Like Water, er, Milk for Chocolate

There's always a lot of talk among EPers about supply: how do you increase it, how do you maintain it, what causes it to drop, and so on. A few weeks after I had the cookie (or, more precisely, after she was yanked out of me -- DH describes it as similar to watching someone land a swordfish) I was down to ten pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight, which was about 25 pounds heavier than I'd like to be in an ideal world. I was making plenty of milk and even had a little bit to freeze at the end of the day. So I decided I could probably safely get rid of at least that last ten pounds, and then at least I'd fit into my prepregnancy pants, even if my shirts remained a little snug.

Now, it's common knowledge, or at least commonly held to be true, that cutting calories/losing weight is death to a girl's milk supply. So I decided that rather than actively dieting by counting calories and portion control, which has helped me lose weight in the past, I would just cut out sweets. That's it -- no cookies, no cake, no ice cream, no....chocolate. I quit cold turkey, and for a week I can honestly say I did not eat a single confection or pastry. I did eat fruit, but I forbore to put my usual dollop of whipped cream or even drizzle of chocolate sauce lest I be tempted in to more decadent delights.

After one full week, I found that I had lost exactly 0 pounds. Yes, zero. The big goose egg. The number of playoff games the Kansas City Royals expect to play in this year. I attribute this to the fact that even though I had cut out sweets, I had been hungrier for other things. So instead of a scoop of ice cream, I'd have a bagel. And so on. Possibly more nutritious, but I missed my chocolate, dammit! And, not only did I not lose a single pound, I was producing less milk. Only slightly, but at that point even a slight dip could have been indicative of a permanent loss of supply.

I don't make enough extra to lose supply. So back came the sweets, with a vengeance. Chocolate is my drug of choice, and I go through three or four bags a week (I like Riesens and Hershey's Nuggets best). Supply went back up, and even continues to increase now, two months later. I can tell the day after a low chocolate day -- I still get that little dip in production.

My point here is that although you'll read about things like oatmeal and fenugreek and mother's milk tea, the key to supply is to find what works for you. I used to eat three bowls of oatmeal a day, and several oatmeal cookies. I stopped one day (for no particular reason -- just didn't feel like eating oatmeal that day, I guess) and noticed no effect on my supply. Chocolate, though...can't make milk without it.

Today's tip: Remember to look at your overall production for the day and not to freak out it you have one low production session. Some days my production is spread out really evenly and some days it's a couple of huge sessions and a couple of little ones. The number of ounces at the end of the day tends to be just about the same on both types of days.