How can I ensure that I have a decent milk supply? Become a water drinker. How can I lose the postpartum weight fast? Become a water drinker. You won’t regret drinking water, and I’ll explain why.
Why Should I Become a Water Drinker?
“Do I have to drink water?” she asked me reluctantly. “There are other drinks that help you produce milk!” she insisted. What she was really saying to me was this: I don’t want to become a water drinker. It has no taste, so I don’t want to drink it.
Here’s the problem with that though… did you know that over 80% of your breastmilk is made of water? Here are some quick stats for you from Frontiersin.org Pediatrics:
“Human milk consists of 87% water, 1% protein, 4% lipid, and 7% carbohydrate… It also contains many minerals (Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Potassium, Sodium, etc…) and many vitamins.”
Human Milk: An Ideal Food for Nutrition of Preterm Newborn article by Frontiersin.org
Thus, that majority of your breastmilk contains water. If you’re taking in enough water, it might reduce your milk supply.
How Much Water is Enough?
According to EatRight.org, it is recommended that nursing mothers drink 16 cups of water per day. I know what you’re thinking, “How in the world am I going to keep up with that when I have a needy newborn exactly?” I’m glad you asked!
If you’re not a water drinker, let me encourage you to do this. Go to Amazon, and buy a gallon size water bottle. It has encouraging things written on the bottle to help you drink the entire bottle. Mine is a gallon sized bottle, and it has written on the side how much I should have consumed by 11 AM, 1 PM, 3 PM, etc.
If you’re wanting to become a water drinker, but the gallon size seems intimidating, don’t worry! A gallon may be a bit too much to start out with. So try a half gallon! Amazon also had half gallon sizes that have the same things written on the side to help you becoming a water drinker. Start small and grow from there.
If you would like to read more from the eatright.org article, click here.
What Are Other Beverage Options?
Besides water, you can also drink Body Armor drinks and Gatorade. There is some research that suggests Body Armor drinks can help stimulate milk production. I’ll dive into that topic more in another post. Gatorade is also helpful as a source of electrolytes. I get the sugar free bottles just to help remove unnecessary added sugar from my diet, but you can get any flavor you’d like.
Remember that these drinks should be consumed along side your water. I do not recommend replacing your water intake with these beverages.
Tell me what your favorite drinks are while you’re breastfeeding in the comments! I’d love your input!
For more articles about breastfeeding, click here.