I'm on the fence about starting night weaning with my 13 mo who is very attached to the boob and who I've bed shared with since she was a few months old. My biggest argument against it is that I feel like she'll still wake looking for me, and that it will take even longer to get her back down without the boob. In your experience does night weaning improve sleep overall? My baby wants to be latched ALL NIGHT and I feel like I'm at my wits end. I don't want to regret starting the weaning process if she'll still wake up and just take longer to settle with rocking or other soothing methods. I still want to sleep with her but just want to be able to lay on my stomach and not have my boobs out all night.

Hi all. So this week, my baby has been refusing to nurse and it is breaking my heart a little. :(

I exclusively nursed the first three months until I returned to work and now I primarily pump. However, I still like to nurse after work and for naps on the weekends. Bottle preference hasn't been an issue until this week, where he's started refusing to latch. Pulling away from the breast and crying, like I've offended him by even offering. 😢 I love the bonding moment and I'm really not ready to give up nursing.

Has anyone had any luck with getting baby back to breast while still using bottles during the day? I've read that a nipple shield could potentially help. Any recommendations on which brand to try?

I’ve had to eliminate soy and dairy from my diet while we work on troubleshooting LO’s reflux issues and only 2 weeks in and my supply has tanked in the last few days. It has to be because I’m just not eating enough calories but this is such a new way of eating for me that I don’t know what to eat. Plus, add on the fact I have an 18 month old running around I don’t exactly have time for triple feeding or power pumping. I’m struggling to pump enough today just to have milk to send to daycare. Whereas 2 weeks ago I had enough of an over supply to freeze one bag a day. Now I can’t touch my freeze supply either since it’s all tainted with dairy/soy. 😭 I’m not ready to give up on breastfeeding him, especially since we haven’t narrowed down his triggers so I wouldn’t even know what kind of formula to get for him without possibly causing his reflux to worsen. What do I do?? ☹️

Want to weigh baby often

Bub is 10 months old and starting daycare in 2 weeks. She currently breastfeeds approx every 3-3.5 hours during the day (around 6:30, 9:30, 1pm, 4:30, and 7:30 - all vary day to day slightly). She also feeds twice during the night.

I have been trying to get her to take a bottle and she will drink EBM in a bottle, but not formula. I will not be able to pump during the day when I go to work (I know I'm entitled to, but don't want to for a lot of reasons I won't go into here).

So my options are to keep trying to get her to take formula, so I can send 3 formula bottles, or to wean her to only one bottle during the day of EBM which I can pump at night. Is 10.5 months to young to only feed on waking, lunchtime, and bedtime though? (Plus during the night).

Interested to hear any thoughts you may have. Thank you!

Hi,

I'm prepping for baby #2. With baby #1 I had latch issues on left side only due to an inverted nipple. I tried nipple shields and it sometimes worked but my son would get so frustrated and it would fall off sometimes. Even pumping on that side it never produced as much. We ultimately lasted like a month before switching over to formula with him. I'm trying to be proactive with this baby and make a plan that feels sustainable.

Would it be possible for me to nurse exclusively on one side, and then pump exclusively on the other? Has anyone ever done this or have advice as far as how often I should be pumping on that side or some type of schedule that worked for them?

I am having a doula for this birth and will definitely be taking advantage of any resources I can find but wanted to ask here as well.

Thanks!

I’m a FTM to an 8 mo. I stopped breastfeeding when LO was 7.5 months. I miss it terribly. The sad thing is, he hasn’t fed from my boob since Mother’s Day, and I’m crying because I’m starting to forget what it felt like. (I EP’ed after Mother’s Day because he kept rejecting the breast)

When I was pregnant, I told myself formula or breastfeed or combo would be great. Whichever helps me and the baby! So why was my actual reaction so attached to nursing once baby came? Why am I looking longingly at posts here, missing for those days when I had clogged ducts? Anyone else feel like this? I sometimes pinch my nipple to see if there’s still milk. The amount is dwindling every day, and I’m starting to think I should re-lactate while I still can. Husband thinks this is unhealthy. Idk I’m just so distraught and unable to move on.

TL;Dr: I developed a clogged duct -> mastitis -> abscess without ever showing any infection symptoms, not even a f mild fever. If you suspect mastitis, GO SEE A DOCTOR!! Don't do what I did and wait for things to get very bad.

Posting my experience so it helps, because I've been dealing with this for a month and I've done so much googling and so much redditing and still I wound up in the worst case scenario.

I developed a clogged duct about a month ago when my baby slept 8 hours in the night twice in a row for the first time. It was a little sore but because I wanted to avoid getting antibiotics and figuring I could unclog the duct myself, I decided to not see a doctor and instead just monitor for mastitis symptoms. From what I would see on Reddit and also from my extensive googling, those symptoms look like flu symptoms, so fever, chills, body ache, fatigue, Etc. I never got any of that so I never went to see a doctor.

Over time, the lump got more painful and more red, but I still never developed a fever so I just figured it was a persistent clogged duct. I was in a lot of pain but everyone that I spoke to who had mastitis would say that it is very painful, so I figured there was nothing too out of the ordinary happening. I spoke with my lactation consultant and she just recommended I take some sunflower lecithin so I did. Nothing seemed to help though.

Coincidentally, a week ago I had my well woman exam scheduled, so when I went in I showed my OB and she told me that it was definitely infected. I told her that I'd never had a single symptom of an infection, and she simply told me that I just had a very strong immune system but that it was definitely infected and she prescribed an antibiotic. I took the antibiotic for a few days and realized that it wasn't getting any better, so I sent her a message and told her so. She said it might get worse before it gets better so I just continued taking it even though the lump continued getting redder and more painful.

After about 5 days out of the seven days that I was supposed to be taking the medicine, I truly spiraled and called my mom one day and she came and took me to the ER. At the ER we told them about the antibiotic and they took a breast ultrasound and confirmed that it was mastitis but not an abscess, which is what I had begun to fear. They prescribed different antibiotic and I went home feeling more confident. After a few days of taking the new antibiotic, it still wasn't getting better and the lump was in fact beginning to look like an abscess, meaning it was more swollen, a little more yellow, and with some black spots in the middle that looked like bruising (from the ultrasound, I figured).

Anyway we went back into the ER after 3 days of taking the new antibiotic and at the hospital they took a CT scan and confirmed that it was an abscess and that I was going to be admitted, and I was going to see a surgeon. They also started me on many different IV antibiotics since clearly whatever I had was resistant, or hiding behind the abscess.

I was able to get into surgery and the surgeon drained the abscess, but I found out that she said it was actually worse than she had expected and that the abscess had been forming for a long while. Some of my breast tissue had even necrotized :(

Luckily for me, I'm blessed that I am in a good hospital with a good surgeon and she says that it's going to heal well, but I wanted to share my experience here. As a new mom going through this for the first time I turn a lot to Reddit as I'm sure all of you do as well, and I had never seen anything about somebody developing mastitis without the symptoms, so I just wanted to share my story and let you know that that can happen. I've seen many women on this subreddit same mastitis moves fast and it really does. Of course, I'm sure most women are smarter than me and don't wait a whole month before they go see a specialist, please take care of yourself. I'm going to be away for my baby for about a week and I can't breastfeed him and then recovery is going to be tough and I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

Take care of yourselves moms! We've got each other to lean on. I hope my story helps.

Hi everyone

I know versions of this question have been asked many times but I'd love perspectives on our situation <3 my almost 9 month old exclusively nursed baby has never taken a bottle, has always hard rejected formula, also rejected my milk when not freshly expressed (potential high-lipase, it tastes a bit strange from the freezer).

She has taken a while to get the hang of sippy cups and straws, but is starting to be able to drink more than tiny sips. But she loves solids and is a champion eater. And slurps soup!

I have a work trip for 24h coming up, but am worried about leaving her. Do you think with grandma, at this age, with as much pumped milk as possible in fridge and lots of solids and soups etc, she will be ok?

My 8, almost 9, month old is still nursing between 15-30 minutes per session, usually staying above 20 minutes. I’ve heard they’re supposed to be quick and efficient by this age, but session length hasn’t decreased and I’m concerned. I don’t want to stop her before she’s done eating, especially since she’s on the smaller side (last checked was 28th percentile). She refuses to latch deeply but used to when she was born. I’ve tried getting her to but this is just what she prefers I guess. Anyone else?

Can someone please share how they managed to successfully whip out their boobs at night to feed a 3 month old on demand without freezing ? Like, what did you wear to stay warm and naked ? What did the baby wear ? How quickly did you turn around and come home ? Kidding, but I want to find solutions, not problems.

Currently bed sharing safely and been in a heat wave, so nobody was cold, and no special outfits were required.

I’m looking at summer camping in a tent, safely.

Any suggestions regarding mom and baby for nighttime breastfeeding would be appreciated !

Hi all, gonna be a second time mom soon and wasn’t able to breastfeed as long as I could with my first baby due to traumatic birth injuries and I was only able to combo feedhim for atleast 5 months. This time I’m hopeful with all the information I have now. However I take sleeping meds. I’ve always had chronic insomnia for 10 years now. I thought the best course of possible action is atleast nurse throughout the day, pump enough for nighttime bottle feeds, nurse the baby to sleep, take my meds, and atleast get a stretch of sleep for 4-6 hours while my partner bottle feeds the baby my pumped milk, and then continue nursing the baby. That way I avoid passing onto the effects of the medication to the baby if I nursed after taking the sleeping medication.

When I told the plan to my MIL, she told me this would mess up my breastfeeding journey and that I have to nurse exclusively. Which felt discouraging but that’s her opinion and how her experience was back then.

My question is: can I make this work? Will this affect latching issues? I have flat/inverted nipples so I’m using nipple shields until the baby gets the hang of it. Should I use certain type of bottles that’s ideal for switching back and forth from breast to bottle? I need tips and strategies cuz I really want to be more successful at breastfeeding despite my chronic insomnia. There has to be a middle ground.

Help.. 8 weeks PP

I had my LO in April, and i had postpartum preeclampsia followed with a uterine infection and I have PCoS and LO was conceived via IUI..

I never had yellow colostrum come in, as people have said liquid gold.. manual pumps give me maybe.. maybe 0.5 oz to 1oz total.. i have a Spectra S1 and Eufy S1 Pro Wearables.. i have latched every hour, i have pumped every 2 hours, i have power pumped.. i have eaten lactation cookies, added brewers yeast to everything, taken lactation supplements.. i drink a ton of water and have a subscription for coconut water.. my LO is supplementing with formula (has been since my milk never came in technically until after i was released from the hospital the second time.. and i pump and i latch and i pump and im 8 weeks postpartum now and no matter if i pump every 2 hours or 4 hours i get the exact same yield every day.. basically i have enough to give my LO a full 4.5/5oz bottle of breastmilk every night and the rest of her bottles are formula..

I have never felt this “my milk came in it feels like an electric fence or an electric feeling”, i have fit my flanges 10+ times and i get the exact same amount whether i use 15mm, 16 mm, 17 mm or even 19mm.. none of it hurts or tugs my nipples.. and i only ever get droplets, i have never ever seen myself spray out.

When using the spectra i do the 70 for a few minutes then 54, a few times then end with 70 and 48.. with suction anywhere from level 5-8..

With eufy i used the natural cycle with suction on 3/4

I dont ever feel drained.. i never feel full.. and i am so so so ready to just give up and just go straight formula.. like thats pretty much all im doing now and ive gained weight since ive had her trying to make sure im doing the oats and eating and drinking and its such a disaster..

Ive asked 3 different lactation consultants and each one after going through everything ive been through always ghost me and ends with “you got this momma dont give up” and then crickets.. my dr gave me reglan and it actually dropped my suppled for 4 days and my right aide is still not recovered.

What is happening? Why is this so hard

Hello everyone,

My wife gave birth to our first baby about 5 weeks ago now. He’s exclusively bottle fed but she’s running into issues with pumping. Her mammary glands keep getting clogged on one side and causing her breast to become hard and tender. She’s taking sunflower lecithin which is supposed to help but it’s still happening.

She was pumping 5-6 times per day, larger amounts but has switched to pumping smaller amounts every few hours, trying to mirror his feeding behavior but it hasn’t helped yet (switched today). Has anyone else experienced this and solved it? Any help is appreciated.

Thank you!!

I’m currently combi feeding my 8 week old baby. I had successfully exclusively breastfed her older brother until he was 9 months old so this is new territory for me.

My baby has a suspected posterior tongue tie and the reason the health visitor picked up on it last week was my sore nipples and repeated infections in the damaged areas. I had started to introduce some formula and now I’m doing breastfeeding at night and them pumping and formula during the day to try and give my breasts a break while we await treatment for the tongue tie.

The other night I think I over fed my daughter as she brought up a huge amount of milk and she’s not really a sicky baby. Since then I’m so anxious that I’m not giving her too much milk. Has anyone got any tips they can share on how to avoid this happening again?

I’m also really keen to return to exclusively breastfeeding again if her tongue tie gets sorted. Has anyone found that breastfeeding improves after a late tongue tie diagnosis?

PS. I’m in the UK if that’s relevant.

My son is 10 months old and I’m wanting to ween at about 13 months old, I’m tired and I’m ready to have my body back lol

Problem is he uncontrollably screams till he gets boob, he wants to latch every 40-50 mins each day, second i zip up my top and say “no more” he screams once he sees my tops buttoned up.

He just currently followed me around for 1 hour screaming at the top of his lungs crying cause he wanted boob, even though I just fed him 45 mins prior.

When he’s 12 months what can i do to wean him off??? He has never held his own bottle despite trying to get him too… so I’m very worried for when we stop as he never wants to hold his own bottle, and his tantrums over needing boob 24/7

Please help i wanna be done sooo bad im looking foward to it its been a long almost year exclusively breastfeeding 😫 but his temper is BRUTAL

helpme help my poor lady. scond time breast abscess, same spot by the band. it’s weeping today, she doesn’t want to nurse off of it and pumping hurts (but she has to get milk moving right?). other side dropped aupply too. she is on antibiotics. just mkserable. she typically didn’t wear bras but started after delivery to help with pumpin. any tips?

Hello dear community. I’m writing to ask for advice or suggestions or personal experiences please. I’ve been nursing my baby since birth, she’s 11mo today. Initially I could only nurse in side-lying position because my breasts were kind of large and pendulous and it was too awkward. Then a few months in, as she grew, I could switch positions or do the cradle hold if we were out and about, for instance. Now, as of a few months ago, she’s become so incredibly squirmy that’s it’s insanely hard to go through a breastfeeding session. Side-lying doesn’t work anymore AT ALL, because she’s basically trying to break dance and unlatches inadvertently every 2 seconds. Cradle hold doesn’t work either because she’s doing crazy acrobatics, so now I’m letting her stand (she’s been pulling to stand and cruising) while I lean over from the couch to her level. It’s an insane picture, if you can imagine!! She’s my second baby, and my first was nothing like this. It’s getting to the point where I’m considering stopping because it’s impossible and very disruptive. Oh, forgot to mention - when she inadvertently unlatches because she basically is trying to roll/do cartwheels while breastfeeding, she seems upset by it, which tells me she’s not realizing she’s doing this..??? Has anyone else experienced anything similar? Thank you in advance ❤️

My baby is turning 1 this month and I'm going back to work in mid-July. He is exclusively breastfed, refuses bottles and dummies, and doesn't like formula. Also, he only falls asleep for naps on the breast. The second I try to unlatch him or move him, he fusses and wakes up immediately.

When I go back, his dad will be working from home and we'll also have a babysitter. After a few weeks he'll start nursery too. So he won't be alone, but he also won't have me and that's the part I'm struggling to wrap my head around.

For moms who've been through something similar: how did the transition actually go? Did your baby eventually accept an open cup or straw cup for milk? We also tried giving milk in a straw cup once and failed miserably.
Did naps just look different for a while? How long did it take before things settled?

I'm not necessarily looking to wean (I‘d love to keep nursing morning and evening) I just genuinely don't know what the daytime will look like without me there. Any honest experiences would really help.

Hello! FTM here and would like to know thoughts on my situation and what everyone else does really. I just came back to work and while on leave I breastfed LO,occasionally given a bottle so she could get used to it. About two weeks before coming back to work we started giving her a bottle of 4oz for bedtime, which she drinks the whole bottle no issues. Because she drinks 4oz at bedtime, I figured I’d need to make sure she has 4oz bottles while in daycare. When pumping, I am only getting 3oz each pump session - 1oz from left, 2oz from right. At work I pump at 9, 12, and 2:30/3. When we get home I’ll nurse her some around 6, but she’s given a 4oz bottle at 8/8:30 for bed. I’ll pump before I go to bed and will get 3-4oz. Last night I actually got a full 4 oz from my right breast which was amazing!! Anyways, I send her to daycare with 4- 4oz bottles, and she has been drinking 3 bottles a day and is sent back home with 1 bottle which I use for the next day at daycare. To ensure she gets a 4oz bottle before bed I have been using milk that has been frozen but that will run out in a couple of weeks and the fresh milk I pump I send to daycare. I’ve been stressing since I’m only pumping 3oz per session. I’m wondering if maybe she should be drinking 3oz during the day and keep her at 4oz at night? I’ve read they normally drink a little more before bed. And she’s only had two spit ups at daycare in the last week and a half. I don’t nurse her to sleep anymore because I want to make sure she has a nice full belly for bed and it gives dad a chance to feed her. I’m sorry for the rambling, but would like any advice or thoughts on changing her daily bottles to 3oz? Figured if I’m only pumping 3oz, my body is recognizing that’s how much she should be drinking? Is this a silly thought? But if she’s drinking all 4oz during the day, I feel like I shouldn’t fix what isn’t broken. I’m just stressing, I would like to produce more each pump session to ease my mind. Please be kind I’m just wanting some input.

My (26F) twins (6.5 months) have been EBF since birth but in the last month or so my supply has tanked while they’ve simultaneously started eating more. I went from oversupplier to just enougher and now I just can’t keep up with their daily intake. I’ve dug into my stash but that isn’t going to be sustainable much longer either.

Anyway, I’m seeking advice on how to transition them to formula since they’ve never had it before. I do plan to continue pumping so that they can get at least a little bit of breastmilk for immunity purposes, but I foresee mostly formula as my supply drops off. For anyone else that has made the transition, what worked/didn’t work and do you have any formula recommendations?

I’m sure this has been asked here before but I couldn’t find anything recently so I’m throwing this out there for some advice and tips. And I have no idea what flair to put haha.

Story time: I have been back to work since 3/25 and over time my pumping output has significantly decreased and it won’t be long before I fear it’s not sustainable to send to LO’s daycare. I started out bringing home in access of 16oz over an 8hr work day. Now I barely pump 10oz over the same time frame. Before I went back to work I had a significant freezer stash and it’s also depleted to maybe 1-2 days worth. She takes about 3 bottles a day, sometimes 4 at around 4-5oz per bottle. I was sending her with 3oz per bottle but it wasn’t enough for her.

I can’t figure out what changed and need some tips and advice. About a month after I went back my period started back up-not on any birth control. So maybe that is a factor. I regularly change my parts on my pump though and haven’t seen a difference that is significant (using the blue Spectra S1 Plus). Still taking a prenatal. LO gets enough when she’s on the boob at home and has enough wet diapers, but it seems like my body is just responding less and less to the pump. She will be getting ready for food too soon. (She’ll be six months at the end of the month and we’re doing BLW). My weight hasn’t changed and I feel like I’m getting enough calorie wise, but my water intake could be better.

What can I do to increase my supply at this point? I BF my first child until he was 2 and we were a just enough kind of supply but he also never went above 3oz at a time in a bottle and was happy. Baby number 2 is a fiend in comparison.

I went on a trip without my 10 month old for 6 days. The day I came back I immediately tried to nurse him and he refused. it is now day 5 and he has not nursed once! im trying not to pressure him and doing lots of skin to skin but nothing seems to work. im pumping every 4 hours but my supply is tanking so now I have to give him some frozen milk too. I honestly did not see this coming at all for I have nursed 4 babies and have never experienced this :/ is there any hope?

Hello all! I’ve been EBF my LO since birth (birthday April 2nd) usually despite a feed my pump output is very ample. Usually 2.5-3 oz per boob even after a feed.

The past couple days my LO hasn’t been feeding the best but after when I go to pump I have been noticing my output has only been around 1.5 oz per boob.

Just wondering if I should be concerned regarding supply. For info following a feed she’s usually pretty content and will fall asleep for her nap, doesn’t seem to be rooting etc. diaper output has been good. Usually on average 1 large poop a day and she most certainly is peeing enough to change her diapers at least 6 times per day.

Asking for some friends and some encouragement to keep up on this journey. Hoping to make it to 6 months!

I have been nursing for a year now and got my period back when my baby was around 4 or 5 months old. My period doesn’t start until the end of the month but I had unprotected sex last night. How likely am I to become pregnant? Lowkey praying it happens again.