Eating all the oats right now in an effort to save my milk supply. Ugh. I have never had a great breastmilk supply. I thought with the second baby my body would know what to do and milk would just flow like the nile river. Wrong. After taking Mila in for weight checks at a few days old and realizing she had dropped below 10% body weight, we knew I needed to supplement with formula at least for a little while until my milk came in. Well, it did come in but unfortunately not in the amount I needed to keep Mila happy. We continued to supplement and in the last couple of weeks she has been refusing the breast altogether. She just wants the bottle and the immediate satisfaction that it brings. Getting her to latch was next to impossible so I decided to exclusively pump a few times a day but my supply has plummeted. Enter all things oats.

In trying to get my supply back up I am eating SO many oats. Drinking all the mother’s milk tea. And trying to stay super hydrated and nourished through lots of water, fresh juice and smoothies. These chewy chocolate chip oatmeal lactation bars were a beautiful accident when I just randomly threw a bunch of ingredients into a mixing bowl and hoped for the best. They are SO good! You can tell they are ‘healthy’ but still a treat nonetheless. Highly recommend these for mamas out there who may be trying to maintain or boost their breastmilk supply!

Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Lactation Bars

Ingredients:
4 cups gluten free old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup maple syrup
3 ripe bananas
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/4 cup hemp seeds
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Set oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line 8×8 inch baking dish with parchment paper – set aside.
3. Add all ingredients except chocolate chips to a large mixing bowl. Mix with a rubber spatula until well combined.
4. Fold in half of the chocolate chips. Reserve the rest for sprinkling on top.
5. Add the mixture to parchment-lined baking dish.
6. Sprinkle the rest of the chocolate chips on top.
7. Bake for 15-17 minutes.
8. Enjoy & let me know if you try it out!