Real talk: I spent the first year of my boys’ lives trying to kick formula to the curb. Due to a lack of medical support, proper research on my part, and a pandemic leaving us isolated without hands-on assistance, we fell into supplementing with formula.
At my boys’ four-month check-up, I finally put my foot down and announced I was going to try exclusively breastfeeding.
Spoiler alert: it was an epic failure.
This post is a combination of mistakes I made and recommendations I read while scrolling the internet for how to increase my breastmilk supply.
Not nursing first
You’re always going to want to lead with your best offer. You need your babies hungry when they are at the breast so they actively eat.
You want your nursing sessions to be the main course, not the appetizer. The more full you can get them with breastmilk, the less formula you will need to get that full feed.
Not nursing as often as possible
A nursing baby is the best way to stimulate milk production. Don’t be concerned with keeping a schedule, especially in the beginning. If your baby wants to latch, let them.
Pumping is helpful, but the suction from the machine is not as effective as a baby for a primary source of milk stimulation.
I got caught up trying to keep the boys on the same schedule and didn’t nurse as often as I could have. A synchronized routine is essential, but you can get away with being more flexible when you’re starting out.
not emptying your breasts completely
Breastmilk works on supply and demand, adjusting accordingly. If there is no demand, your body lowers production. Draining every last drop of liquid gold tells your body it needs to make more.
A well-latched baby can drain a breast in no time flat. In the early days, they may be tired or lose interest before you’ve emptied. Try coaxing your baby to stay awake with foot tickles, removing clothing, adjusting your hold, or gently stroking cheek to chin to stimulate sucking.
If that doesn’t work, hook yourself up and pump for at least 15 minutes on each side until no more milk is coming out. Then, if you can swing it, pump for a few more minutes to encourage more milk production.
not working with a lactation specialist
The best way to ensure a successful nursing relationship is to make sure you’re doing it correctly. A specialist will check your latch, help with positioning, share pointers, and weigh your baby before and after a feed to see how much they’re getting.
Having my twins just before the pandemic lockdown, I could only get in two visits with the specialist before quarantine was life. I wish I had more opportunities to work with her and gain the confidence to let go of relying on formula.
waiting too long to try exclusively breastfeeding
The longer you’re supplementing with formula, the more you rely on it, whether you like it or not.
Not only are your twins going to rely on the extra offer, but your body also will too. Instead of letting your babies dictate how much they need and letting your body adjust, you’re telling them.
The earlier you start the better, because your body is hyper-responsive, and your babies’ bellies are smaller. As they grow, it will be harder for your supply to keep up if that’s your struggle.
I waited until the boys were four months old before trying to breastfeed exclusively. It didn’t go as planned, and the boys ended up losing weight. I regret not speaking up at earlier checkups to see if we could have stopped formula supplementing sooner.
offering too much formula
The boys’ pediatrician put it perfectly when he likened supplementing with formula to a buffet. You fill your plate on the first round (in this case, nursing), and even if you’re satisfied, you go back for more because you can (formula). I know I’ve found myself overeating because the opportunity was there.
Exactly how much formula to offer as a supplement can get somewhat tricky. I eventually got myself into a situation where I offered the amount of formula a non-breastfed baby would be eating on top of breastfeeding.
No wonder my body wasn’t producing more milk!
My boobs were the opener, and the bottle was the headliner. I was having a more challenging time keeping the boys interested in nursing because they knew more was coming.
Formula is a “top-off,” not the main course, so keep the ounces reflective of that and let your body do the heavy lifting.
quitting formula cold turkey
Changing up anything in your babies’ routine cold turkey is a bad idea. The shock of such a sudden change causes more issues than it solves.
When I finally got the green light to drop the bottle, I went full throttle, thinking my body would get the memo and pick up the slack. I just ended up with hangry, inconsolable babies that were losing weight.
Even before the weigh-in, I knew something was up and had brought formula back. I tried exclusively pumping so we could track the exact amount of ounces they were getting, but I was never able to pump enough for a day’s worth for two.
ignoring your own gut
Being told almost immediately after birth that we would need to supplement, it never occurred to me that it was only a temporary thing to get us through to getting the boys to gain back their lost birth weight. I just blindly followed instructions and kept on keepin’ on.
As I mentioned earlier, I wish I would have had the guts to put my foot down after their two-week checkup and give breastfeeding an honest try.
They had surpassed their birth weight, my milk had come in, I was regularly pumping, getting at least a couple of ounces, and we had gotten high marks on our first visit with the lactation specialist.
If I could do it again, I would replace formula with pumped milk for supplementing and just feed round the clock to get my supply up.
putting too much pressure on breastfeeding
I went into motherhood cautiously optimistic about breastfeeding twins. I knew a few twin moms who had done it, and instinctively it made sense that since my body could create two babies, it would produce enough milk for both.
Breastfeeding soon became my postpartum depression obsession.
I did everything they recommended to increase my milk supply, no matter how ridiculous it sounded. I ate oatmeal for breakfast every day because oats are deemed a galactagogue (check it out on Google), took fenugreek, ordered pricy supplements marketed to ramp up production, and drank sports drinks made of coconut water. All this is on top of pumping religiously and consuming outrageous amounts of water.
I just ended up frustrated and using the loo a lot.
Supplementing with formula can be a great way to allow you some breathing room while you gain your bearings with breastfeeding. I wish I had figured out that I had the option to let go of it and possibly still have healthy boys.
Where are you at with your supplementing journey? Are you looking to try to breastfeed exclusively?
