I was blessed with a pretty plentiful milk supply, but there were still some times I felt I needed a little boost. I have friends who constantly struggle to supply enough milk for their nursing babies. If you fall into either of these categories, you might be interested in what worked for me! I tried Mother's Milk Tea but wasn't really satisfied with the results, and it is pretty expensive.
One day I was searching the Internet looking for something natural to help with a stubborn head cold. I noticed that Fenugreek tea was listed as a remedy for congestion and coughing. It was also listed as an herb commonly used to increase milk supply!
Fenugreek tea can be made by steeping 1 teaspoon of fenugreek seeds in hot water for about 15 minutes. It is an ingredient in artificial maple syrup, so it actually tastes pretty good, especially over ice. I drank the tea 2-3 times a day until my cold was gone, and once a day when I just needed a little extra milk.
I found fenugreek seed at my local health food store. It was available in the bulk herb section and I purchased a medium sized bag for less than $3! It was more than I could use, so when I wasn't nursing exclusively anymore, I gave the remaining seeds to a friend.
Fenugreek tea shouldn't be taken during pregnancy. For more information and additional resources on the subject, check out http://www.kellymom.com/herbal/milksupply/fenugreek.html
It works for me!
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6 comments:
Just saw this on Works for Me Wednesday! I, too, tried fenugreek to increase my supply. I am not sure if it worked or not, but it did make me smell like maple syrup!
Hi Rebecca, thanks for stopping by! It can be tricky figuring out what works best to increase supply. I tried lots of things before I found something that worked for me. I had to pump during the day at work, so I noticed when my production was low a few days in a row. I'm not sure if that was good or if it just made me more tense! www.kellymom.com is a great resource for breastfeeding in general if you are interested.
Take care!
Steph
I had to try a couple of different brands of "nursing mom" tea before I found one that I liked and that worked for me. But on the upside, I actually like it, so it's not a chore. My brand of choice is "Yogi."
Thanks for the post! I just found you on WFMW. I am going to be breastfeeding when we have our baby in September! I'll keep this in mind if I have a need!!
I'm not a hot drink kind of gal and I never would have thought to drink it iced. But with little man I had some horrendous supply issues and took fenegreek capsules and blessed thistle capsules a couple of times a day for about 9 months. They worked for me and my husband loved how sweet it made me smell.
i'm breastfeeding and I'm glad I found your blog. Thanks for the tip!
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