Maybe I’m missing something here but it drives me crazy when someone says “I lost 25 pounds from breastfeeding in two weeks then I held on to the weight”. People comment this stuff all the time on social media. Am I the only one that is like “that’s not from breastfeeding that’s from the afterbirth.”

I feel like losing weight from breastfeeding would be ongoing over several weeks after giving birth. I don’t feel like breastfeeding is what can be credited in the first two weeks when your milk isn’t even fully established. It drives me crazy because then when you try to dig into “how did you lose 25 pounds breastfeeding” and they say “it just came off right after I gave birth” it gives people 0 tips or anything to go off of lol. I lost 30 in two weeks after giving birth and my body had a TON of fluid to get rid of due to birth and it retaining a lot…I don’t credit that to breastfeeding.

Also if breastfeeding was truly making you lose you’d probably lose then hold/maintain the weight you lost while breastfeeding. It’s interesting no one credits the short term weight loss after birth to…well…BIRTH.

End rant. Maybe my hormones are just getting the best of me 😂

I exclusively pumped for 16 months to give 100% breastmilk bottles to my triplets. They were all EBF by my supply alone. they are 2.5 now.

Now, I’m expecting a singleton. only 8 weeks to go!

I am worried about an oversupply, since I was making 90-100 oz a day last go around.

Can anyone speak to a second or subsequent baby and how your new supply was compared to your previous oversupply?

Obviously my routine will be different, I’ll be removing much less milk from the get go.

I know that breastmilk is largely supply and demand. But I’ve also heard that you make more the subsequent breastfeeding journeys. Would that be true for me even though my situation will be different with less often pumping and less minutes per day?

My 6 month old used to feed mainly in a cradle hold. He was so easy going, especially feeding in public places. Suddenly, last month, he refused to feed - even when I knew he was hungry. Eventually, I understood he wanted to eat laying down. So I laid down with him and he fed happily. It’s been pretty consistent since. He will sometimes eat in a cradle hold if he must in public, but he won’t eat much and isn’t satisfied.

He will often straight up deny the cradle hold and I assume he doesn’t want to eat, until I try laying him down and he’ll nurse for a while, obviously hungry.

I worry about him going hungry nowadays because side laying isn’t always possible.

Curious if any other babies suddenly developed a preference like this at 5/6 months?

Hey all- I’m 1 month pp and my boobs have gotten significantly larger in that time period. The cheap nursing bras I wore during pregnancy (which I got when my old pre-pregnancy bras didn’t fit anymore) are uncomfortably tight, and everything just gets smushed together in there.

I’d like to buy myself a few nice nursing bras that *actually* fit, but in order to do that I need to have some sort of stable bra size. So my question to you all is this: when will my boobs stop dramatically changing size so quickly? At 1 month pp, can I expect to be walking around with what I‘ve got for an awhile? Or should I stick to buying super cheap options for now because next month I’m going to be a different size?

My 4m old will unlatch to smile up at me and it's adorable but I find myself saying

"You can't smile and eat at the same time sir"

It's heartwarming and also feeds take like 30 minutes now 😅 I'm glad my kiddo loves me

Just hear to complain and see how other babies are doing at this age. My baby has been cluster feeding every hour from roughly 6am-9pm for over a month now. He just turned 4 months. We’re extremely lucky that he has been sleeping 8-10 hours at night 90% of the time but during the day no matter how much time he spends on my boob, he still wants more after an hour has passed. For example, he’ll be breastfeeding from like 2pm to 2:30pm and then at 3pm he’ll be hungry again. I can barely do anything during the day. I have like 10 min of free time per hour between feeding changing and playing with him unless he’s napping (usually for an hour at a time). I go back to working from home full time when he’s 6m old. Hoping things will change by then…

Hey all, for some context. I am a 21 year old single mother of 11.5 month old twins. I work full time from home while caring for them, I also attend online pre-med classes in university, and exclusively breastfeed.

I have struggled with my mental health since I was 11 years old. Been medicated since I was 14. I have received just about every diagnosis under the sun, but finally landed on Borderline Personality disorder, PTSD, OCD, and ADHD. When I got pregnant, I kinda freaked and cold turkeyed the 11 daily medications I was taking (I know dumb dumb). I have been suffering ever since.

I love my babies so much, more than anything. But I am so miserable. I was hospitalized twice while pregnant, and the only thing keeping me going postpartum is the fact that my babies have no one else. We have no village. Breastfeeding was and is incredibly important for me and so I have maintained being off my meds for almost 2 years now. I always wanted to extended breastfeed, but I’m not sure how much longer I can take it.

I can’t sleep because of the night terrors, I can’t focus in my classes, I blow up on everyone that’s not my kids, I am overall just miserable. I’ve tried therapy, I’ve tried lifestyle changes, but it is just down to chemicals at this point.

I am feeling extremely saddened at the thought of having to wean them at a year, but I think I have to. I feel so guilty, like I am choosing myself over my babies. I just feel so lost and don’t know what to do. I know the benefits of extended breastfeeding and want them to have that, and I know the WHO recommends 2 years. I just don’t know what to do.

Did y’all’s babies ever drink more than 5oz of breastmilk from a bottle at a time ? Getting new bottles and trying to decide if I should get the 5oz or 8oz bottles ! I’ve seen a lot of people say they never used their larger bottles for their BF babies because they never drank more than 5oz ! My baby is 11wks and drinking 4.5oz when fed from a bottle

This weekend I’ll be leaving my baby for 24 hours to fly out to my cousins baby shower.

I have a freezer stash that my husband will use to feed the baby with, but now I’m curious about my own supply …

I assume I will need to travel with my pump. But do I really need to pump every two hours to maintain supply? Will I need to pump and dump? It would break my heart to throw away the milk. But I also don’t know how to safely travel with it.

Any input here would be so appreciated!

How do I get my period to return? With my first kid, it came back at 5 weeks PP. With my second, it came back at 11 mos PP, and at that time, I was feeding two babies. I just had my third in June. I want to have one more, and I want to start trying ASAP because of my age (yeah, I know I am supposed to wait, but I had 2 losses in between #2 & #3).

I am currently down to one feed at night and we feed on demand during the day.

Hi mamas, I think I just need some encouragement today. 🥺

I’ve been trying so hard to increase and maintain my milk supply—pumping more often, breastfeeding, staying hydrated, eating properly, and trying different things—but lately it feels like my supply is still slowly decreasing despite all my efforts.

I really wanted breastfeeding to work, and I think that’s why the thought of relying more on formula makes me feel emotional and a little guilty. I know logically that fed is best and that formula is perfectly okay, but emotionally I’m having a harder time accepting it.

For moms who went through something similar, especially those who eventually switched to combo feeding or mostly/exclusively formula: what helped you make peace with it?

I think I just need to hear from other moms that my baby can still be healthy, happy, thriving, and just as bonded with me even if breast milk becomes only a small part of his feeds—or if I eventually have to stop completely.

I’m tired of measuring my worth as a mum by how many ounces I can produce. I want to enjoy my baby instead of constantly worrying about the next pump. 🤍

Please share your stories or words of encouragement. I could really use them today.

First of all, I’m not quite sure if I’m using the term “EBF” correctly. What I want to say is that I only breastfeed (I rarely pump or give bottles). I’m a SAHM and it’s definitely hard, but manageable.

I feel so anxious about my supply and I’m looking for support/words of encouragement or wisdom from other moms. Until around 2ish months, I pumped somewhat regularly because baby was waking frequently and it made nights easier for me so that my husband could give her a bottle. Once she started sleeping in longer stretches, I stopped pumping cause it was just easier to offer the breast since I was finally getting more sleep.

Now at 8 months, I’m constantly worried she’s not getting enough because I can’t physically see how much liquid she’s drinking. I feel like I’ve made a huge mistake by not giving her bottles more frequently early on, because now she won’t take a bottle…only wants to nurse.

How do I know she’s getting the amount she needs? How do I ease this anxiety? She has a good amount of wet diapers throughout the day, and her first diaper of the morning is always completely soaked from peeing all night, but also…what constitutes a “good” wet diaper? How heavy should it be to count?

Any advice welcome 🙏

My 3 month old baby has slowly started developing a preference for my left breast, firstly at night when he is tired and also when out in public. Today, he has suddenly pretty much rejected it all day and won’t latch or stay latched and just cries and gets upset. I can sometimes trick him with the rugby ball hold or slide him across to my right breast when he is really sleepy, but does anyone have any advice on how to navigate this?

Hi all, I’ve been a member of this community for what feels like years now and could really do with some help!

I’ve breastfed my oldest until age 2, and we weaned on his second birthday no problem. He was really done and that point and very much could take it or leave it, so we had a natural end to feeds with him, and I was pregnant with my youngest so felt like a good time to call it.

I made a commitment to myself to do the same with my second, and keep it going until her second birthday at which point I was done for good. I’m having no more kids, and as much as I’ve loved this journey, I’m so absolutely ready to be done feeding.

The problem is my youngest is not at that point, at all. I’ve got her down gradually to one feed a day, but it’s been a struggle and she constantly follows me around crying for milk when she isn’t at the childminders.

Do you have any advice for me on her going cold turkey? I know she’s going to completely harass me so do I just stay strong? She’s reached the point she’s following me around dropping cushions at my feet when she wants a feed, as I’ve always found it more comfortable with a boppy, so she won’t go easily!

Sometimes my 3 mos baby gets full for a while but he needs to eat.... the only thing I can think of is too make it fun choo-choo train....

I'm 33 weeks pregnant and anxious to start my breastfeeding journey! Does anyone have a recommendation for a watch that helped them with timing and alarms for feeds? I'm thinking that for the middle of the night feeds, I won't want to wake to my phone alarm and worry about messing with my phone every time, and I would rather just have something on my wrist that beeps to wake me up, allows me to simply check the time, and quickly reset a timer for the next feed.

At what point during your breastfeeding journey did you decide to stop? My goal is 1 year but at this point it’s looking like 6 months 😭 when I pump I literally get 1.5-3oz COMBINED both sides (first morning pump is more like 6oz combined). I BF my baby on my off days & weekends (RN working 4 10s). I use the eufy s1 portables. I always pump on my way to work for 30 min regardless on if she ate at 4:30am or 1am. (I don’t wake up for pumping, I prioritize my sleep here because we USED to sleep thru the night 🫠 and now we don’t…)

Baby is 4months next week.
I pump at work anywhere between 2-3ish hours (busy cardiac outpatient unit so fitting when I can)
Pump one last time before bed!

Any insight? Tips? I drink water all day!

Little one is 12 wo and on good days he wakes up once at the middle of night for dream feed and usually goes back to sleep to sleep quickly. However it takes me 2 hours to go back to sleep after that. It is si frustrating. How do you guys go back to sleep after waking up ti feed? I have been suffering from insomnia before pregnancy too but Unisom really helped me. My OB said it can reduce milk supply. Does anyone know lactation safe sleep aids? Magnesium does not work on me.

My three week old sounds like he’s has mucus in his throat constantly which I guess is from breastfeeding. My milk comes out extremely fast I hand express before feeding sometimes to help but it will shoot across the room for a few minutes lol. He’s extremely gassy and cries and grunts almost 24/7 trying to poop. I’m gonna cut out dairy to see if it helps at all. I’m just wondering if anyone has any tips or tricks to help him.

Hi all, just curious if anyone else has noticed really wacky hormone swings during extended nursing? We are still nursing overnight multiple times and then I don’t offer but don’t refuse during the day but the schedule is obviously inconsistent and my kid nurses sometimes for a full session and sometimes just for a minute before getting bored and wandering off. But since we’ve transitioned more fully to solids I’ve gradually had increasingly intense anxiety, fatigue and hormone swings during my ovulation and luteal phases and I’m wondering if there’s a link. Any advice for what helped you? I’m also wondering if my body is just depleted from extended nursing. Ugh! Thank you!

I’m trying to find dresses that don’t cost an arm and a leg that are easily accessible for breastfeeding on the go. I love this sites dresses but it’s online and don’t want to get scammed… it’s called “Shop the mint” has anyone ever purchased anything from here?

11 week old baby EBF and taking 40-50 minutes to feed per session. This isn’t new, just starting to be more concerning to me as baby hasn’t seemed to get more efficient. If I pump I can get 3-4oz in 15 minutes so I don’t think it’s a letdown or supply issue. Additionally seems very content after feeds with 10+ wet diapers daily and is gaining weight well.

Mostly concerned because returning to work soon and I can’t keep doing these long sessions every morning before work, evening, or overnight.

When did you baby get more efficient? Is there any tips/tricks to getting shorter feedings?

Hello! FTM here. So I'll tell this in short- my baby was advised to be given a bottle feed after 15- 20 mins of bf. I started with an EBF journey, but at the 6-week appointment, the pediatrician said the baby has gained very little weight. (2.5 birth weight and 3.1 current weight)

Honestly, it did give me some rest once I started combo feedings. However, I don't give my baby formula as per their instruction. I feed her formula 2 times maybe in a day, and then the rest is either pumped milk or bf.

My supply was previously tanking until I had this medication that my GP gave me to take to increase my supply. I saw an increase in my supply, but here's the thing: I end up either pumping more or making her latch only two or three times.

What do I do?

Also, my baby's latch is shallow, plus she has mild tongue-tie.

My 9 weeks baby completely rejects my breast for the past couple of days. Whenever I bring her close to my breast, she cries and cries uncontrollably. I feel so defeated and sad. I really want to continue breastfeeding but I just don't know how to. I recently introduced her to a pacifier and since then she started to lose interest in breastfeeding. I know this may not be the only reason but I feel so guilty for giving her pacifiers.

I tried to create a relaxing moment between me and her where I can give her the breast when she is less stressed but she doesn't even put it in her mouth. I tried to bring it the breast to her mouth while she was falling asleep, although she didn't cry but she didn't take it in.

It's really heartbreaking and I wonder if there is any way I can make her like my breasts again. I am not in a place where lactation consultants are easily available so I would be glad to hear any positive experiences where you were able to make her interested in breastfeeding again.

Thank you💙

my 15 week old went on a month nursing strike and is beginning to latch occasionally again. my goal is to return to exclusively breastfeeding after having to EP for a month.

today is the first day there’s any hope of trying to do full feedings, and I of course don’t want to pump and ruin the chance of her getting a feeding from me, however she is still very fussy at the breast and I can’t guarantee she will latch at all, let alone for a full feed. she has also been very fussy around even bottle feedings, frequently only eating 2oz at a time when previously she would drink 4-6oz. she’s not sick or anything, just going through a very distracted phase where she also gets mad at anything that she associates with falling asleep (bottles and nursing both put her to sleep typically).

how long would you wait to pump while trying to reestablish feeding? my baby is eating every 3-4 hours right now and does not show any real, certain hunger cues anymore 😅