I’ve always been known as the person who will speak out the unspoken stuff; some things never change. It strikes me as odd that with so many mommy websites, mommy groups, and baby stores for every product imaginable that there were things I didn’t know about breastfeeding. I didn’t know how much it would hurt when the milk came in (I remember vividly crying as I pumped for the first time, begging for sweet relief), I didn’t know how torn up my nipples would be, and I also didn’t know how much I would enjoy the experience of nursing once I got into the flow of it. But probably the biggest revelation for me, and maybe this isn’t the case for every woman, is that breastfeeding doesn’t just keep going because you want it to. You have to sustain it through the food you eat! As my pregnancy weight came off, I wanted to get back to the old me so I began to return to the lean way I usually enjoy eating: arugula salads, grilled chicken, fruit, skim milk and non-fat yogurt. When I began to produce less and less milk I was perplexed and upset- I needed to feed my baby and was committed to breastfeeding him through his first year. What I soon realized was that breast milk is made of lots of fat- and fat makes fat. So if I was going to make more breast milk, I needed to increase how much fat I was eating. At first this didn’t seem fair, I mean, we all want to get back to the old way of doing things. But then I got back to the focus at hand (the baby) and decided to start eating up. So I’m consuming whole milk, creamier yogurts, pasta, red meat (organic if I can), avocados and nut butters. Plus, a lot of water. And my doctor even said, and I quote, “have a milkshake if you want it.” So I’ve been listening to her.  And even though there might be a few extra pounds still, I’m able to feed my son. So keeping my reputation alive, I thought I would share this rarely discussed topic and enlighten those that might now know. Hope it helps. :)