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!
When my first child, now 14 years old, was born, she clearly reacted to things I consumed – for example, chocolate, coffee, strawberries and soy brought on intense symptoms of colic. I always had lots of breastmilk, thank goodness, but nursing a distressed child was hard. So was mastitis! But we managed.
I am now nursing my 21-month old twins. They were breastfed for nine months without the introduction of other foods, and til they were over a year weren’t very interested in food anyway. And I pumped for a third child at one point. My colostrum has gone to at least three other babies and an adult with immune disease …because I have SO much milk! My main food is raw goat milk, straight and as cultured foods. I know the milk allows me to produce my milk. Also, despite plans for a homebirth, my babes came at 34 weeks and I had a hospital c-section- every pediatrician, doctor, nurse, visitor came in and said “where are the preemies?!? At 34 weeks I had one baby one ounce under 6 lbs and the other a few ounces over 5 lbs, rooming in with me and ready to go home with me after my two day stay. I loved telling people about my half-gallon of goat milk a day and my daily quart of yogurt.
We have raised and milked Nubians for seven years- we watch the color, consistency, and amount of milk they are producing change based on what they are eating and drinking. Ask any dairy goat farmer – the connection is clear. And my experience producing milk is that way too. Even 21 months in to nursing two children, when I up my goat milk intake, I leak! When I don’t drink it for a while, because we have used the milk for cheese or cajeta, down goes my milk. That’s my experience. I thank God for my doula who made me pump from the start, and for my daughter who milks goats while I nurse babies!
Love it! I love that they gained weight so fast… Mine did too… They were 5.4 and 5.6 when we left the hospital and 3 1/2 weeks later they were 7 1/2 lbs each!
I guess I’m a little slow in answering this, but I wanted to address the Francis Pottenger issue better.
In including that quote I did not mean to imply that any women should not breastfeed because of not drinking raw milk. I do know women who have successfully breastfed without any raw milk. I included that quote because it was what I was reading at the time and I figured I should give it a try. My babies had been fussy for over a month and were not gaining weight. I had tried all the foods I could find to increase milk supply along with fenugreek, mother’s milk tea, nursing on demand, nursing on a schedule, pumping more… Anything I could find whether on the internet, advice from a professional. I was very close to considering supplementing when I read Dr. Pottenger’s quote. I hated plain milk, but I would try anything once. It worked amazingly and so I’ve continued to drink raw milk. That is all I was trying to say.
If you read more of Francis Pottenger’s studies you will understand his quote better.
Once again, I included the quote not as a RULE by which all nursing mothers should abide, but only as part of my story. If you are offended by the quote then please pretend it doesn’t exist and only read the rest of my story. I shared by personal story to encourage only. Please read it again with that in mind.
Thank you again to all the encouraging comments and to all you nursing mothers… You are my inspiration, my encouragement and my personal heroes. Keep on nursing!!!
Awesome article.
Wow, this article came at a perfect time! I have struggled with low milk supply with all three of my children and am trying to hang on as long as I can with my 4 month old. She is already being supplemented with formula for 2-3 feedings a day while I try everything possible to boost supply. I had just decided today that nursing/pumping/bottle feeding while trying to keep up with my 4 yr old and 21 month old was just too much and I was ready to give up and switch completely to formula. It is illegal to sell raw milk where I live so we only drink it when we have the opportunity to get to a neighboring state. I think I’ll be making a trip across the border tomorrow morning! Thank you!
You are one busy lady! Try to get some sleep too! 😀 Next to raw milk… Rest is the most important thing I know that I need.
I think Jessica and the other woman that are viewing this article in such a negative aspect has lost the whole picture of the story. This mother of twins was expressing her story and SHE believed that raw milk was exceptionally important to her; even if she said it should be for everyone.
I think there are so many factors in lactating properly and it’s being in tune with your own body, the needs of your child, your stress levels and importantly your nutritional levels. So it should be looked at holistically instead of all separate issues.
Well said. “it should be looked at holistically instead of all separate issues.”
I cannot stress how important it is that each person is different and every breastfeeding story will be different. That is why there is no “one-way” to breastfeed.
Thanks for the encouragement of breastfeeding twins! We have two girls coming in September and I’m really hoping for a natural birth and to breastfeed them for at least a year.
Woohoo! More twin girls! We’re at 14 months now… Take it one day at a time. Just please don’t listen to the people who say it can’t be done(nursing twins)… Every time I mention to people that I breastfeed my twins they look at me like I’m from the zoo:) That includes most of my lovely twin mothers that I know.
There’s a wonderful story on the Mothering website about a mother who breastfed twins with only one breast… I read it every time I needed encouragement.
As a mother who breasted four babies without many problems, other than pain for the first few weeks, I can only imagine the hardships that some have to go through especially in this culture where it is not always supported. My heart goes out to those who are sticking with it to give their babies the best start in life. Thank you Brittany for encouraging and inspiring others!
What’s funny to me is that someone would say women shouldn’t breastfeed unless they can drink raw milk, but then want them to do raw milk formula. Am I the only one who sees the irony in that statement?
You know, it’s interesting that this topic came up. I HAVE noticed that since I started drinking raw milk a few months ago I have been getting engorged and have been leaking more often. And my son is 18 months old! I felt like my supply was getting a little low about 6 months ago and could never figure out how to get more milk. Oatmeal, brewer’s yeast, none of it made a noticeable difference, UNTIL I started drinking raw milk! Wow! Light bulb moment! 🙂
Wow! I had no idea such an upbeat, joyous article would be so offensive to so many people. It is interesting to note that everyone who spoke negatively seemed to have done little research into the foundational underpinnings of WAP. Indeed, anyone who has spent time on their site will see countless articles written with scientific accuracy. It is laughable that these poo-pooers would logically “debate” this article when they don’t even know who Dr. Pottinger was and how vauluable his work is! Apparently people would rather look foolish than keep quiet and get their facts straight.
I just wanted to say thank you for this comment. When I began writing down my breastfeeding experience it was for my own personal records, and then I actually emailed Sarah asking her to share my story because I was becoming discouraged watching mother after mother give up breastfeeding to what they called “supply issues.” Raw milk helped me, and I wanted to have my voice heard with the chance that I could help even one nursing mother not give up. The comments have been disheartening because I ONLY wanted to encourage…I never meant to discourage anyone in anyway. Some of the comments have almost made me cry and at the end of this day your comment really helped me to be encouraged. Thank you for reading the article the way I wanted it to be read.
Don’t worry, Brittany. Intelligent, thoughtful readers will be inspired by your story and will appreciate your informative and courteous responses in the comment section. They will be able to dismiss the oddly threatened and strangely rude responders.
Bravo to you! And best of luck with your beautiful babies.