I’ve been slowly weaning my almost 2 yo over the past month and Christmas we had our last night of BF to sleep. Last night we had our first night not breastfeeding her to sleep at all or during the night and she did just fine 😭bittersweet. And she’s such a sweet girl this morning she woke up asked for mamas milk and I said “oh honey mama has a boo boo and I don’t have any milk I’m so sorry” and she says “it’s okay mama I love you mama” and hugs me 😭😭 I think I’m having a harder time than her

My 4.5 month old is breastfed, but I work so she takes bottles of pumped milk when I’m at work. At her last dr appointment, the pediatrician told me that she should be getting her age in months + 2 ounces each feeding as a guideline. So, since she was 4 months at the time, she should be getting 6 ounce feedings. When she’s 5 months, increase bottles to 7 ounces, etc.

My understanding is that our milk output regulates around 12 weeks and that baby doesn’t really need more ounces, but breastmilk composition changes to meet your baby’s needs. With the pediatrician’s recommendation, I’m afraid I will not produce enough for her as she gets older since I’ve regulated. Maybe I’m misunderstanding or maybe it was bad advice. I know once she starts solids, she may drink less milk but she’s not going to start any solids until 6 months.

My baby is a week away from turning 6 months old, and for the past two months, he has only been taking naps lasting at most 45 minutes each. At night, he wakes up every two hours, and I nurse him back to sleep each time.

Is anyone else experiencing this? How do you manage to keep your energy up?

/RANT (advice not required as every suggestion on this sub-reddit ive tried already. But solidarity, stories of others who got through it and words of wisdom welcome)

Also posted before.

I've watched all the videos and had BF support/midwife come out to help me with positioning and attachment - she said i am doing all the right things and can see i am knowledgeable, I clearly have a fast let down and an oversupply too. So even with tweeks to positioning and attachment, it is still painful and painful afterwards too. I'm also really tired after a sleepless night so probably feeling much worse just now than it is. Some days I just get through it and it doesn't effect me.

I am making good use of silverettes and ibuprofen to manage the pain after feeds. I can feel the latch isn't good, but no matter what I do and how many times I try, we can never get a good latch. Every feed is at best uncomfortable and at worse painful. He's been checked for tongue ties (doesn't have).

Plan for now is take it week by week (or day by day in this case) and I am aiming for 12 weeks, pumping when need be and supplementing with formula. But mate, why is this so HARD?!

He's gaining weight and absolutely thriving despite shit latch, but on bad days like today, I am feeling raw and tired. Wanna keep going but MAN WHAT THE HELL HOW IS THIS SO HARD 🤣 I thought by 6 weeks we would have improvement and be in the swing of it

How do you know if baby is waking by habit or for hunger? either way i pull baby into bed, baby nurses back to sleep within 20min eyes barely open for both of us, then gets transferred to bassinet. i can handle it once a night even twice but past few nights was three times and i’m exhausted. not sure if night weaning is necessary i sort of think babies night when when they’re ready? but i’m back at work now and TIRED. nearly 7 months old! help?

And this will likely be the last. I made sure to put down my phone and soak in every little detail. The tininess of his fingers, how his little body fit against mine, the glow of the Christmas tree lights on his fine hair. And of course shed a few tears.

My goal with my third and last baby was to get to 2.5 years, and that’s coming up in a few weeks. I’ve said that I’m okay with whatever happens after that, but I do think there’s a slim chance of going a whole other year when we’re mostly only nursing once per day at the moment.

Breastfeeding has been a LOT, and I’ve been through many ups and downs in seven years, but I’m glad I pushed through the hard times so I could have this journey and these moments with my babies.

Baby is 10 weeks old and I put her on the breast at every feed followed by a bottle of formula. Usually get one or two really good feeds per day but the majority of her intake is formula. Have made my peace with it as she’s growing really well.

I’ve been trying to pump more to increase my supply but had to take a break after a painful blocked duct. Feeling guilty at the idea of not pumping but I hate it and would love to stop at some point- particularly when travelling. Any advice from those who’ve done it?

My 16 week old has been throwing a fit at the breast for a week now and screams and wails when I try to breastfeed her. The only way she’ll do it is if it’s right before or after a nap so she’s still half asleep in a dark room, still in her little swaddle sack. It’s really ruining the joy of breastfeeding for me but I know it’s supposed to pass. Please give me encouragement to keep going!!

First time mom and baby is now 8 weeks old. We have been breastfeeding with occasional expressed bottle feeds this whole time, but I constantly think about switching to formula. Sure, I love the bond and how peaceful he looks while feeding, but then there are other times where he pulls away from the boob in apparent pain and cries… it feels like that happens frequently (at LEAST once a day) and there’s nothing more frustrating for us both! I can tell he’s hungry, but he’s so uncomfortable that he doesn’t not stay latched and is so worked up he struggles to burp! Rarely is my son simply able to finish on one side, burp, then switch to the other. He’s a “need to burp” every 3 or so minutes. Because of these challenges, the idea of breastfeeding while out and about sounds dreadful! This leaves me feeling stuck at home or rushing home for feedings. I find myself longing for more freedom…but maybe that’s just a normal transition-to-motherhood feeling?

At night I’ll maybe get one 4ish hour long stretch between feeds, but then he’s up 2-3 hours from then… a lot of what I’ve read online suggests he should or could be going longer stretches than that, but maybe that’s just the internet getting in my head?

I wonder if he will be more full and happy with formula. I wonder if overall he’ll be less fussy. I wonder if I’ll feel more free to be out and about. And (most of all) I wonder if he (and we) will sleep better with formula as I’ve heard can happen.

But I’m worried I may be glamorizing formula in my head. I plan on eventually switching to formula for when I go to work and he goes to daycare (the thought of pumping at work sounds awful!) but do I wait until then to start the transition… (another 2 months from now) Obviously I know it’s not cheap…I know bottles can be annoying to deal with. And I would feel so bad if it ended up being harsher on my son’s stomach leaving him just as or more fussy than he already is…

Is transitioning worth it? Will I regret it? Is it not as pleasant as my mind is making it out to be? Or is it just as good as I imagine? Please share any and all thoughts… really struggling with this decision.

Hi all. My LO is 6 weeks, and I was EPing for the first 5 weeks due latching and tongue tie issues. After some skin to skin LO has latched, and I've slowly introduced BF and replaced pumping sessions. I'm now breast feeding from 8am till midnight and then pumping at night time.

Just wanted to ask, I see that a lot of breast feeding mums get dad to feed baby a bottle at night so mum can sleep 5 or 6 hour stretches - I'm guessing this doesn't tank your supply or leave you overly engorged?

I was on a strict pumping schedule as I was an under supplier and the most time I left between pumps was 4 hours- meaning the longest stretch of sleep i get is 3.5 hours. Would love to get 5 hours sleep but I'm scared of what that would do to my supply. Would love to hear your experiences - thanks!!

When I was pregnant I imagined breastfeeding for as long as possible, but it's been really challenging due to being so physically uncomfortable.

My already large boobs grew two cup sizes in pregnancy (fine!) and I bought a lot of cute nursing bras. Then in the two weeks postpartum they grew another two sizes (really annoying!) and for three months I've been buying new bras. I'm now a 32H and have constant back/shoulder blade pain.

The most annoying thing is that all of my more supportive bras seem to give me clogged ducts (I say 'seem to' because I almost constantly have clogged ducts, it could be something else). I am really ready to re-enter society after the newborn phase but even going walking is hard with my constant breast/back pain.

Does it get better? Does anyone have any tips? I've set myself a revised goal of 6 months to breastfeed and although I'm halfway it's starting to feel daunting.

My son is 10.5 months and EBF. We always found breastfeeding so easy and natural that getting into a solid food schedule is proving so difficult. I just can’t seem to get the routine right or get him to actually enjoy food. He’ll go days without a proper meal (of course being breastfed still) because he just doesn’t want to eat. We had a few periods here and there were he did great but will quickly regress to only wanting the boob. He’ll enjoy certain foods one day then turn his nose up at them the next. He’ll eat purées but feel so much mum guilt around him not eating nutritious foods. He’s hitting milestones and gaining weight, plenty of wet nappies, he does get quite constipated. Any advice?

I’ve been on this sub for a few weeks now, and I see a lot of posts referring to the same general worry, and wanted to find out from you all whether it’s actually a thing.

For some background: I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant and spent a lot of time on the r/gestationaldiabetes sub. Probably every single day on there, I’d see at least one post of someone newly diagnosed who was worried that they had caused their GDM because of their diet (or the flip side, being convinced that they couldn’t possibly have GDM because “I eat a healthy diet!”). It seemed like all of us had made that post at one time or another, and then we all reassured new people by letting them know that GDM doesn’t work that way.

On this sub, I see a similar frequently asked question. It’s along the lines of “I was sick/traveling/got off my pumping schedule/baby is sleeping through the night. Is this the end of my breastfeeding journey?” It seems like there’s a very common worry that if something happens temporarily, our milk is going to dry up and we won’t be able to breastfeed anymore. But unlike my experience in the GDM sub, I actually have no idea whether this happening is likely.

So I thought I’d ask all of you: is this a thing? Do relatively small setbacks really tank supply so much that you can’t recover it? Or is this something that we all just have anxiety about even though it doesn’t really work like that?

Hopefully none of those questions come off as insensitive—I’m asking from an empathetic place because I totally get having those worries. And lately I’ve been finding myself getting worried about the possibility that me or my baby might get sick, or beating myself up for missing my 9am pumping session because my baby was having a contact nap, because I don’t know if those things will actually affect my supply that much based on how often it comes up on this sub. I’m also an undersupplier and understand basically nothing about how my supply works, so I don’t know if I’m missing something here since there seem to be a lot of factors that people worry about.

Just a rant - I’ve had some supply issues in the beginning. Baby was full term but just tiny and while she had a good latch it just took her a while to get strong enough to empty the breast.

While waiting for her to get strong enough on her own (which she is now yay!!!) I’ve cried many times, had to supplement, and even paid $$$$ to see a lactation consultant. So it’s been a journey.

We are finally to a place where she ebf except getting one bottle a day around 5pm because baby daddy wants to have that bond with her. I rarely pump because I hate it so I just do my own thing.

Cue yesterday - we get up and he immediately wants to give her a bottle… I had just fed her!! She wasn’t hungry. She wasn’t fussy. She was fine. So I tell him she’s fine and doesn’t need one. He lost it and said I’m just controlling. I swear I don’t understand why there’s gotta be so much drama with breastfeeding. I’m sure if she was exclusively bottle fed there would still be drama. It’s so stupid. Thanks for listening lol

is this okay to use while breastfeeding? i bought my usual conditioner not realizing they changed jojoba oil for hemp seed oil.I already used it so hopefully its fine.

Hey all! Baby is 5 months. She’s been EBF besides taking a bottle of breastmilk when I work 1-2 days a week. It’s probably about 2-3 bottles on those days.

The right side has always been the better side. The left always producing a little less. She tends to mess with the bad side more like pinching and pulling my skin. My nipple on that side has been a bit sore lately but as of 2 days ago it’s so painful when she’s feeding. I feel like her latch is shallow on that side and I try to help her by compressing it and getting more in her mouth which she usually pulls it and then gets shallow again.

I don’t see anything on this side like a blister or sore. But it’s like striking white hot pain only at the nipple when shes eating on that side. After a while of feeding the pain dissipates a bit but I feel like the pain is stressing out my body and my supply may drop when I really make exactly what she needs and no more.

Thanks all for any advice or support! I have three girls and this one I’ve breastfed the longest and was enjoying our journey. 🫶🏼

I used to be prescribed adderal pre-pregnancy. I’d like to take some here and there when I need to, but I’m worried about how it might affect supply. Does anyone have any experience with this? I’d only take 5mg at a time, and use it sparingly (a few times in a month, maybe).

I'm currently pregnant with my third. I tried breastfeeding my first two but I had such a low supply that they ended up being mostly on formula. Not that there's anything wrong with formula, but I want to try breastfeeding again! Please tell me all the best supplements and foods to boost supply 🥹 I've heard body armour so that's on my list but what else should I get?!

I breastfed my first baby for 16 months so I feel pretty confident about this task.

However, my 2nd baby is 6 months, breastfeeds like a champ. He is much bigger than my first and very efficient at feeding. He feeds 2-3 hourly during the day and until recently 3 times in the night.

For the last week I've noticed he is way more cranky at night to be fed and gets frustrated when he has to work for it. For the last 2 nights he has woken every 2 hours in the night to feed. Lasy night mu husband managed to settle him after 45 mins of screaming, but he woke an hour later so I caved. Is this a regression?

Tonight I had to feed him after his last nap amd then again an hour later which I usually don't have to do.

Regression? Growth spurt? I'm exhausted and really can't figure what's going on. He hasn't learnt a new skill, still doesn't roll. Very different to first baby.

would appreciate recommendations of safe options to reduce insomnia from fellow breastfeeding moms, thanks!

Going on vacation in a week, which entails a 7 hour flight and I plan on bringing a good amount of frozen milk. Wondering what is the best way to store it for safe transport?

I’ll be putting it in my carry-on either in a small cooler or insulated lunch bag. Is it okay to have dry ice in there to keep it completely frozen? So worried it will thaw on the journey!

Anyone ttc and still breastfeeding? Any advice for those who are or have?

So we decided a couple weeks ago to give my 8 month old a bottle before bed. When I'm working it's breastmilk from a pump earlier in the day. When I'm off it's formula. Usually it's about a 4 or 5 ounce bottle either way and very often she doesn't finish the whole thing. I know formula bottles need to get bigger as they get older, but since she's mostly breast fed and satisfied with the bottle before bed, do I need to offer her a bigger bottle if it's just formula? I also have decided not to pump to replace the feed if that changes anything. She seems satisfied throughout the day.

Has anyone had to breastfeed while taking doxycline? Our pediatrician said it would be okay for 7-10 days, but I’m still apprehensive. I’m prescribed it for 14 days so I plan to pump and dump.

I called the nurse line a couple times concerned about silent reflux and they keep suggesting I’m over feeding and to stretch my breastfeeding sessions to 2-3 hours instead of 1-2 like it seems to me that my baby asks for.

But yesterday she started crying 10ish minutes into nursing, I tried calming her down for like 20-30 minutes until I decided to give a bottle to see if she would eat. She drank the bottle calmly and didn’t cry afterwards. Went to sleep.

She’s been gaining weight fine, I don’t think I have a supply problem.

Why could the bottle calm her if I really am overfeeding? She didn’t drink much, only half an ounce.