The breast-feeding runner
Once upon a time, my Garmin was my most needed gadget for running. Nowadays, it's this fun contraption:
My breast pump. I would not be running without it.
In my experience, being a nursing runner takes extra preparation, but it's not too challenging. When I was pregnant, I'd heard that intense exercise decreases milk supply. So, I wasn't sure if running postpartum was even going to be an option.
At the breast-feeding class I took during pregnancy, I told the lactation consultant about my concerns. She said that she's seen plenty of nursing moms run marathons, and told me not to worry.
When Wyatt was a few days old, I met with another lactation consultant. I walked in practically in tears. (This is back when he was too weak to latch on so I was pumping then giving him a bottle for each feeding.) I told her how I could only pump an ounce or two from each boob, I was concerned I had a low supply, etc. She cut me off and asked if the Disney marathon 2009 sweatshirt I was wearing was mine. Umm… yes. Then she asked if I ran through most of my pregnancy. Umm… yes… where are we going with this? She said she was pretty sure we'd be dealing with an over-supply issue soon. In fact, she and one of her colleagues plan to do a study one day on how intense exercise during and after pregnancy boosts breast-milk supply. She said as long as I stayed well-hydrated, I shouldn't have supply issues.
Here's more info on nursing and exercise.
(Note: my lactation consultant also said it's a myth that the number of calories a nursing mother eats impacts supply. I hate the misnomer that women who are dieting to lose their pregnancy weight are doing so at the expense of their breast-milk. That is not true. Think of all the women in third world countries who successfully nurse their children. Nutrients go to breast-milk before they go to the rest of mom's body. Nature is cool that way.)
My lactation consultant was right. A week later, I was back and we were trying to get my over-supply issue under control!
In the four months since then, I've learned* how to balance breast-feeding with training. I haven't noticed any drop in supply after long runs, and Wyatt has no problem nursing as soon as I walk in from a run. (Yup, even when I'm covered in sweat. Gross.) I attribute some of my nursing and running success to the following:
Draining my boobs before a run. Running with full boobs hurts. If I run in the morning or plan on doing a long run, I need to nurse and pump immediately beforehand. I can usually get away with just nursing before short, afternoon runs. On the same note, I try not to think about the baby while I'm running (easier said than done). Sometimes, when I'm away from Wyatt and I think of him, I can actually feel my boobs filling up. Fun stuff.
Wearing a comfortable bra. For most nursing moms, comfortable= supportive. Then there are the (very few) people like me, whose boobs didn't grow due to pregnancy or breast-feeding. Comfortable for me means padded because my boobs leak when I run for an hour or more. I wear these sports bras from Motherhood Maternity and they seem to help.
Eating plenty of protein. When Wyatt was 1- 2 months old, I was constantly famished. I'd literally down half a box of Wheat Thins or peanut butter Cheerios in the middle of the night. Then I realized my carb-heavy diet wasn't doing me any favors. Breast-feeding mothers require about 20 more grams of protein each day than non-nursing women, and endurance athletes need 50% more protein than non-athletes (source). If you're a nursing runner, do the math; that's a lot of protein! Especially for someone who thinks red meat, seafood, and eggs are gross and who needs to avoid dairy due to lactose intolerance. I am feeling much better now that I have peanut butter, almonds, chicken, beans, or protein powder with every meal or snack.
Watching my calcium intake. Since reading this, I've been much more mindful of my calcium intake. Due to the aforementioned lactose intolerance, this means I'm taking a calcium supplement each day.
Hydrating well (or trying to). This is my biggest challenge. Pre-breast-feeding, I was always thirsty anyway. You know how it's recommended to drink 8 glasses of water a day? I drink somewhere between 30- 40 glasses per day and down a 24 oz. water bottle in my sleep each night (yes, I've been tested for diabetes a few times). Now that I'm nursing and running in the hot, humid weather, I feel like I cannot get properly hydrated. I'm drinking Gatorade or Vitamin Water regularly because perhaps I'm dealing with an electrolyte imbalance, not dehydration. This isn't affecting my supply at all, but I hate feeling thirsty constantly. Distance running may be put on hold after my half on Saturday until I can get a better grip on this issue.
*This is only based on my experience with running and breast-feeding. Keep in mind that I was blessed with a very good supply. Please talk to a lactation consultant if you have any questions about breast-feeding.
The breast-feeding runner « This Runner's Trials
