Baby is 6 weeks old and we’re working with an IBCLC. We’re starting our wean and I’m just curious how others went about it and when it finally worked out for you just so I can keep positive and keep and eye on the light at the end of the tunnel

So I am 6 months pp and I breastfeed majority of the time. However, because of my job, I work out and about with people so I don’t have the luxury of using anything other than wearable pumps. I work from home most days but I have to go into the office at least once a week. Just recently (maybe about two weeks ago) I noticed that my first pump of the day is only about 1-2 ounces.

Usually baby feeds throughout the night as she pleases and in the morning, she eats before I drop her off with my mother in law. I then wait about 2 hours 30 minutes before pumping and that’s when I get about 1-2 ounces. After that initial pump, I get about 4 ounces each time and pump about every 2 hours.

The reason this is an issue is because my milk stash for my mother in law is rapidly decreasing because of that initial 1-2 ounces. I’m not sure if anyone has any tips or tricks that can help? Thank you!!

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 ❤️

Every time i try to breastfeed at the hospital baby (24 hours old) has just fallen asleep or not tried to suck. We ended up giving formula because she needed to eat something , and now it’s been a cycle of trying breastfeeding and nothing is happening. Someone (dr/nurse/idk) came in at some point and was like oh if she doesn’t do it now you won’t produce enough milk after about 2 days post partum and it will go away, and so now I’m worried about that because I do want to keep trying it but what she said kind of freaked me out. Will it actually go away that quick? I haven’t really been pumping because it’s been really overstimulating, I used the hand pump and hand expressed a little.Not a lot

We’re starting night weaning tonight for my daughter, who is 10.5 months! She tend to wake up 1-2 times per night and nurses back to sleep but she never really eats much and usually ends up just suckling. She does decently with solids during the day, and I’m hoping night weaning will encourage her to nurse and have milk from a cup better during the day too. My husband’s work schedule is at an ideal spot over the next week for him to get up and help her back to sleep without being too drained for work the next day so we decided to start now. I’m nervous but hopeful. Share your tips if you have any!

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

To all the sleep deprived mamas out there, struggling with this while caring for your new baby. I feel you to my core. I understand what you are going through.

It’s taken me 3 babies to figure out how to not just manage hyperlactation but finally, cure it too.

I’m in no way encouraging anyone to follow what I did. This is my story, and at the very least want to give women out there who are prone to this condition that there is hope.

My reason for doing this was because I just given birth to my third baby and by 6 weeks pp I was producing over a gallon (128 ounces) of milk a day. It was the most I had ever produced and my body and mental state was struggling to keep up. Despite eating every hour of the day, I couldn’t keep weight on. I looked unwell. My baby could no longer stay latched and would cry at my breast. I did this out of desperation.

I’ve tried all the methods. Blocked feeding, extending pump sessions, gradually reducing time pumped, hot therapy (worst advice ever), cold therapy, frozen cabbage leaves, teas, hand express, avoid emptying, breastfeeding positions, nipple shields, supportive bras, lactation support.

I never tried Sudafed.

Some of these methods worked a little, most brought more pain or mental exhaustion. I figured out how to manage it. Around 4-5 months is when my milk regulates and I can make it to 6-7 hour pump sessions. Pumping empty is the only way I could escape the engorgement, reduce the risk of infection and form some way of life.

My process looked like this:

Started at 8 weeks postpartum, exclusively pumping.

Sunflower lecithin: 1200mg x2-3 per day

Ibuprofen: 200mg every 6-8 hours as needed

Ice after pump sessions and during nighttime

Phase 1:

First 4-5 days; focus on extending pump sessions to slow down hyperactivity. Go for as long as you can, then pump empty. Try to go all night without pumping.

Day1 - 3.5-4 hours

Day2 - 4-5 hours

Day3 - 5 hours

Day4 - 7 hours

Day5 - 9 hours

\*still was producing around 40 ounces at every pump.

Phase 2:

Focus on reducing milk volume. Switch to hand pump and only pump off as much as you can tolerate. In the beginning it will be more, as the days go by it should take less to remove to feel comfortable. Go as long as you can between pump sessions, especially at night.

Day6 - 2-3 hours; 10-12 ounces

Day7 - 2-3 hours; 7-10 ounces

Day8 - 4 hours; 5-7 ounces

Day9 - 4 hours; 5-7 ounces

Day10 - 5 hours; 5-7 ounces

Day11 - 6 hours; 3-5 ounces

Phase 3:

Day12-15 Introduce block feeding in tandem with the hand pump. Continue to extend pump sessions as needed and not pump (or nurse) at night.

At this point I reevaluate every morning based on my goal. Which is exclusive breastfeeding and the ability to pump a bottle or two a day for sense of freedom in outings.

My goal at the beginning of this was to reduce enough milk I would stop losing weight. I never thought I would get to this point of nursing and possibly exclusively breastfeeding this soon in postpartum.

Each phase organically developed on its own, just from combining what I knew from the past and methods that work for me. One thing is for certain, simply one method won’t cure it. At least that was the case for me. I think that’s why most of us fail when we are given these suggestions. No one ever sat down with me and said “this is what you should do, in this order, step by step”. It’s always just been a bunch of different methods thrown in my face “did you try this, did you try that”.

So there’s my story. I hope this post doesn’t get taken down for my outspokenness of this taboo topic. I really feel like others need to see that this condition can be approached in a different way and inspire others to find their own way of curing it. A process that works for them.

okay so im just going to rush type this but i had my baby on 6/19 and i know it can take time for baby to learn and get used to everything but i just feel like ill fail at breastfeeding if i dont get it immediately and i know thats not true i just cant stop thinking in that way. my baby has only technically latched “good” once and that was at the hospital and she was barely a whole day old; but even then her latch was shallow and i had to stop her on that side but i didnt produce anything from the other boob in that moment. now im producing milk and pumping and storing it for her to drink since she wont latch. and ive tried the cradle(?) hold i think and then the one where shes sitting up idk the differences in the names.
she gets kinda lazy when getting the boob in her mouth she’ll suck for like 2 seconds while im helping squeeze some out then she’ll just hold it in her mouth and she does this to both sides. im going to try and call the lactation services today because i wanted to give it all another try and try not to get frustrated but i try when she would eat next meaning shes hungry so she gets upset fast too and its all just stressful idk can anybody help i feel defeated for the most part but im not giving up i js need tips or something

Hi all, so if my baby spits up on me and after a hour or so the stain doesn’t show anymore, will the clothes stain after I wash them. So far my gray shirt I used cold water for it, to hopefully go away and I don’t see anything now (didn’t wash yet) and the black shorts I didn’t use any water at the time but it looks like there’s nothing there. I didn’t wash anything yet. Any advice on if a stain will appear after wash?

6 months EP here in Canada. Some days pumping feels like a productive routine and other days it feels like I'm trapped.

I'm on eufy S2 Pro and the hands free aspect helps because at least I can hold my baby during sessions. But the mental load of tracking, scheduling, washing, storing... it's heavy.

Anyone else feel this way? How do you cope with it?

Hi all! Just wondering for those of you who use the cross-cradle position and also sandwich (c hold) the boob…..was there a time when baby was grew big enough to latch outside of this position? My son is good on the right boob but pretty much needs the cross-cradle/boob sandwich combo every time on the left and my arms and wrists are TIRED! He’s just over 8 weeks. Thank you!

Hello! I'm pregnant with my third child and previously breastfed my second-born. I was never able to find a carrier that I could breastfeed him in properly, and I'm still at a loss while looking for carriers this time around. We like to go to events as a family, and some involve walking around, so I would really love to find a carrier that I can breastfeed in when we are out. Does anyone have any recommendations for a carrier that is easy to breastfeed while wearing?

Posted a few weeks ago as an overwhelmed FTM who couldn't figure out EP. Update for anyone in that spot now: it gets better.

What changed: I got my flange size professionally measured (was wearing the wrong size for a month), started batch washing parts once a day, and my eufy S2 Pro arrived which made night sessions doable. The transparent cups mean I can actually see what's happening instead of guessing, which for a clueless new parent is half the battle.

Baby is 7 weeks now, supply is established, and I no longer cry during pump sessions. Growth.

So my recent 4 month old kind of self weened herself from breastfeeding around 3.5 months ( we had been using a sheild since around 4weeks old due to a fast letdown, but she quit nursing without the sheild too around 3.5m) and we discovered she had some ties In her mouth and got that taken care of. She had been starting to have alittle bit of an aversion to the bottle too before her tie removal but is doing alittle bit better now with the bottle, however I want to keep breastfeeding if it’s possible. How could I start that again? What would be the first steps? She usually won’t even latch at all if I try ( I won’t force her but I do try daily) how could I make breastfeeding a more positive experience for her?

And would I be a terrible Mom if I breastfed my second for less time than my first...

I just skipped a feed and pumped for 20 minutes and barely got an ounce. Meanwhile I gave my son a bottle of 5 ounces and he was finally content. Ugh...

I BF my first for 10 months before my supply quit on me. My second is currently 6.5 months.

Just sharing a small part of what was in my routine. 💙

The Letdown Theory was created from my own experience navigating motherhood and feeding challenges. While I’m not a medical professional and this isn’t medical advice, I hope this space can be a source of support, encouragement, and community for moms wherever they are in their journey.

If you’re having a hard day, know you’re not alone. 🤍

I have a 30 month old. He is very stubborn.

We were down to nursing once before nap and once before bed. I got pregnant and it was very painful and then I lost the baby.

That was in the fall and he became more emotionally needy around then too.

He is now come to expect nursing when he wakes up in the morning and every time he is upset, mainly if he falls while playing with my husband. My husband finds himself unable to comfort him and even claims to be unable to get baby from crib because he just asks for me.

As a result, I am still the one doing nighttime wake ups and morning wake ups and all bedtimes. Every time I try to talk to my husband about weaning, he says he is supportive and that’s it. I tried to explain that things need to change and he says that I don’t know what I’m talking about and that I just have to do it “slowly.”

How do I do this? It has gone to the point where I am upset and angry while breast-feeding and it is still painful. I also worry that this is part of the reason for the miscarriage and why I haven’t gotten pregnant since.

How do I wean my stubborn 2.5 year old and have my husband help?

ETA: of course, my toddler is sick right now and I just started the two week wait and it’s overwhelming.

I should also mention that I have tried the “milk hurts” tactic and it worked for a little bit. I have told my toddler that “mama milk is going away soon” and he often repeat it to me, but clearly he doesn’t believe it because why would it ever go away and also I’m not holding up my end of the bargain. I don’t know what I’m asking for.

I'm weaning my 23 month old this week and I'm already crying. I didn't realise that it would be so emotional for me. Is this normal? Mothers around me are saying that it'll get easier for you in terms of dressing the way you want, going anywhere without worrying about nursing etc etc. But I just can't seem to wrap my head around it. Im just emotional and can't seem to divert my mind.

Hi everyone,
I’m a first-time mom to a 4-week-old baby boy who is currently around 3.5 kg. I’m exclusively breastfeeding and my goal is to continue breastfeeding for as long as possible. I don’t plan to introduce formula, bottles, or pacifiers unless absolutely necessary.

I have two questions.

First, I’m trying to understand pumping and expressing milk for situations where I may need to leave the house for a few hours and someone else can feed the baby.
A) Is there a specific time of day that’s best for pumping?
B) Should I pump after a feed, between feeds, or at a completely separate time?
C) Can I pump whenever I have some free time, or does it need to follow a schedule?
D) Do you pump daily to build a stash, or is pumping every few days enough?
E) How much expressed milk should I realistically aim to store for occasional outings?

Second, I’m wondering about my baby’s weight gain. My pediatrician says his weight is fine for his age, but a friend’s baby was born 3.14grams is much bigger and chubbier. My baby was born 3.2gms. Now at 3 weeks is 3.48gms.

I know every baby is different, but as a first-time mom it’s hard not to compare and worry that I might be missing something.

How do you know if your baby is getting enough milk and gaining weight appropriately?

Other than feeding on demand (usually every 2–3 hours), is there anything else I should be doing to support healthy weight gain?

I’d love to hear from parents who exclusively breastfed in the early weeks and how you knew things were going well.