I did some reading today about nutrition and lactation and here are some things I learned:

• One of the two things that most affect milk production is maternal hydration. (The other is how often the infant nurses, which I knew).
• "It is generally advisable for lactating women to maintain an energy intake of at least 1800 kcal/day (Mahan & Escott-Stump, 2008, p. 187). ( I had read 1500 kcal to 1800 kcal in papers I got from a lactation class).
• The DRI for protein for the average (not obese or below weight) nursing mothers is 71 g/day. That's a lot of protein! I tried calculating how much protein I have consumes today and I'm not even close. Guess I'll be drinking more milk. I think milk is 8 or 9 grams of protein per serving.
• I need to be better about omega-6 in my diet. I think I'm good on omega-3, at least better than omega-6. The AI for omega 6 is 13 grams a day; omega-3 is 1.3 grams a day.
•  160 to 210 g/day of carbs is needed to maintain enough milk.
• 87% of breast milk is water.

• "Aerobic exercise at 60% to 70% of maximum heart rate has no adverse effect on lactation" (Mahan & Escott-Stump, 2008, p 189). Good to know because I was wondering how hard I could push myself without it affecting supply. Max heart rate is 220 - age. So for me, my max heart rate is 197. 60% - 70% of that is 118 - 138. Also, the CDC recommends at least 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise for nursing mothers. My goal of 30 minutes a day meets that recommendation.

Mahan, L.K & Escott-Stump, S. (2008). Krause's Food and Nutrition Therapy. St. Louis, MO.

I can't believe Natalia is still sleeping. She's almost gone 4 hours without eating. Usually she eats every 2 hours during the day. I hoping my sleeping babe wakes soon. She must need the sleep.