No Bake Lactation Cookies

I've mentioned before that I'm a nursing mother.  I truly enjoy the time with Mr. Mack and am sad to know it will end eventually.  

While I'm at school, I pump for him.  Lately, I've been pumping barely enough, so I've been trying some different recipes and remedies to try and boost my supply.  Yes, I have enough for my baby right now, but my freezer stash is down to 2 bags, so I'd like to try to get a little extra for a rainy, I mean, extremely hungry day.

Enter Booby Bites.  I've tried different lactation cookies before, mainly oatmeal, but how many oatmeal raisin cookies can a lady eat?  I wanted to try something new this time, so I found this booby bites recipe on Pinterest.

While the recipe looks great and is wonderfully simple, I had some problems with it.  Primarily I loathe coconut.  Also, when I went to actually make these, I was out of honey and didn't have an chocolate chips.  So of course, I improvised.  

Here is what I ended up doing.

I ordered the Brewers Yeast from Amazon.  Who doesn't love Prime 2 day shipping?  I had the flax seed from a bulk store in the area, and the agave was from Aldi.  (Remember, I didn't have any honey.  Plus, I don't really like honey.)  The rest are fairly common ingredients that I keep stocked in my house.

I started with the dry ingredients as the post said to do.

Then added in the rest and mixed it up.  This is how it came out.

I refrigerated it for over an hour due to getting side tracked and working on other things.

I used my large cookie dough scoop and then finished forming them into balls with my hands.

I will say that since my version contains a lot of oatmeal, they are pretty packy, but they were a nice break from oatmeal raisin cookies and a lot easier since I didn't have to spend time waiting for different batches to bake.

I hope you enjoy these if you try them out.  Comment and let me know what you think and if you make any other alterations to the recipe!

Olivia Makes A Life is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associations Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.  If you choose to purchase an item from one of my Amazon link, I will receive a very small compensation of which I will be eternally grateful.

Mother's Milk Tea Review

The joys of breastfeeding...

When I started nursing Mack, I never really thought that I would be a person who enjoys nursing.  I mean it hurts likes crazy when you start out.  How could that even be enjoyable, right?

Well fast forward 6 months, and I am now a mother that not only enjoys nursing but is slightly sad that her time with her sweet babe will be ending somewhat soonish.  I plan to nurse Mack until he is at least a year old and may go a bit longer, but either way, time is fleeting.  I so enjoy nursing my son.  We have arrived at the part of the relationship where we are each comfortable with each other and enjoy our time together.  I love seeing him nurse and spending the extra cuddle time with my bug.

Though my nursing relationship will end eventually, it's already somewhat interrupted because I have gone back to work.  *enter sad face emoji*  Obviously work is a fact of life for many people, myself included.  Yes, my husband and I have bills to pay, so it's off to school I go.  Don't get me wrong; I love teaching!  I really do like being in the classroom, and let's be honest, the days when your child won't stop crying and is being a hellion can make the classroom look like a breeze.  But I do miss him, and I miss nursing him while I'm at school

Right now our nursing schedule is morning, after dinner, and right before bed.  He takes two 5 ounce bottles during the day, so it is up to me to get those bottles pumped while I'm away from him. 

Usually I can get the bottles pumped, but not always.  Especially lately.  School is super hectic, and I learned quickly that teaching Family and Consumer Science is even more fast paced than I ever would have thought.  I try to pump twice during the day.  Usually I'll get enough from these bottles, but sometimes I'll have to pump a little at home to add in.  If it's a super busy, I'll pump in the car on the way to pick up Mack.

Lately, I have not been getting the 10 ounces I need just from my sessions at school, so I decided to start drinking Mother's Milk Tea again.  I  have used it on and off since I started back to subbing in November, but I try not to drink it every day because it is slightly pricey-although it is less pricey than other galactogogues.  

When I drink even just one cup of Mother's Milk Tea, I notice that I usually pump an extra ounce during my first session the next day and an extra ounce or so in my next session!  Two ounces doesn't sound like a lot, but my pumping mamas know two ounces of liquid gold is a big deal.  It starts to put my mind at ease!

I read a lot of reviews before I purchased the tea and some said that it smelled and tasted gross.  That somewhat deterred me, but I decided to give it a shot.  My opinion is that the taste and smell are not terrible but not great.  Since drinking semi-regularly, I have found that I am used to the taste and actually don't mind it now.  It does have a black licorice smell to it, but I believe that can be attributed to the anise in it.

Though I'm super-duper frugal, I am willing to spend money on the tea.

Here's why I justify the costs:

• The tea really does work for me.  I notice a significant (usually 2 ounce) increase in milk supply within a day-or sometimes sooner if I drink it in the morning.
• As a result of drinking the tea, I can provide enough milk for my babe while I'm gone.
• By providing breast milk, I don't have to pay for formula.  Even though I have to pay for the tea, it's still cheaper than buying formula.

Please note that while I breastfeed my child, I do not condone formula shaming at all!  Just feed the baby, right?  We actually give Mack a bottle of formula when he wakes during the night, so I can get back to bed and get some sleep. I need sleep.  It's quite dangerous to be a zombie when keeping tabs on high school students cooking.   

Also, know that I bought the tea with my own money and have not been compensated at all for this review.  It is 100% my own opinion and experience. 

Olivia Makes A Life is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associations Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.  If you choose to purchase an item from one of my Amazon link, I will receive a very small compensation of which I will be eternally grateful.