What Can Breastfeeding Mom Do for Energy?

Drop school for now. What's the point. You can't stay awake. Three or four hours of sleep a night. Do you get behind the wheel of a car? If you do, stop immediately before a tragedy occurs. Are you trying to prove something. I don't get it. Take care of your family. School can wait.

Look I believe in bettering yourself, but not at the expense of your kids or others. Driving exhausted is like driving drunk.

This has nothing to do with breast feeding. Wise up Momma.

You need to eat more and drink more fluids you will have more milk. you also need more sleep. Either cut back your work or school hours you are doing too much with a baby and another child to care for. Give you body time to recover you just had a baby.

Protein helps. Try eating a hard boiled egg and a string cheese. I try to stay away from caffeine and found that a breakfast burrito (egg, cheese, veggies) keeps me going.
Talk to your doctor before adding any extra vitamins or minerals to your diet, especially if you're still taking a prenatal.

No supplement can keep you going if you are only sleeping 3-4 hours per night. You need a way to get more sleep. My suggestion - ask someone (friend/husband/babysitter) to take your kids for the afternoon on weekends and catch up on sleep.

I know this isn't what you want to hear, but there is a reason that sleep deprivation is considered a form of torture. Your body needs sleep - it's how we are made.

You don't have enough protein in your diet. Toast with honey is not enough sustenance for a nursing mom. Try two hard boiled eggs added to that toast and honey for starters. Your mid morning snack sounds lovely, but add some protein powder and a healthy fat like coconut oil.

Toast is probably 70 calories. Honey another 70 (depending on how much you use). Then a big veggie/fruit smoothie is probably 150 calories. That's not enough for the first half of your day.

And you don't want to hear this, but you need more sleep. People simply can't survive long term on 3-4 hour hours of sleep a night. It's great that you're working, going to school and being a mom - but something's got to give. Don't let it be your health. And besides, how much are you getting out of school if you're always falling asleep? You're paying to be there - do what it takes to really BE there.

Yes, you need more sleep--something has to shift about your schedule--moms need to learn to ask for help, even if it is asking a friend to help w household chores like bringing food or getting groceries to help lighten your stress. Every bit of help adds up!

If you could eat a more robust breakfast that has more protein+fiber (imagine a veggie egg scramble, or a quiche w veggies) that would help "break the fast" from your night and start your day w more fuel and power to stabilize your blood sugar. The fruit and veggie smoothie is awesome as a mid-morning snack---does it have protein? Most moms (and women!) don't eat enough protein. You can use a protein powder or add almond butter if you're good w nuts. Carry something like nuts + apple w you all the time to snack on if you can eat in class. And yes, a high-quality high-absorption B-complex would be good because you need help w your energy, but B-12 alone won't sustain in your blood levels without the other family of B-vitamins. Click on my blog for ideas on quick recipes and a link to the B-vitamins I recommend. And contact me if you want help making an easy nutrition plan!
http://embodyhealth.blogspot.com/2012/01/staying-healthy-...

Can you afford someone to clean your house every other week? It sound like you need something taken off your plate. We got a house cleaner a year or two ago and it's the best thing we've done in along time. We don't have a lot of money to burn but I was and am willing to cut other things out of our budget to afford it. My husband and I both work full time, have 2 small children, and I also go to school part time. This is definitely worth it!

You are go to crash physically from your schedule. Making milk takes so much out of you. Don't try to diet right now. You need to eat real food and lots of it. If you don't you will become ill and suffer and so will your baby.

Drop the class and do it another time when you can afford to do it physically and mentally. You are too tired to focus and you fall asleep in class and get nothing out of it except money that could have gone to pay a bill off.

Go back to school when the kids are in school full time.

I recall cleaning house and wondering why I ran out of energy only to realize I was still breastfeeding and needed to stop and rest.

Good luck to you.

the other S.

Hi! Not an uncommon concern for new moms! You are right to avoid caffeine, good for you! I have some suggestions, I will send them to you in a private message. Many moms have found these suggestions to work well.

Most importantly, THANK YOU for reaching out and taking care of yourself. You are a great mom!

B.

No reasontoavoid coffee! U need more sleep, protein food and fluids. You can't maintain this!

Don't know what your b/f goals were, but perhaps it is time to wean. Being a food factory for a baby takes a lot out of you. Perhaps more than you are able to give, given everything else on your plate.

Good luck to you and yours,
F. B.

Stop taking prenatals and get some postnatals. It made a huge diffrence for me. (First, I doubled up on my prenatals, which made a difference in my energy level. Then, when my postnatals came in, I chunked the pre- and was in heaven!)

Try these: http://www.fairhavenhealth.com/nursing-blend.html

What about nuts and seeds in your smoothie or as a snack? They have protein and all kinds of good things, they usually give me extra energy. Maybe try your smoothie earlier as well, before class as part of breakfast. Try eating more food earlier no matter what, your body is working hard making milk, you probably need more calories than you are taking in at that time (maybe all day).

If I was letting go of some if the nursings, as you mentioned, I would keep the morning and afternoon feedings, and work on letting go of the night feedings. That way you get more sleep, and won't be as tired. Those night feedings are so tough, more sleep, and in longer increments really does help. Also, letting go of the pumping like you mentioned is good. Sounds like it is causing you to rush more, and you aren't getting much out of it.

I notice you are eating no protein in the morning at all! Assuming your toast is whole grain, which is a good start, try adding a tablespoon of peanut butter to it, and/or having an egg (a quick scramble of eggs or egg whites, or even a hardboiled egg you made the night before) will add a lot. The fruits & veggies are fine, but again, no protein. Of course you're falling asleep!

There is also a safe energy drink with no stimulants and no caffeine, and there are comprehensive nutritional supplements that give you all kinds of protein, vitamins, minerals and so on - you can throw that into your smoothie or drink it by itself as a shake. There's an isotonic sports drink that increases hydration and helps to regulate sugar levels so you don't get a "crash" from your other foods. These can be mixed together. There are US government patents on all of them (highly unusual to be able to get a patent on a food product) so they are proven safe, effective and unique. None of these will keep you up at night, and they are safe for babies too (used world-wide and in countries with very strict laws, more than in the US even). You could continue to nurse if you want and the baby will get the nutrition through you. I would think increased hydration (not just water - you want it absorbed into your cells) and increased energy would help your milk supply as well. I work with a lot of moms who've seen great results and I also work with a food scientist who is an expert in pediatric nutrition as well as adult. There is 25 years of solid research behind this so it's not junk science.