Lactation Bars : A Yummy Boost For Breastmilk

when i was expecting my first baby last year, there were so many things that i was worried about leading up to the birth.  was i going to recover quickly?  was my birth going to be hard?  would my baby be healthy?  the one thing that i didn’t worry about was breastmilk.  it never occurred to me to worry about my breastmilk.  but my biggest worry occurred on day 2 after my daughter was born.  my breastmilk had still not come in and my baby was dropping below her birth weight.

this post is written solely based on my own personal opinion and experience as a mother.

Lactation Bars : A Yummy Boost for Breastmilk

so there we were in the hospital, with a doctor recommending that we start supplementing with formula until my milk came in.  formula.  the “f” word.  i had taken enough breastfeeding classes to know that formula was honestly a nightmare word for a mama who wanted to breastfeed. but what was i to do?  my baby was hungry and my body simply wasn’t ready to sustain her.  i started bawling.  i literally broke down.  (both because of the formula word and because…postpartum.  need i say more?)

fast forward a couple days, we found ourselves at home with our brand new baby and…my breast milk arrived.  in the end, we only had to supplement a couple bottles of formula to wait until my breast milk came in (thank god), but still…the new worry about my boobs being the sole provider of nutrition for my daughter started to become a constant worry.

over the months ahead, i was constantly worried if she was getting enough (the answer: yes, she totally was), but it’s so hard when you are breastfeeding because you can’t actually see the amount of milk your baby is taking in.  you are limited to facts: how many minutes they nurse, how often they nurse, their attitude, their wet diapers, etc.

the one thing that calmed my worry about breast milk production was lactation snacks.  i drank the tea and i baked the cookies.  all the time, i baked.  and for me, it worked like a charm.  i could noticeably see an increase in my breastmilk because of lactation snacks and tea.  and in the end, i was able to breastfeed my daughter for her entire first year and her pediatrician couldn’t be happier with her weight, she’s a healthy little breastmilk junky.

as we are expecting our second baby, that tiny fear of breast milk production is starting to creep in.  because i know about the worry, i am doing something about it beforehand.  and because i will soon have two babies under two, i am also being smarter with my time.

oat mama was gracious enough to send me some of their lactation bars and lactation tea  to enjoy during breastfeeding baby number two.  and because i know how tiring it was for me to bake cookies all the time with a newborn, when i just wanted to sit and relax…i am so excited to have a lactation snack that is already ready to go and super easy to pack in my hospital bag.

to be clear, i haven’t tried these lactation bars nor tea yet because i am saving them for baby time, but i will definitely update you once i try them to tell you how they are working for me and…of course, my favorite flavors (which i am pretty sure will be all of them…that peanut butter chocolate chip is taunting me).  i won’t be trying these until after our baby arrives, they are currently hidden away in the freezer, awaiting that day when we drive to the hospital with white knuckles.  i say hidden because it is taking everything in me to not eat one, they look so good!

just knowing these are tucked away makes me feel better for two reasons.  the first reason, yum!  the second reason, the conveniency.  i love that i just have to grab one on the go, instead of laying out a dozen ingredients on the counter (only to realize that i am missing an ingredient) to bake cookies when, to be honest, a new mama should be napping instead of baking.