How I Produced Over 80 ounces of Breast Milk in a day and How I Managed to Produce Super Fatty Breast Milk

Before I even start this post I want every mom reading this to understand that everyone is different. My body is different from your body. And just because this works for me does not mean that it will automatically work for you.

Another thing I want to really emphasize is that none of this is scientifically proven. It's just things that really helped me on my breastfeeding journey. These are things that I really just have a mom gut feeling about.

At the end of the day, I just want to document what works for me in the hopes that it can help at least one mom hoping to increase their breast milk and increase the fat content of their milk.

So let me start by saying this is my first baby. I was blessed with a baby girl on December 5, 2019 at 7:59 PM EST. 

7:59 PM... that was the moment my life was forever changed. It was also the moment my boobs and nips were forever changed.

Holding my baby for the first time was surreal and magical. But, real talk... I had absolutely no idea how to even hold her. Let alone, I had no clue how to hold her while breastfeeding. 

Breastfeeding... 

This simple three syllable word will forever be a trigger word for me. This is because, breastfeeding did not come easy to me. 

I had clogged ducts for the first four months every... single... day.

I also had something called thrush. It's basically a vaginal yeast infection for your nips. 

If you have ever had a vaginal yeast infection, you might know that itchy and irritating sensation that will just stay with you all day long. Well, apparently your nips can feel that way too.

I had thrush until my baby started solids at six months. Yup, six months of a vaginal yeast infection on my nips.

I made over 80 ounces of milk in a 24 hour period

At my breastfeeding peak, I was pumping 19 ounces in one session.

I would say my peak was from when baby was three months old to just before baby started solids at six months old.

Here are my tips to increasing your milk supply.

1. HAAKAA

Having a Haakaa is my biggest tip.

You can buy a Haakaa on Amazon.

You can also find other budget friendly manual breast pumps on Amazon.

 I absolutely loathe pumping. So, my solution is my Haakaa.

When I'm feeding baby, I suction a Haakaa on the boob my baby is not feeding from. This way, I can get away with not having to pump. 

The Haakaa will literally, like magic, collect over 9 ounces of letdown during one feeding. That's why I ended up buying the 5 oz. Haakaa.

You can collect the haakaa milk and save it for future feedings for your baby!

What I do is I use a 32 oz. empty mayo jar to pour my letdowns into. I leave the jar on my coffee table. And throughout the day, I just dump all my Haakaa milk into the jar. 

Then, every night, I use the collected milk for my baby's bath. I started doing this because my baby had such bad eczema. Since starting this routine, my baby's eczema cleared up.

An added bonus in saving the milk for bath time rather than future feedings is that I do not have to wash my Haakaa after each feeding. I will just wash the Haakaa at the end of the night.

From my photos, I'm sure you can tell which one has not been washed. Yeah, I know... it's kind of gross.

Yes, I have four of these babies. That's how much I love them!

2. INCREASE YOUR DAILY CALORIE INTAKE

Every breastfeeding mom knows that you lose a ton of calories while breastfeeding. 

But, it's not until today that I actually googled how many calories I lose from breastfeeding. 

According to Dr. Google, the average number of calories my body uses up to make one ounce of milk is about 22 calories. So that means, at my breastfeeding peak, I lost OVER 1,760 calories in a 24 hour period. 

And that's just the calories I lose from making milk. It's not the calories I need to have a healthy functioning brain and body. Plus, the calories I desperately need to physically keep up with my baby.

It makes sense why, at my breastfeeding peak, I would eat a whole jar of peanut butter AND a whole half gallon tub of ice cream AFTER finishing a whole meal. I could not control my hunger no matter how much I ate.

Listen to your body's hunger cues. If you're hungry, you have to eat. There's no way your body will produce milk, if it doesn't have the nutritional energy to do so.

I notice the more I eat, the more milk I make.

3. DRINK SOY MILK LIKE WATER

Drinking soy milk is my easy means of increasing my daily caloric intake.

However, the real reason I started to drink so much soy milk is because I was told soybeans make breast milk taste better. My logic is if my milk tastes better, my baby will drink more. The more milk my baby drains, the more milk my body will be forced to make.

4. INCREASE YOUR DAILY WATER INTAKE

Just as a disclaimer, I drink a ton of water even before breastfeeding. Actually, my friends have called me a camel because I love water so much. In a day, I probably drink over a gallon of water with ease.

But, after breastfeeding, I probably drink 3 to 4 gallons of water in a day.

I bought this 2.2L water bottle on Amazon. It helps to have a jumbo water bottle because I don't have to refill as often.

At the end of the day, when it comes to food and water listen to your body.

 Your body will signal to you when it needs water. But, if possible, always try to sip water before your body is thirsty.

5. RELAX YOUR BODY

This is especially vital when you feel a letdown happening. For me, I know I am having a letdown when I feel a tingling sensation on my nips. When I feel that sensation, I take a deep breath, close my eyes and release all the tension in my body.

A tip I have is pretend you're in a nice warm bubble bath. Just try to relax all of your muscles.

Another tip I have is to set up a comfy nursing station.

This is my makeshift nursing station. I invented it in the middle of the night while I was half asleep. It is so comfy that I actually plan on having this set up even after my nursing days are over.

Kudos to the sleep deprived me for coming up with something so random yet, so comfortable. I guess desperation and a lack of sleep makes one come up with some crazy stuff.

All I did to make my nursing station is I combined my Ergo nursing pillow with my infant lounge pillow.

My setup may look super random, but it has saved me from that notorious nursing back pain.

6. SNACK THROUGHOUT THE DAY

I try to have a snack every one hour. But, I always listen to my body. 

I know how difficult it is to feed yourself, let alone, breastfeed a very hungry and very needy baby. Snacking is my answer to making sure I eat as much as I can throughout the day. If I am so busy with baby that I end up skipping a meal, it's not a big deal. I'm able to consume the calories my body needs through my snacking.

The best calorie dense snacks that are super easy to munch on while nursing are tree nuts. I eat all types of tree nuts. I find that pecans, cashews and walnuts are perfect because they are high in calories and not as filling as let's say an almond.

Another high calorie snack I find easy to eat a lot of is peanut butter on crackers.

7. SUNFLOWER LECITHIN

I take two of these babies per a day. I believe this supplement is a nursing mom's must have.

Sunflower lecithin is a supplement used to reduce the stickiness of your milk. It's a natural fat emulsifier that stops the fat in your milk from clumping together. (That's what the website, where I buy my supply, says) 

Breastfeeding moms take it to prevent clogged ducts. I also found that it makes my milk more of a liquid consistency. This makes it easier for my milk to drip into my Haakaa. It also makes it easier to drain my boobs with my Spectra pump. The more you drain your boobs, the more milk your body will make.

8. TAKE DEEP BREATHS WHEN YOU HAVE A LETDOWN

This tip goes back to tip number five, relax your body.

When I feel a letdown, I close my eyes and take deep yoga breaths. I breath in through my nose and out through my mouth. I do this until my letdown is over.

9. SMELL YOUR FAVORITE SCENTS 

This tip also goes back to tip number five, relax your body.

I find that smelling something I enjoy helps me relax my muscles.

My favorite scent, of course, is my baby's head. When I'm nursing, her lovely sweat smelling head is always there for me to enjoy. Is that creepy?

10. FOCUS ON YOUR NIPPLE STIMULATION

Okay, let me start off by saying that I know how strange this one sounds. But hear me out.

So, focus on how your nipples are feeling. Be mindful of how they are being stimulated. The more I focus on the stimulation, the more my nips release milk.

Try to focus extra on the stimulation when you are having a letdown. When I focus extra during a let down it helps my milk flow out quicker. 

I have absolutely no idea the science behind this. But, trust me. It works.

11. RELAXING MUSIC

This is also a pretty strange tip. Listen to some calming music while pumping or nursing. 

This is one I just recently discovered. One day, just for fun, I was listening to Disney piano music. Then, I pumped because I felt a clog coming on. And for some strange reason my milk was flowing more smoothly than normal.

12. OATMEAL

I'm adding this one last because I don't think it really worked for me. But, every mom I have spoken to swears eating oatmeal increases their supply.

At first, I ate oatmeal religiously because I was told oatmeal increases supply.

But, at my 4 month mark, I just got so sick and tired of oatmeal that I would skip it for days on end.

To my surprise, my supply was pretty much the same with oatmeal and without oatmeal.

Though oatmeal did not work wonders for me, I think it's important to add to my post. It could easily work for you.

Here are my tips for producing super fatty milk.

Here's a video of me flipping my milk upside down without a bottle cap. The layer of fat that forms on the top of my milk (fat plug) is that crazy thick.

At the prime of my breastfeeding, I was producing this level of fatty milk for every 4 in 5 bottles of milk I expressed with my Spectra pump. 

1. ICE CREAM

Okay, this one is super weird to post. But, I really believe eating full fat, heavy cream ice cream made my milk super fatty.

The brand of ice cream that really makes my milk super fatty is Tillamook. I really can't tell you why. But, it just works for me.

I'm ashamed to admit that I normally eat a lot of ice cream. But, my lordy, at my breastfeeding peak, I was consuming disgusting, and I mean repulsive, amounts of ice cream. Thinking back, I can't believe how much ice cream I ate. In one sitting, I would eat like five ice cream sandwiches all after finishing a whole half gallon tub of ice cream. I'm actually surprised I even survived that amount of sugar overload.

Now, I'm not saying to eat as much ice cream as I did during my milk making peak. Frankly, that's like a lawsuit waiting to happen. But, I really think it's worth trying to eat more ice cream to see if it helps you get that fat plugged milk. But let's be real, it's delicious and creamy ice cream. Who doesn't want any excuse to eat ice cream?

2. HEALTHY FATS

People say that eating certain foods do not change the nutritional value and fat content of your milk. I honestly do not believe that. 

If what you eat can change the flavor of your milk then I sure believe that what you eat can change the fat content of your milk.

Tree nuts are such an easy way to add healthy fats into your diet. This snack has been such a lifesaver for me. I notice that when I snack on more tree nuts throughout the day, I make more milk. And the more milk I make, the more opportunity I have to make fattier milk. 

Which leads me to my next tip...

 

3. INCREASE YOUR DAILY CALORIE INTAKE

Tree nuts are not only an easy way to add healthy fats into your diet but it's such an easy way to increase your calorie count. 

I can't emphasis this tip enough. Increasing my energy consumption not only helps my body make more milk, it helps my body make fattier milk.

Like I mentioned before, your body burns around 22 calories producing one ounce of milk.

If your body does not get the energy it needs, it will compensate to save energy. Your body is meant to survive. Naturally, it will first save energy by stopping all things not essential to your survival. This includes making milk.

4. EAT MORE PROTEIN

A convenient way of making sure I eat enough protein throughout my busy day is through protein bars. I pictured a few of my favorites.

I would love to know about your breastfeeding journey! Also feel free to ask me any questions in the comment section below.