What would it be?

Looking for major pros and cons and how your stress was during it or if you’ve not done it. I always said it was too much for me to try to breastfeed but now that I’m pregnant I’m considering it. Give me your honest takes 🤍

Just feel like I’ve heard here and on all the sleep books and influencer sleep accounts that you can’t feed to sleep and it’ll ruin your baby’s sleep and you have to do it our way blah blah blah. Well just wanted to say we’re at 14 months and I’ve been feeding to sleep this whole time (and I work full time so need my sleep) for naps and at nighttime and it works fine for us. He wakes up once at night typically but he’s in the crib for 10+ hours so I’m not surprised and those breastfeeding hormones get both of us right back to sleep afterwards. It feels really natural and breastfeeding but not feeding to sleep always felt pointless to me… it literally sends my baby into comfy dreamland every time. So if that feels right to you then don’t be discouraged is my point I guess!

Hi guys,

I posted here a couple of weeks ago asking about my non-stop feeding newborn. Most of the comments said that this was just cluster feeding and a normal part of having a newborn that would get better. I want to post this to warn people that it was not the case for me, and I wish there had been some information out there so I could correct things before they got worse.

Clusterfeeding is a normal thing that newborns do to ensure your milk supply increases. From my understanding, it involves 20-40 minute feed, then a very short break (maybe 10 mins), then feeding again. It can last hours but only goes on for a few days.

My baby was feeding constantly with no breaks, everyday since she was born. This was not clusterfeeding, this was because her latch was very bad, milk transfer was bad and she was extremely hungry. She lost too much weight after birth and we were put into triple feeding. Eventually we had her looked at and they identified a tongue tie which has now been divided.

The problem with finding out a few weeks later is that I had assumed that this ‘clusterfeeding’ was increasing my milk supply (I.e “putting in the orders for tomorrow”). However, because baby was so bad at milk transfer, my breast were hardly emptying and so my supply has dwindled. Of course it helped that I was pumping, but I now have low supply issues that might have been avoided if I’d known.

Here is how I think you’ll know if if there is a problem and not just clusterfeeding (I’m not a health expert, it’s just my experience):
- baby weight gain difficulties
- bad latch
- constant feeding that lasts weeks

If you have these things I’d recommend asking your health visitor if there might be a latch problem and seeking help.

Just want to end this saying that there have been improvements in baby’s latch since the division, and although I am still having to triple feed and top up with formula, I’m optimistic. Even if I have to give baby a formula bottle or two a day for the next year because of my low supply, I’ll be happy that she is 80-90% breastfed.

Hey all! I’m a ftm at 37 w pregnant, with a goal to breastfeed as long as I can. However, I’m realizing that I am SO unprepared. I have all the supplies, but none of the know how. I’m usually a “figure it out as I go” type of person, but now that im so close to giving birth I’m kind of freaking out that I don’t know enough and it’s not going to work out well 😅

So please tell me the advice you wish you had before starting breastfeeding, anything that ftms absolutely MUST know, and/or just your experiences with breastfeeding.

I went to a baby class today at my local wish foundation. I exclusively breastfeed. The class included one mom with a 4 month ish boy, another mom with a young (6ish yo) girl and a 6 month old girl, and a pregnant mom to be.

My 3 month old bubz got fussy and I thought he was getting hungry. I waited for a break in the class, raised my hand and asked the room if they minded if I feed him. The teacher enthusiastically told me it was fine. The women all nodded.

Now, my LO and I have trouble feeding in public. We've only done it successfully once. I brought boppy because he only likes to feed with it sometimes. I have a cover but it freaks my baby out to be covered. We practice feeding without boppy at home but it doesn't always work out. I haven't tried practicing with the cover at home.

I felt comfortable around the group of women. It was really warm in the room so I wasn't able to get him to latch during the class. After the class I noticed some comfy chairs so I used boppy and fed him until he fell asleep. This boosted my confidence - briefly. While I was feeding him, the mom of the little boy baby came up to me and asked "don't you have a cover?" I said "yes but I'm not coordinated enough to use it 😅" Which is true. I barely feel coordinated enough to breastfeed him, period. We are doing our best. She gave me the judge-y-est look then said, "I just keep a cover in my bag..."

I felt really comfortable there this morning, but now I don't feel comfortable there... I don't think I was being too crazy about it. I don't get why people feel the need to comment on it. I am doing my best with a situation I already feel insecure with. Ugh. I'm just so sad about this. And I'll have to face her next week and likely will need to feed him again because he's been eating every hour and a half lately because he is going longer stretches at night.

I love breastfeeding him, I just wish I was more coordinated. I feel like all the moms i see breastfeeding have a cover and use their phones and walk around. I have to use both hands and I just, ugh. I'm sad.

EDIT: wow this post blew up and I cried reading all the supportive comments! I thought I was going to get tips on how to use my cover better but I was sure mistaken! I got tips on how to stand up for myself and be more confident about my BF journey. This is a great group and I appreciate you all. Thank you ❤️💞

So I’m supposed to go back to work on Monday. I work at a daycare and my baby is 6 weeks old. It’s breaking me enough going back so soon, and on top of that I’m trying to figure out the whole pumping thing (it’s not going well and I absolutely hate it). I had a conversation with my supervisor today, and asked if it’s possible for me to breastfeed my baby when needed since they’re having me clock out every time to pump anyway. She said it’s not allowed and i have to find a place to pump (break room, car, etc). I had my 6 week appt with my midwife today, and she told me it’s illegal for them to refuse me the right to breastfeed my baby. Does anyone know the law on this?? (I’m in PA BTW)

I absolutely hate wearing bras in my every day life. I work from home, so I literally get away without wearing a bra the majority of my time. If I absolutely need one I’ll wear tighter crop tanks or a bralette type.

For context, I’m a B cup.

I am due mid June and the idea of wearing a nursing bra in this heat sounds awful. I know sometimes people can leak quite a bit but how necessary is it to actually have a nursing bra?

The goal is to breast feed the first couple of weeks and then to start pumping as well so spouse can do feeds too.

I know nursing tanks are a thing and am considering those, but I really just live in oversized sweaters and tshirts.

Any and all help/advice/talk some common sense into me kind of thing would be so helpful- I just feel really lost with this particular aspect.

Hi moms,

Breastfeeding takes a lot of time every day, especially with long feeds and cluster feeds.

I know ideally it’s best to be fully present and not distracted. Just look at baby, bond, stay mindful.

And I do try.

But honestly… I can’t do that for every single feed 😅

Sometimes I get restless or sleepy.

What do you all do during feeds?

Scroll, watch something, read, listen to podcast?

Or are you able to stay fully present most of the time?

Just curious what real life looks like for others 🙂

I have a two week old and desperately, desperately want to sleep. I am very grateful that we don’t seem to have any issues with supply or milk transfer.

Let’s say I feed my baby at 8pm, go to bed, and feed her again 1 am and 6am, and then pump.

Will that really tank my supply?

UPDATE: thanks everyone for the advice! After much thought, I decided to do one skip a night and will do another update to let you know how my supply reacts. Yesterday was the first day where I skipped the feed for my husband to feed the baby, and I feel like a brand new person today. Like some people mentioned, I definitely did have engorged breasts in the morning, but I used my hakaa and they felt much better. But so far no supply issues!

Thank goodness for this sub, I swear. I am a 'just enougher'. My baby is growing perfectly, but I cannot pump more than an extra half ounce a day. When I pump on my office days, I can't match her intake. She'll drink a 4 oz bottle, I'll only pump 3.5 oz. It is so aggravating and stressful, which of course doesn't help the problem.

Someone on here posted a few weeks ago that they started pumping on the opposite side while baby eats, which guarantees a letdown. I was desperate, and even tho I despise pumping at the same time as feeding (it's so cumbersome, even with a wearable pump), I decided to try it.

Oh. My. God. It's like magic! I went from pumping after baby's morning feed and getting anywhere from 1/2 oz to 1 oz total, to getting 2.5 oz on one side, then another 2.5 on the other at the next feed. Baby is eating the same, no issues with her not getting enough, but now I have enough for my husband to give a bottle at night and to build a tiny work stash.

I'm sure it doesn't work for everyone. But if you get no output when pumping, I recommend trying it!

Does anyone else find the boppy pillow completely useless? It doesn’t really fit around me and I end up stacking pillows under and around it. Is there something I’m missing? Or a better option? I’ve just been using a body pillow and couch pillows.

Hi I'm a FTM of a 2 month old. I have been ebf on demand so far. As the baby has turned 2 months old, she is having longer stretches of sleep and going without feeds for 6 hours as well in the night. I'm concerned if this would affect the supply. I would like to continue breastfeeding one year and beyond. So far I have no issues with supply and baby is gaining weight about 170- 200 gm per week.

Would like to understand if demand based feeding alone would take me through the whole journey or if pumping is necessary to keep up supply as babies grow and drop night feeds.

Ok, I know this is going to sound insufferable (steak too juicy/lobster too buttery), but my 12 week old sleeps 12 hrs now and I’m losing my supply due to all the sleep I get. I know. Boohoo.

But for real though, am I seriously expected to wake myself up between 1-3am and pump?! Like. Wtf is the point of celebrating a sleeping baby if I don’t get to sleep all night too? 😩 I pump right before bed at 11 but it’s not working to keep up my supply, and I’ve been having to supplement with formula during the day. Any advice is appreciated!

It feels counter-intuitive but they immediately unlatch when you basically do the breast equivalent of smushing them.

Do it every time they try to bite down, when they do the tentative questing even, and they will quickly learn to stop.

As they get more teeth you may need to repeat it a couple times but I _guarantee_ they will stop immediately.

Source: My first started cutting 4 teeth at once... at just 4mo 😭 but I fed her for 2 years

Edit: Sweet Baby Jesus you people I am not saying smother or suffocate your child in your fucking cleavage! Gently push their face in it works better than the pinky method for unlatching. If you'd rather be bit or prefer a different method, do that then! I'm just sharing what worked for me - y'all need to calm tf down

Encouragement and advice please.

Anyone who says you can't overfeed a breastfed baby - please look away. In my personal experience, yes, you can!

Have been EBF for 4.5 months now and since month 1 we have been dealing with spit up issues. I feel like I have tried everything under the sun to help with her spit up (it did start to impact her weight).

I have tried several different feeding positions (laying back, football hold, sitting up). We sit her up for 15 min after each feeding, given reflux medication, and tried to incorporate rice cereal (recommended by ped to try to thicken what's in her stomach)..... we've tried it all and nothing seems to make a difference.

I am a slight oversupplier so each time she feeds, she is only offered one side, anymore and she spits up immediately. Ped has also recommended shorter, more frequent feeds but I find it extremely difficult to know when to cut her off and know how much she's getting- she'd stay there all day if she had the choice. And again, when I let her do that, spit up everywhere. Currently, I am feeding her every 2-2.5 hours during the day, with one dream feed at night (she does not wake up during the night to eat) to get enough feedings in a 24 hour period.

She's not necessarily bothered by spitting up - it upsets me way more than her. Ped refers to her being a "happy spitter".

I feel overwhelmed and discouraged when she spits up all day after eating. Any encouragement or advice on what breastfeeding looks like for 4-5 months babes is helpful! I absolutely don't want to stop breastfeeding yet!!

EDIT: I’m just a FTM trying to do the best for my baby.
She doesn’t seem uncomfortable, she will spit up and the continue playing. She does spend the majority of her time on belly since she learned to roll.
Yes there’s a chance that I am overreacting or being anxious, but I find it difficult to know exactly what is normal or not.
I have seen LCs before and I get a different answer each time I see them.

I have a 11 week old and I’m at the point where I’m tired of planning all our outings around her feedings. That said, I have a bit of a dependency on my breastfeeding pillow and almost never nurse her without it.

The few times I’ve nursed her in the car I either have to hold her deadweight in one arm for 30 minutes or (more often) I lean way over and kill my back.

Any suggestions appreciated!

LO is now 4 months old and wakes during the night a MINIMUM 3 times (if I'm very lucky)....on a typical night it's more like 6. She is hungry Every. Single. Time. I understand that she is growing and needs to eat. I also understand that babies who are exclusively breastfed are known to wake more during the night. I just am really desperate for any advice or tips or tricks on how to have her do less night time feeds??

We don't pump/do bottles because she absolutely refuses. She gags on them or just simply won't suck on it and just licks it.

So since the day she was born I haven't gotten more than 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep. It is taking a toll on me and if anyone else has been in this position can you tell me what helped? Any advice or even just solidarity is greatly appreciated.

I'm just... not making enough to have extra and I'm afraid I'll never be able to take a break.

Sincerely,

Mom to an 11 week old

Some context, she’s 6M crawling and standing, doesn’t take bottles so Ive been EBF either in car rides, standing or side lying. There are times i can’t put her down directly as she’ll kick and turn onto her fours. I’ll then hold her up and feed but she’s getting heavier and I’m worried it’ll become too laborious for my shoulders and back. I exercise regularly but this is still quite challenging since Im feeding her 6-7 times a day, at least 3 times are standing up before I put her to bed. Would appreciate some tips here!

Breastfeeding moms - when did your period come back postpartum?

It wasn’t always like this until we accidentally stopped combo feeding (bottles from dad) and went EBF around 3 months. How do I teach my 6 month old to enjoy cuddles with dad also? I let bath time be a dad and baby exclusive because it’s something they both enjoy but other than that, baby will push dad away and cries easily in his arms when he tries to play with him longer. Our son enjoys sitting on his lap in front of the desktop computer when dad is WFH. He also smiles at him and recognizes him as someone close but if my husband tries longer, my son starts to fuss for me.

I will be returning to work soon and will leave the apartment way earlier than my husband. They will be alone for the first time in a long time.

Edit: I have a stash of breastmilk in the freezer and a few ounces in the fridge. Problem is we are hitting bottle aversion phase. Twice I left the apartment for over 4 hours and our son would rather starve than take a bottle from dad or MIL. He waited till I returned home to take 1-2oz from a bottle. My son normally doesn’t accept a bottle from me either. We are currently practicing open cup, straw cup, and spoon in a cup lol.

I’ve tried telling him to wear one of my shirts but he tells me it doesn’t work. I’ve told him many times I don’t want to CIO but he’s impatient and tells me I don’t understand how hard it is. CIO is what he keeps bringing up as to not have to deal with baby crying (not only for bedtime).

Our house does not currently have AC, so I’m out and about today. I went to a coffee shop to just chill in the sweet sweet air conditioner. And then quickly realized it was time to feed my baby. So here I am, nursing in the bathroom. I forgot to grab any sort of cover, and I felt awkward nursing just right there at my table. It’s working fine, albeit a little uncomfortable. I wish I could just suck it up and whip it out😂 But how do you guys go about getting over the mental hurdle?

Okay - help! How do you actually breastfeed in public??

This is my second baby (currently 9 weeks) but I had my first during Covid and between lockdowns, and social distancing it was never an issue.

But I literally cannot work out how to feed without getting, what feels like, my whole body out!

At home I rely on my boppy for support and I use one hand to hold my breast. I have large breast, which feel saggy and my nipples point down. Without holding my boob I feel like I am smushing my baby’s face, or he is so low down an the latch feels awkward.

I feel so awkward and uncomfortable getting my breast out in public. I feel embarrassed having to hold my boob up. I’ve tried using a cover and I can’t manage it. I just feel sooo awkward.

But I need to be out and about, I need to take my older child to do fun things, and I want to breastfeed - I just don’t know how!!!

Big boobed ladies - HELP ME!! What’s the logistics here …

EDIT!! Thank you all for the support and advice! Genuinely, makes me feel not alone. Heading out to the library, swim class and a play date today with my 4year old and will be out of the house for 6ish hours - I’ve got my list of tips to try. Wish me luck x

Baby has a very hard time latching. Had to supplement with formula and my breast milk. I now make more than enough breast milk through pumping but I cannot get her to latch. I’m happy she’s able to breastfeed still, but I would LOVE for her to be able to breastfeed versus feed from a bottle. I feel like I lose so much time with her pumping, cleaning bottles and then when I do spend time with her she’s upset because BFing is so hard.

Would love advice/thoughts/suggestions

Update 25 days later: baby is now breastfeeding!!! We bottle feed at night to get a little more sleep and confirm she’s getting more, but baby actually prefers breast now. Started with nipple shields (turns out I was wearing them wrong lol) and eventually was able to discontinue. We saw a LC who gave us exercises for tight jaw and neck and did the exercises religiously for like 4 days and then she just latched. Like it was never a challenge. Thank you all for the advice ❤️