Lots of Vitamins (Part I)

One of the things I had to do once Tyler was born was to see a lactation consultant. One of the ways of keeping milk production up was to keep up on liquids, which makes perfect sense. Keeping up my intake of liquids included coffee, soups, and lots of water. Of course, I supplemented my water with Momma's Milk Tonic or with Mother's Milk tea. Not only is keeping milk production up important, but the quality is important as well. I also supplement with fish oil and prenatal vitamins, as well as make sure I eat right. I've done my best to refrain from consuming things with a lot of preservatives or questionables, like instant coffee.

One of the many items my grandmother brought over from Singapore is Milo. Milo is a chocolate malt drink that's similar to Ovaltine. It was one of my favorite drinks as a kid growing up in Singapore (along with Horlicks). Though I have nothing against making myself a good ol' mug of Milo myself, I feel uneasy about drinking the instant Milo my grandmother brought over as it comes with creamer and sugar (but mainly just the additive creamer that's already included). I try not to take in the artificial stuff whenever possible, even before I was pregnant. I certainly wasn't going to start making it a habit after having had a baby now. And it's about what I consume that determines the quality of the breastmilk that's produced as well (and, of course, there's another Sagacious Grandmother tidbit here, but I'll save it for another posting).

I used to go out in the morning, either to work out with Baby Boot Camp or meet with the other moms for coffee and lunch, with some toast in my hand and my bottle of water (I reuse the glass Honest Tea bottles, thank you very much!). Throughout the day, I would also try to drink as much water (with the Momma's Milk tonic) or Mother's Milk tea as possible. My grandmother would constantly express her distaste at my consumption of water and tea.

"You shouldn't drink so much water," she would say. "You need to drink Milo so you will have lots of vitamins for your son!"

"Grandma," I would say as patiently as I could. "I add this and drink that as well as eat right to make sure that I'll have lots of vitamins for my son. Milo just won't do it, okay?"

"Well, I brought all that Milo. You should drink it or you won't have vitamins for your son, you understand?"

Perfectly.