When Liza was born, we posted a blog series about BRINGING HOME BABY to share about everything from My Hospital Bag to her Nursery Reveal. With three children in my household now, we’ve been adjusting to a new normal. Lolli has been so helpful on my young motherhood journey, sharing her maternal wisdom on everything from diaper changing to disciplining. As I look back to welcoming my first son, I needed her encouragement most around nursing a newborn (a 24-hour job no one can prepare you for!). It’s a natural part of motherhood, but it can feel uncomfortable at first and often requires patience.
Lolli and I shared the common experience of nursing three babies, but we understand it doesn’t come easy to all or isn’t an option for some due to a variety of reasons. However, if you or any of your new mama friends are nursing and need a breastfeeding boost, we are sharing today about a friend who stumbled upon a magical lactation cookie recipe that helps support milk production. It’s now a full-blown business launching nationally in August! A box of these cookies in the hospital or beyond is a yummy way to welcome baby. I can speak from personal experience to their effectiveness and deliciousness, too! Read below about this brand and our beautiful friend behind it:
Photo by Natalie Yates Photography
The Miracle Milkookies Story
By Whitney Williams Rowell, Founder and CEO of Miracle Milkookies
Miracle Milkookies were born out of a necessity for me to feed my first child. Throughout my pregnancy, I was sick every single day, even up until the day I delivered. As a result, my baby girl was born at just 5 pounds 15 ounces and she came out ready to eat. As one of the first of my friends to get pregnant, I really never understood all that went into breastfeeding your child.
There are so many questions that come up the second you hold that baby in your arms. How much is he/she eating? Are they getting enough? Most importantly, am I doing this right?
Photo by Natalie Yates Photography
I seemed to have enough colostrum (pre-milk that is touted as ‘liquid gold’) the first few days at the hospital to satisfy my tiny baby, but when I got home, it was a different story. She was hungry all the time, to the point of non-stop feeding every single hour. I understood that I needed to cluster feed the first few days to get her weight up, but my main concern was that my milk wasn’t rich enough because I had been so sick the entire pregnancy.
A couple of weeks later, a girlfriend reached out to me and said she dropped some lactation cookies on my doorstep. I had never heard of lactation cookies before but I thought I’d give them a try, because at that point I was willing to do anything to satiate my hungry baby. Almost immediately after eating the cookies, I noticed that my baby seemed more satisfied when she ate.
Curious about what went into these “miracle cookies,” I Googled lactation-producing ingredients and discovered the main ones are simply oats, brewer’s yeast and flaxseed. I incorporated these “secret ingredients” into my popular oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe and couldn’t believe how much more milk I was producing, even within that first day! I posted the newfound recipe on my blog and was blown away when I started hearing from moms across the country with breastfeeding success stories as a result of my cookies. It turns out the blog post had gone viral after several national magazines found it on Pinterest and featured it!
After asking my followers about whether they would prefer to bake or buy, I decided to turn this recipe into a business, literally one month before my second baby was born last August. I set up my first Miracle Milkookies stand at the Saint Michael’s Farmers Market in Dallas last July to “announce” that we were open.
Photo by Natalie Yates Photography
From that point on, I hit the ground running, first personally delivering orders of Miracle Milkookies to new mothers’ doorsteps. Soon after, I launched a weekly pick-up option at The Tot, a Dallas-based children’s boutique that offers curated, non-toxic, all-natural baby and children’s toys, clothing and accessories. Through those customers and “word of mouth” referrals, Milkookie mamas have since shared about us with friends around the country, reaching the mom next door as well as celebrity influencers from NYC to LA in just a few short months.
While I’m so grateful for the awareness that our Milkookies fans bring, my favorite aspect of Miracle Milkookies is being able to help moms with babies in the NICU. These new mothers can’t rely on their baby’s latch to stimulate milk production, so we provide a sweet treat that helps jumpstart their milk supply when they first start pumping. One testimonial includes a young mom who started eating Miracle Milkookies when her twins were born prematurely at just 23 weeks. Although just one pound each at birth, they are now both over four pounds at six weeks old! I look forward to furthering our NICU program as we grow.
Photos courtesy of Gregory Scaffidi and Whitney Williams Rowell
This month marks the first year of this start-up business. We will launch distribution nationally this August, World Breastfeeding Month, and celebrated that announcement last week by popping-up with The Tot in East Hampton! We still have a long way to go as we transition from a local cookie company that started out of my little kitchen in Dallas to a national brand, but the best part about this company right now is that we are growing just like all the babies growing with a little Miracle Milkookies help.
We’d love for you to follow us on this exciting journey @MiracleMilkookies! PLEASE ENJOY 10% OFF YOUR FIRST ORDER WITH PROMO CODE “LOLLIANDME” AT THIS LINK TO WWW.MIRACLEMILKOOKIES.COM!
Featured Photo by Natalie Yates Photography
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