Many breastfeeding moms will experience a "milk supply crisis" or, hopefully temporary, reduction in their milk supply. Often this is brought on by stress, travel away from baby or infrequent nursing. There are several tips that may be tried in order to restore milk supply;

1. Invest in a good electric, hospital grade, breast pump. The Medela Pump-In-Style is one excellent example that is worth every penny of its price tag. Many moms will be immediately able to pump an additional ounce or two when they begin to use a high quality breast pump.

2. Pump both breasts every 2-3 hours and continue pumping even after the breast appears to have emptied. Breastmilk is created based upon supply and demand and if you continue to pump you can trick the breasts into "thinking" that the baby's food requirements have increased and will thus respond over a couple of days or so by producing more milk.

3. Try to pump both breasts at once as this provides a greater trigger of Oxytocin, the hormone that stimulates breast milk production.

4. Nurse your baby as much as you can, even investing the time in an "all breastfeeding long weekend" where you spend as much time as possible cuddling, feeding and sleeping together.

5. Supplement with herbs like fennel, found in Mother's Milk tea, and Fenugreek, found in FenuMax. Both have been shown to support increased milk production.

6. Relax! The more apprehensive you are about your milk supply, the more tense you become and the more difficult it is to just relax and enjoy the breastfeeding experience. Take a warm bath, play soft music while nursing, close your eyes and breathe deeply.

And in case you need a reminder of the benefits of breastfeeding to motivate you...

For Baby:

- breast fed babies are less likely than their formula-fed peers to get: diarrhea, ear infections, respiratory infections, bacteremia, bacterial meningitis, botulism, necrotizing enterocolis and urinary tract infections.

- studies show that nursing may also be protective against SIDS, diabetes, Chronh's disease, ulcerative colitis, lymphoma, allergies and chronic digestive diseases.

For Mom:

- breastfeeding burns about 500 calories a day and helps shrink the uterus back to its pre-pregnancy state more quickly

- breastfeeding has been associated with reduced postpartum depression

- breastfeeding may reduce the risk of osteoporosis and hip fractures later in life

- breastfeeding can reduce the risk of developing ovarian and premenopausal breast cancer

Breastfeeding is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics for at least 12 months