Many mothers who have just given birth are confused, I never have enough milk and my baby never gets enough. To increase lactation, the breasts need more stimulation from the baby. Your brain needs to make the proper adjustments to see breastfeeding as a top priority. This will help your baby and breasts work together to make more milk. Increase the frequency of breastfeeding Feed your baby at least once every two hours. During the day, wake your baby up to breastfeed if he or she sleeps for more than two hours. At night, also wake your baby at least once for an extra feeding. We say that breastfeeding should follow the principle of balanced supply and demand, but not all babies will actively seek what they need. Some babies, especially those who are sleepy and mild-mannered, will not actively ask for milk enough to meet their tweed growth needs if their mothers do not guide them. If this is the case with your baby, you need to be more proactive in offering your baby the opportunity to breastfeed. Don’t pre-determine rigid rules about feeding for a few minutes on each breast, which can limit the amount of time your baby has to nurse. Let your baby finish one side before switching to the other. This gives your baby a chance to satiate the high-fat hind milk from the lactation reflex. If you switch to the other side too soon, your baby will get the foremilk from both breasts and will be full, but will not have enough calories to grow. It is common practice to start your baby on one breast for about fifteen minutes and then switch to the other side until the feeding is over. This does not work for some babies who like to suckle leisurely or who fall asleep easily. When alternating feedings, you need to watch your baby carefully. Let your baby eat on the first side until the sucking intensity becomes less and the swallowing decreases, and when he starts to suck soothingly, switch to the other side and encourage him to eat actively until the sucking intensity becomes less again. At this point, switch back to one side. Eventually, switch to the second side again to end the feeding process. Repeatedly waking your baby by switching sides encourages prolonged active sucking and swallowing, resulting in a high-fat, high-calorie hind milk. This alternate feeding method is particularly suitable for sleepy babies. They tend to fall asleep before they get enough “growing milk” when they breastfeed. Another tip to stimulate your baby to eat more milk is to burp him before changing sides. Double feeding In addition to alternating between left and right feedings, you can also double feedings. After your baby has eaten and drunk enough, don’t immediately put your baby down for sleep, but hold him for a while longer. Spend 10-15 minutes holding him or carrying him upright to keep him awake and let the air bubbles out of his tummy. This way, there is room in your baby’s tummy again. Have another round of feedings to keep him full. Double feeding, like alternating feedings, stimulates more lactation reflexes and increases milk production and heat. Strip baby for breastfeeding Skin-to-skin kissing helps wake up a sleepy baby and stimulates a less engaged baby to actively breastfeed. Alternatively, you can remove your upper body clothing to increase skin-to-skin contact with your baby. If you are afraid your baby will get cold, put a small blanket on his back. Naps and night feeds One of the best ways to stimulate lactation is to follow the old adage —- of taking your baby to bed to feed. By doing so, both you and your baby can relax and also stimulate longer and more frequent breastfeeding. At the same time, lactation hormone levels will increase. Your body’s prolactin levels are elevated during sleep, and growth hormones are elevated during sleep, and collaborate with lactogen to increase lactation. Focus your energy Take stock of all the activities and habits in your life and see if there is anything that drains you of energy that you could be using to take care of yourself and your baby? If you want to make more milk for your baby, you must make breastfeeding and taking care of yourself a top priority. Everything else can be left to chance. It is up to the baby’s father to honorably share the chores and household duties of taking care of the baby other than breastfeeding. You need to know that the hormones that make breast milk do not work best when you are stressed about other things. To produce more milk, you need to give yourself more energy. Give yourself special treats – exercise, take a dip in the spa, take a walk every day, sleep in a few times during the day – whatever helps you relax and allows you to focus on your baby, let it go, that’s your priority. Relaxing your body and mind will lower your stress hormones and allow your lactation hormones to work more effectively, making you more relaxed. There are not many things in life that you can’t do yourself, and there is no substitute for making milk and feeding your baby. When your baby sleeps, you better sleep with him. Don’t try to do anything else during that time. Imagine the lactation reflex When breastfeeding, maintaining lots of skin-to-skin contact with your baby and gently stroking your baby – similar to grooming an animal – helps the lactation reflex. Sometimes, it’s not that you don’t have much milk, but that it just doesn’t reach your baby successfully. The lactation reflex squeezes the mammary glands so that the milk flows out into the milk ducts and sinuses and the baby can get milk. During the interval between feedings and during the feeding process, imagine your baby feeding in your arms with a constant flow of milk to meet your baby’s needs. This imaginary milk flow can really help you trigger the lactation reflex.