As wonderful as pregnancy is, most mothers will admit to feeling huge in months directly before and after giving birth.
In my ninth month of pregnancy, I could not believe how big my belly had gotten or how swollen my ankles (or lack thereof) were. After I gave birth, I decided that there was no way I’d ever fit into my pre-pregnancy clothes; I was just too big. Sure, I’d lose most of the weight, but I’d never be as small as I once had been.
Most of the time, it didn’t matter that much to me. I had a healthy baby, and I knew that if I took good care of myself, I’d also be healthy. I set out to eat a mostly healthy diet and go for walks regularly. I never once had a problem with low milk supply, and my daughter thrived on breast milk alone.
Other times, however, it was a bit depressing to look in the mirror and realize my body would never be the same. I wanted the baby weight off, and I wanted it off NOW.
As I talked with other moms about losing weight, I realized that milk supply was a concern for many of them. There can be many factors that play into a mother having a low milk supply. In discussion weight loss, however, I realized that one cause of low milk supply is very common among new mothers: losing weight too quickly.
“I’ve started supplementing with formula because my milk supply was low. I’ve been losing a lot of weight lately, and I don’t produce enough anymore to sustain him.” “We started solids a little early, because I can only pump out a couple ounces from both sides. It started when I tackled losing the baby weight.” These are phrases I heard from many new moms.
I am a firm believer in health over appearance. Although I wanted to look like my former, pre-baby self, it was really a no-brainer: protecting my milk supply was more important than losing the baby weight. When you look at the health benefits of exclusively breastfeeding a baby for the first six months and offering solids as only a supplement for the first year, waiting a little longer to lose the baby weight is definitely worth it.
If you are a new mother who is trying to lose weight and is noticing that your milk supply has gone down, try to put things into perspective. The amount of time when breastfeeding is critical to your baby’s health is relatively short when comparing it to your entire life. Although you are, no doubt, impatient to shed the extra pounds, do it gradually. If you are hungry, eat something. Don’t avoid pastas and breads; your body needs the carbs to produce milk. If losing weight is negatively affecting your supply, stop losing weight for now. Take care of that baby. The weight loss can happen later.
By the way, the weight did eventually come off for me. My daughter is quickly approaching her first birthday, and I’m back to my pre-pregnancy weight.