Got Milk?

Unlike mothers who right away begin squirting off so much milk three days after they give birth, I had to struggle to get milk. It was difficult for me to accept because I did my homework, I read books, I watched videos, attended a seminar, solicited advice and joined a breastfeeding forum. However, the first lesson I have learned about motherhood is that I cannot spend so much time moping and caressing my wound both figuratively and literally.

In case I am not the only one who ever had to struggle to get milk, here is a list of how I got by in the beginning:

1. Nap I know this sounds close to a joke but I found that I collected more milk after a nap that could be as short as ten minutes. 
2. Kabya Clams This was recommended by a family friend and this really saved me. My milk really started to pour in after I ate these. I really felt a change even as I ate the clams. I do not know if it was just psychological but milk came in when I ate the Kabya Clam soup. 
3. Milo I read about this in the breastfeeding forums. I am not sure if this really helped but the change in my milk supply was definitely not as dramatic as the change brought on by the clams. 
4. Clear Soup Kabya clams are hard to find so when we ran out, I ate any type of clams. When clams are not available any clear soup from nilaga to sinigang to tinola did the trick. 
5. Natalac I have not tried any other brand as this was recommended to me by a friend. Our first pedia (yes, we have had more than one but more on that later) said I can have as much as three per day so that's what I take. Some people say you can also take fenugreek since it's a relative of the moringga. 
6. Latch It was difficult for us to latch directly because of my short nipples but I had to keep on trying because this can really increase your milk supply. I have tried it on the two breasts and true enough my right breast produces more milk because my baby latches on the right more often. Latching directly also updates the antibodies in the breast milk. I try to do this more frequently now that my nipples no longer chafe as easily. We are still learning how to do the deep latch and we are not giving up.
7. Pump or Feed Often In my case, I pumped every two to three hours. I was told that breast milk supply uses the supply and demand rule. You have to make your body think that you need the milk by pumping often. I know I should only pump 6 weeks postpartum but my baby could not latch. For those whose circumstance is more ideal, lucky you, you just need to feed on demand. 
8. Drink Lots of Water I know I drank more than 2 liters per day in the early days. I noticed, if I do not drink enough I get dizzy and I also produce less milk. Breast milk after all is mostly water. 
9. Relax I also noticed that if I relax and read books on my Kindle as I pump, I get more milk than when I just watch milk drip into the bottle. 
10. *Update* Ginger Tea A friend told me about this. I had ginger tea sitting in the cupboard so I tried it and true enough, this gave me milk too. 
11.  *Update* Green Papaya and Malunggay (Moringga) in Coconut Milk The househelp of my in-laws recommended this. She said back in Dipolog, this helped women to lactate. I think this helped me too. 
12. *Update* Oatmeal Cookie I tried this fairly recently and it was yummy haha! I just ate store bought cookies but here's a recipe a friend of mine shared.
13. *Update* Oatmeal Milk I have not tried this but my friend got an oversupply from this. Here is the recipe she shared. 

Heat 6 cups water. Add 2 cups oatmeal. Don't let it boil, once it starts to look like it will boil, set heat to low. Add a cinnamon stick for flavour. Strain out the oats & add 2 cups milk and sugar to taste (~1/2 cup). Drink this throughout the day.

 I need to pump now. If you have more tips on how to increase milk supply, let me know so I can add your tips on the list!