How to Optimize Your Breastmilk

As a first time mom I found myself worrying about a million different things. Is the baby hungry? Cold? Tired? Is she getting everything she needs from my breastmilk? Phew! I didn’t know there was so many things to consider when nurturing a little babe.

We recently had our third baby and I still find myself wondering some of these things!

Thankfully this time around I’ve found tools to help answer some of these questions.

How to Optimize Your Breastmilk 

In this post I’m sharing 4 ways to optimize your breastmilk and make sure your sweet baby is getting everything her or she needs.

#1 Consider having your breastmilk tested.

Say what!? Yes, it’s true! 

I was thrilled to find this new service. It’s such an easy way to optimize your breastmilk.

Here is the short of it: you pump throughout the day, send it in to the lab, they test it and you get a food label for your breastmilk. 

How awesome is that!? The Lactation Lab sent me the Standard Breast Milk Test Kit to review.

Here is what they tested in my breastmilk:

Protein
Fat
Carbohydrates
Calcium
Vitamin A
Iron
Vitamin B12
Vitamin C

After I sent in my sample, about 10 days later I received an email from the founder Stephanie Canale, M.D. She gave me a few suggestions on what I can do to improve my milk.

One thing I LOVED is that she said “I do want to stress that this process is not about looking for deficiencies but instead learning about how to optimize your milk.”

YES! We shouldn’t beat ourselves up over this, but use it as a tool to improve.

The report from Lactation Lab gives great suggestions on how to add different nutrients to your diet. For me personally, I need to add more citrus fruit and bell peppers! 

#2 Don’t stop taking your prenatal vitamin. 

I didn’t realize how important it was to continue taking a vitamin until recently. Our bodies go through so much during pregnancy and delivery. 

Even if you have an awesome diet, it can help to continue your prenatal vitamin for the months you are nursing. 

This leads me to the third point…

#3 Take a good look at your diet.

I have to be honest in the first few weeks of mothering I eat whatever I can get my hands on. Now that I’m a little less tired and getting a bit more sleep I can focus on my diet again.

One of the easiest ways to examine your diet is to ask yourself: Am I eating the rainbow throughout the day?

Are you getting a few good servings of vegetables? Green, red, yellow, purple?

Are you eating servings of fruit? Red, blue, orange, purple? 

Track your diet for a day or two. What easy changes can do you to improve your diet? This directly impacts your breastmilk and is an easy way to optimize your milk.

#4 Take a deep breath!

Taking care of a newborn is a lot of work. I’ve found the more stressed I am about nursing my baby, the fussier she is at the breast. Take a deep breath. A fed baby is best! 

Do what you need to do to take care of yourself and try not to stress over getting everything PERFECT. (This is a great life lesson for parenting in general).

So there it is! Have you breastfeed your babies? What have you found helpful to maintain your supply? We’d love to hear about your journey in the comments below.

Thank you Lactation Lab for sending us a kit to review. I was not required to write a positive review and I thoroughly enjoyed the service. It’s a wonderful thing for new moms!