Super organised new mummy Nia Malika wants only the best for her baby girl Nora once she returns to work and school school.
And a big part of ‘only the best’ involves making sure her baby gets adequate breastmilk while she is away at work.
So how has she enabled this? By pumping and freezing eight gallons (over 30 litres!) of breastmilk! Proud of her efforts and the results of it, she was inspired to arrange the frozen packets around her newborn in the shape of a heart, for an amazing photo.
The image was shared from her https://www.facebook.com/bfmamatalk/Instagram account by the Breastfeeding Mama Talk Facebook page, and has now been shared thousands of times.
www.instagram.com/p/BYJNo_sDGkz/?taken-by=_naturally.nia
How did she produce so much milk?
This mummy explains that she hooks herself up to the breast pump every three hours, every day, and the time of day does not matter – she will even do this at midnight.
In order to produce enough milk to pump like this, she makes sure to eat plenty of meals and snacks that increase breastmilk production (galactagogues), such as oatmeal for breakfast and lactation cookies. She also drinks lots of water.
“Over the past two months I was able to store away more than 1000 ounces of breastmilk for Nora to eat when I return back to work and school, all while nursing her.”
She added: “I’m dedicated to providing my baby with the nutrition she needs, I trust my body and know this is what I was made for.
“When people say I’m lucky to have this supply I simple tell them I’m not lucky I’m blessed, and I work really hard to get where I am and will continue to do whatever it takes to keep my girl fed.”
Her beautiful photo has received plenty of praise from other Netizen mums around the world.
Sammy Dodge posted a picture of her smiling baby, with a message: “That’s awesome!! I only hope I can save that much. Good job momma. “I only have 250 ounces saved from catching milk, haven’t started pumping yet and returning to work in two months. We are working on the stash of milk.”
More power to you, mummy!
Like Nia Malika, are you looking to return to work and want to make sure baby has enough of your precious breastmilk while you are away? Then here are some tips for you!
Tips for mums to increase their breast milk supply
Jophia Bok is a Singapore-based lactation nurse and has contributed her knowledge to many theAsianparent articles.
She is a self-proclaimed “naturalist” when it comes to advice on boosting breast milk supply. She believes that a mum’s first point of call when it comes to producing adequate milk should be through a healthy, balanced diet.
However, if a mum really needs to increase her milk supply, it is recommended to eat certain kinds of “milk boosting” foods such as:
- Green papaya and fish soup
- A meal containing seafood
- Abalone
- Fish maw
- Black bean chicken soup
- Red bean soup
If these do not work, milk production supplements or “milk teas” that are readily available in pharmacies and healthfood shops are also an option. Jophia, however, does not recommend supplements with fenugreek as it may cause gastrointestinal disturbances like bloating, constipation, very watery stools or reflux in young babies.
Power pumping is another way of boosting breastmilk supply by repeatedly pumping the breasts.
Mums following this method need to pump continuously for 20 minutes, rest for the next ten, pump again for ten minutes, rest for another ten minutes and pump for ten minutes before stopping. This can be done two to three times a day if you are exclusively pumping.
If you would like to learn more about this method, read this theAsianparent article.
If you have tips to increase breastmilk production that you would like to share with fellow mummies, just drop them in a comment below!