some women just aren’t able to breastfeed, and it would be less stressful if I just supplemented.”
Those kinds of comments fed the fire beneath me to prove them wrong, and honestly helped me stick to breastfeeding no matter what. I will admit that I was a die-hard and nothing else mattered at times. Was I too hard on myself? I don’t think so. I think we’re just conditioned to think that if something is gut-wrenchingly hard and painful then it might not be worth it. Well, it is worth it. Nursing is our special mother/baby time. Breastfeeding is also VERY important for the mother’s health. It helps to lose weight, forces you to keep yourself nourished and to sleep well.
When a mother has her baby she needs to take things slowly and not jump right back into the fast lane. Sit, contemplate and fully enjoy your beautiful new baby. You spent 9 long months making that child lying in your arms, now enjoy the fruits of your labor!
I meant breast milk is not solely nutritive.
thank you for this post. I`m still breastfeeing my 3 year old son. Two years ago I switched from a macrobiotic diet to Traditional Food and started drinking raw milk here in Quito-Ecuador. I love raw milk, I realized that I have always love milk since I was a child. But the only thing is: when I drink raw milk I get constipated. I want to ask you if that is normal or if I`m doing something wrong.
Here are our small family farm, we milk several jersey cows as well as our goats and drink lots of raw milk as well as yogurt and other dairy items from our animals. We sell raw milk (legally in our state, thankfully) and are advocates of raw milk. At the same time, I have to agree with some of the concerns that others have posted, and I am not sure why they are offensive. I think it is wonderful that this mama has found that raw milk has helped her! I think I was a bit put off from the very beginning, in the introduction: “managed the near impossible: nursing twins with no formula supplement!” – statements like this – to ME – seem to indicate that most women can’t breastfeed twins, and I think that is completely false. Do most twin mamas breastfeed? Probably not – but I don’t believe that is because they can’t but because they choose not to, and certainly not because they don’t drink raw milk. I breastfed (exclusively) my twins for well over a year with no problems at all – I had plenty of milk with more left over, and know lots of other twin mamas who did the same, and none of us, at the time, drank raw milk. I guess my concern (please hear my intent, I am not bashing the article, just pointing out concerns) is that articles like this can perpetuate the idea that breastfeeding is hard, that it takes some sort of wonder woman, and that you need special secret recipes (like raw milk) to be successful, and I think that can be damaging and scary to new mothers. Breastfeeding is normal and natural and how we were designed to feed our babies – and yes, I know there are exceptions, but I believe they are comparatively few. Our bodies are amazingly created and breastfeeding is a supply and demand function – when you have twins, you make more milk!
Again, I think it is WONDERFUL that raw milk helped this mommy and her sweet babies – I think it is a fantastic testimony. Just want to encourage others that the idea that breastfeeding twins without formula is “near impossible” is not accurate at all. Two babies, two breasts – perfect! 🙂
I didn’t get the impression that the author thought that breastfeeding twins without supplementation is usually impossible, but rather that most medical professionals do. And that had certainly been my experience in talking to moms of twins. Most of the moms that I know with twins started supplementing in the hospital or were just encouraged to use formula because they were told that they wouldn’t be able to make enough milk. The point of this wasn’t to discourage, but rather to encourage mothers that they should try, and here is something that they can try if they feel that they have a low supply.
Just because one guy said that mothers who don’t have access to raw milk shouldn’t breastfeed, doesn’t make it true, obviously. I don’t know anything about him, but he probably also lived before a lot of the benefits of breastmilk were known. Maybe he would change his mind with the most current research, like most truth-seekers do.
Sara, it wasn’t an impression, it was clearly stated as the introduction to this story – I quote:
“I am so pleased to be able to share this fascinating testimonial with you from a breastfeeding Mom who managed the near impossible: nursing twins with no formula supplement!”
There is nothing that implies in any way that only medical professionals believe this, that seems pretty straightforward to me, and only seems to reinforce this false idea. It also seems to pretty clearly indicate that without raw milk, breastfeeding twins will usually be a failure. That was how it came across to ME and therefore concerned me that it could come across that way to others, especially if they already had fears about feeding a baby (or two, or three for that matter – and yes, I know of moms of triplets who breastfed exclusively – and without raw milk). Society already makes breastfeeding a challenge to some women – breasts have become sexual images first, not food for babies. Adding to that the myth that MANY women “can’t” breastfeed (again, disclaimer – I know some can’t – but it is a vast minority), these things can end up squelching breastfeeding instead of encouraging it.
I am ALLLLLLL for stories like this – testimonies of how something helped someone. It is the generalizations that are the issue here – first, that breastfeeding twins without forumla is near impossible (false), and that breastfeeding without raw milk is as well – that I think should not be a part. I think it would be better to say “hey, listen to this – here is a mommy who wanted more than anything to provide her little girls the best food possible, breastmilk, and found that raw milk helped increase her supply – read her story and be encouraged, and if you are struggling, you may want to try raw milk, it just might help you, too!” That sounds much more inviting, non-judgmental, and encouraging to me. 🙂 And believe me, I hate to sound picky or like I am hashing out little details, and have never commented before, this just really struck a nerve because I truly believe it is misinformation (that breastfeeding twins is near impossible). It’s not – it’s how we were designed and you CAN do it! Honestly, my personal opinion is that most times its because moms try to do too much – you CAN’T do it all – a busy, hectic life will decrease your supply whether you are nursing one or more babies… I’m nursing my 9th right now (15 months old) and I don’t claim to be an expert, but I DO have experience, including nursing twins, so I feel like I am somewhat qualified to give some input.
I see what you mean, but I still think that breastfeeding twins *in our society* IS “nearly impossible”. It’s not a problem with women, but with the system that we must breastfeed in and around. I am a twin and a preemie and grateful that my mother was determined to breastfeed my sister and I, but it was not with help from anyone but herself that my mom stuck it out.
And anyone who would read this and decide not to breastfeed because they can’t get raw milk is way too impressionable and probably wouldn’t have stuck it out, anyway. Sounds judgemental, but that’s just my opinion.
Oh and I think it’s awesome that you know someone who breastfed triplets 🙂 At my local hospital there was recently a vaginal triplet birth! Pretty cool.
I really love your response.
Jennifer that is…
Hi Jennifer
I think that is a really well written response and respect what you’ve said. It’s certainly hard to achieve with this hot topic! 🙂
I mean, realistically, 95% of plastics contain estrogenic substances. Are we going to tell women they cannot breastfeed if they use/touch or eat foods that have touched plastics?
Consuming the milk of other animals didn’t occur until much later in the evolutionary process. Perhaps some of what was inhibiting her milk supply was the chemicals in milk (I haven’t read the article) and so raw milk helped her body to respond more naturally, as it is a more natural food than processed milk. However, while I am sooo happy that she has been able to continue her breastfeeding journey, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that only raw milk drinkers can be good nursers. Women with lactose allergies (and there are many more than we realize; just most people don’t cut out all dairy for 3 weeks to find out), vegans, and other women aren’t giving their babies deficient milk. And milk is not solely nutritive; it has other benefits. The only time a woman should be discouraged from breastfeeding based on diet alone is in the case of women who are using drugs, over using alcohol, etc.
Or has been exclusivly vegan for an extended period of time.
That’s bunk- just have a look at Matt and Angela Monarch’s beautiful round rosy cheeked daughter Oria- longtime raw vegans/
Look at it from a biological perspective. The book Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History has an incredibly interesting chapter on the origins of breast milk and how it evolved to become a food, when it was originally basically an anti-microbial wash for proto-mammalian eggs, which were carried in a pouch and were porous. Over time, it evolved to include nutritional component as well as immune support, and allowed proto-mammals to move away from a food source that was directly accessible to their young, as well as allowing their young to be “children” longer and thus absorb cultural traditions.
I love raw milk, and I love breastfeeding. I am still nursing my 18 month old. When I had supply problems, my friends at LLL gave me many suggestions on how to improve my milk supply. All of these suggestions had worked for some women and not for others. In the long run, what increased my supply wasn’t anything I took; it was summer break! Being in close contact w/ my baby all day, and nursing on demand, upped my supply. I know I would not have gotten as far as I did, even w/ my pump, without co-sleeping as well.
Thank you for sharing your amazing story!
I am not a mother yet, I plan I getting pregnant soon, and find all of this information extremely important and empowering.
Truly thank you and keep on sharing these powerful stories ladies!
EXACTLY. This article is meant for EMPOWERMENT ladies.
Agreed. Why is everyone so offended by this article? I am a breastfeeding mom and I don’t drink raw milk, but I found if fascinating. It is one mom’s experience with breastfeeding. I even teared up a little when she said she was “DETERMINED to breastfeed” and talked about how we as a society give up too easily. Very inspiring.
It is absolutly true for the vast majority of mothers. Talk to mothers not medical “profesionals”, most of which do not breastfeed for more than a few months if at all.
How very generalizing of you and way to turn your use of advice lacking in scientific evidence into how I’m a bad guy for disagreeing. My point has nothing to do with the young womans story but the underlying crap its slinging.