Not sure if this is considered a rant, just some thoughts about my SIL’s (my brothers wife) situation.

She just gave birth yesterday an a beautiful baby boy and is still in the hospital. Since I’m currently breastfeeding my 10.5 month old, she’s been asking me a lot of questions about Bfing and pumping the last few months. She seemed interested in trying and I am very pro BFing in the sense that if someone is willing and able, they should at the very least give it a go!

My mom is very pro BF (me and by brother both did til we were 4yo 🫣). SIL’s mom is not into BFing and has made a lot of comments about ‘just giving the baby a bottle of formula’ when they cry.

The hospitals lactation specialist was amazing and helpful. But the problem is that SIL will be spending the next few weeks at her mother’s home. It just makes me sad that there’s little chance this baby will get to BF. Her mother will def just take the baby and give bottles whenever he cries, which will hurt milk supply and over time can stop the BF journey altogether.

Anyway, this has just been on my mind and wanted to get it off my chest.

Since I read every post on here about milk blebs, I thought I should share mine too.

I had a milk bleb for 2.5 months and it sucked. Started after I was sick and run down and got a clogged duct. An angry milk bleb appeared right after. It was kinda like a clogged artery. Milk still got through but it was super painful and inflamed. I let it fester for too long before I took action. In the past it had self resolved within a week. If I get another one I’ll be way more proactive.

What finally helped and what I’d do differently next time:

-Ibuprofen. I took for 5 days, but then stopped as it wasn’t recommended to take for longer. I did this way too late and should have started at first sign of the bleb so it could better reduce inflammation before getting out of control.

• Ice. I iced after each feed to keep inflammation down (and if I was at home)

-I got serious about my baby’s latch and would unlatch repeatedly if it wasn’t great

• I got a prescription for Triamcinolone 0.1% ointment. I used way too little at first. Once I started using more (3 times a day) and covering with plastic wrap so it didn’t rub off. The inflammation reduced within 3 days and it started to resolve in the following couple of weeks.

• I took better care of myself. My baby was 7 months and I was letting my self care slip. I prioritized eating better and walking and it really think it helped.

These things are all consistent with the updated protocol from the Academy of breastfeeding medicine: https://www.bfmed.org/assets/ABM%20Protocol%20%2336.pdf

Hope this helps someone! I remember how desperate I felt after trying so many other things (soaking, olive oil pads, epsom salts etc)

Okay so I know this was stupid but I bought a large container of tuna instead of little individual ones for my husband and I and have been eating tuna salad for the past day and a half since it had to be consumed. I kept wondering if it was okay and after looking it up I’ve scared the shit out of myself since I’ve been breastfeeding and don’t have a stash to supplement with.

How much do I need to worry about this?

My son was born 6 pounds and is now 3.5 months at 10 lbs 9 oz. His doctor was not pleased with the weight gain and wants me to supplement. Here’s the thing with my baby:

-struggled with breast feeding in the beginning, sleepy baby being born at 37+2 and bad latch due to tongue tie. Would take 50+ minutes to nurse. It was exhausting.

-After the release he became a stronger eater and during a weighted feed he gained 4.2 oz in a 30 min. Woohoo! Unheard of. I also realize these aren’t totally accurate.

-son could stay on the boob all day if he could! So I would time his feeds.

-been capping if at 30 min. For the past 3 weeks and he only gained 4 ounces during that time. Not good, I know.

-now I’m doing something completely different letting him lead the way and it’s taking an hour per feed. Is this normal?? Will he get stronger, is 3.5 months still expected for this? Thanks!!!

I'm still in my first trimester of pregnancy, but I'm starting to look into what I need to know to successfully BF my baby when they arrive.

I've seen so many references to and videos demonstrating the boob sandwich, but I can't replicate it with my own tissue.

Will my breasts get softer as my body prepares to make milk? Right now, when I try the sandwich move, my tissue doesn't really mash down at all, and it causes my nipple to retract. I know this is a silly first time mom worry, and I'm confident things will work out when the time comes, but I just want to know if I should be extra prepared with nipple shields or another tool if this might cause latching issues. Any thoughts (and encouragement) from experienced breastfeeders is much appreciated!

I guess I'm asking for advice here. I'm 15 days PP, and just got past a day of cluster feeding my little guy.

Im trying to gauge a good time to pump 2 oz at a time so that I can start having a back up supply for my husband to be able to feed the baby if I'm busy taking a shower or something. But I'm scared if I pump in between feedings or right after a feeding, I will completley empty myself and get engorged (again, I did this last week not knowing what I was doing but desperately seeking relief from really full breast's. Now I'm just terrified to pump at all). Not to mention i never know if he will want the book an hour or 3 hours later. So I'm worried I will pump amd 10 mins later he's hungry and my boobs are empty. If that's even how it works. All of this is so much to take in and try to understand. I never knew breastfeeding would be so damn hard.

Any advice or help here would be appreciated. I'm desperate for a break and for my husband to be able to feed him so I can finally get that elusive 3-4 hour block of uninterrupted sleep I hear I'm supposed to get every day. (LOL, okkkkk).

If I should post this in a different sub let me know, but I figured this would be the place since I'm breastfeeding primarily and not wanting to mess with my supply.

My 9 month old baby boy has always been great at nursing. He's a hungry boy who averaged 20-30 minutes per nursing session, with 3ish hours between feeds.

In December he started having some 10 minute feeds, and then the average became 10-15 min. I assumed he was becoming more efficient.

However, for the past month, almost every nursing session is a fight for him to latch and then stay on for any length of time, unless it is a sleepy feed. He’s often feeding for only a couple minutes if it's not right after/before a nap.

I'm concerned because he hasn't really gained weight in the past month. He has previously been slowly jumping up in percentiles, but he had dropped back down at the last pediatrician appointment.

He only gets 2 meals of solids a day, so I don’t think he’s self-weaning. I've tried offering more frequently and offering more spaced out so he'll be hungrier. I've also tried to limit distractions by feeding in his nursery. We're home alone during the day, so there's not much to distract him anyways. Anyone gone through something similar? I’m not sure what to do.

I had Norovirus a week and a half ago. -100/10, do not recommend. I was fine one second and then double-dragoning the next, with awful bouts of this lasting for a solid 12 hours. I thought that passing out would be sweet relief compared to the shivering, sweating mess that was me on the bathroom floor. I got very dehydrated and could not eat for 3 days and then couldn't eat a full/hearty meal for another 2 days.

This whole time I'm trying to nurse my 8 month old (who was spared the worst of the virus) as much as possible, but could tell that my breasts were softer and producing less. I used to be able to give him one side at a time (alternating for each feed), but now was having to give both each feed for him to be satisfied. Then we were all well enough to go back to work and daycare, and I sent him with bottles made from our freezer stash. My first pump I made barely anything, but had heard it can take up to a week to recover supply so I wasn't freaking out....yet.

Now I'm at least a week and many hearty meals/lots of hydration past being sick, but my supply is still less than half of what it was. I had a great supply that met or slightly surpassed what my LO needed, and would love to get back to what we had going before.

Are there any success stories about recovering supply after being sick? Especially after the supply has dipped for longer than a week? I love nursing my LO and am not ready for this journey to end!!

I am a new mom and of course my dream like everyone's is to stay home with my baby but in today's world I'm not sure that will last too long on one income. My maternity leave will be over at the end of Feb but I do not have childcare lined up , plus it would gave taken half my income.

I just need to make atleast $1200 a month to cover rent. What could I do to make that money while I'm at home?

I'm hardworking and was working 2 jobs before this so I'm not, not trying to work. I could go to my other part time job twice a week while my husband is off but it won't get me to that goal.

Any suggestions would be appreciated

My frozen milk tastes way different than my fresh milk. I cant tell if it means high lipase? I can’t pinpoint if it tastes soapy or metallic, just that it tastes different than straight from the tap.. baby drinks it fine or has been, so I guess it’s ok either way..?

I’m looking for advice on whether it’s possible to return to breastfeeding after exclusively pumping for the past two months.

Our Journey So Far: My baby was almost exclusively breastfed for the first six weeks, with a few bottles of donor milk early on to help her regain birth weight, as recommended by our pediatrician. My milk came in around day three, and overall, things seemed to be going well.

At eight weeks, we saw a lactation consultant due to latch concerns. She referred us to a pediatric dentist, who diagnosed a mild lip tie and a more significant cheek tie. The dentist recommended craniosacral therapy to release tension, which seemed to help. Breastfeeding improved, so we decided against releasing the ties, especially since our pediatrician wasn’t convinced it would make a difference.

Then, at three months, the breastfeeding crisis hit hard. My baby started completely rejecting my breast during the day, screaming when I tried to latch her, and then melting down from hunger. I switched to exclusively pumping and giving bottles, which made her much happier, so I stuck with it. She still nursed at night, which was a relief.

However, a couple of weeks ago, she was hospitalized for RSV. Since the hospital wanted to track her intake, I pumped at night instead of nursing. When we got home, she no longer latched at night either.

Where I’m At Now: Exclusively pumping is taking a serious toll on me mentally. It’s exhausting to keep up with while caring for my baby, and I don’t know how I’ll make it to my one-year goal. At the same time, I feel really guilty at the thought of stopping and switching to formula.

Ideally, I’d love to get back to breastfeeding. But before I invest in more lactation consultants or consider having her cheek tie released, I need to know—is it even possible to get back to the boob after two months of exclusive pumping?

Has anyone been in a similar situation? What worked for you? What did the process look like?

Thank you

Hey moms, I’m looking into getting a breast pump through insurance, but the process is so confusing! Has anyone successfully gotten a good wearable pump covered? I’d love to hear what worked for you. Any recommendations for hassle-free options?

Hey everyone I am currently 37+3 and my boobs have gotten sore from just getting bigger so when I am in the shower I occasionally massage them to make them feel a little better. I don't do this with the intention to collect anything. Today was the first time any milk came out it was just a drop and it was clearly very white. I expected when any came out if it did at all before baby for it to be a yellowish color like people say colostrum is. Will it turn yellow when I get closer to having the baby? Should this be something to worry about? Going to be a FTM mom here so everything is new to me any reassurance is appreciated.

We've almost successfully night weaned my 16 months old from bedtime (we nurse at the beginning of the bedtime routine) until 3 am ish. Occasionally I will cave if he's up randomly but generally he is tired enough before 3 am that he will go back to sleep without much complaining.

However I just couldn't wean him from 3 am on. He has never in his life slept without support after 4 am (rocking, cosleeping/nursing usually). He is simply not tired enough I guess? We've been cosleeping after 3 am and he will sleep on and off, usually kind of restlessly, nursing on and off, until 6 am when he wakes up fully.

The problem is that I'm a very light and sensitive sleeper and I basically get zero sleep after 3 am this way. And it's effectively happening between 2:30 to 3:30 am, and ideally it would be between 4 and 5 am, and we cosleep til 6sih. I don't mind cosleeping, I just would rather not nurse until later because I can't fall asleep in the side lying position, and he will scream if he can't find the boob. (My sleep position has my boobs facing the mattress).

I've been trying to push it 15 min every day but he does tend to wake up as early as 2:30 and he will not fall asleep. I'd rock him for over an hour, he'd fall asleep then wake up immediately afterwards like he's restless, or just as I set him down on the mattress. So if he's not asleep within 30 min I tend to cave and nurse if it's after 3 because I just know I'm not getting any more sleep if I don't.

As a background, we've been struggling with bad sleep with this kid from the start. Over Christmas he peaked with hourly wakeups, and I reached my breaking point (he doesn't like anyone but me to attend the night wakes) that's when I decided to night wean and practice independent sleep (slowly getting there). It's overall better (down to 0-3 wakeups before 3 am), but I really need at least an hour or two after 3 am of solid sleep.

Has anyone dealt with light and sensitive sleepers that need a lot of support in the early mornings? Any advice on improving this? Does it just happen slowly as they mature or should I keep pushing the nursing session 15 min every day and be consistent (deal with no sleeping in mornings for a few days)?

I was nursing my little bubba (9M) at night after i awoke him as I settled him into the bed. I started singing to him, and he looked up at me and smiled when I smiled. Oh how this little boy loves to reciprocate emotions.

A little while later, he looks up at me and in the sweetest voice on planet earth says Mumma Mumma Mumma and then shuts his eyelids and drifts off to sleep. I swear it felt like he was saying I love you. Was it the best feeling in the world - yes. Did I cry - you bet.

That’s it. This little angel called me mumma thrice and it made my life. That’s the post. Now I’ll replay that voice in my head for a lifetime and pray this memory doesn’t ever fade away.

From the first few days of his life when he cried all night, couldn’t latch, it hurt, I didn’t make enough milk and I thought I could never breastfeed him to this - I am beyond grateful to where both of us are at now in this journey.

Currently 26 weeks pregnant and need to get my breast pump ordered. With all the options out there how on earth am I meant to decide which kind to get? It’s so very confusing to me. Any help is appreciated. Thank you!

Just wondering if anyone has experienced both?

I went through a pretty intense shed starting around 4 months pp lasting for a couple months. My hair did start filling back in, but now we've started slowly weaning at 12 months and it's falling out excessively again! My hair finally has some length to it and I'm hoping I won't have to resort to the mom chop to hide how thin it's getting. Hormones are wild.

Anyone have any insight why my supply is now literally 1-3 oz totoal when it use to be 6-12 oz a session pump usually 10-12 minutes. Now I pump 20-30 minutes and maybe get 1-3 oz total. 8m postpartum

My goal all along was to nurse 1 year (or longer if I could.) At around 10 months, I had to nearly quit for my mental health and babys happiness. (My supply was low and baby really was not too interested in me anymore.. so sad.) I decided at 10 months to nurse once a day (each night before bed). It was sweet getting to at least do that. And I was able to for a month!! I was hoping I could go longer but it just wasn't going to happen. And then right before his first birthday I dried up. It's bittersweet. I didn't quite make it to my goal.. and yet I did. And I realize any amount of time is so precious. The last day I nursed him was last night and even though I was dry he used me like a binky. And I knew in my heart it was the last time. And after all that I sure do feel accomplished. :)

When i tell her my daughters hungry or my daughter is excited to see me after being fussy, my mom makes a joke about “go to your milk bottle”. I always say “I’m a person” in a lighthearted manner to her.

It’s not that big of a deal as she only visits every few months. But just minorly annoyed.

hi! my twins are 6 weeks old and i’m going back to work in about a month we’re EBF and they are cluster feeding right now. How do i go about pumping and giving instructions to bottle feed since they’re cluster feeding? How do i make sure whoever watches them doesn’t waste any of the milk? thank you for any and all advice !!

My baby will be 1 in 2 weeks and has started weaning herself. I also just found out I am pregnant. Can I only nurse her at night and not pump at all throughout the day or will I dry up completely. Ive been trying to pump at work but it's not working there isnt much there, it could also be my pump is dying. But she seems happy to nurse at night so I would like to continue if possible

Hello everyone! FTM to a 9 week old. He is EBF with the occasional bottle of expressed milk. Here’s some background:

My milk came in super fast and I noticed that I never felt emptied by LO. I was nervous so I started pumping once at night after I put him to get empty. I started getting 4 oz a session and now average anywhere from 8-12 oz a session! I have over 300 oz in the freezer (estimate). Which is fine because I’ll be returning to work in a few weeks. Well now I don’t want to pump every night. I’ve tried not pumping before going to bed, and I get SUPER engorged. So engorged that it’s hard for LO to latch during the night. I also leak like crazy.

So my question is, am I stuck in this cycle until I’m done with BF? Did I create this? Can I stop it?

I have a Spectra and a manual pump from medela. TIA!

My baby is 8 months, and as she is starting purees, she is nursing less. Last week, I started feeling some of those weaning depression symptoms. Did you find anything helpful for getting through it? Has anyone heard of anything like bio-identical hormone treatments for it? I know a lady who had bio-identical hormone treatment for postpartum depression. Wondering if something like that exists for weaning depression? Aside from that, any certain lifestyle changes help?

What do you do to get breast milk stains out of clothes? There’s so few clothes I actually feel good in right now and of course I got milk on my favorite top the very first time I wore it. I rinsed it in cold water (but the stain already set by then) and pretreated, but the stain is still there. Is there any hope?

Hello ladies ♡

I've been learning a lot from all the posts here and I figured that maybe you may have some advice on how to deal with a milk flow that is almost drowning my baby at every feed. The poor little girl tries to keep up, but chokes, unlatches and then milk goes everywhere! Most of the times, I can get her on the boob again, but every now and then she gets mad and cries in frustration.

I've tried different nursing positions to no avail. The only time of day this doesn't happen is in the evenings when production drops.

Is there anything I can do?

Thank you all ♡

My baby used to nurse around 15/20 minutes per feeding. She now exactly 3 month old and it changed completely within a day. Now she only takes the breast for 3 to 5 minutes. Is it okay for the baby to change her habits that much all of a sudden? I'm afraid about her weight gain as she suffers from reflux and spits a lot plus because of my overactive letdown she swallows air and can't really say when she's full.

Up until now she was gaining weight perfectly fine, she's even a bit above average but I'm really worried if she gets enough nutrients after 3 minute feed which she often spits. I'm trying to nurse her more often but because of reflux she gets more irritated as I cannot carry her upright after every feeding session.

Not looking for medical advice. Any suggestions or similar experiences that you can share?

Thanks a lot kind strangers!

Hi friends,

Last night at 10PM, I nursed our baby and then pumped while husband supplemented baby with 2oz of formula. I am pumping (triple feeding?) to work on increasing my supply.

I fell asleep and husband had to supplement baby with another 4oz of formula around 2-3am because she was fussy and showing hunger cues. At 3am, she still was fussy so husband brought her to me and I nursed her and she fell asleep.

She slept a good stretch from 4am to 9am, where I then woke her up and nursed because my breasts were super engorged.

So I think I was supposed to pump whole husband supplemented her with the 4oz of formula at 2-3am but I missed it because I was asleep :( what should I do to make up for it?

Edit: just adding that I am a FTM to a 3 week old baby if the contest is helpful!

FTM here with a 6-week old. Over the past 4+ weeks, I’ve been triple feeding – breastfeeding, bottle topup with either formula or expressed breast milk, and pumping 2-4x a day. This was the advice of my LC because my baby’s latch wasn’t great and I wanted to increase my supply so I can EBF

The last few days though, I noticed that my baby wouldn’t finish her bottle topups anymore so we significantly reduced topups. Her latch also improved a lot compared to the first few weeks. I thought this was something to celebrate since She still pees 8-12 times a day and is gaining weight.

BUT I did notice that my output from pumping also significantly reduced. Is this because my baby is effectively draining my milk? Or should I be worried that my pump output has lessened?

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

My girls are 14months old. They still breastfeed a lot. During the day and during the night. We co-sleep so it has been manageable for me. Untill now. The last few days they starter to nurse so often af night. Last night I was up over 16 times.

I don't want to night wean because it has always been great to get them to fall asleep quite fast. Short wake ups 10 times a night was actually okay for me. But 16 times for long Sessions?! Help.

So maybe Night weaning is the best option. But whenever I deny the boob they scream bloody murder. They wake up eachother. So then we end up with two screaming babys. Are there people on here that night weaned their multiples? How did you do it? How did it go? I don't want to sleep train them (no judgement , it's just not for me).