Turns out, feeding a tiny human isn’t as easy at it looks. Before my friends had kids, I naively thought that your baby would immediately start breast-feeding and all would be dandy. In the last few years, I found out that is most definitely not the case, and within the last few weeks, I’ve learned the trials and tribulations first hand.
First off, my milk didn’t come in right away. It could be because I didn’t get to hold Cooper on my chest immediately after birth, or it could be any other slew of reasons. But due to his small size, and two nights in NICU, he had to be given formula right away. Then, about three days later, my milk started to come in. I wondered how I was going to know, but all of a sudden, you just know.
The following few weeks were a combo of breast-feeding and formula, and since then, we’ve been trying to wean him off the formula. But he lost some weight last week, and now the formula is back in the picture. And this week, the poor little guy seems to be sensitive to cow’s milk (like his mama), so we are testing out goat’s milk formula, and I am going back to eating dairy-free so no cow’s dairy will be in my milk. Hopefully his little stomach will get back to normal in no time.
In the meantime, I have friends that have overflowing milk and are in terrible pain because of it. And others that have babies who won’t take a bottle so the mama can never leave their babies side. And others that won’t latch on, so they are stuck pumping and feeding the baby with only a bottle. All in all, feeding a baby ain’t easy like I thought it would be and I’ve learned that no mom should ever be judged on how she decides to feed her newborn.
Currently, I’m still trying to up my milk supply so he can go off formula for a few more months. And to do so, I’ve been eating all the foods they say to eat to increase your supply. Oats every morning, almonds in everything, mother’s milk tea, warming foods…you name it, I’ve tried it.
But my favorite version are these oatmeal chocolate chip lactation cookies. Because when else are you “supposed” to eat cookies? I made them as healthy as possible, with only natural sugars, and they can truly be enjoyed by anyone. The secret ingredient?
Brewer’s yeast.
It’s not the easiest to find, but it is great to add if you can get your hands on some. Even if you can’t, the oats and almonds in this recipe will still help your milk supply.
No need to up your milk supply? Leave out the brewer’s yeast and have yourself a healthy oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. Simple as that. (Or leave it in – no harm in that either!)
- 3 medium bananas, mashed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup // 113 grams melted butter (or ghee or coconut oil)
- 1/4 cup // 65 grams peanut butter (or other nut butter)
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 cups // 180 grams rolled oats
- 1 cup // 100 grams millet flakes
- 1/2 cup // 50 grams almond meal
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 4 tablespoons flax meal
- 4 tablespoons brewers yeast*
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 cups // 260 grams chopped dark chocolate
- Preheat oven to 350 F // 175 C.
- In a medium bowl, combine the bananas, butter, vanilla, peanut butter, and maple syrup. In a separate bowl, combine the oats, millet flakes, almond meal, chia seeds, flax, brewers yeast, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Refrigerate the dough for at least 20 minutes. Once hardened a bit, form 1-inch balls and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 16-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let them cool for at least ten minutes before eating.
- *Feel free to omit or replace with more almond meal.
- **To make gluten free, be sure to use GF oats and omit the brewer's yeast.
3 Responses
Oh I’ll make these for another new Mom I know. I’m sure they will freeze well too.
I guess it will help new Dads too. They need strength.
Morning Caitlin, any tips on where to get brewers yeast in zurich, or what they call it here? Thanks ?
It’s called bierhefe and you can find it at most reformhauses – I found it at the Vier Linden reformhaus at Hottingerplatz. Hope that helps!