Mama Milk Smoothie

I'm really on a roll with these blog posts, don't you think? Maybe it all started back when Jennifer Fulwiler convinced the lot of us to write "Seven Posts in Seven Days." Who knows. Anyway, Will and I were discussing Alessandra's frequent nursing yesterday. Because she's teething, she's comfort nursing even more than usual. Which makes for a very sore, achy mama. When my milk came in a few days after she was born, naturally I was engorged and in a lot of pain until I managed to either nurse or pump. I pumped what I could, and put the expressed milk in the freezer. Will wanted to try giving Alessandra a bottle of pumped milk when she woke up this morning, in order to give me-and my very sore nipples-a much needed break. I figured we didn't have anything to lose, so I stuck a bottle in the fridge to defrost and hoped for the best. Amazingly, she took the bottle this morning (she refused last night, which tells us that when she wants to comfort nurse at night, she wants Mama and that is THAT. However, in the morning when she's actually hungry, she'll take what she can get). So we've decided to make this somewhat of a routine. I'll get up with Alessandra in the night, change and nurse her, etc while Will gets some rest. In the mornings, Will is going to give her expressed breastmilk in a bottle while I catch up on some sleep. How this will work long-term, we don't know, but it's definitely worth a try right now. However, as any mother who exclusively nurses knows, it's not always easy to pump when you have a baby latched on to your breasts 23 out of the 24 hours a day. I had been reading some articles and blog posts for the past few months on the best ways to increase your milk supply for pumping, and I'm proud to report I came up with my very own "boost your supply" smoothie. I've found that these ingredients are the healthiest, tastiest and most effective, but by all means adjust as necessary.

You will need the following ingredients:

About 1/3 cup rolled oats (NOT instant oats)
1 handful frozen strawberries
1 banana
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 T honey
1-1 1/2 cups milk (I use PureAlmond, because Alessandra is very sensitive to dairy. I like to eat yogurt for the probiotic benefits, but I don't want to overdo it by using cow's milk as well).

In the blender, grind the oats into a fine powder. Add the remaining ingredients, and puree until everything is completely liquified. Pour into a cup, and enjoy! This is a favorite breakfast of mine, but it makes a great snack as well. (Don't tell...but it was actually my dinner tonight. I was feeling exceptionally lazy).