Here are some of my experiences breastfeeding my babies… good and bad. I’ll talk about the emotional rollercoaster in a bit… but first… As I get ready for my Strong Sexy Mammas fitness & nutrition challenge celebrating my return to exercise… I have had several people ask me about breastmilk supply and how exercise can impact it.

My experience with Brooks and what I have heard from the ladies who take my classes and a doctor friend… as long as we are A… getting enough water…. and B…. losing weight at a healthy rate (not too fast) or supply should (knock on wood) be totally fine! I will say finding a comfortable nursing sports bra is key.

I am currently breastfeeding my 5 week old newborn, Annabel. The sweet hormones are sensational and I do feel like the experience is making me fall in love with her more and more each day. I also think the best feeling in the world I have ever had… even better than kissing my husband on our wedding day… was the moment my babies did the military crawl up my body in the hospital and latched on… seconds after giving birth. How did they know how to do it?! What a beautiful, natural thing.

That being said… I know nursing is not for everyone and I respect everyone’s decision to do what is best for them. Formula feeding, pumping, nursing, whatever works and keeps the baby fed and keeps the mamma happy and feeling good is best.

Pumping brought me independence when nursing Brooks. I could go teach my fitness classes or have a lunch date with a girlfriend and know my little one was still getting his mother’s milk. But the reason I loved pumping the most was that I was able to stockpile an incredible stash. I fed him about a month on breastmilk (even after I stopped actually breastfeeding). I froze loads of it. And that helped me get through an emotional rollercoaster.

I chose to breastfeed Brooks and I loved it. But what they don’t tell you about when you stop is that it can make you sadddddd! The guilt of stopping on top of the hormone swing (especially if you stop quickly like I did) can rock your world. I cried for three days. I was lucky enough not to get the baby blues or depression with either newborn, but those days when I stopped breastfeeding 5 months in… really did get me down… hard.

Pumping helped me here too. The reason I stopped nursing a few weeks before my goal of 6 months… was I was heading back to the USA from Australia for some TV. It was a week long of LONG hours and crazy middle of the night hours and I needed to be on my ‘A’ game.

I had planned to stop at 6 months… a few weeks early didn’t seem like a big deal but I really did get sad about it. So how did pumping help me? Well.. I had frozen a couple dozen bags of milk on a previous trip home to North Carolina in the USA and had left it in my parents’ freezer. They ended up buying a special Yeti cooler so they could drive it to the state of Virginia where I would be working. Talk about dedication from them. It really did help me get over the emotional hump- knowing Brooks was still getting my milk.

My goal with Annabel is again 6 months. To some that seems like a long time. To others, I will be criticized for not doing it long enough. I have been pumping like crazy and already have a stash of dozens of bags in a freezer in our garage. I don’t know when I will use it… but I feel like if I have a great supply and a great pump that makes it easy… I really ought to keep at it… and freeze freeze freeze!