Category Archives: breastfeeding

In part one, I talked about the reasons why it is a good idea to nurse your babies. In this part I will give some resources that I have found over the years to help in your endeavor to breastfeed.

First thing I highly recommend is drinking plenty of fluids. Keep a large special cup just for yourself that you can keep refilling all day long.

A tea I recommend drinking to help boost your milk supply is from Traditional Medicines called Mothers Milk tea. A great investment, I wish I would’ve known about this babies ago. Mother’s Milk can be highly effective; it works by increasing levels of lactation-related hormones including prolactin and progesterone.

The way I would drink this, as I don’t care for the black licorice flavor, is by filling my water cup up with tap water and dropping in a teabag. Just let it sit out for a bit then drink it down. I would use one teabag a day. I keep my water cup filled all day long, reusing the tea bag.

A word of caution this tea can cause extreme gas in both you and your infant. I have only had one child that could not tolerate this ( one out of ten isn’t bad) Our last baby was extremely colicky, I had to discontinue drinking this tea, in order to help his tummy. But I still strongly recommend it as it has helped me so many times over the years. The tea contains Fenugreek, which is one of the primary components of the herbal tea to increase breast milk production. It is generally safe and widely used in food, but can cause many of the discomforting side effects such as bloating, gas and mild diarrhea.

Another product I recommend to moms to purchase is my Brest friend nursing pillow. A great way to nurse baby and be mobile. Helps in those first few weeks to have newborn latch on properly at breast level. Your back, shoulders, and neck will feel ten times better. I have used a Boppy pillow over the years and various other items, nothing comes close to the comfort of this pillow.

Make some homemade nursing tops so you will feel comfortable and confident in your nursing adventure. Check out my other post on how I made these modest and inexpensive.

Get your rest mommas, nothing will lesson your milk production more than a worn out tired momma. So step away from this blog and get some sleep:-)

(By the way, I am not being paid to say any of this, I am just expressing my own delight in it).

1 Thessalonians. 2:7-8

“But we behaved gently when we were among you, like a devoted mother nursing and cherishing her own children. So, being thus tenderly and affectionately desirous of you, we continued to share with you not only God’s good news ( the Gospel) but also our own lives as well, for you had become so very dear to us.”

I’ve spent 576,000 minutes on average nursing my babies over the last 20 years. I’ve had good experiences and bad. But with each new baby I’ve learned many tactics that have helped me over the years on my journey to nourish my child’s first year of life.

Here are a few facts about nursing ……..

1.  Breastfeeding may reduce your risk of developing breast cancer. Recent studies showed that pre-menopausal women who breastfed their children were 50 percent less likely to develop breast cancer, compared to women who did not nurse their children.
2. Breastfeeding has a calming effect on mommas. When your baby nurses, your body releases the hormone oxytocin, which causes calmness, even sleepiness.
3. Breastfeeding is a great pain reliever and soother. Your milk contains endorphins which soothe and calm babies during times of stress. This comes in very handy during vaccinations, injuries, illnesses, or when your baby just needs that special cuddle
4. Those endorphins during breastfeeding also benefit you–this is why breastfeeding mothers report being happier, less tired and having less post-partum depression. .
5. Breastfeeding burns calories. While you sit and relax with your baby you are also burning up to an extra 500 calories per day. So the ideal way to lose weight without the exercise!
6. Breastfeeding reduces your babies exposure to sugar. the only sugar a baby should have or even needs, is lactose. This is the harmless sugar found in breast milk. sucrose is the alternative and can cause damage to erupting teeth.
7. Breastfeeding contributes to a better environment. Breastfeeding is energy efficient – no need to boil water,wash, or sterilize.  Less waste with breastfeeding.
8. Fresh breast milk is never contaminated with bacteria. In fact, it has antibacterial properties.
9. Your milk contains healthy bacteria, antibodies, white blood cells, antimicrobials and cell wall protectors — which is the science behind why exclusively breastfed babies have a significantly lower risk of contracting infections.
10. Breast milk has never been recalled. Formula has been, sometimes after causing injury or death.
11. It’s what breasts were designed for!

 Philippians 4:8

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

Continue reading part two for resources I recommend for easier breastfeeding.