Not a breastfeeding question specifically but I think it may be related.

For context I had an episiotomy and some internal tearing during delivery 🫠

The first time we had sex was around 6 weeks post partum. I was quite sore afterwards and it was not enjoyable so we didn’t “complete” that night I slept through and didn’t pump as my baby slept a long stretch of 8 hours or so. The next day I had some spotting that lasted a day or 2. Very light, pink in colour. I thought maybe it was because I didn’t pump throughout the night so my hormones were out of whack.

Fast forward to this weekend, baby is at my in laws for a weekend away she’s now 9.5 weeks. I’ve been pumping all week. My husband and I have been having sex a few times this weekend and I have started spotting a bit again. I’m pumping about every 4 hours but again overnight I’m foregoing the pump and sleeping about 8 hours. Last night I began spotting again. Once again, very light and pink. I still have some discomfort with sex although a lot more manageable.

Is it likely the spotting is from not removing milk as often as I would be if baby was here, or more likely it’s from sex and not being totally healed and perhaps a bit irritated on the inside?

Looking for any insight as I also want to monitor potential ovulation as I’m not currently on birth control so I need to be careful!

TIA

Hi all! Almost 6 weeks postpartum, so I know things haven’t really “regulated” yet. But I’m trying to build a small supply, and find myself struggling with engorgement to the point where I feel like I am drowning my baby when I breastfeed.

Before I was working on building this supply, I hadn’t had engorgement since like week 2.

I basically just want to have an extra one to two bottles of milk on hand at all times. I do all feeds except one every day (my husband takes on the morning feed so I can get a longer sleep stretch). I want the extra milk for things like hair appointments, seeing friends, etc. so my husband can have milk on hand.

My thought is that I need to have about 12 oz extra in the fridge at all times? For the morning feed and then 2 extra bottles. But any time I pump a little extra to build the stash, it feels like I start getting too much milk for my breasts to handle and my poor baby to deal with when we actually breastfeed.

Ever since I started working on the supply he’s having issues with getting too much milk and it’s making breastfeeding really hard. I’m not sure what to do or how to effectively build this stash.

I appreciate any advice!

FTM here. Today my LO turned 4 weeks and tonight is the first night I did not wake her for a feed b instead of enjoying the added rest, I’m anxiously thinking about how to fit her other feeds in during the remaining time in the day. I was told that newborns should feed 8-12 times a day. A couple of sources online state that at 4-8 weeks they can feed 7-9 times a day. What has your experience been? How do you fit in all the feeds they need in the remaining hours of the day?

I see all the time in my local mom groups people offering breast milk for free to someone or trade. I always felt like it might be unsafe so I did some research and it looks like diseases like some STDs can be transferred through breast milk along with other stuff like drugs and bacteria from improper storage and I'm just kinda baffled it's so accepted to use breast milk from a stranger on social media. Am I just over the top or does anyone else think that too?

I have a 3 month baby, and after we got home I had some problems with engorgement and couldn't breastfeed but after 1-2 weeks I managed to breastfeed again. While I couldn't we gave him formula and pumped milk. Now I mostly breastfeed and we give him 0-2 bottles per day. The thing is he wants to eat every hour and sometimes even every half an hour. Besides the night which he is now sleeping ( almost 10 hours with 1-2 wake ups to eat a bit) and during his walk he asks for food every hour. Even if we give him formula he might asks again to eat after an hour maybe 2. Is it normal for 3 month old to eat that often? When I look it up I end up to cluster feeding but they say that it lasts a few days. He was born 3.300 then lost a bit a he got discharged from the hospital at 3.020 and now he is 5.900.

On antibiotics for 3 days now. Still achey. Have chills. When did it get better for you?

Baby vomited after nursing on one side and I went to switch her. I don’t think it was just spit up. I do feel like it was pretty projectile as it came out of her nose and all over her clothing. It was the whole feed I’d imagine. My breast felt pretty full before feeding her and she sucked a lot without much of a break. She seemed fine after. I waited a while and then she nursed on the other side. No vomiting. Any ideas why? Did she eat too much?

This isn’t really a big issue in the grand scheme of things, but like many other things in mum life, it’s the last straw for me, especially with having to fix/replace mouldy things because my partner isn’t careful.

I used to pump at work for my daughter but stopped 3-4 months ago. I had a bit of milk left in the freezer but it is gone (my partner didn’t watch where he was putting some heavy bags and knocked the plug out for the freezer and it all defrosted). Luckily my daughter doesn’t drink milk every day but I wanted to look at replenishing it for when she is unwell or anything- just a few 50ml bags because that is all I can do really.

Well, I just went to look for my pump parts (the deal has been I pump, partner cleans), and found them in a plastic container- which had a lot of condensation in there. My heart sunk, and of course when I opened the container, the parts had mould on them. So there goes my pumping journey I guess, I am not comfortable to use them again so they are in the bin. Along with the couch cushions from outside which got mouldy too when he left wet cardboard on them.

We live in a really humid part of Australia so mould is not uncommon. But these cases shouldn’t have happened. He is so meticulous about drying dishes (and gets annoyed with me for not doing so), but my pump parts don’t get the same treatment it seems! Money is too tight to justify replacing them (especially now I have to get new couch cushions).

Sorry, just a rant. Im super lucky as my girl is almost 2 and still loves the “malkies” (as she calls it), but yeah. Having a pump there has always been helpful for my anxiety and it was such a big part of my journey. And now it’s all in the bin. Got to love the stuff ups from the other half sometimes 🫠

Hi all, The past couple nights my baby has woken up screaming after being asleep a couple hours in his bassinet alone in our bedroom. Dadd and I have been watching shows in the living room after we put baby to bed. The last couple nights he has screamed randomly woken up and only settled when I nursed him. I will add that he only cried for a short amount of time, but assumed that nursing would help him back to baseline and soothe him to sleep.

These past couple nights have made me realize that sometimes I get so anxious when I bf, but other moments like this... I feel instantly calmer & more relaxed as my baby slowly settles and falls asleep in my arms. There are many times where I feel relaxed when nursing, but others where I am completely anxious. I was just wondering if any other moms have experience the same intense feelings? I'm almost 5m pp!

I’ve posted here before and you’ve all been such a help in my journey! Proud of myself I made it 10 months EBF! Even though my nipples are constantly sore :/ deff don’t think I’ll do this next baby… When I get a letdown it almost hurts it feels like a tingling and then I just spray milk everywhere. I thought this would stop but my baby is 10 months and here I am… I also have to put a burp cloth on my other breast to catch the falling milk since it leaks when I nurse on one side. Is this normal?? Will this happen my next time round if I decide to nurse?

My baby is getting bigger and harder to contain under a nursing cover in public. Any tips/tricks/products would be greatly appreciated!

Sorry for post structure. On phone next to sleeping baby.

LO is 17 weeks old. Week 1 LO lost a massive amount of weight (from 6lb7oz to 5lb4oz) and just couldn’t figure out latch due to just being such a tiny guy. We wound up exclusively pumping and bottle feeding.

This past few weeks though, we’ve been nursing more. The last two days in particular, we’ve had tons of success nursing. Where he used to eat between 24-30 ounces by bottle, today he only ate 12 ounces by bottle and all other intakes was by mouth. I usually pump 26-29oz daily, today I pumped about 21. However, I’m still pumping my normal amount of times per day even with his nursing, and kind of feel like my supply is increasing even though my pumping out put us decreasing.

How do I know if my guy is eating enough? Because I typically pump just enough or not enough, I get anxious about offering him bottles that he won’t finish. He’s usually pretty vocal when he’s hungry, and he’s just been a happy chill guy all day. Can I assume he’s getting enough from me and keep along how we’re going? I’d love to exclusively breastfeed at home and pump for first morning and work so that he has milk for daycare bottles.

I’m so nervous I’m going to “starve” my baby like I did in the beginning.

I combofed my toddler until 22 months. Currently 4 weeks PP, EBF with second and I am wondering when it gets better- both the pain on my nips and with the feeding on demand. I would like to be able to go outside by myself or at least make some time for the gym but I'm currently feeling hopeless! Baby was 6.13 lbs when she was born and didn't lose much weight according to first docs appointment.

My son will be one in 6 days. I haven't had a period yet. He has been nursing the same consistently for the last several months. I felt crampy earlier and it seems my period may be about to return. I was planning on nursing until he weans himself or we get pregnant again (after I've reached the 18 month minimum after my c section). Did anyone stop producing once they got their period or should I be fine? I know I shouldn't worry since he's almost a year so if I dry up I will make it 6 more days plus have freezer milk. But I'm not prepared to just be done. Just curious of others' experiences.

How do you all use my Brest friend? Do you use any extra pillows to prop it up? I have a 2.5 week old and find I have to put a pillow underneath MBF to get it to the appropriate height for him (my understanding is MBF should sit right underneath the breast shelf). It’s kind of cumbersome to put it on and get the pillow set up underneath it esp when I feed solo and hubs isn’t around to help. And curious how long you all used it for? When does baby grow out of it or is it something you used all of breastfeeding?

Hey everyone,

I am a FTM, and today, my 2 week old babygirl didn’t eat as much as she normally does. I am EBF and I attempted to feed her about every 2-3 hours but she would only latch for 5-10 minutes before unlatching and going to sleep. Is this something I should be worried about? That she isn’t getting enough calories? I think I clocked a total of 1.5 hours on the breast whereas she is normally above 2 and sometimes even 3 hour mark. I know she didn’t feed as much because my boobs began hurting midday due to being engorged and I used my haakkas to extract a little of the milk to relieve the pain.

Is this all okay? Do babies fluctuate in how much they eat day to day?

Thank you in advance! :)

Hi everyone,

I gave birth to my daughter 4 weeks ago, the birth went well but I had retained placenta and had a pretty traumatic experience. From the get go it was hard for me to breastfeed.. I was crushed cause it was always my plan and I didn’t think of a scenario in which it wouldn’t be possible. Not only was it hard for my baby to latch, my supply was depleted due to the blood loss. I was told to give formula after two days of trying because she wasn’t getting enough from my boobs alone.

Fast forward to now, I’ve increased my supply and I’ve had a few good latches. I plan to keep trying whether or not I’m successful and hopefully someday she’ll be able to drink from me and be full.

My question is, what should I look out for to know that she’s actually drinking and not just comfort sucking? What does it feel like when the baby is actually getting milk?

After not being able to nurse my first ten years ago, and a really rough start with my second, I’m thrilled to say that WE DID IT. We made it to the year mark. We both stuck with it. My husband was supportive and encouraging which really helped. And I had the best lactation consultant that didn’t give up on me. What a year! I’m so proud of us for powering through the impossibly hard first weeks and making it through the other side!

My son is about to turn 1. I only work 2 days a week so I’m home with him all the others. When I’m home with him he feeds to sleep for naps and bedtime. He’s not a great sleeper and wakes up at least twice a night and I always nurse him back to sleep. I want to start weaning but have no idea how we’re going to handle naps and sleeping without the boob. My husband is able to get him down with a bottle when I’m working but aren’t we also supposed to be dropping bottles around 1 too? For MOTN wakes it’s always the boob. This afternoon I tried to nurse him in the living room and then put him in his crib awake and he screamed bloody murder. I’m also a sucker and respond pretty quickly when he cries- my threshold for his tears is so low. Any help or guidance greatly appreciated!

My goal was to breastfeed for 1 year and I have made it 15 months and am officially done! LO and I had a ROUGH start with a shallow latch and bleeding nipples and "the strongest suction" nurses had ever felt. I truly did not think I would make it past the two month mark, but with the wonderful help of lactation consultants and people in this sub we made it through. My husband, LO, and I went on a trip this past week and I thought this was the perfect time to wean LO as I was ready to have my body back to myself. He was down to two feedings a day; comfort feeds before his two naps prior to the trip. He was completely fine not getting any boob before his naps during our trip. We got back home yesterday and I fed him cows milk before bed tonight and he put up zero fight for the boob. I am so happy that we are both ready to "graduate" but I can't help but feel sad that it's over. Being able to breastfeed has been such a beautiful journey and I am forever grateful for the experience. Until the next kiddo, peace out ladies and thank yall for being my late night feed friends✌️

So I read online that you’re not supposed to wear a bra at night because the pressure can cause your milk ducts to get clogged. I’m already dealing with a spot on my right breast that is getting lumpy and painful. I have to massage it and empty my breast fully, sometimes twice with the pump for it to go away so I’d really rather not make that worse…

But that means sleeping without pads in a bra.

Is everything just going to start smelling like sour milk?

Do I just have to deal with a wet shirt while I sleep?

Or I can sleep without a shirt… but then my sheets get wet…

I can sleep on a towel, but it always bunches up underneath me and then I feel like I’m laying on something lumpy…

Advice?

Hi all mummas!

Just a quick qn and will be super grateful for anyone who replies.

Do our breasts continue to regulate supply and demand?

I ve had oversupply and fast let down for a few weeks down and I've done everythinggggg to make it better. .

It honestly feels better BUT. I just want to know does the body continue to regulate supply and demand OR is it once you're over the initial 6-8 weeks than that's it.

Right now I'm just letting time heal things.

FTM EBF to a 18 weeks old.

I delivered my baby via c-section on thanksgiving. She’s a 23-weeker and in NICU.

This is my first pregnancy and I really don’t know a lot but I am also learning a lot of things for the first time.

Are there any women here who have also delivered a preemie or went through PROM or PPROM (preferably under 27weeks) and were able to have a breast milk supply? What tips do you have? I’ve only produced a drop and it’s making me feel so hopeless.

Before I start, I fully believe fed is best, whether that's EBF, EP, combo feeding, or exclusively formula.

However, I wanted so badly to be EBF and I've never been able to. I had to supplement with formula from day 3 as my supply was too low. I finally got my supply up to just what baby needs a couple weeks ago, but baby was transferring so little I had to do a top off bottle every time. Now at 9 weeks, baby is so used to the bottle that he'll only BF through a single letdown on each side, then scream his head off.

I'm kicking myself because I'm sure it's partly due to often replacing BF sessions with a pump and just bottle feeding him because it's so much quicker and easier than triple feeding. However, the bottles also give him a lot more gas than BF, and it kills me seeing him uncomfortable when I feel I could have prevented it.

It feels like my only option at this point is switching to EP and giving up nursing altogether. LC and pediatrician haven't been able to help with nursing; he has no tongue tie, just a high palate.

My LC did say if I pump more than a few times a day I'll need to rent a hospital grade pump instead of using my wearable, which runs $60-80 a month and since I already got a wearable through insurance, I don't know if they'd cover the rented one. Not to mention I hated using the hospital one when I was boosting my supply, it always leaked and I could never be hands free.

I just don't know what to do. I feel like I've failed not only my baby, but myself as well. I just want to be able to nurse my baby when he's hungry and satiate him, is that too much to ask? I'm just so heartbroken.

Tldr; lots of BF issues, baby now mostly refusing breast and I likely need to switch to EP once and for all.

I've been using a nipple shield for breast feeding and I saw a raw spot on the hard pallet of my babies mouth . It doesn't hurt him when I touch it and it's not bleeding. Has anyone else seen this on their baby ? I showed the pediatrician and he said as long as it doesn't bleed there's no concern.

My daughter is 8 months old and has never stopped nursing at night. On an average night she wakes up twice and I nurse her and she goes back to sleep. I am hoping to stop bf when she turns 1, but is there a way I can support that transition now? My worry is that she is so used to eating in the night that when I want to stop bf is she going to have a tough time sleeping bc she will feel hungry? I’m a ftm and the transition to stopping bf is kind of feeling overwhelming to me so any thoughts are appreciated!

So proud to say baby and I made it 1 year breastfeeding!! I truly didn’t think I’d make it. I only made it 6 weeks with my first and it was such a hard pill to swallow that breastfeeding was just too much for me at that time in my life. I carried so much guilt even though i rationally knew formula feeding is amazing and a completely okay way to feed a baby. I just felt I failed because I was going through PPD and I wanted to breastfeed so bad.

I healed and told myself if I ever have another baby, I’d work as hard as I could to breastfeed because I wanted to so bad. But gave myself grace if I struggled again and told myself I wouldn’t beat myself up if I needed to switch to formula again. Well this journey was hard at first but we got through the obstacles and have been going strong! I am just so proud of my perseverance and working hard at something that I strived for. I’m proud of my body for feeding my baby for a year. I am just on cloud nine and just wanted to share that I made my goal of 1 year!

After months of pumping at work 3xs a day religiously and feeding babe when we're together, we've made it to almost 14 months of breastfeeding. My ~15 lbs of remaining extra weight are holding on for dear life. My ring still doesn't fit even though I'm only 10 to 15 lbs over what I was when I got preggo. I kept saying if I get close to my pre baby weight they'd fit but nope, only in certain conditions like at night so whatever reason. It was hard at first but now feeding her is easy. On the one hand I want to stop and hopefully get some more weight off and maybe my knuckles would go back to 'normal?' This week she was sick and teething something fierce and sometimes nothing else would calm her down. (Although a few times she was on for a few mins then back to screaming. ) I've read various ways to wean but what would y'all recommend or did you just keep going? I guess i could not offer boob during the weekend days when we're together and do cows milk like she'd be having at day care. She's had no interest in stopping voluntarily. She nurses at night a few times. So many thoughts and emotions. It's so hard. Thanks for reading if you're here.

For various reasons, it has now been 3 days since I was able to nurse my 8 month old. We were already down to 1-2 times a day for the last couple of weeks. I was thinking maybe I would be okay with ending our breastfeeding journey and now I’m having serious sadness and remorse that it might be over.

I can tell I still have at least a little bit of milk in each side. I’ve had a low supply for months and so he’s had to get mostly formula, but now I’m wishing so badly that we were still doing our once or twice a day. He’s been sick and refusing to nurse so I’m thinking maybe I should try to pump tonight? And maybe again tomorrow until maybe he might be willing to nurse again? He usually loves to nurse when he’s not sick and can breathe through his nose.

Looking for any helpful advice or experiences. Is it too late? Should I just be done? Feeling major mixed emotions.

We just got back from a week long vacation. My 2yo was nursing 2-3 times per day, mostly morning and bedtime. On the 2nd day of vacation we had to rush out the door after waking her and for the first time ever she didn’t nurse upon waking and didn’t seem to mind. At bedtime she was so tired she didn’t ask, I was shocked! And the days went on like that for 5 days. She asked twice and cried for maybe 2 minutes total but was easily distracted by a snack. We got home today and I thought for sure we’d have a miserable time getting her down without nursing but she asked us to tuck her in and that was it! I thought she’d be nursing until 4! I’m happy and sad at the same time. Anyways I was really scared weaning would be a nightmare and didn’t really believe it could happen by accident but here’s my story!