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Hi ladies just a quick question baked the cookies last night they taste great but how often and how many are you ladies eating?
I only needed to eat 1 or 2 cookies a day to see a good increase.
The first time I made them I ate the raw mix (because it tastes awesome!!!) and about 3 (ok, it was more like 5) baked cookies. The next day i was exploding out of my bra and leaking like a hose :)
Sorry if this has been asked already but can you freeze the uncooked dough? Was thinking of making some on mat leave before bubs comes and freezing in batches :)
Hi Mrs P, yup I've frozen the dough. I roll into balls and freeze in sealed container then defrost in fridge when ready to cook and flatten with a fork. Extend cooking time a bit too.
Thanks Frangipani Lou :)
I've just made some, so I'm hoping it helps things. DS going through the 4 month growth spurt and I'm feeling very empty!
Don't panic Charlotte. You have plenty of milk. When they feed frequently you will be emptier but there is still enough milk. It is also higher in fat when you are less full so this helps them when they need that boost for growth and development.
My third baby girl was born on 11/13/12. She's been hospitalized two times for jaundice (physiologic and breast milk) and we were doing really well with breastfeeding up until her one month appt. She's been on formula for about two weeks and has been getting her bilirubin level checked every few days. I'm hoping that we find out the results of her latest test tomorrow (12/27) so that we can resume breastfeeding. During the time she's been on formula, I have been pumping a few times a day. I was getting a pretty decent amount at the beginning of the month but I've noticed that lately it's not as much. Before I was pumping just to keep a supply in the freezer since she was doing extremely well feeding. I'm going to try these cookies and see if they can work their magic. :)
And please, don't tell me that I didn't need to stop breastfeeding. Her bilirubin level had gone as high as 19 and it was a decision I made with her pediatricians and the specialty doctors at Children's Hospital. :)
Sounds like your doing a great job. I eat lactation cookie dough almost every day. It's more effective eaten raw, you just leave out the baking soda and eggs.
I like to swap half the flour for almond meal. It gives a nice texture and increases the protein of the dough.
It's good to also play around with different varieties.
I notice a big difference in my milk supply when I eat the dough compared to when I don't eat it.
Have you considered also taking motilium to help boost your supply? Fenugreek is also great for boosting supply.
Good luck, and good on you :-)
I wonder if its worth having a look into using a supplimental nursing system (sns) to stimulate your supply.
It's a bottle that you hang around your neck with a feed line attached to your areola. You can fill it with formula or ebm and as your baby sucks at your breast, they get your breastmilk plus the formula/ ebm too while stimulating your supply naturally.
I'm not sure where you live but in Aus the Medela is popular and in America Lact-Aid seems to be the one that's
You might also checkout the bfar site for other ways to stimulate your milk supply.
MelissaG - Can you mix feed? If baby needs formula for a specific reason, and your milk is still ok for her, combining both would help to maintain your supply and her ability to feed at the breast while she needs the formula and give her the goodies only available in breastmilk.
A sns could be helpful when you are getting back to the breast too.
I haven't read back through the 10 pages of this thread, so apologies if the question has already been asked or answered...
Does anyone know how to make these gluten-free?? Oats I can substitute but I can't seem to find gf brewer's yeast.
Ideas?
spiceoflife, I'm sorry I can't help, but you'll be far more likely to attract the attention of someone who's been through the search for gluten free brewer's yeast if you start a new thread called 'Looking for gluten-free brewer's yeast for lactation cookies?', rather than posting in a poll thread. Most people just won't see your post here.
Ahh, good point! Will do.
Ugh double post!
Has anyone taken these into the hospital with them to have straight away after having bub? I'm just wondering if it would be a good idea or not - having visions of boobs almost exploding with milk ha ha!!
I think it would be lovely to have some home made BF cookies all there ready for you. I don't think they'd make you explode! Just nourish you and keep your strength up. Some breastfeeding galactogogue tea might be nice too. Just eat/drink less of the cookies/tea if you've got an over-abundance. The body is pretty good at balancing out the supply/demand - well, in most cases. If you're blessed to be a woman with massive amounts of milk, Human Milk for Human Babies (facebook) are always looking for people willing to donate ebm.
Thanks Julie. With my first baby my milk took ages to come in due to having a c-section, and it was stressful. So I'd like to make the process of establishing breastfeeding easier this time if I can!
Are you thinking about VBAC this time, Mrs P?
Whether you are thinking about VBAC or RCS, a doula or private midwife might be worth looking into. So much of what happens at birth, during third stage and the start of breastfeeding is all to do with the birth hormones - especially oxytocin. Stress hormones actually work against what the birth hormones are doing. One the other hand, privacy, emotional support ane being treated with love, kindness, patience and respect are not just airy-fairy frills, they are actually essential for safe birthing, third stage, bonding and breastfeeding. That is where a doula or IM could come in.
Sarah Buckley has some great articles about the hormones of birth and how to encourage peak flows of hormones during birth and post natally. (free articles on her web site).
There are also doulas who specialise in post natal nurture and support and breastfeeding encouragement. Melanie Cane in Melbourne is one, she is very experienced and encouraging, and she knows from personal experience how c/section can affect things.
Thanks for the info Julie - I am wanting a VBAC this time and have an obstetrician who is supportive of that. However he doesn't allow doulas to be present. I think I am preparing myself well for the process and will definitely be focussing on trying to remain as less-stressed as possible :) Will be making up some cookie dough to freeze and bake closer to my due date!!
Hmm that sure doesn't sound very woman-centered - it's certainly not his place to dictate who you can and can't have present when you give birth, and he is actually contravening your human rights by trying that on with you. The power differential is not right and not in your favour. He is your employee, not your boss!
Do you know for sure what his VBAC success rate is?
If you're determined to go with him (check his VBAC rate first - and check the hospital's VBAC rate too - try the MyBirth site), then hire a doula or IM to help you stay home and labour at home as long as possible and rock up fully dilated and ready to push. Tell him the doula/IM is your sister/Aunty.
I took a stash Mrs P. they were part of my bf plan and recommended by my lactation consultant. Handy to have too cause the meals were really small in the hospital and I was famished.
The dough is far more effective eaten raw. I just divide the mix into snap lock bags and eat raw- minus the egg and baking powder. It freezes really well. Congrats and best wishes for the birth that you want.
It's not actually up to him who your support person/people are.:
If he practised evidence based medicine, he would know that having a doula increases your chance of having a vaginal birth, and would welcome their presence.
Just made up my first batch to freeze. DD helped me so I cooked a small tray so we could taste them. I did put the full 4 tbspns of yeast in, and I think that may have been a bit much as they have this strange flavour I can't quite place but I think that's it. Not too bad, DD didn't like them though ha! I think I could easily eat a couple per day with a glass of milk once bub arrives!!
Sounds like they're freezing pretty well then?
Actually Kelly I haven't needed to defrost them yet since this bub is currently 5 days late. But I will hopefully be defrosting and baking soon!! Will update then :)
I've frozen them before and they were fine :)
I also found with the yeast, you can taste it quite strongly if you put it in on its own rather than sifting it in with the flour etc.
Well I was too lazy to sift so that probably explains it!!:
I tried lactation cookies and I thought id share MY experience - keep in mind its my experience and won't be everyone's.
I read you could add fenugreek - personally it tastes foul and makes the cookies dry.
It worked for me, yes, great things I thought till......
I had a baby that was colicky.
It took a lot of research into what COULD be causing all ds wind and unsettledness. Brewers yeast was a food recommended to avoid. I did for a month, gorgeous settled bub, then tried again and again he was windy and unsettled.
I highly recommend trying the cookies but just be aware of things that might be interacting with bubs - I would never have put it down to the cookies if I hadn't read about it.
Can bakers yeast be just as effective? im about to make a batch as my supply is low from breast refusal but she's taken me back, so im desperate to get my supply up super quick and ban the bottle. Im somewhat house bound by frequent and long feeds and hubby is at work. hence the only yeast we could find was bakers.
I'm not sure about bakers yeast but you could try Breastfeeding Support tablets made by Herbs of Gold as well. They are available from good health food shops. I'm sure some of the lovely BB members might be able to help more with other ways to increase your supply in the BF section of the forums. Good luck!
Don't forget to check out our other articles on milk supply:
Low Milk Supply? Increase Low Breastmilk Supply With These Great Tips
Is My Baby Hungry? Do I Have Enough Milk?
Not Enough Milk? Concerned About Your Milk Supply?
Bakers yeast won't work it's not a galactagogue.
I just baked my first batch of cookies and have a few questions.
Are the meant to be spongy? Not hard like biscuits?
I added 4 spoons of brewers yeast, and now the kitchen smells like Vegemite!!
How many spoons did you add to get the taste right?
And I didn't add chocolate chips, but are they meant to taste sweet as mine taste a little doughy/flour like?
And how big do you make them? The receipe says makes 6 dozen. My batch made about 2 dozen. I did half a tablespoon.
Your tips please.....
Mine were spongy - almost like an over-cooked muffin texture. Definitely not crisp!
Yes, the brewer's yeast is powerful stuff!
You don't add brewer's yeast for the taste, you add it for the supply-boosting effects. It's the other stuff - choc chips/ sultanas/coconut/whatever that you add, to disguise the disgusting taste of the brewer's yeast. There were so many people raving about how yummy these were, I was really disappointed by them. I thought they were 'okay'. Just. Especially with 4 Tbsp brewer's yeast. They would taste better with 2, but that's not the point, really. They're not yummy, they're a barely palatable way of ingesting disgusting bitter brewer's yeast.
Re choc chips, see the above - add something. I added either 1 C of sultanas, or 1C chopped apricots and 1/2 C desiccated coconut.
I got about 5 dozen from them - I rolled them into small truffle sized balls - slightly smaller than a Lindt chocolate, if that helps. They don't spread or flatten much at all when cooked. I also just ate them raw after the first batch. I preferred the raw texture.
Other tips? If you have ongoing supply issues, I suggest you avoid all the extra calories that come with eating the supply-boosting ingredients in this format, and do as I eventually did - ditch the cookies altogether. Instead I buy brewer's yeast capsules from the health food shop, along with a fenugreek and blessed thistle mix capsule (often sold as 'breastfeeding support'), and have those instead. I'm still doing this and DS is now 8 1/2 months. I'd have been as big as a house if I'd kept eating all those cookies! You could also eat oats (also a supply booster) as muesli or porridge. It's far more sustainable in the long term, if you really need the supply help, and much, much healthier.
Hope that helps. :)
Thanks Pholi!
I eat oats every other day, love them.
MIL has been making curry with fenugreek (not hot)
I haven't been drinking as much water as I should be.
I agree the cookies were a bit of a disappointment, I was expecting yummy from what I had read. But they aren't horrible! But definitely need something else.
It's my day supply that needs boosting - DD. likes her sleep so I get heaps at night, but of course she'll feed heaps during the day and for 1.5-2 hr sessions! So doesn't leave much time for milk to fill up.
Trying to avoid daily formula top ups.
Thanks for your reply!
Lactation cookies made a huge difference for us especially when the twins were in ICU and I was pumping for them and my supply dropping.
MLR, you might even think about expressing evenings/night time, [off topic, sorry!] so that you have BM top ups for her during the day? I hope you can manage your supply so that you don't need to, but if you did find you have to give formula top-ups, welcome to the mix-feeding mamas club... there are a few of us here who do so through necessity.
Bump!
I just made a batch of these using the recipe on the BB website.. which is a bit different to the one oft-quoted in this thread? Are either more up to date or more effective?
Added half a banana and choc chips. Banana made it very moist and doughy even after a fair bit of cooking but I like a 'bouncy' cookie so that suited me!
Should I be eating them as I feed or say 20 mins (or whatever) prior?