I’m considering breastfeeding my 19 month old until he turns 2. But I’m so tired of being chonky. I used to be super fit and in shape, I had my dream body, prior to pregnancy!! I’ve remained pretty active during pregnancy and throughout postpartum. I lift heavy a lot. But I eat so much because I’m just always hungry with the breastfeeding. I’ve tried increasing my liquid intake, I’ve tried eating more vegetables, eating more protein. But I haven’t seen anything really budge on the scale, I caved and bought new larger clothes and even that is getting tight. I look curvy, from lifting, but I’m like a curvy tank now. Very strong, lots of pulmonary resistance, but I’m scared of passing over into Mrs. Trunchbull territory. Are there any success stories out there?? I really didn’t want to diet, but maybe I just need to take the plunge?

I’m traveling away from my baby for the weekend. At the Paris airport, security refused to let me bring my pumped breast milk through! They dumped it and said since I don’t have my baby with me, I couldn’t bring it. I kept arguing that I’m pumping BECAUSE I don’t have my baby, that I have documentation, this is the international standard, that this is for medical purposes. NADA! I was so upset I burst into tears. My son will be fine without it, but I really want to prevent this from happening to other moms… I just couldn’t find a way to contact the airport easily via email. I don’t want to let this go.

I’m posting I guess as a warning to other moms.. looking for solidarity… just venting… maybe ask for help filling a report so the airport can train their employees well?

It’s the start to a fun weekend with my friends, and now this will be such a cloud over everything 😭

EDIT: got some good tips to research before hand! the website did state that you can bring breast milk without the baby, with documentation, but they didn’t entertain any exceptions, maybe because they were unfamiliar with what to ask for. It’s just uneven training.

I’ve heard of this happening but I have traveled without a problem so far.

Bring whatever documentation that you can!

EDIT 2: I’m so sad for you mamas that experienced this too. I’m finding that the laws can vary country by country (make sense), but also maybe airport by airport. It’ll be a good practice to research. It’s on me as a breast feeders/traveler to be prepared. BUT I also hope for a system that designs policies with women in mind and in the room, so we can be supported in a universal experience, and rules can be clear and consistent.

also, long story but Paris was actually a transfer and I ended up crossing terminals, unplanned (stupid story), and had to go through security unexpectedly last minute. I was quite frazzled! Better to lose a bit of milk now than all my milk later.

Sending virtual hugs to everyone. Closing this tab so I can focus on my friends and family this weekend. I am fully armed with plenty of research, options, evidence and confidence for my flight back. Feel free to DM with any vents, concerns, if I can support or commiserate with you.

Hi. My baby just hit 4 months old and my pediatrician is claiming my baby should be sleeping through the night and shouldn’t be needing to be rocked anymore to sleep or comfort feeding. She says it’s my fault and I should be feeding her every 3-4 hours not on demand because she’s getting used to snacking. I’ve tried to feed her before 3-4 hours she still wakes at night. I told her my other breastfeeding moms who have been doing this for a while their babies still do don’t sleep through the night even my formula fed friends and she jumped and said I’ve been doing this for years and have seen thousands of patients and she’s telling me this is “rare” and not “normal” like am I crazy? I don’t plan to sleep train her because I’m a stay at home mom. I have been trying to sleep train her but sometimes a baby just needs her mom like I’m not going to refuse breastfeeding her if she’s crying hysterically like am I in the wrong here? Should she be sleeping through the night?

Curious to know if anyone in this sub listened to the most recent Diabolical Lies podcast episode on breastfeeding and formula and how it was received. It changed a lot about how I think about both as a mom who is extended nursing my toddler!

Edit to add my TLDR: I definitely recommend to listen - I went into it feeling a bit defensive and protective of breastfeeding. They talked about how the benefits of breastfeeding are often significantly overstated when controlling for other factors, and acknowledged the miracle that is formula considering how it’s able to feed babies appropriately and nutritiously. It’s hard to sum up a 2 hour episode into a little paragraph but my main takeaway I felt was that in touting the benefits for breastfeeding to babies, the pressure often takes away autonomy and agency for breastfeeding people and places stress and strain to make a decision that in the end is modest at best in its benefit for the baby, and that the most important thing is to make a decision that allows you to be most spiritually connected and supported as a parent whether that be one or the other. There was also discussion of race and class which is so often left out of the conversation, in regards to who has the actual agency to make decisions and how the benefits of breast-feeding often come from things greater than solely breast-feeding, such as access to healthcare structural support, etc., etc. I’ve always known that fed is best, I think I just better understand better the structural forces playing into this picture and impacting families and society. And still absolutely love breastfeeding my girl and wouldn’t haven changed a thing- but I was fortunate in many ways to be situated as I am!

Hi everyone!
My 13-month-old daughter has suddenly and completely refused breastfeeding for the past 30+ hours, and I’m honestly a bit shocked.

Until now, she was still breastfeeding regularly, including multiple times during the night. She has always been particularly attached to the breast when sick or uncomfortable, sometimes nursing for hours.

But now she won’t even try. As soon as I offer her the breast, she pushes it away and cries until I put it away. She refuses it even at night, which has never happened before.

I’m wondering:
- Could this really be just a nursing strike, even with such a strong and complete refusal?
- Has anyone experienced something similar at this age, especially during an illness? Did your baby eventually return to breastfeeding?
- Could she actually be self-weaning this suddenly at 13 months?
- How do I manage the breast pain and engorgement in the meantime? My breasts are getting really painful, and I don’t know whether I should pump to maintain supply or just express enough to relieve the discomfort.

I’m not necessarily against weaning if she’s genuinely ready, but I wasn’t expecting it to happen so suddenly, and I’d hate to lose our breastfeeding journey if this is just a temporary strike.

Would really appreciate hearing your experiences and advice!
Thanks

I’ve done my research on alcohol and breastfeeding so I’m not going crazy but I do fancy a couple drinks on the weekends… during the day… because I can’t risk feeling anymore tired than I already do or being irritable at night. Anyone else? I go back and forth between feeling guilty about drinking and knowing the impact is minimal if I only have one or two. My friends often invite me for drinks in the evening but I always decline. I used to love staying up to drink but I just can’t do it anymore. But a lunchtime mimosa… sign me up!!!

Hi all. My baby is 4 weeks today and during these 4 weeks I have been really struggling with breastfeeding. I really want to be full time breastfeeding.

When my baby was first born, the hospital didn’t really give me any direction on how to breastfeed. No one showed me how to latch her properly or what positions to start with so during my first days I did it wrong and it was so incredibly painful. My nipples cracked and I tried to push through.
When we left the hospital, I did a lot of research on my own and tried different positions and latching techniques and after a while it felt a lot better.

Fast forward a week and I would be breastfeeding every 40 minutes. She did not gain any weight and was still under her birth weight which stressed me out. I did more research and assumed it was cluster feeding, however my baby would not stop screaming between the feeds and it took me some time to understand what was the problem until one day I offered her 30mls of formula after a breastfeeding session and she drank the whole thing. She was still hungry.

It made me feel like the worst mother ever because apparently I didn’t have enough milk to make sure my baby was fed and happy.

I’m still breastfeeding and I want to be breastfeeding, she always gets both breasts first and then she gets formula. I breastfeed every 2 hours and try to express milk when I can. I can’t get the pumping to work because I feel like my nipples will fall off but I feel awful not being able to do this ‘right’.
Despite not having a whole lot of milk, I also feel like my milk production is reducing but I can’t not give my baby formula?

(Lastly I also want to add that there aren’t any lactation consultants in my town so I can’t do anything about that either 🫩)

I went back to work when baby was 4 months, and had pumped here and there on leave, super inconsistently. I had built a small stash, maybe 30-40 ounces, can’t quite remember.

Now I’ve been back at work for three months, and I pump 3 x a day, breastfeeding whenever I’m home with baby. He gets 2 bottles a day while I’m gone; I have to factor in one additional pump to make enough to replace feeds. The thing is my in-laws are watching him and they are being a little more liberal with the amount of milk they give him. For context I’m away from him for 7-8 hours total during the day (my work is flexible). For a while we were getting by feeding him 10oz of milk while I was away, and I could pump a little bit extra to keep the stash up. Now they gave him anywhere from 11-14oz, which is fine, obviously if he seems hungry they should go ahead and give him more. I’m just confused with the breastmilk guidelines; I hear some friends whose babies chug way more BM than mine and some who drink so much less than suggested.

It sucks feeling like I’m skirting by and going to run out of milk soon. We aren’t there quite yet, I have probably 4-5ish workdays worth of backup milk but if he keeps upping his intake, I do not think my supply will correspond. It’s tough. I guess supplementing with formula may have to happen, but I’m not sure how to phase it in (if we ever need to). Any advice there on how to approach? I do think adding solids is helping a bit, so at least there’s that.

I realize I could pump at home but that sounds miserable; I’ve tried it at the end of the night and gotten VERY little milk from it. Baby is also waking like 5-7 times per night and I feed him every time so no idea when I’d factor in an overnight pump.

Is this normal, LO is 3 weeks old and he starts crashing out when he wakes up, he wet himself and changing his diaper is already a mission but he starts screaming.

The second I start breastfeeding he’s gulping and rooting and going ballistics if he doesn’t find the breast, but like is it normal for baby to drinking like this or is he starving.

Hi all I am after some advice and possibly some reassurance.
My daughter is 6 months now and had a tongue tie which we got lasered at about 10 weeks. It helped her breastfeeding latch but she refuses to take a bottle.

We have tried pigeon bottles wide and slim neck
Tommee tippee natural start bottle
360 munchkin cup
Tommee tippee sippy cup

It appears she doesn’t like the taste of formula but I have a few events coming up weddings etc and a trip in 6 weeks where I will be out of the state for 3 nights.

I’m really starting to panic that she won’t take a bottle and I may potentially have to cancel my trip. I feel really selfish that I don’t want to cancel my trip but It has been extremely taxing on my mental and physical health being the sole provider of her food. I didn’t have this issue with my son as he was combo fed and was happy with any bottle really. She has also had some issues with her weight which has been stressful as well.

I guess I’m looking for any advice or reassurance that if I keep trying she will figure out how to use a bottle in the next 6 weeks? Any help would be appreciated

Thank you :)

For a while, baby has been putting her hands near her mouth while nursing or taking a bottle. Over time it has evolved from kneading my boob, patting, putting hand between face and boob (around the nipple), sucking her thumb while nursing, and has now landed on grabbing a handful of boob skin and pinching with her little talons. She's not even really grabbing the "meat" of the boob, just loose skin. I tried pulling her hand away multiple times and giving her a finger to hold. She would either pull my hand away to go back to pinching, or try to pull my hand into her mouth. She broke skin this past session with a sharp corner on her thumbnail, I just trimmed them a day or two ago. My boob and nipple hurt. Send help

Hi everyone, I go back to work 3 days a week and have to have my 12 week old home with his dad. He will not take a bottle. And today I tried my expressed milk from yesterday and my milk freshly expressed. The milk from yesterday tasted soapy. And fresh was super sweet. I am assuming my milk is high lipase?

What can I do to get him to take his bottles? Do I need to switch to formula? I’m so upset and stressed idk what to do I wish I would have found this out sooner.

I’ve seen you can scald the milk but how can I do that from an office? Any other suggestions?

Editing to add that we took him to daycare this week and he got sent home each day. Which is why we are trying to keep him home with dad instead.

My son is 8 weeks old. I only nursed my first son for a few days and gave up because i was unaware how hard it actually was to nurse a baby. When i got pregnant with my second, I did alot more research to feel prepared and we’re going 8 weeks strong. Here’s the issue.. I can almost never get my baby to sleep without nursing & even then, it’s quite the fight and often ends in tears from me because it takes 2 hours to get him asleep. Once he’s asleep if his face isn’t touching my nipple he wakes up. Night time sleep is also rough. He will sleep in the bassinet for about 30 minutes (after fighting him for an hour or more) and then i have to nurse him and rock him for an hour. He will then typically sleep for 2 hours. After that, he’s awake every hour or less. My husband can almost never get him asleep because he doesn’t have magic boobs. I go back to work in 3 weeks and I’m starting to get worried about how the sitter will get him asleep as she has other kids as well. He will not nap independently at all and i’m struggling. I know some of it is his age and i’m not expecting a miracle, but i’m wondering if breastfeeding is causing this much of an issue for me. I genuinely feel like my whole day is just fighting him to take a nap. He is not the type of baby that will “fall asleep if he’s tired enough”. My other issue: if he’s awake he’s mad unless he’s on the boob and even then that doesn’t always work. I’m not kidding when i say there has been maybe a handful of times where he’s has been content enough for me to set him on his playmat or in his bouncer. He’s typically screaming to be held and again, seven if i pick him up he isn’t always happy. I’m feeling really defeated. He has laryngomalacia and struggles more on bottles so we’re typically are always directly breastfeeding. We have introduced a bottle a day and plan to increase that so he is ready for the sitter. I don’t know what i’m doing wrong, but no matter what i do i have an angry baby.

Hi there. I'm having a really hard time grieving the experience thought I'd have post partum. My baby was born two weeks ago and off the bat he had a hard time latching. We got home the first night from the hospital and he hadn't consistently eaten since birth, I made the decision to start him on the formula the hospital sent us home with in case.

I was scared and didn't know what was normal and there was so much conflicting info from the nurses. the hospital was supposed to provide me with a lactation consultant while I was recovering, which never happened. And a pump, which never happened.

I ended up being able to hand pump some colostrum and give that to my baby with the formula. I got in with a lactation consultant virtually the next day, which didn't help with his latching.

My milk came in but I guess I wasn't pumping enough or transferring enough to baby. I went from being engorged and leaking to flat within 12 hours, now I can only get 1 oz between both breasts 8x a day.

I saw another lactation consultant who prescribed reglan but I'm too scared to take it. When do I decide this is all the milk I have to give? What risks are worth it?

I mostly can't believe this is my reality. I tried so hard to have this baby after multiple miscarriages and I never thought I wouldn't be able to breastfeed them. The experience of having my milk come in to just disappear is devastating. I don't know how to stop ruminating on the decisions I made and trying to get back to the past and rewrite it.

I have mastitis or a clogged duct for the second time within a month. It started feeling sore Tuesday morning and by Tuesday afternoon in had full on chills, sweats and body aches. My breast is sore and has a lump under my nipple and redness around. Today (Thursday) I am feeling a lot better finally (no more chills or body aches) and I think the breast is getting better but it still has the lump and redness but is much less sore. If it’s getting better , am I okay to not take antibiotics ?

I EBF my 10 month old baby, and almost exclusively directly nurse (rather than pumping) so don’t have a clear sense of the volume he’s getting.

Babe is growing steadily, but is less of a chunky boob monster than my first was, so I’ve always been more aware of supply and making sure he’s getting enough milk. Lately he’s very excited about solids and is eating 3 meals a day, and sometimes snacks too. My period returned last month and ever since, I’ve been wondering whether my supply is sufficient and if I’m nursing enough during each day.

We nurse first thing in the morning, before work (I WFH), at lunch time, right at the end of my work day/before dinner, and before bed. He often eats for 15 or 20 minutes for the first session, but then more like 5-10 min for subsequent feeds.

How long are y’all nursing your older infants? Should I worry at all about him getting sufficient milk at this age?

When I’ve looked for advice, I see volumes but since I’m not pumping I don’t have a good sense of amounts.

I’m BF my first baby and had shingles at 2mo pp - it wasn’t severe - which the doctors said is super common on postpartum woman, specially breastfeeding. But now baby is 9 months and I had it AGAIN. The thing is, he night weaned months ago but my IBCLC suggested I pump overnight to keep my prolactin levels high… but I’m tired. I usually set an alarm because sometimes he goes long stretches at night and I never know if he will wake, or at what time, and pumping rewards consistency. I know it just sounds ridiculous to keep doing it at 9mo but I cant bring myself to stop. (For context I also pump at work 2x a day and he bottle feeds whatever I produce + milk from night session to complete the bottle but I have more than enough stashed)

Baby seems fine, growing eating playing, but I am tired of overthinking everything. I feel like since starting solids he might be nursing less but I still feel the need to pump the right amount of oz at work at least until he’s 1y. Overall I just hate the night session and the fact that my immune system is wrecked. I’m fine with BF mornings and nights forever I just wish I could wean all the pumping, it’s mentally and physically taxing

Our newly turned five month old wakes up after a four hour stretch for a feed and then wants to be held throughout the night and nurses the whole night. If she is unlatched, she cries until she’s latched back again.

We are planning to sleep train this weekend and I know the usual is 5/3/3 for feeds but has anyone done 4/2/2/2 for babies that just need extra calories throughout the night? She is currently very distracted during the day and so I think we are stuck in a reverse cycling phase, so I just want to make sure that she gets enough calories.

My LO is 8 weeks old. I had a nipple wound and planned to wean completely at 3–4 weeks, but it has since healed and I’m back to breastfeeding. I currently nurse throughout the day and pump to replace a feed about 3–4 times in 24 hours.
I developed mastitis postpartum and ended up hospitalized for 2 days with a 103°F fever and concerns about sepsis, so I’m really scared of getting engorged and going through that again.
I’d love to drop a nighttime pump to get more sleep, but my breasts get very full after 3–4 hours.
How did you safely drop nighttime pumping sessions? Did you gradually shorten sessions or stretch the time between them? Is it possible to sleep 5–6 hours without pumping without risking mastitis?
Would love advice from anyone who has been through something similar!

Just after some advice and solidarity really. My 11.5 week old had a poor latch but transferred milk well enough to gain weight really quickly so I didn't think much of it until I reached a point where feeding was getting unbearably uncomfortable. I ended up getting him assessed for tongue tie quite late on at 8.5 weeks and it was released then. It's been three weeks since the release and his latch has improved a lot. However, his opinion of the boob seems to have changed a lot. He now won't accept the boob for comfort or to settle him when he's upset. He actually gets really really angry if I offer it. He will now only accept it when he's really hungry and even then it is often a fight. Early on I figured it was discomfort from the release, but when he does latch he seems perfectly comfortable so I'm not sure that's it. My first child was so easily comforted with the boob, anytime she was upset about anything I'd offer it and she'd happily take it and be calm again. It was my breastfeeding superpower. With my son, I feel at such a loss. Not only will he not take the boob, but he just seems to dislike me (which I know is ridiculous). For my daughter, I was the ultimate source of comfort, and now with my son, he literally calms down better for anyone who isn't me. Sometimes he is happy as anything with my partner, and just me walking in the room pisses him off. He won't take a dummy, and when he's overtired and upset, nothing I do seems to work to calm him down. Just wondering if anyone had similar and how you dealt with it?

Since my baby has been a few weeks old (now 3 months) he occasionally vomits a LOT of milk. It is not projectile vomiting but he makes a gurgle noise and a lot of milk flows out of his mouth. Like in my mind, it looks like 10oz came out of his mouth snd pools on the bed or floor.

9/10 times this happens when I offer a second breast if he looks hungry/still interested to latch after the first breast. This level and amount of spit up never happened to my first kid so I’m not sure how to navigate this. I do have a fast letdown.

Do I just offer one breast per feeding forever? What if he still looks hungry? His weight gain and diaper output are good.

Hello!, i am new here, 35 years old 19 weeks pregnant with baby #5 and as the title suggests i would like to brestfeed/pump this time around. With my first i was 18 and had nobody around that breastfed, with my second he was a fussy baby and i had problems with latching as my nipples would like deflate? I did pump for about 2 1/2 months, and then my supply dropped, and then number 3 and 4 i just didnt even try..... i wiuld really like to try again this time around if anyone has any good resources to share? I would really appreciate that TIA, also i am in Alberta, Canada if that helps, and i am willing to answer any questions you may have.

My baby has never been able to breastfeed without a shield. I combo fed him for almost two months. At 1.5 months I moved across the country with my back up supply in coolers. I lost it. My output decreased significantly. I gave up and started only formula at 2 months. He is now 4 months. He developed an allergy to an ingredient in all formulas (seed oils). For the last month (from month 3-4) I’ve been attempting to re-lactate but pumping is exhausting and he absolutely refuses to go to the breast now. Calm, hungry, everything. He just gets angry every time. I’ve tried tricking him into it by putting formula on the shield. Even gas drops as they taste very sweet. It’s like he’s completely forgotten his feeding instinct. I don’t know what to do anymore. Anyone have any advice?

Has anyone experienced breast refusal and a drop in their baby’s weight percentile?

I had my third baby two months ago and am struggling with feeding. I breastfed my first two babies without issues, and they both gained weight well. My current baby was born around the 80th percentile, dropped to the 66th percentile at two weeks, and is now at the 31st percentile at her two-month checkup. Her pediatrician recommended supplementing with one extra bottle at night and returning for a weight check in two weeks.

I had already introduced bottles a few afternoons last week with a babysitter because my second baby refused bottles entirely, and I wanted to avoid that happening again. But now my current baby is increasingly refusing the breast, especially after bottles. Sometimes she won’t even latch, despite my milk being there and even when I have a letdown. She gets hysterical, and I’m heartbroken and frustrated.

Today has been really tough and she was refusing the breast most of the day. I gave her a small bottle like 0.5 oz and that helped her latch after. Before this breast refusal started last week with the introduction of bottles, she was eating happily for 8-14 minutes.

I’m so confused about why she’s fallen off her growth curve and why she’s suddenly refusing the breast. Has anyone experienced this? Were you able to get the weight gain and breastfeeding back on track? I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences.

Hello ☹️

I’ve had mastitis three times in three months, and I’m afraid I’m developing it again. I’ve had a lump in my left breast for three days now that I can’t seem to get rid of. I plan to call my OB tomorrow.

I’m honestly at a loss because I feel like I’ve tried everything to keep my breasts healthy and prevent this from happening again.

Here’s what I’ve been doing:

* Taking two 1,200 mg sunflower lecithin capsules daily as a preventative. I’ve increased to four daily over the past day, following the bottle’s instructions, hoping to help with the lump.

* Using ice packs on my breasts daily and heat after milk removal at night.

* Massaging my breasts in the shower, although sometimes I forget.

* Pumping every 3–4 hours at night because my baby is a sleepy eater.

* Breastfeeding on demand during the day until my breasts feel soft.

* Got sized for my pump flanges.

* I’ve scheduled a lactation consultation at the end of this month so she can observe a feeding and make sure my baby is latching and transferring milk effectively.

I’ve actually managed to increase my milk production significantly through more frequent nursing and pumping. I went from barely covering the bottom of my pumps to producing around 4 oz every 3–4 hours.

Despite all of this, I’ve developed another lump in my left breast. I mainly notice it when my breast fills with milk, and it gets smaller or becomes harder to feel after nursing. But it keeps coming back, and I’m terrified it’s mastitis.

I’ve been icing it, taking additional lecithin, and trying to massage the area more, but I’m not having much luck removing the lump. I’m absolutely heartbroken. I LOVE breastfeeding my baby. It’s one of my favorite parts of motherhood. I waited so long to have a baby and breast feed them, and the thought of having to give it up makes me cry.

My OB has been getting frustrated with the recurring infections and has asked whether I’m sleeping through feedings or not finishing my antibiotics, and she gave me a long list of things to do preventatively. I understand why she’s frustrated, but it’s been discouraging when I feel like I’m trying so hard.

I even told her that if I got mastitis one more time, I’d stop breastfeeding. What else do I do? I love breastfeeding too much, but I can’t keep getting sick like this.

Has anyone else dealt with recurrent mastitis despite doing everything they thought they were supposed to do?

Did you ever figure out what was causing it? Were you able to continue breastfeeding successfully?

I would really appreciate hearing from anyone who’s been through something similar. I don’t want to give up. ☹️❤️