This ain't your average milk & cookies (lactation cookies)

I recently came across a cookie recipe that is used to help increase breast milk supply. Lactation cookies.

Yes, breastmilk.

I'm trying to build up a supply of breast milk to use when we go out and have a sitter for our daughter, India, or for when I have to work and my husband watches our daughter.  I also donate breast milk (if you're interested in donating, check out Eats on Feets for more information) and want to be able to continue to give.

Before I begin with the recipe, let this be said....

I HATE PUMPING.
LOATHE ENTIRELY.
DETEST.

Of course, I'm very thankful for my nice, electric breast pump, but it's so inconvenient to sit down, pump, wash everything up, store the expressed breast milk, and then wait for all the equipment to dry before putting it away.  And then do it all over again.  I'm lazy.  I'd rather attach her to me - no mess, she's full, less time, we're both comfortable.

Whenever I would pump, I never get a full feeding.  Approximately 3-4 pumping sessions would equal one feeding.  When India was younger I could pump and not notice a difference in my supply.  But now that my supply has settled, I can't just throw a pumping session in while she naps, because she notices and gets really mad that I'm not giving her all that she wants.

The best time to pump is of course, when I miss a feeding.  Well, the reason why I would miss a feeding is because I'm usually in a public place and therefore cannot pump while whoever is watching India gives her a bottle (I just get to deal with leaky, letdown boobs).  I often find myself using up more of my frozen supply than contributing to it.

This is the tea I normally use with great results when I want to produce more milk.

However, when I stumbled upon this recipe for Major Milk Makin' Lactation Cookies from one of my favorite blogs, I knew I had to try it.  I wanted cookies and I wanted more milk (punny, right?).  This was perfect!

Here is the process.

Tired baby? Check.

 Mixing dry ingredients

And sleeping baby :-)  That didn't take long.

 This is where I may of may not have eaten a few spoonfuls. And maybe said spoonfuls were really good.  I don't know though.  Because it's all a MAYBE.

 Pretty maids, all in a row

 Finished product!

The taste test? They did taste a little flaxy at first, but I enjoyed them overall!  When Dallas came home, he was very excited to smell chocolate chip cookies!  So I let him have one, and immediately his nipples started leaking milk.

No, not really.  He did like them though! 

This recipe yields about 3 dozen, and I can say we ate all of those within a week! 

The Milk Makin' Verdict?  I would say they helped.  It's not like I had an oversupply or anything, but it did help me slowly add an additional pumping session after India goes to bed and before we go to bed!  Now 2 pumping sessions produce enough milk for one bottle for India!

Was it worth it?  I will definitely make these again.  They are relatively healthy, taste good & did what they promised to do!

Here is the recipe again, and here is a post detailing galactagogues and how and why these cookies work.  Let me know if you try them!