oatmeal for the win

My absolute favorite breakfast food is a big ol hearty bowl of oatmeal. It is a blank canvas of food and you can literally paint with any ingredients for flavor.

Oatmeal provides the right amount of nutrition to postpartum persons and aids in healing and recovery. It is high in fiber and many other nutrients. However, when you incorporate lots of fiber into your diet you must drink enough water so that it won’t bulk up in your intestines and cause bloating and/or constipation. This bloating would not be good for a new mom’s bottom or abdominal muscles that has just delivered a baby.

Practice drinking a glass of room temperature water slowly when you first wake up and another with breakfast.

So Jada, does it help with milk supply?

Can I just eat the lactation cookies?

Yesssssssuh, cookie monster!

Eat all the cookies.

But, it’s all anecdotal and depending on the ingredients of the cookies it can work the exact opposite for you by decreasing your milk supply. Not to mention they are high in sugar content, so eating too many can cause weight gain.

BUT, if oatmeal is the main ingredient in the cookie then keep reading, honey!

Yes, oatmeal can increase your milk supply. But the only true way to make more milk is

Move that milk.

A few reasons as to why are:

• Oatmeal swells with water when cooked and increased water intake is necessary for breastfeeding and milk supply.

• Oatmeal is packed with iron and low maternal iron leads to a decrease in supply. Breast milk is made from blood and it makes sense that low blood volume can lead to low supply.

• Oatmeal has iron in it which also is a must for breastfeeding mothers and helps promote milk supply. Breast milk is made from your blood stream so it would make since if you have low blood your milk supply will drop as well. An example would be when your menstrual cycle begins your supply dips temporarily.

• Oatmeal also just feels damn good. It’s warm and soothing which calms and relaxes you, delicious and makes you do the happy dance which lowers stress and enables your let down to begin.

So YES!! Eat all the oatmeal! If you’re pressed for time or just do not have the energy to cook, try overnight oats. Easy to prepare the night before and eat for breakfast when you wake up! I offer a meal service plan that includes breakfast which is one of the easiest meals to skip but the most important meal of the day.

You have to be intentional about eating and your recovery, honey!! So, eat!

Postpartum Overnight Oats

Ingredients

1 cup of rolled oats

Handful of sliced strawberries

Handful of Blueberries

Handful of sliced almonds

Choice of milk, I prefer to use almond

1/2 tsp of Vanilla Extract

Coconut Sugar

Ghee or Butter

Choice of toppings--nuts, dried fruit, chia seeds,etc.

Combine all ingredients in a small sized mason jar/container. Fill mason jar with milk until it cover the oatmeal. Cover tightly and leave in your refrigerator overnight. Heat or eat cold for breakfast!

Enjoy!

*****this blog is not meant replace the advice of your medical provider.

Sources

PubMed

Kelly Mom