It’s baby season!!!!!

With many of my friends and family members preparing to enter motherhood or welcomed a new edition into their family I have been reflecting on my journey into motherhood. If you haven’t had a chance yet to read the day I met God, head on over to that post and read all about my son’s birth story!!

Although I had an active pregnancy and a healthy one, his delivery was a bit emotional. Nevertheless, once he arrived he was pure perfection, my body went back to regular, lost all my baby weight immediately and he and I were properly breastfeed exclusively. When we went back to the doctor for his one week checkup the doctors determined that my blood pressure was higher than they were comfortable with I was immediately prescribed a prescription for blood pressure medicine. I began taking it the following day. My son’s pediatrician, who is a family friend, warned me that that prescription may alter or interfere with my breast milk and its production, however no one prepared me for the inability to feed my child! 

The prescription I was put on did not only hinder slightly or alter my breast milk but diminished my Supply completely!! As you read in the number of my post, I pride myself on being a natural woman and certainly on being a natural mother so my inability to continue breastfeeding exclusively broke my heart again! I felt like a failure and couldn’t understand why my body was unable to do what I thought it was made to do. 

Of course when I reported that changes to the doctor prescribed the medicine to me, he insisted that that was never a side effect nor had he ever heard of any such thing (because why would we take responsibility for our actions ownership). I was adamant that my child could and would still be breastfed. This desire was compounded by his inability to digest formula, no matter what brand or type he was given. Trust me, when I say inability to digest formula, I truly do mean inability to digest formula. If I fed him an 8 ounce bottle he would vomit 7 ounces of that bottle within 20 minutes of finishing it.  

As a new mother my primary concern was tending to the health and well-being of my child and I just felt like I was unable to do so. Quite honestly, I questioned my capability to meet my child’s basic needs. At this point, I started researching homeopathic alternatives to inducing breast milk. I had determined that if adoptive parents could breastfeed and they had not carried a child in their body, giving birth then I certainly could do so as well or at least attempt. 

I read several articles, really I got elbow deep in research. What I learned was first, nothing was going to work if I wasn’t willing to work with my body. This meant that I must be patient, understanding and calm, all of which were very difficult for a mother who had just given birth and felt like a failure when trying to nurture a child!  Nevertheless, challenge accepted! 

In order to aid in remaining calm and trusting my body, I began drinking mother’s milk tea by Yogi tea. I am a longtime fan of this brand as it is all natural, organic and advocates for holistic health! What more could I ask for?!?!! This particular type of tea claims to increase one’s milk production. I’m not totally sold on that. What I am sure of is that drinking the mother’s milk tea with regularity (usually 2 – 4 cups a day), certainly aided in my overall sense of well-being, positivity and serenity; research shows that being in a healthy mind state as well as being calm does help induce milk production. I was on the right track! 

I also stumbled upon mother’s milk capsules by More Milk Plus. This is a product that I purchased from Whole Food and it was relatively inexpensive. I took these capsules twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening, in order to increase milk production. Again, I’m not certain that this capsule did anything. I honestly can’t say that I felt one bit of a difference in my body nor did I ever see an increase in my milk production simply from taking this capsule supplement. My results maybe atypical as I have read and number of favorable reviews on this product, I just can’t speak to those results from my own experience. 

Next up, fenugreek. This herb is promoted as one that also increases lactation. I’ve got to be honest here and tell you guys that I never took the Fenugreek with any consistency or regularity to know whether or not it actually was going to work. 

By this point I began became inundated with so many different supplements, research all in the attempt to Simply feed my child it truly did become overwhelming

Every woman I know can attest that when you’re feeling less than fabulous, Sweet Treats usually do the trick. With that in mind, I began doing research on foods that would increase my lactation and milk production. The number one recommended food were……. lactation cookies! I must admit I’ve had my share of cookies in my day but never…ever… ever…ever…ever… ever… ever…. have I heard of a lactation cookie! This sparked my interest and resulted in, you guessed it, even more research. All the research I read was favorable. The ingredients in the cookies, all natural with options for organic substitutes. All lights were green for me to try these cookies. I will forewarn you they are not the delicious melt-in-your-mouth sweet treats that you are thinking of when reading the word cookie (they’re not horrible either) however they did increase my milk production although not by Leaps and Bounds.

Finally I stumbled on a recipe for homemade formula. I was completely confused by that title in and of itself how does one have homemade formula? Formula is made in a plant or factories right? and if made at home what would you make it out of? dry powdered milk?  I had too many questions and once again began researching if you haven’t learned yet I asked a lot of questions! I like knowing the answers to my questions and will research absolutely everything! After doing some digging about homemade formula, I discovered that it was not widely promoted and slightly complicated to make homemade formula. Still, it seemed like the best option for us. Again I will tell you, homemade formula is not, I repeat, is not, easy to make! Most of the ingredients are not common grocery or household items, several of which I had to special order. If your baby is having severe allergies or inability to digest formula, you are unable to breastfeed and your little bundle is too young for baby food, then I would suggest trying this out. If you do not find yourself in that boat, I would exercise every other option first as making your own formula is again a complicated, complex process. 

If making your own formula is a path you choose to travel down,  I’ve listed my favorite recipes below. As always, please comment or email me if you try any of the above recommendations for increasing lactation. Should you post on Instagram, tag me (@AqueneSincerity) and use #ParentingWithAquene

Lactation Cookies:

Ingredients:

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups unbleached organic all purpose flour
5 tablespoons brewers yeast
3 tablespoons ground flaxseed
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons organic unsalted butter
4 tablespoons unrefined organic virgin coconut oil
1 1/2 cups organic cane sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips/chunks

Preheat the oven the 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, yeast, flaxseed, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and salt.

Beat the butter and coconut oil until creamy and smooth.  Add in the sugar and continue to fold together until fluffy, about 4 to 5 minutes.  Add in the egg and egg yolk, beating until combined, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add in the vanilla extract and beat until combined again. Gradually add in the dry ingredients, beating on low speed until just combined and mixed. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips. 

Scoop the dough into 1-inch round balls and place on a baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 to 14 minutes, or until are golden. Let cool completely before storing in a container.

 

Non-GMO Infant Formula Recipe

2 cups organic milk or raw milk,
-you can also substitute coconut milk, soy milk or almond milk.

1/4 cup liquid whey

4 tablespoons  lactose

1/4 teaspoon bifodobacterium infantis

2 tablespoons cream (not ultrapasteurized)

1 teaspoon high quality cod liver oil, hemp oil or flax oil

1 teaspoon sunflower oil

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons coconut oil

2 teaspoons nutritional yeast

2 teaspoons non-GMO gelatin

(there are pork free versions of gelatin available usually derived from fish. These are available online, in most alternative food stores & within Muslim/Jewish community stores)

1 7/8 cups filtered water

1/4 teaspoon acerola powder

Add gelatin to water and heat until gelatin is dissolved. Place all ingredients in a blender and pulsate until smooth.

To serve, pour 6 to 8 ounces into a sterilized glass bottle, attach BPA-free and phthalate-free nipple and warm in a pan of low boiling water. As with all warmed bottles, shake it and test the temperature before feeding it to your little dumpling.

If you try any of the above, or find something else that works better for you, comment below or send me an email!! If you post to Instagram, tag me (@AqueneSincerity) and use #ParentingWithAquene

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article sponsered by Northern Michigan certified lactation consulting and Mother Hubbards Country Cupboard