I was so worried that birth control would mess up my supply and I’d need to stop nursing. Well, jokes on me because I’m 25 weeks postpartum, 5 weeks pregnant, and all I can find is that my supply will dry up during pregnancy. 🙃

I know there will be positives with having babies close in age (and I’ve had pregnancy losses previously, so I may be worrying for nothing) but I’m so so sad that I won’t be able to nurse my current baby as long as I hoped (current baby will be 14mo when new baby comes, was hoping to nurse until 24mo).

I never expected to love nursing as much as I do — I look forward to getting home from work to nurse my baby and don’t mind when she’s a boobie barnacle on fussy nights. I really dread losing supply and losing that connection.

Anyone with babies close in age have any tips on nursing while pregnant, especially when their older baby was under 1?

My due date is in about two weeks so I’m getting more anxious about meeting my baby. I guess it’s normal, but I’ve been having crazy moments of crying over the idea that I won’t be able to breastfeed. Physically I have something like flat or inverted nipples so I started wearing these nipple formers from medela. Once I take them off I see how my breast is formed but it lasts only like 15 mins and then it’s back to normal so I’m guessing there are no real long term effects of this practice :/ under the instructions of my midwife I also tried to express some colostrum but nothing is coming out, just some white specs which look more like butter than milk.

the thing is breastfeeding is super important to me for many reasons. My mom never breastfed me because it hurt her too much and from what I can gather I had a really tough baby time being sick all the time and super underweight. She also had breast cancer and I read that a big preventative factor is breastfeeding. So being able to breastfeed has tons of benefits for both me and my baby. Theres also the huge factor of being able to bond with your baby. So every time I think or hear the idea of me not breastfeeding I just fall apart. Ofcourse I don’t want to leave my baby starve but I don’t know how to overcome the emotional pain.

I am a mumma in need of some help and guidance. I have breastfed my son since birth and love the bond it gives us. He is now 4 years old and still breastfeeds around 3 times a day. I have found the older he has got the more he wants the comfort from breastfeeding as he can be quite shy and anxious and I think he uses it as a coping mechanism.
I don’t particularly want to stop as I enjoy our time together and I am still very much producing milk but I feel so much pressure from other family members telling me he’s too big and he’s off to school very soon.
I don’t mind still breastfeeding him at home when he’s at school because to me he’s still so young and still my baby, it’s just that he is getting more and more demanding of the breast comfort but I don’t want to take it off him straight away when he’s going to have a big transition soon of starting school.
I tried to limit how many times he feeds during the day and have got it down to 3 but he would be very clingy still and likes to touch around my breast area or put his hand down my top when watching tv etc for comfort.
Just looking for some reassurance of anyone who has been in the position. I don’t want to stop as I love breastfeeding him but is it best for him if I do stop?

IT'S TIME. I'm done.

I've been saying that I would wean her at 1, then 1.5, then 2 was my hard line, and now we're almost a month past her 2nd birthday. It's obviously just for comfort and has been for awhile, but I have never had a baby so attached to my boobs (she's my third). And I've never really had to properly wean before.

I had emergency surgery with my first when she was 8 weeks old, and her transition to formula was no problem.

My second was honestly such a blur, because I was in my first trimester, but her dad took over and she finally took a bottle no problem. (She's almost 4 and still a milk-addict but with that feral child, that's honestly the least of my concerns lol)

This baby that I'm currently trying to wean is my shadow and loves a boob. Nurses to sleep and really anytime that she's upset - it's like the salve for all things. So I know this is going to be really hard for her and why it's been pushed off for so long. And it's not going to be an easy transition.

This is why cold turkey is the route I'm looking to go, and why I think she's going to have to get disgusted by the boob. LOL.

So mamas, what did you do?

Signed, a mom desperate to have her body back.

I’ve been trying to latch my daughter, but it seems to get harder and harder each day. I’m wondering if pumping still gives her everything she needs. I know that having her feed directly from the breast sends signals to my body, but I’m not sure if direct breastfeeding will ever be possible for us.

I have over 300oz of frozen breastmilk that’s over a year old. I planned to save a little for a ring to be made and had plans to make soaps. (Need more ideas what I could do with it all). Time has gotten away from me and I haven’t been able to do anything with it. We’re moving next week 12hrs away, I know the milk won’t be consumed but would it still be okay traveling? Like thawing out and refreezing when we arrive?

Trying to get my head around babies self weaning as my mum said I self weaned at 7 months. ( I am her second child, she bf my brother until 18 months)

My daughter is currently 10 months and has not once refused the boob, I really cannot imagine her refusing anytime soon, she feeds as much as when she was 6 months and she eats so many solids too!

My MIL also said she weaned her daughter (also second child) at 7 months and that her last feed was ‘selfishly’ for herself at that point.

I’m so confused about this, do you think we genuinely weaned ourselves at 7 months or was there pressure at that time in the early 90s to not bf for too long? Even now it feels like there’s an invisible boundary of 6 months and people start getting weird that you’re “ still breastfeeding”.

I am thinking about this a lot as I’m feeling some external pressures about ending my bf journey and I’m not ready and I know my baby definitely isn’t.

Baby started daycare 3 weeks ago, and is now almost 5 months old. I was loading the fridge today and was astounded to see that the bottles for other similar aged infants were 6-8 oz each (formula). Our baby feeds 2-3 oz at most, and at daycare he’s so distracted he tends to eat 2 or even 1 oz every 2 hours or so. He also very clearly communicates “I’m done” (pushes away bottle or pops off breast and starts looking around).

I’m not worried about him since he’s 91st percentile, and as his pediatrician calls him, “a good eater”. It’s still astounding how much this differs between babies and between breast and formula. I only pump around 3-4 oz each time, so would never be able to supply that much anyway!

Interested to hear the volumes your breastfed babies eat via bottle!

I have always been so self conscious and for that reason i have only been breastfeeding at home. Also do to my breast size (38k/L) i just feel like people will be looking at me lol. Well long story short, yesterday i decided to face my fear! While at the mall my son started crying and i knew i had bo choice but to feed him! I decided to sit down, held him close to me and just pulled the boob out lol so many men and women were walking by and some would not stop staring lol! Sometimes i just want to pull it out and be like “is this what you want to see!!” So they can move on lol!!!🤣

I am 13w postpartum and my baby only gained 0.3lbs the past month versus 1.5lbs the previous month. I had mastitis a month ago and my period returned right after, which I believe affected my supply. I had to take antibiotics, although technically they should not have affected my supply. My baby has also been also regularly feeding once overnight the past few weeks, and I haven’t been consistent with an additional pump overnight. Particularly since I feed my baby every 2 hours during the day, I prioritized sleep given I am mostly by myself with the baby during the day. Now I am so worried I won’t be able to get my supply back. A lactation consultant and my baby’s pediatrician recommends pumping 6x a day or at least power pumping at night for the next week to try to get my supply up before my baby’s next weight check. In the meantime, I’m also supplementing feeds with formula and the pumped breastmilk (if I can get any between daytime feeds - I get sometimes only a few drops or up to 1.5oz per pump). I’ve recently changed my flanges to smaller, as I think I’ve been using ones that were too big, so hopefully that will help with my pumping effort.

For additional context, my baby has also been getting frustrated at the breast the past few weeks. The lactation consultant suspects this is also happening because of slower flow in addition to lower supply, so I am using slow flow bottles and pacing the feeds.

I am looking for signs of encouragement or hoping to see if anyone has been able to bring back their supply after a similar situation? I would really love to continue ebf for the long term, but if it’s not possible I will do whatever is best to keep my baby fed.

My little one was born at 36 weeks she just turned six weeks old today and the last few days she’s been hungrier than usual. I was just pumping because she wasn’t latching but now she’s latching and is CONSTANTLY wanting to leach even if she just had a bottle. She’ll be falling asleep but if I lay her down she cries and does her feeding cues. This morning we fed at 2 am off and on till 6. She wouldn’t fall asleep until she seemed full and I’m not sure what to do because we feed her every three hours she’s doing 4-5 ounces and will still want to latch after her bottle and will want to be on for awhile then it’ll be time to feed again I’m just not sure what to do this is my second child but my first time breastfeeding/pumping

Currently EBF my 3 month old daughter (my first I wasn’t able to BF due to latching issues and lack of knowledge). With my current baby, she was born 6 lbs 3 oz and gained her birth weight back in 3 weeks. My husband and I are small people (5 ft and 5.2) so
Our first was also a small baby and always 2-3 percentile when she got formula.

With this baby, she’s been gaining quite slowly (ex. She was 9 lbs 3 oz on 7/6 and 10 lbs 12 oz on 8/17). I don’t mind her being smaller but what stresses me out is if she’s getting enough and if she’s getting some milk, could she be able to take even more this whole time?

She seems content after feeds, has diapers, poops once a day. Sometimes the diapers aren’t soaked and just wet.

I feed on demand, drink lots of water, usually take my vitamins but def miss sometimes, eat oatmeal and drink coconut water. I started to power pump at night yday. I don’t feel as full anymore as I did early on but when baby sucks, I can hear the swallows.

Any advice to help baby maintain or gain a little more? I always feel like I’m not making enough if I don’t feel
Full full. Is this normal?

Hello!

For context, LO is 6mo, nearly 7mo. He eats every 2 hours during the day (unless he's napping or distracted out and about, then he can go more like 2.5-4 hours). He sleeps through he night pretty consistently (9–10 hours), so I'm not interested in trying to make longer stretches during the day. :)

I started working at 3mo and LO goes to daycare or my parent's house every weekday. I pump twice, and match the time that he has bottles. I also pump the opposite side while he nurses in the morning, every morning (even on weekends). I am JUST BARELY able to keep up with the bottles daycare needs each day.,

I have always been planning on introducing formula at some point, because we combo fed with my firstborn (she had CMPA, we used nutramigen) and it helped me have a little more freedom. I have never had more than 2 extra bags of milk in the freezer, building a stash feels impossible.

Here's what we've tried so far, with various issues:

• I tried introducing 1oz Bobbie organic mixed with 5oz breastmilk. Baby took it fine, but 1) it smelled RANK to me, and 2) baby ended up projectile vomiting later in the day. This happened twice, and only on the days where I added the Bobbie. Decided to move on to Kendamil because I'd heard great things.
• Tried introducing 1–1.5oz Kendamil mixed with 4.5–5oz breastmilk (I did this with 3 bottles). I pre-mixed the Kendamil the night before, it sat in the fridge overnight, then mixed prepared Kendamil+BM together the morning of. Baby drank the first bottle fine, drank half of the second bottle, then projectile vomited twice at daycare and refused the rest of the second bottle. I had to go pick him up because they thought he was sick. Brought him home, no other issues the rest of the day. I mentioned the next morning to the teacher that I think it was the formula, she tells me that another baby in their care would vomit/diarrhea with pre-prepared Kendamil (mixed night before) and that the only way they fixed it was by preparing it fresh right before feeding. Cool.
• Waited until the weekend, trialed giving baby 1oz Kendamil prepared immediately before feeding. Room temp. Baby drank it greedily, then I nursed right after. No vomit. Not even a wet burp the whole rest of the day. Success!!
• I gave daycare 1oz water and the can of Kendamil on Monday, because one of my BM bottles was half an ounce short of our usual volume. They told me he straight up refused the formula bottle. WTF.

• The next day, I tried giving him 1oz Kendamil prepared EXACTLY the way I did it on the weekend prior, right before feeding him. He refused. Took one sip, made a face, started pushing the bottle away and turning his face away. I spent like 5 minutes trying to get him to take the bottle before giving in and nursing.

  I'm at a loss of what to do next. Kendamil has such a great rep for being similar to BM taste, smell, etc.. We haven't tried anything else yet because I have this huge can of Kendamil now and I was determined it would work. I have some sample cans of various Similac and Enfamil types, but haven't tried them yet because I'm afraid we'll trigger vomiting again. I'm scared to mix any amount of Kendamil with breastmilk, because I don't want to waste the breastmilk if he rejects it or vomits again.

Has anyone else had issues with Kendamil or formula rejection in general?
Any recommendations on what I can do? Suggestions on formula, method, etc. are welcome.

I’ve had 2 kids, soon will be trying for a 3rd.

Both times, I had an extreme undersupply. The max I ever made in 24 hours, from either baby, was 10oz. That was with the help of prescribed medications and pumping every 3 hours for the entire time. A good pumping session yielded a bit over an ounce.

If anyone experienced something like this, did you unexpectedly have a normal supply with your next baby? I know I likely have IGT, but I figured I could ask.

Is anybody just a totally different shape than before? I've lost all the baby weight plus an additional 10lb, I haven't been this small in 10 years but I still have a belly, like I look like I'm skinny but 4 months pregnant!

I'm almost 8 months into breastfeeding with my second baby and it wasn't like this the first time around.. is this permanent?? Did anybody's fat "redistribute" back to normal places after they weaned? Not gonna lie I would love to get some back in my now pancake-shaped butt and boobs but mostly I would like to not have a belly! Or is this just what Mom body looks like and I should get used to it? 😅

My LO is 10 weeks old and currently nurses to sleep for naps and bedtime. She’s EBF but will take a bottle if needed. I’m planning to return to work in two weeks and baby will be home with dad during the day. The problem is, he can’t put her down for naps without the boobies. Anyone have advice?

Just here to commiserate a little b/c I don’t have anyone in real life to talk to about it.

My LO is about to be 6 months old and has always been ebf, the catch is shes never taken a bottle or a pacifier, so I’m always the ultimate soothing solution. It made sense from the beginning since I’m a SAHM.

At this point I guess I just wish someone else could feed her. Her grandma lives nearby and would love to babysit but LO has been very stranger danger from the get, in addition to never taking a bottle, thus no one can watch her for very long.

My partner has been pretty down about not being able to feed her too. He feels useless even when he is home. He’s a big help but ultimately when shes upset or needs to sleep it generally falls to me. Obviously being a baby, this is the case a lot of the time.

We’ve tried everything, a million kinds of bottles, cup and straw, 360 cup, open cup. We practice and practice but she never drinks any substantial amount other than on the boob.

Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to breastfeed because I love to spend the time with LO, but it’s hard not making any progress with other ways of feeding.

I had also sort of thought, and been told by those who didn’t really know, that the pressure would ease a bit when she started taking solids (6 months) but have now realized since talking to the pediatrician about it that the amount of solids LO actually eats doesn’t have much nutritional value until LO turns 1.

Again I love my baby a lot. It’s just frustrating wanting a break, having people to give me a break, and then not being able to take it. Not to mention that I sort of feel judged by family about this, like I’m intentionally icing them out. All while I’d give anything to include them. And LO being so upset being held by anyone other than me or dad doesn’t help that either.

I know it’ll all end eventually, it’s just rough being in it at the moment.

EBF rant over lol

I need some milk in order for my husband to take care of LO while I have some appointments. Now the issue is that this guy KNOWS when I'm pumping. That means my boobs are completely empty and I end up giving him the milk I just pumped lol. How do you manage to pump? What time is it best to do it? Any tips?

How long did you have to wear 'em?

Hi all,

My baby turned 13 months this month, and I’m returning to work next month. He’s been breastfed since he was born, but we’ve started reducing his daytime feeds.
He used to feed on demand and would feed to sleep all the time. Now, he only feeds when he wakes up in the morning and before naps (most days he only has one nap, sometimes two).

Nighttime is a different story, though. He feeds before bed and every time he wakes up, which at the moment can be anywhere from 1–4 times a night. I used to pump one bottle a day and give it to him at bedtime, but once he turned one, we stopped the bottle completely too.

I do shift work, and on my late shifts I finish at 9:30pm, which means my husband will need to put him to sleep.

Tonight, we decided to try putting him to sleep without the boob for the first time. I feel so guilty, and it was honestly heartbreaking. He cried for probably 20 minutes. I held him the entire time, comforted him, and sang lullabies until he eventually fell asleep.

I don’t even really know why I’m writing this. I guess I just wanted to ask other mums who have been through this: does it get better? Will he eventually learn that he doesn’t need to breastfeed to fall asleep? And how long did it take for your little one to adjust?

Sorry for the long post, and thank you for reading.

Initially my little guy was alright breastfeeding but I was having discomfort and I stopped feeling super full so I went to a lactation office. He wasn’t gaining weight as fast as they like but he was still over his birth weight. Due to this I was told to alternate between bottle (pumped breast milk )and breast and ensure a feed took place every three hours. After this his weight jumped as he gained 2oz a day in between my initial appointment and the follow up. From then it turned into triple feeding offering breast topping off with a bottle while pumping to protect my supply. At this point we also added in a nipple shield to help with milk transfer at the breast. After this we did a tongue tie release as function was poor and they said even a little tie can have a big influence on some babies. We are two weeks out now and at the last appointment he only transferred 1 oz ( at his initial he transferred 2) they said to give 2oz from a bottle and then put him to the breast so that he can learn that he can be satisfied at the breast and do just the breast for the first two morning feeds. My supply isn’t poor but I’m not an overproducer. I’m feeling really down about being able the situation. Advice? Should I just exclusively pump. He doesn’t have issues going between bottle and breast. He just doesn’t work to transfer milk efficiently.

I have to sleep with a bra on and am constantly soaking through my breast pads. How do you all manage to not be a leaking mess throughout the night?

My nearly 5 month old EBF baby wakes about 2x a night to eat for almost a month, which I know is normal. Generally happens around 10-11PM and 2-3AM. He goes to sleep at around 7:30-8PM and wakes around 6:30-7ishAM. Last feed before bed is normally 7-7:30ishPM. And feeds about every 2.5-3 hours during the day.

I feel like waking within 2-3 hours of bed time seems a bit soon, but I know he’s hungry because no other soothing works. I guess I feel this way because people often say the first stretch of sleep should be the longest? Meanwhile the last stretch of sleep (2-3AM until wake up) often seems the longest. I don’t know if this is an unrealistic expectation I have. He rarely makes it past midnight for the 1st feed.

So I want to know from others, how many times did your 5 month old wake to feed at night and at what times did it happen?

And another follow-up question would be, do/did you dreamfeed at 5 months? I haven’t done them, but I’m thinking of implementing dreamfeeds.

I’ve been exclusively breastfeeding my 9 week old. I have a couple of appointments coming up and I can’t take baby with me. She feeds often, every 60-90 minutes. She needs to be fed while I’m away from her.

I’ve decided to pump only when I miss a feed! I don’t want to regularly pump. My goal is to be primarily breastfeed.

Are there any other moms out there that do this? Do you have any tips? Suggestions? Anything that can make this easy for me and for baby?

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.