I am currently nursing twin girls and have had quite a few bumps along the way. I guess you could say it was the perfect storm for something to go wrong. Nursing multiples, returning to work full time and having babies that slept through the night wrecked havoc on my body. When they were 3 1/2 months old, I developed a blocked milk duct on one breast, which led to a milk blister. I did all kinds of research online and did everything I was supposed to do: compresses, massaging, extra nursing and pumping, etc. Once the milk blister burst, it ended up leading to mastitis. I was put on an antibiotic for 10 days and missed 3 days of work. At this time, despite my increased pumping and nursing, my milk supply went down. I was barely producing 2 oz from each breast at a single pumping session which led me to tap into my freezer stash. My babies drink three 5 oz bottles at day care - each (total needed: 30 oz - not including what I feed them at home before and after day care). And here I was barely getting 2 oz for each baby, times three pumping sessions (total producing: 12 oz if I was lucky, not including what they got from me when I nursed before and after day care). My coworker told me about the Mother's Milk tea. I didn't realize what I ordered was an entire case, but looking back, it was well worth it.
I am not a tea drinker at all. I have always wanted to acquire a taste for tea and tried a million different kinds, made a million different ways. This tea, at first, tasted horrible! Everyone is different, but this is what worked for me. I figured, I don't like my coffee super hot and need to let it cool down, so tea might be the same way. I quickly found out that drinking it cold was far worse than anything I have ever tasted. Because of the taste, I also drank it sparingly. Based on the way I was drinking it in the beginning (or, more appropriately, NOT drinking it) I did not see much for results and almost gave up on nursing all together. I came back to the Amazon site and read more reviews and then decided to try a different approach. Here is what really worked for me: make and drink a cup of tea within the hour prior to nursing or pumping. Take a cup with a lid, or make your own lid using a plate, add the tea bag, then add the water. At home, I use a cup of water heated up from the microwave for about a minute to a minute and a half (depending on how hot the water was from my faucet), at work, I use the hot water spout from our water cooler, cover and let it sit and seep for about 8 - 10 minutes. After the 8 - 10 minutes have passed, I dip the tea bag a few times, then squeeze it out before discarding. Then I add in about a teaspoon of honey. Be sure to use the honey from the teddy bear bottle because it is cooked honey and not honey from a neighbor's back yard....(that's another story about bacteria and what is safe and not safe for babies.) Stir and drink. I drink it rather quickly and used to have to hold my breath when I drank it, but not so much any more. I still drink it quickly, but I don't have to hold my breath. It is much more bearable this way. The taste has actually grown on me and I look forward to drinking that warm cup of tea.
Since I have started drinking it more consistently, five times a day, I have noticed my production has most definitely increased! I went from barely 2 oz from each breast to 5 oz and sometimes more, out of each breast. I am now producing what the babies are drinking the next day at day care. I am still hoping to be able to add back to my freezer stash, but that will come in time. I am proud to say that the babies are just over five months at the time of writing this review and are still being fed exclusively on breast milk (no formula) and two meals a day of oatmeal and/or stage 1 baby food. Hope this helps someone. Good luck to all!
Organic raspberry leaf
