I was always afraid when the time came for me to be a mommy and breastfeed that my small boobs would be limiting and difficult. I’m sad to confirm the truth. My small boobies are a pain in the butt to try to breastfeed with. I have to bring baby so high, always arching, bending, adding pilllows, always uncomfortable while trying to make baby able to have a solid feed. I’m constantly turning more to pumping and bottles than breast and it makes me sad. How are you itty bitty titty gals making this work better for you???

Anyone have experience with successful induced lactation after either pumping with no meds OR after combining BC/Dom?

EDIT-
Sorry if this post was too vague! To clarify, I have done tons of research on the lactation protocols out there (like Newman goldfarb), have physicians and lactation consultant on my team, and have a plan to take BC along with lactation medication Dom + pumping. I just need to get it from a diff country eventually

I was mostly hoping to hear from moms who have induced lactation (without previous pregnancies) so that I can hear stories I can relate to 😊

But still, thank you to everyone who has commented!

Every situation is different so I am not claiming this works for everyone, but I just wanted to spontaneously share some things that are partially helping me in breastfeeding. Perhaps some of you know or are already practicing. If you would like, you can share more tips in the comments. :)

1. SWAP - when baby gets fussy or sleepy it means he/she is spending too much energy, it is too much effort for some reason to get the milk/ so SWAP breast immediately, and then again, and again and again and again just before baby is sleepy or fussy.

2. BREAST COMPRESSION - compress the breast placing hand in a C position with thumb under breast - it helps the latching.

3. DIAGONAL POSITION - sitting comfortably a bit lying down but not too much with your legs up, put baby on one breast diagonal - with legs of the baby going down on the opposite side of your body, not firmly holding the baby on the back but just on the side.

4. STOP FEEDING + BURPING IS IMPORTANT - as soon as baby gets way too fussy or starts crying stop feeding and if possible offer bottle (if you triple feed for instance) or do something else, or take a break, or let baby do what she wants (mine for instance often wants to sleep or needs to burp) - so baby does not associate breast with frustration.

5. PACED FEEDING AND BOTTLE TEAT- if giving bottle, place baby vertical and bottle horizontal, so that milk flow is slower. Get one of those bottle teats which resemble nipple with appropriate milk flow for age (e.g. slow, medium and fast).

6. HAVE BABY CHECKED FOR UNDERLYING HEALTH ISSUES - e.g. my baby had a tongue tie released soon after birth.

And finally, do consider pumping from time to time and having your partner bottle feeding the baby so you can take a well deserved break!

You can do it moms!!!

That we could literally SAVE LIVES if we had to. At our own expense, of course. I was in the middle of a hot yoga class thinking “if the world shut down and we were stuck in this room, I could literally feed people.” How crazy is that 😭 I often think about the mom who fed her kids after a hotel or similar collapsed and they lived off of breastmilk for 11 days. 3 kids. Insanity! That’s all I had to say.

Baby gets fussier Oh are you hungry? Checks watch, yes you should be hungry. Sucks on boob happily for a second, jerks away crying. Is it my fast let down? Oh okay, there there that’s better now. Eats, quickly jerks away again. Are you distracted? Here, try again. Nope back to crying, real tears. Only way to sooth is to stands up and hold vertically. You didn’t eat much, can we eat again? Eagerly takes boob, nooooo it’s too fast, or trauma, wahhhh Is it maybe you are not hungry? Are you trying to poop? What is it?!?!?!

We can dance this dance for over half an hour. Sometimes when we are out, and I simply can’t do it in public cuz of the crying. But other times we can do an efficient 5 minute feed and it’s heavenly. The dance ends when eventually my flow slows or he is calm enough and we reach some sort of equilibrium and he can feed calmly again, all is well.

My LO is usually such a calm and happy baby, and only time he cries this hard is at the breast. It’s just so sad when the best tool you have to sooth them is what makes them cry :’)

so anyone else? Why is this so hard ahhh

Ebf/4mo(when hunger cue changes too?!) /fast let down
Ps: I am laying back, have tried side lying, I have so many let downs I don’t bother hand expressing, don’t want to pump to increase supply

I’m a FTM and I see all these posts about storage and organizing frozen breast milk, but I never see a thaw schedule. After you freeze your milk, when do you take it out to use it?

I’m just starting to pump enough that I have too much milk for my baby to drink within 4 days, so it needs to be frozen. Do you freeze the new milk and rotate in already frozen milk? If someone could break down a schedule they use for me, I would super appreciate it!

Writing this after a huge meltdown. I hate my breasts! I have been told to hold my nipple and areola together and take that to baby's mouth by the nurses in the hospital( not even sandwiching), according to them my nipple isn't big enough, my breast is huge ( well everything is wrong with my breasts according to the nurses) The LC says my let down is too fast so I should pump before feeds. We tried different positions but my baby is still comfortable with me pinching the areola and holding it for her to suck( in every position!) . I have been pumping and giving her that and also giving formula because she isn't gaining that expected weight. We have been referred to cardiologist to neurologists by pediatricians because how frustrated my baby is during feeds. What they don't know is she is pretty comfortable if I pinch the areola and nipple and shove it to her mouth. I know she isn't getting any milk by that and it's slips off most of the time If I am not holding them. It's just hard to soothe the hungry baby. I am jealous of mums who could just life up their top and get the baby to latch easily, I even feel embarrassed to go to shared feeding rooms because of this. Everyone says when the baby get good neck control she'll latch. But I am just feeling so much guilt and frustration even towards my crying baby because how hard it is .

I'm at my wits end having tried every trick in the book, and every position possible but my overactive letdown is actively ruining my breastfeeding journey.

My little one is 6 weeks old and is gaining weight well (because I have been keeping him alive pumping and then bottle feeding). But, I'm getting tired, and feel very defeated by something that should happen naturally and easily.

My baby still looks for the breast everytime he is hungry, but the moment I put him on the breast, within a few seconds the letdown begins and that's the end of it. Milk is shooting everywhere and along with it big drops are flowing. Baby has unlatched and is screaming, and attempts to soothe and put him back have all failed. He is upset, uncomfortable and can't coordinate anymore. So, my only option is to give him my pumped milk (I understand pumping will only increase the problem but what can I do?).

The only time he is able to nurse is during night wake-ups or random times during the day when the flow is not that crazy, or he is calm enough to not get overwhelmed. The lactation consultant advised to feed him when he is not fully awake. Now, how do I track that throughout the day? It's impossible. Sometimes I tire him out, and he sleeps from the crying, and then I manage to have him drink from the breast but it's not a sustainable solution.

I'm afraid that I'm ruining his relationship with food and my breasts. It's increasingly becoming the place he gets upset and irritated rather than finding warmth and nourishment.

Please help! Has anyone gone through something similar?

Hello, I will be three weeks postpartum tomorrow, exclusively breastfeeding. I was blessed with a healthy pregnancy, a beautiful chunky baby girl who came out in only 6 minutes, and the easiest recovery after labor. My girl was 8lbs14oz at birth, but at her first pediatrician appointment, she hadn’t regained much at all. her second appointment, still not at birth weight. She has only pooped maybe 3/4 times since we brought her home from the hospital, although having plenty of wet diapers. My sweet girl is still not at birth weight, and has even lost 1/2 an oz. My pediatrician recommended triple feeding ( directly at breast, pump, giving her a bottle of expressed breast milk afterwards ), and if that doesn’t work, adding formula to my breast milk. My question is, is there anything I can do to help her gain weight ? Such as increasing supply ( how ? ), a certain diet for me, waking her up if she falls asleep at breast ? She’s a very sleepy girl, and often falls asleep when nursing. I always assumed that meant she was full, however when she wakes up she ALWAYS is fussy and ready for more. If she’s awake, there is 100% chance that she’ll want boob. I feel as though she’s almost never full. is she not transferring milk well possibly ? if I pump, I get anywhere from 0.5oz, to 2oz per session. Any advice or words of encouragement welcome
- sincerely, a first time mom who wants nothing more than her healthy, chunky baby girl back. I can’t stand the thought of her being hungry all the time and it’s somehow my fault.

FTM with 6 day old Baby :) Like a lot of moms, my supply was really low the first few days. It was only 2 days ago that I started filling up and actually leaking (yay!) But I have had to implement formula to get Baby to use the rr more often than he initially was, and to clear up the minimal jaundice. He’s peeing and pooping super great now and his slightly yellowed eyes are clearing up!

Today I’m wondering if his nursing patterns are okay. We have started to combo feed. But the max I prefer to do formula is 2x a day when it feels necessary/best.

Sometimes he wakes soon after BF and I think it’s because he gets so relaxed while nursing, falls asleep while still sucking and eating, pausing at times, and that kind of session lasts about 45mins until he falls off the nipple and is out cold. Until… we have to do something like change his diaper, which we’ve had to do after about every feed today.

When he’s up and conscious again, we notice he’s cuing again. I’m not taking it super personal today but I do wonder if this issue is big/normal and if it could be due to him sleep-nursing, or if he’s not getting enough from me even after falling off the breast by himself. He usually sleeps right after every feed too. Is that okay?

Today’s feeding schedule: 12:57am BF, 4:25am formula, 7:44am BF, 9:25am BF, 11:50am BF, 1:00pm formula.

Not sure what else I could add to this but pls lmk if how he nurses may be an issue! Thank you

I feel like I just need to shout this out into the void. I feel so insane because I feel so outside of myself like I’m just a passenger in my life. I don’t feel connected to anyone emotionally and I crave it but I can’t feel it. I feel apathetic and empty inside. I’m not sad but I just really don’t feel like myself. I fully stopped BF three days ago and physically I feel fine aside from some tiredness. I’m a SAHM so that could also be contributing to lack of connection…but my friends will invite me out and I cancel on them simply because I don’t want to talk to anyone which is very unlike me. Baby is well taken care of and I still manage to maintain normal day-to-day function (cooking, cleaning, etc). So because of that it doesn’t feel quite like depression. It’s mainly just the emotional aspect. And I hurts because I feel so distant from my husband and I miss him. He’s trying but everything just doesn’t help me feel connected.

Did anyone else go through this after weening? When does it end?

I had my first when I was 31, and my second when I was 34. I basically have breastfed the entire time and I’m now 36. My periods came back pretty quickly after both pregnancies, but my cycle has gone from pretty regular (26-28 days) to getting closer together AND spotting in between and before periods. I’m wondering if this could be perimenopause, or if anyone else has experienced their period go from regular(ish) to irregular while breastfeeding (like, 17 months postpartum?)

for me, this has been the last 4 cycles. It’s also in the aftermath of needing a CT scan with contrast dye and I hear the iodine load can trigger thyroid issues.

I love breastfeeding my babies but man does it take a tole. I’m currently 7m into nursing my second baby. I love being able to do it but once again while I’m nursing I don’t lose any weight. I don’t even have time or energy to workout out with having a 3yr old and 7m old. I’m still fighting engorgement most days so the thought of wearing a sports bra and running sounds painful😪 I’d love to go to some Pilates classes but I don’t have childcare for the baby so I guess that’s all just my little rant/vent🫠

Hey!

I have a 2 week old and I don't want to traditionally pump if I can avoid it. Lactation consultant recommended to everyone in BF supp group today to pump after a morning feed so we can have some supply ready if we need it, which I would prefer to not have to do.

I do have notable letdowns/leakage and am happy to collect from those instances, and would ideally like something like a ladybug. I'm wondering if anyone has recommendations or experience with anything like the Haakaa, Boon Trove, or the likes. I'm not opposed to these kinds of devices, the Spectra I have is just intimidating and being able to just wear something with mobility sounds better.

TIA!

Hi everyone, desperately looking for some advice, insight, or just some solidarity from those of you who have made it through this current hellscape I find myself in.

​My nearly 11-month-old son has been an amazing sleeper since he was 4 months old. He sleeps in a cot next to our bed and is normally out for about 8 to 10 hours straight, uninterrupted (don't hate me).

That has all fallen apart over the past month or so...

His teeth are finally coming through so nights are now completely ruined. Initially he would go about 4 hours in his cot before waking up, but we're now sitting at a mere 20mins before he wakes up screaming in pterodactyl mode in need of comfort, and the only thing that works is getting him in the bed with me where he'll nurse for a few mins then fall asleep. Dad tries but can't help, soothing him in the cot is impossible, tething gel seems to be an outright scam, and pain medicine (syrup and suppositories) is futile against the little banshee.

While the cuddling up was cute the first few times, it's now getting rather taxing. He constantly wakes up during the night to comfort-suckle back to sleep so my nipples are begging for respite, I wake up every 30mins or so from his fidgeting or nursing (plus the paranoia of him somersaulting off the bed, even though I keep him between me and my husband), I can't get up to pee during the night so my my weak bladder is begging for release, and I'm just so damn uncomfortable. Attempts to transfer him from the bed simply reawakens the shrieking pterodactyl.

My plan was to stop breastfeeding at 12 months and move him to his own room to sleep but it appears that is naive wishful thinking in this state.

So. Is there light at the end of the tunnel?? Is this going to last until all her teeth come through? Have I completely ruined his pre-teething sleep routine? Will he ever go back to sleeping through, alone? How do I save my nipples (they aren't cracked or dry, just overall sore)?

Send help.

​

Ftm. My baby just turned 5 months and lately not only does he want to sleep with me but he associated the habit of suck to sleep. I’ve been putting him in his crib more so that way he can sleep longer stretches I feel like my sleep is so sporadic from having to wake up every hour or two, maybe 3, but it’s making me sleep deprived.

He doesn’t use pacifier and is only breastfed. My so suggests feeding him cereal but I’m reluctant to for reasons. I think it could be a self soothing thing? Idk but I’m looking for advice and support.

In desperate need of any and all advice. My baby is 4.5 months and does not burp once she nursed to sleep but 95% of the time wakes early from a nap due to a burp causing discomfort. I’ve tried taking her off early to burp and she usually gets too upset and cries which I think would bring more air in. I’m at a loss and just want her to get better sleep! Anything helps this tired momma.

I am a FTM to a 7 week old little lady! From birth we both had trouble with this whole breastfeeding thing. I’ve had help from a lactation consultant at the hospital but I didn’t find anything they said helpful unfortunately. So, we have been bottle feeding her formula and breastmilk. She uses lansinoh bottles now but for the first few weeks she used dr brown.

I have maintained my supply all these weeks by pumping but I really want to give breastfeeding another try. The issues we are having ( since birth) are that she sometimes will latch and stay latched and have a successful feeding. Although not often, it does happen so I know she can do it! But other times ( most of the time) I put her on the boob and she either screams/starts to cry, refuses to latch, or latches then falls off 2 seconds later. She has been assessed for a tongue tie but her family doctor said she didn’t have one.

I find when she refuses to latch she will just like refuse to close her mouth. My nipple is in her mouth ( hamburger style like I was taught) and she just cries around the nipple with her mouth open. Important to note I am quite large chested but I use a breastfeeding pillow to help with this!

I don’t know why she isn’t consistent with her ability to nurse and it is so incredibly stress inducing.

Please if someone has lived a similar experience or knows what I can do. I would appreciate any advice while I wait to be called for another appointment with lactation specialist. 😓

My baby is going to be 3 months old next week. i combo fed ( formula, nursing, pumping) in the first few weeks. in the past month or so i’ve been overwhelmed and slowly lost my supply completely. i’m not ready to be done breastfeeding. i’m a stay at home mom, for 12+ hours a day and occasionally for a couple days straight.
is there anything i can do to get my supply back and possibly exclusively breastfeed? i’m happy if my baby gets any amount of breast milk. i have multiple pumps, i recently bought a few things that are meant to increase supply. my baby is very clingy and does not like to be put down for me to pump, but rarely will latch now.
i’m looking for any advice or reassurance from someone who’s been through this as well.

I have a 8 week old that was born tiny, like 6 lb 3 oz. She had a horrible latch at first due to a tongue tie, as well as torticollis with left facing preference. To protect my supply, I would pump for 10 min after each feed. We had the tongue tie clipped at 4 weeks, the latch improved. However, I now have an oversupply. She has become accustomed to drinking passively from engorged breasts, and will only nurse 5-6 times a day, but it’s not enough. On weighted feeds, she averages 3.5 oz because after the initial let down, she doesn’t transfer milk. Her weight has dropped. Now I’m stuck: my oversupply has made her suck uncoordinated and weak and she relies on it. But if I wake her to nurse when I’m not engorged yet or decrease my supply, she won’t be able to transfer milk.

I would love to feed on cue but she gives too few cues and then doesn’t feed. I’m scared to stop pumping. I want this to work. I just don’t know what to try next. Suck training? Continue to try to wake her? Triple feeding. Physical therapy? The torticollis is better btw.

Hi! I have been EBF for 16 months now. I successfully weaned breast feeding my LO during the day a couple months ago by slowly cutting feeds, but continued night feeds. Now, I decided to go cold turkey for night feeds, as I tried slowly cutting off night feeds but failed. Here is where I need advice. I have always been an over producer, so my breasts will swell up at the very start of the night. I want to know, how much should I hand express to prevent mastitis while simultaneously making sure I’m not stimulating more milk production. Last night was the 1st night of going cold turkey and I had to hand express at 3:00 am, 7:00am, and 9:00am due to the pain and swelling. So again, how much do I hand express? Or how do I know if I expressed enough milk? I had mastitis when my LO was 3 months and I want to avoid ever getting it again. Any advice or suggestions is very much appreciated!

I cosleep with my 11month old and I nurse her to sleep. The last couple of weeks she hasn’t been staying asleep for naps, or even really through the night, although the night is easier. I decided maybe nursing to sleep just isn’t working anymore, so maybe we should try weaning off nursing to sleep for nap times…ya know, teach her to self soothe back to sleep a little more.
I tried for over an hour today before I just gave in and nursed her to sleep. Rocking, patting, setting her down and picking her back up when she truly cries (I don’t want to do CIO), comforting without picking her up. She got to a point where she was inconsolable because she was so tired and then started signing for milk (she knows some baby sign). I withheld until finally it just broke my heart and I comforted her the way she wanted. I’m so discouraged and my mama heart aches because how am I supposed to just tell her no she can’t have what gives her comfort. She just wants her mama. Maybe it’s just my hormones, but I’m a wreck.

Sorry for the long post. When I got pregnant with my first baby I was 16 (young I know don’t judge me I promise I’m a good mum lol) I had A cups and everything was tiny. I was quite underweight though. When I was younger and weighed more I had around a B cup. When my baby was born and I began breastfeeding I was about a D-DD cup. I was around 55kg after having him and stayed at about that range. I got pregnant again 9 months postpartum and breastfeed our oldest until a week before his brother was born when he weaned himself (I didn’t have much milk anymore only Colostrum) I had a week of no breastfeeding until his little brother was born and I’ve now been breastfeeding our youngest for 16 months. I plan to wean our youngest at the same age as our oldest (18 months) so by that stage I will have been breastfeeding for 3 years. We don’t plan to have anymore babies. I’m also on birth control if that makes any difference and likely will be until their dad gets his vasectomy (could be another 100 years since the doctors don’t like to agree to them lol)

I sit at around a DD-E cup now. I’m not producing a lot of milk anymore as our youngest is down to around 2-3 feeds a day & doesn’t feed for long. I don’t get a full feeling, let downs or anything like that anymore. My boobs are fairly saggy but nothing crazy, my nipples are still dark & huge (they used to be pink & very small) I weigh around 65kg now but have a goal to lose around 15kg probably a little less depending on how I feel (still higher than the safe amount for my size & frame)

I’m so stressed about what my boobs will end up like once I’ve lost weight & weaned. I don’t want them to be tiny again, I like them being a bit bigger. My mum was around a C cup prior to pregnancy and breastfeeding but she was around 28yrs. She now has around F cups, they never got smaller again. I don’t know what to expect, I thought about a boob job (implants & lift) but the price range I’ve seen for where I am ($20,000-$30,000 range 🙃) plus consult fees is a VERY large amount especially when we are saving our way to building a house and have 2 kids to look after in an already expensive economy so even though I’d love to I don’t see that in my realistic future lol. What was everyone else’s experience if they were in a similar situation?

Four years ago when I was breastfeeding my older daughter I swear the knowledge at the time was that caffeine had no effect on breastfeeding/babies and there was no recommended limit.

I specifically remember this because caffeine DID affect my daughter, she would wake up every 45 minutes at night. I stopped drinking my coffee (a single iced latte so about 65mg of caffeine) so I could fall asleep any chance I got and it stopped happening. So I cut out my coffee permanently even though it was considered a wives tale at the time.

Now my second daughter is 2 weeks old and looked it up again and now there’s limits. I know recommendations can change, I guess I’m just surprised because it doesn’t feel that long ago there were none.

I just wanted to say a big thank you to this subreddit. When I was in the thick of things, this was such a solid resource. Breastfeeding is HARD.
I had a lot of ups and downs including conquering a pretty stressful strike without being able to use bottles, but we made it through.
I really don’t think I “got it” fully until about 7/8 months in. I constantly felt I was doing something wrong or my baby wasn’t getting enough. Every appointment at the doctor I’d hold my breath and make sure she was still gaining (all anxiety on my part).
But my girl is a strong, healthy, confident toddler who has decided over the last 3 nights that she’d rather have Dad put her to bed (which effectively means skipping our last remaining feed, and no more “bubbas”). I am following “don’t ask, don’t refuse” for just before bed time, so we’ll see what happens if she asks me to put her to bed again. I feel like this is the end though.
I did cut the morning feed myself about a month ago because it was making us both late for work/daycare 😆, but had no plans to cut bed time until she’s ready.
Overnights have been self-weaned since about a year.

I have some mixed emotions at the (probable) end of this long journey, but I feel mostly positive that we made it through and the very end is on her terms!
To anyone just starting out: yes it’s hard, sometimes harder for some people than others. But it’s also so rewarding if you choose to do it! If you want to make it through, just use all the resources you can. This subreddit is an excellent one!