Breastfeeding and Running

When I wrote last week about postpartum running, I didn’t write about being an exclusively breastfeeding mom and what that looked like to train and run hard for a race. I had a few requests to write about this particular subject so here it is. If you could care less about this then feel free to skip out. I’ll just plan on seeing you on Monday with a yummy post!!

Number one priority with training for the half marathon this last April was to do it smartly and to still be able to breastfeed exclusively. If my milk supply started to drop, I would have backed out of training and the race in a heartbeat. Little known fact that most people don’t know, I originally signed up to run the full marathon and dropped back to the half because it logistically wasn’t going to work for me being a new mom and breastfeeding. It’s ok for your goals to change, take a little longer to achieve or be placed on the list for you to think about at a total different time.

Here are the logistics I went through on a daily basis with making sure I kept my milk supply up and was able to train without missing feedings.

• Calorie intake was key. I ate anything and everything and tried to ingest as many good carbs, lean proteins and good fats as I could. That even meant making a couple batches of my lactation cookies to balance everything out.
• I woke up most training days at 6 a.m., pumped and ran outside to meet my two girlfriends for our training run. We would train for about a hour, I’d hop in the shower and by that time little Archie bear was up and going around 8 a.m. and ready for his breakfast milk.
• Keep in mind this was when Archie was 3 to 6.5 months old and my milk supply replaced itself rather quickly so he would still have plenty of milk to drink after my run. These days I wouldn’t be able to pump that early and still have enough for him to be satisfied in the morning because he’s such an efficient milk drinker and my body has adjusted to making only what it needs and I haven’t pumped after I’ve fed him in probably two months. Gone are the days where I could still pump 2-4 oz after he drank in the morning.
• I drank tons of water. Enough said.
• Some of our long runs got tricky because Archie was still on a consistent 3 hour schedule and would breastfeed for a total of 20-30 minutes each time. So I would literally have about a 2 hour gap to get a long run in, get home and be ready for Archie again. So I would be dressed and ready to leave the house as soon as I fed him before my long run. We would run our long distance and as soon as I would get back home he’d be ready to eat again. It was sort of insane for that time period of training but totally worth it to be able to go in between feedings and stay home with daddy.
• The morning of the race, I woke up a little earlier, pumped and then daddy gave him a bottle. My body was totally ready to feed him as soon as I crossed the finish line so after I met up with Chad, snapped some pictures, we walked to the car and I immediately hopped in the backseat to feed him.
• I talked a little bit about my fear of not making enough milk to keep up with Archie when I wrote out my recipe for my lactation cookies. I definitely had moments to where I tried to amp up my supply while training just to make sure I wasn’t depriving him of the nutrition he needed. So there were many a time that I pumped after each feeding and then again around 10 or 11 pm to trick my body into thinking it needed to make more milk. Looking back, I might not have needed to do that but my milk supply stayed up so I can’t complain.
• I’m not going to lie, breastfeeding, having a newborn and training for a race is hard. I’m sort of an overachiever so I wanted to accomplish my goal and do it well. But I literally would not have been able to do this on my own. Chad was amazing at supporting me during crazy training hours and helping with Archie in any ways he could even after a long morning of leading worship or a long day at the office, and my two friendlies, Allie and Kate, were so flexible with Archie’s schedule. What friends who don’t have kids get up at the crack of dawn or run later at night to train with a crazy, new, breastfeeding momma because that was what was best for my schedule? I am forever grateful and look back on those runs with the fondest memories of talking, having accountability, laughing and being like sisters.
• Bottom line for me to remember if I ever train for a race when I have a newborn again is that I made sure I didn’t miss Archie drinking directly from the tap. A pump never gets as much out as direct latching so I will try and do everything, scheduling runs wise, to work around his schedule. So if that means pushing a run up or back by 30 minutes then that’s what I’ll do. He was top priority and I’m glad I kept it that way. As much as I love running, I love my babe more and that was always something to remember.

So you can see, training is totally possible. But maybe you truly don’t feel like you can train for a distance like a half marathon but nothing says you can’t run 5k’s, 5 milers or 10k’s. Do what’s right for you. And if that’s taking a season off from training hard then that’s ok. Remember, there is grace! Our babies are only little for so long so it’s all up to what your priorities are. Don’t worry about living up to what you think everyone expects of you. You do you. The End.

Breastfeeding runner momma’s, what are your tips that you found helpful with working for you and your family?

Lactation Cookies

Yes, I really typed “lactation cookies”. Because you know why? Well, I’m convinced almost every mother has worried about her milk supply at some point in her journey of breastfeeding. I don’t feel the need to divulge every detail of my life on this blog because who wants to hear about every minute? My life is not that exciting guys.

I do, however, feel the need to sometimes talk about more personal things if I think other people might have the same thoughts or worries. Blogging can be a great community of support, honestly.

So anyway, yes, this title has the word lactation in it but I will not be showing you pictures of anything other than cookies. No stepping over that fine line here but let’s talk about milk.

I didn’t have a worry in the world about milk production until I returned back to work 14 weeks after little Archie was born. I had pumped at home some and had built up a little stash in the freezer so he would have milk ready and waiting when I returned to work. Then I started to work again. Only 2 days a week but the days are long with being a nurse. I wake up at 5:30 a.m. and don’t return home until 7:30 p.m. so imagine me pumping 4-5 times each day I worked. I’d get to work early (once Archie was sleeping through the night), pump before my shift started and then pump every 2 1/2-3 hours until my last pump at 5 pm. Poor Chad, I would have a “freakout” (as he so lovingly called it) about once every week or two about not pumping as much as I had wanted. It was especially discouraging when I would hear of fellow mom’s pumping 8 oz in 7 minutes! What?! I want to pump that much!

So I set out to bump up my supply. I ate oatmeal every morning, pumped after Archie went to sleep, pumped in the middle of the night, and even made these “lactation cookies”. My supply held steady with a few more ounces to account for at the end of each work shift. I was quite pleased. Then Archie started boycotting taking a bottle at home on the days I was at work so my freezer stash grew and grew until I ended up with 130 bags of milk! I was no longer “worrying”. Then Archie bear spaced out his feedings to every 4 hours instead of every 3 so I dropped one of my pump sessions at work and quit eating cookies, oatmeal and pumping like a mad woman at home.

Fast forward to today. Last week, I was pumping at work and noticed my supply had dropped. What the what?! I’m so close to making it a year with breastfeeding (2 more months), Archie is now downing 6-9 oz like it’s his job and you know that big stash? Yeah, that’ll be blown through in no time flat if I drop off completely. So I made my lactation cookies again and ate my oatmeal to see if doing these things would truly make a difference in my supply. I was testing my theory.

I made a batch of these cookies on Sunday, was back to work on Tuesday and by the end of the day I had easily pumped 3-4 more ounces than I had last week. I’ll totally take it. So I can’t for sure advertise these cookies as being the exact answer but if they help, then they help and I’m not going to complain. Eat cookies to make more milk? Sure.

I eat two cookies each feeding session (so 8 cookies a day) which is probably good for getting my caloric needs met too as I run around and chase the little bear. The key ingredients to make these cookies “magical”? Oats, flax and brewer’s yeast. Brewer’s yeast is the same thing found in a stout beer. I bought my brewer’s yeast at Whole Foods and it will probably last me quite a while! Well worth every penny. These cookies taste just like oatmeal chocolate chip cookies! No weird flavors here that you have to choke down.

You can easily double this recipe for a huge batch and just freeze the baked cookies until you need them. I did this numerous times and they were still just as delicious! These are also a great idea for new mom’s whom you are taking a meal.

Any tips or remedies you’ve tried or heard of to boost your milk supply? Or any you have tried yourself that you found working for you?

Lactation Cookies

Ingredients:

1 stick salted butter

1 heaping cup of packed dark brown sugar

2 Tbsp water

1 Tbsp ground flaxseed

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 c all purpose flour

1/2 c whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt (or plain salt)

1 1/2 c rolled oats

1 c chocolate chips

2 heaping Tbsp brewer’s yeast

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix flaxseed and water together and set aside.

Cream together butter and sugar in mixer until smooth. Add egg and beat well.

Add flaxseed mixture along with vanilla extract and beat until combined. Add your dry ingredients minus the chocolate chips and mix well. (Don’t forget your brewer’s yeast!)

Add oats mix until combined then fold in your chocolate chips.

Spoon about a 1-2 Tbsp worth of cookie onto a lined cookie sheet and bake for 7-9 minutes or until edges are set. Remove from oven, cool slightly and then remove cookies to cool on racks. Stays fresh in airtight container for up to one week or up to 3 months frozen.

Enjoy!