Life

3 Lactation Cookies You Can Make Yourself, Because Increased Milk Supply + Baked Goods = Happiness

by Olivia Youngs

Life as a breastfeeding mom often feels like a balancing act. Keeping up with the demands of nursing and pumping while keeping the rest of your life afloat is a struggle. Add increasing your milk supply the mix, and things can get overwhelming. One way to keep the milk flowing is to eat foods that increase your milk supply. And, because everything tastes better as a dessert, the best way to do that is by whipping up a tray (or two) of delicious breastfeeding, or lactations, cookies.

To give you a little idea of just how important it is to stay healthy while you’re breastfeeding, I spoke to RN and internationally certified lactation consultant Cathy Nutting, who shared some of the ingredients to increasing your milk supply. During our talk, she shared that oats, brewers yeast and Flaxseed oil are the three most effective foods for increasing your milk supply.

“There isn’t a lot of scientific evidence on these findings yet,” Nutting explains, “but many women find these foods to really help their supply. Though it does vary for each women, I never doubt anyone who tells me after eating a bowl of oatmeal in the morning they notice an increase in breast milk.” Aside from eating healthy, Nutting says that “the single most important thing you can do for your milk supply is making sure your baby is taking plenty of milk out, so that your body knows to make more. Relax and know that your body will do its best for your baby.”

But when rest isn’t possible and you’re craving something sweet, a little lactation cookie can do the trick to increasing your milk supply. Although recipes may vary in flavor, the majority of breastfeeding cookie recipes contains have a few ingredients in common, such as— you guessed it– oats, yeast and flaxseed.

So next time your milk supply needs a little boost, try making one of these delicious recipes. Your tastebuds and milk supply will thank you for it.

1

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Lactation Cookies

Jen from And Hattie Makes Three made these tasty oatmeal chocolate lactation cookies while she was nursing, and swears by them. In fact, she said she still makes them to this day and has deemed them the “best lactation cookies ever.” Try them out and see if you agree.

2

Vegan and Gluten Free Lactation Cookies

It’s hard to satisfy your sweet tooth when you have dietary restrictions. Luckily, Megan at The Detoxinista has a recipe for vegan and gluten-free breastfeeding cookies that are delicious and filling.

3

Pumpkin Spice Lactation Cookies

No list would be complete without everyone’s go-to fall flavor,  pumpkin spice. These fall-flavored breastfeeding cookies from Alea at Premeditated Leftovers give you a PS fix while simultaneously helping your milk supply. Sounds like a win/win to me!

Images: Courtesy of Detoxinista; And Hattie Makes Three; Premeditated Leftovers