Lactation balls? Huh?
Yes! That’s right – who knew? Unless you need them!
Now, some people swear by them, some people don’t. But hey, let’s face it, some people can feed their babies, others can’t. It’s a mystery, who knows? I fell into the latter group – dried up after four weeks. After starving my first child for 7 weeks, I was onto it early with my second child. And I tried everything to boost my supply: domperidone, 2 hour expressing, expressing after feeding, lactation consultant (who was amazing), oats (high carb diet), lactation cookies, and yes, lactation balls. If anyone knows of anything else let me know (yes, darling husband, there will be a third one day).
I was told (or I read, I don’t remember – I was bone tired trying to feed a baby with no milk in the cans (is that a pun?)) that there are THREE key ingredients to lactation balls – flaxseed meal (linseed meal), brewer’s yeast (different to bread yeast) and oats (high carb).
So my wonderful mother purchased those ingredients for me (honestly, I was barely leaving the house), and off I went to find a recipe. The lactation cookie recipes looked so intense to make, time was of the essence here! I found balls – woohoo!
They were so quick and easy to throw together, they froze beautifully and they were such a great snack. Food was the last thing I was thinking of when feeding a newborn, but I was hungry all the time!
My theory is (courtesy of my private midwife, my sister-in-law – Chill Mama Wellness), even if the flaxseed, brewer’s yeast and oats don’t work for you, a good diet is a great place to start.
This leads me to lupins – I wish I had of had these bad boys when I was feeding (or trying to)! The low GI and high protein keep you going! Firstly, it is mighty hard work growing a baby – it’s just as hard feeding a baby! Your body is doing all sorts of stuff, not to mention your emotions! The last thing you want to be is starving and running to the bikkie jar. Have these little gems in the freezer to snack on. I was eating about 5 a day – and sometime during a night time feed!!
And blokes – yes, I’ve heard the jokes, and no, you won’t start lactating! 😉
Lactation Balls
120g peanut butter
5 medjool dates
50g lupin crumb
50g oats
5g vanilla extract
50g rice malt syrup
30g flaxseed (linseed) meal
15g brewer’s yeast
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and roll into balls. If you’re doing it by hand, blitz the oats and dates first.
Stores in refrigerator for 1 month.