If you’ve found yourself feeling like a ship on its maiden voyage with a hungry barnacle attached to your port side, you’re not alone. Breastfeeding can dictate how the day will go and how much sleep and sanity anyone in the house can get. It can be a wild and unpredictable fiasco for one baby and a seamless, breezy task for another. Whether you’re a new mom or a mother on your 9th child, breastfeeding presents new challenges and unique experiences from one baby to the next.

The questions I’ve asked and others ask me the most are:

Am I making enough?
How can I make more?

Some days I’m quite busty, overflowing and ready to feed triplets. Other days, I give Coco all I got and she looks up at me like Tiny Tim and asks “mo please.” It’s those days I get nervous and think ‘today is the day my milk supply dries up, forever’ and I panic. Well, if you’re scared you’re not producing enough, that just means you’re a good, concerned mom that wants the absolute best and most for their baby. These nerves serve as a reminder to take a few more self-care precautions like proper hydration, sleep, exercise etc to ensure you’re strong, rested, healthy and in return, empowered to produce what your body is capable of.

Do you really need to increase your milk supply?

All too often moms compare how much milk they are producing to other moms that have a much larger milk storage capacity. This can leave moms feeling inadequate, like they are not making enough when in reality, they’re actually making plenty of milk for their tike but aren’t equipped to hold as much as other moms or don’t respond as well to a pump.

The best indicator of a sufficient milk supply is your baby. Is your baby having several wet diapers a day? Is your baby gaining weight even if it is slow and steady? These are signs that your milk supply is doing just fine. Your baby is much more efficient at removing milk from your breast than a pump is and it’s growth and health are the ultimate indicator of sufficient supply.

Here are signs that you are producing enough milk:

Breasts should be softer after each feeding — particularly close to the areola
Other breast leaks or drips as the baby nurses
You leak or feel tingling just before breastfeeding and relieved afterward
You can hear the baby swallowing or gulping while feeding
You see milk residue on lips or tongue when baby comes off the breast or dribbles in corner of the baby’s mouth
The baby produces 4-6 wet diapers and copious stools in a 24 hour period
The baby is relaxed (though awake) after nursing
Babies belly looks distended and full after nursing
Baby is gaining the recommended .7 to 1oz per day, and is back at their birth weight by day 10-14

If your baby is fussing at the breast and wanting to nurse constantly you may feel your supply is low. More often than not this cluster feeding is just a growth spurt. But increasing your supply to meet the demand quickly can help your baby and you get through the growth spurt more smoothly.

If your baby is not getting enough milk or it is a growth spurt there are a few simple steps one can take to help increase milk supply fast and get back on track.

Here are signs that your milk production is low:

Breasts do not feel full of milk (feeling softer and less hard is normal once regular breastfeeding is established—this is a significantly ‘empty’ feeling)
Baby appears fussy while feeding and after nursing is complete
Baby lethargic and not interested in waking for feeds
Less than 4-6 wet diapers per day
Baby is not meeting the recommended weight gain goals
Difficulty with baby’s latch. If the baby isn’t effectively latching to the breast with a full, deep latch (where the entire areola enters the baby’s mouth), it may mean that they are not able to efficiently empty the breast of milk

How to increase your milk supply

The best way to quickly increase your breastmilk supply is to nurse your baby often. It’s basic economics- Supply and Demand. The more time your baby spends on the breast, the more milk your body will make. After feeding your baby you can pump for 5 minutes each side even if nothing comes out to encourage your body to start producing milk faster. Another great option is to pump one side while feeding your baby on the other. A silicone breast pump like the HaaKaa is a great way to pump a bit more milk while feeding your baby on the other side without having to do anything or being attached to cords. Sometimes you gotta manipulate your body a bit and trick it into thinking that this constant demand is the new standard and you will naturally start producing more and more.

Prolactin, the hero hormone which governs milk supply, is stimulated by infant suckling at the nipple, along with oxytocin, which prompts the body to keep milk flowing and stimulates the ‘let down’ reflex which starts the flow of milk.

Emptying each breast of its milk by nursing the baby on both sides signals the body to keep making more milk, which is why full feeds—which leave your breasts feeling significantly less full—are a key component of healthy milk supply.

Drink more fluids. A well-hydrated body will produce milk faster and at a higher volume than if you are not giving your body enough liquids. It is very easy to forget to take care of your own needs when you’re so busy and fatigued caring for your new baby.

It’s not just water many moms skimp on during the day. Be sure to eat plenty of nutrient rich food to help your body thrive and have everything it needs to supply your baby with food without depleting your energy. Apples, bananas and grapes, almonds and other one-handed snacks are great to grab when you are too busy to cook or prepare something.

You’re burning calories like an Olympian and need constant intake. It helps to choose foods that can help with lactation like oats. Have some delicious oatmeal each morning to get the day started on the right, milk-producing foot. Be sure to get plenty of protein (pre-made, ready-to-drink protein drinks are a great option) and healthy fats (handfuls of varying nuts) to help with milk production and quality.

There are tons of supplements on the market that claim to increase your milk supply. Stick to natural supplements that have good reviews from a large customer base. Here were the most popular ingredients recommended when I searched in mommy groups on Facebook

1. Fenugreek

It reminds me of the name of a race of people one would find mentioned on Star Trek, but they’re actually aromatic seeds considered potent galactagogues. “Finally a potent galactagogue Spock” you’re probably thinking. Nevertheless, fenugreek contains estrogen-like compounds that are thought to enhance milk flow, and one small study found that women who drank fenugreek tea thrice daily produced significantly more milk compared to those who didn’t. But the evidence that it works to produce breast milk is pretty thin and some mothers report that can cause babies to be gassier, which is funny for adults, but irritating and uncomfortable for babies. I’ve been taking this fenugreek product and it’s worked wonders for me. It doesn’t seem to bother Coco one bit but of course this is anecdotal.

2. Oatmeal or Oat Milk

If you’re into oatmeal for cereal, oat-filled lactation cookies, oatmeal/chocolate chip cookies or you can find a barista to make you an oat milk latte- just do it! Oats are great for producing more breast milk! Pourquoi? The whole grain is a great source of iron (half a cup of dry oats has close to 2 mg of iron, or around 20 percent of what breastfeeding moms need per day), and low levels of the mineral are known to inhibit milk supply. However there aren’t any studies that show eating oats actually helps milk production, though- but mothers experiences suggest it really does work.

3. Fennel seeds

These little black licorice-flavored seeds often found at Indian Food Restaurants are another traditional milk booster (and digestive aid), and they’re regularly used in lactation cookies and teas. Like fenugreek, fennel seeds contain estrogen-like compounds that many believe enhance milk supply. A few small studies have tied fennel seed consumption to greater milk volume and fat content, as well as infant weight gain. But large-scale research around their supposed breastfeeding benefits is lacking. Fennel is fabulous for digestion which is why I included it in REPAIR+. By default of me loving my gut, I get fennel every morning.

Here are a few products that I tried and totally worked for me!

If you’re hydrated, healthy and continue to struggle to increase your milk supply, talk to a lactation specialist. Having outside help can be a great tool in figuring out your personal situation and getting you the results you’re looking for!

One of the best things I did before Coco was take a course by Lactation Link. Their class gave me the confidence I needed to breastfeed my babe while also helping ease some of my fears.

They’re offering all my followers a FREE 6-day course as well as a discount for their in depth class. I can’t stress enough how fabulous it was to have lactation specialists at my finger tips.

Use code: chanelle10 for a discount on the full class!

Let me know in the comments if you have any questions