Solving the Milk Supply Crisis during Breastfeeding
Yesterday I received a comment on my Korean Seaweed Soup Recipe [A Milk Production Helper] where a mom was not making enough milk for her baby. Come to find out she was supplementing with formula. I don’t have enough background info to know if this was a medical decision; but in most cases; supplementing with formula is not a good way to establish your milk supply.
According to a certified Lactation Consultant, “Frequent unrestricted nursing is best in the early days. Most breastfeeding babies will need and want to nurse every 1 1/2-3 Hours or more often. If your baby is very sleepy, wake him to nurse every three hours during the day. If your baby sleeps a long stretch at night, you will need to wake him for night feedings [until your milk supply is established].” I stuck by this rule and this has helped to maintain my milk supply.
For the first six weeks of breastfeeding; do not let the baby go without feeding for more than four hours. The more the baby sucks, the more breast will start to produce milk. There’s a biology behind this; but I don’t want to go into here; trust me, just put your baby to your boobs if you want to increase your stash. “Anytime you supplement, you decrease your milk supply because your breast won’t be stimulated to make that milk that’s now being guzzled in the form of a supplement.”
