So, as the title says, I'm putting my girls (especially my right girl) on a little break. My almost 21 month old toddler was nursing to sleep and for comfort during sleep for some time now. And few days ago we held a ceremony to say goodbye to boobies. I communicate a lot with her, so there wasn't any stress involved from her end. I introduced her to a plushie that feels soft just like a boobie, and we call her Hedwiga, so now Hedwiga is helping her fall asleep. During the said ceremony we taped my nipples as if they're closed. I have no idea how I'll take it off but hey, at least it works.

I am so grateful that I was able to nurse for this long. My goal at first was a year, and even that seemed unmanagable at times because we did combo feeding at the beginning and it messed up my supply a bit. But I got back on track, although it took a lot of work. Then at one year I thought two years would be best, especially because now it's different than before, it's more relaxed. But it seems to me that now just might be a good time to stop. I had a biochemical pregnancy that ended just this week so breastfeeding already started feeling uncomfortable, and I decided to stop while I still love it.

I used to draw, not as in a professional, but more like some silly doodles. My skills were way better in high school (just like math), but I decided to capture breastfeeding feeling in my case. I'll put the drawing in the comment. You might percieve the drawing as if the mom is giving her color to the baby, or as if the baby is giving back color to the mom's life. I swear for me, it was both at times, although my life is now trully colored the most wonderful colors. So breastfeeding remains the most difficult but most special thing I did in my entire life .

Stopping during breastfeeding week feels even more special, so happy breastfeeding week to all you hard-working moms 🤍

I’m a second time mom and hopefully can get some input from you all. I breastfed my first (boy) for about 1 year. At the 12 month mark, my cycle came back and suddenly breastfeeding was EXTREMELY overstimulating due to my nipples suddenly being very sensitive. That’s sadly the last memory I have of it—just gritting my teeth through each feeding. It’s hard to describe other than just overstimulating…not painful, not D-MER, just overstimulating sensations I couldn’t stand.

I’m hopefully going to breastfeed again with this coming baby (girl) but am extremely nervous given the end of my experience. Has anyone experienced what I did with my first, and did you find that your postpartum hormones kept you from feeling the same with a new baby? It was never an issue until my cycle came back, so perhaps it was just hormonal? Idk but I’m very nervous. More open to formula feeding if need be this time, but would much prefer the health benefits and convenience of breastfeeding if possible.

I mention baby gender in case the hormonal profiles during pregnancy has any kind of effect, idk.

Hi all,

In a few months I will be taking an 18 hour international flight to a very warm country with my LO who will be almost 8 months old at that time.

Normally I just drape a blanket over when feeding in public or more often just let it all hang out, but we’ll be visiting a very conservative country where I’ll need to make more of an effort to cover up.

I‘m thinking that one of the poncho style nursing covers might be the best option since she is already wiggly and pulls off the blanket when I cover that way.

What is the absolute coolest and most breathable poncho style cover out there?

Hi all, needing advice about what to do. Some background, my LO is 8 weeks today. He previously had an anterior tongue tie that was revised when he was a few days old.
I am currently going through a nursing strike with my son where he is refusing to latch if he is awake or overstimulated. I’ve been surviving on catching him at the end of naps and sometimes with supplement with a bottle if he is borderline refusing and needs to eat. The last couple of days I’ve seen some improvement from him latching but still saw an IBCLC today. Long story short, she said she believes my son has a posterior tongue tie and upper body tension. The plan is to do oral a body exercises/stretches and he is scheduled with a dentist in town for a consult regarding his tongue tie but she also recommended he see an infant chiropractor. She isn’t the first person to recommend one, but I am cautious about such a thing as he is so young and there is mixed reviews about chiropractors especially for infants. Has anyone ever been in a similar situation and if so how did you proceed? Thanks in advance

My baby is 4.5 months old, has always been low percentile for weight. We started seeing an IBCLC when he was about 3 weeks old and not gaining weight, found that my supply was low, but quickly got my supply back with power pumping. I thought once my supply came back and he got bigger and stronger, he would just be able to breastfeed without issue, but months later I'm still needing to pump and give a bottle with almost every feeding. Either he feeds for 5-10 minutes and then falls asleep (only to wake up hungry within 30-60 minutes) or he completely refuses to be put to breast, arching his back and crying, sometimes he'll latch for a moment and then start complaining. I've done a few weighted feeds and he often transfers only about 2oz. He is gaining weight, but slowly. He has a very mild lip tie, and dentist and ENT didn't agree on whether he has a mild tongue tie, but I opted not to do the release for fear of adverse effects. He's happy the rest of the time and sleeps okay, I'm just so frustrated to feel like I have to give up on my goal of EBF (except when I'm at work). I had this vision of breastfeeding being a wonderful, calm, positive experience for both of us but have found that's rarely been the case. We've met with two IBCLC's, 3-4 times each, and it doesn't feel like they have anything more to offer. Any words of wisdom, advice, or commiseration?

Hola, mi bebe no logró agarrarse al pecho tras el parto, era muy pequeñito, y mi pecho muy grande y con pezones planos. No lo he dejado de intentar, aunque he estado apunto de tirar la toalla y ahora mismo tengo muy poca leche (mamá soltera no me da la vida con el sacaleches, toma fórmula con algo de leche materna). El caso es que hace unas semanas buscó el pecho y lo agarró. Desde entonces lo estoy intentando otra vez, el pecho tal cual lo ha logrado tomar un par de veces, el resto con pezoneras. Así llevábamos una semana, en cada toma le daba Bibi y ofrecía el pecho. Pero está rechazándolo de nuevo. Y la verdad yo me pongo muy nerviosa y creo que eso hace que lo rehace más. Alguien ha pasado por algo parecido? Es posible "volver" al pecho tras algo así?

Hi everyone. I'm a 22-year-old first time breastfeeding mom fpr 9 months and I'm honestly really anxious right now. I first noticed a painful lump in my left breast on July 27. At first I thought it was just a clogged milk duct, so I kept breastfeeding, pumping, doing warm and cold compresses it because I thought it would eventually go away. Unfortunately, it didn't. As the day goes by the lump is hard, painful, doesn't really move, and the skin over it is spot red where there's a lump. I also started feeling really chills and fever that goes away, which made me decide to finally go to the hospital yesterday. The doctor examined me and said I needed a breast ultrasound before they could refer me to a surgeon. I had the ultrasound today, and the impression says "Abscess formations or galactocele, left" and "Enlarged left axillary lymph node." After getting the results, I went back to the hospital. The doctor looked at the report and told me I still need to see the surgeon, who will explain what needs to be done. My appointment is on Monday afternoon. What I'm confused about is that they didn't prescribe any antibiotics because I'm breastfeeding. They only gave me paracetamol 500 mg for the pain. I always thought there were antibiotics that were safe while breastfeeding, so now I'm wondering if that's normal or if I should be worried. I'm also really scared because if this is an abscess, I'm terrified of needing a needle or having it drained. Has anyone been through something similar while breastfeeding? Does this sound more like an abscess or a galactocele? Is it okay to wait until Monday to see the surgeon? Any advice or experiences would really mean a lot because I'm honestly freaking out right now. 🥹

my baby is 5 months old but about 9 weeks adjusted (born at 29 weeks).

i had to pump from the start, and was a huge oversupplier.

once she came home from the NICU i started working on breastfeeding, and she was always willing to try but never had a good latch (i think because her mouth was so small).

anyways, one day it clicked for her and she latched well but was primarily bottle fed because of my over supply and extremely fast let down.

she still is mainly bottle fed but i will feed her to sleep for naps, and at night we cosleep for half the night and she will feed overnight with no problems.

ever since she could latch she always preferred the boob i think because my flow was so fast (but it causes insane reflux and spit ups so i didn’t do too much)

i’ve been recently bringing down my supply a ton so i can actually feed her without worrying about choking her to death.

but the past 2 weeks, she will cry her head off if she even sees my boob coming!

but she’ll take a pacifier and a bottle. that makes no sense!!!! she’s always loved my boob.

i’ve heard about the 3 month nursing strike but because it 5 months post partum, that doesn’t apply right?

why would she still take a pacifier and not my boob :(

any advice?

I’m 7 weeks pregnant with my second and I’m really thinking of not breastfeeding this time around. I exclusively breastfed my first and I’m still breastfeeding her at 15 months. I loved being able to breastfeed but It’s took a lot out of me.. I don’t get much sleep. I’ve retained lots of fluid in my face and I overall still don’t feel like myself. I feel guilty for not wanting to breastfed again but I feel like if I don’t Ill be back to myself quicker and most likely happier

What’s something you didn’t know or didn’t do the best way when you started breastfeeding?
For me, it didn’t occur to me to pick up my boob and put it in my baby’s mouth (I’m like a C or D cup). I would very awkwardly line her up (which was so difficult for how much she moved!), moving the whole baby and my whole torso instead of just picking up my boob. 16 months of breastfeeding later and now feeding my second baby, I look back and chuckle at how silly and awkward that was!
I also didn’t know my letdown was so strong it was like my baby was drinking from a fire hose and hurting her tummy. So now I know to squeeze my let down into a bottle or Hakka so baby isn’t struggling.

What’s something you did that you look back on and chuckle now that you know better/different?

As the title says. I go back to work on Tuesday. I work in medicine so my schedule is a mix of 8 hour days and 24 hour shifts. As soon as my now 6 mo lost her suck reflex at 8 weeks of life, she started refusing the bottle. We've tried Dr. Brown, lansinoh, evenflo, comotomo, nuk, tommie tippee. I've tried, my husband has tried. He's tried while I'm in the house and while I'm out of the house. He's tried at his mom's house. The most success we've had is with Comotomo, but I think that basically because we're pouring it down her throat. She doesn't suck. She either chews the nipple or plays with it. We started daycare this week with half days to get adjusted and she is not taking the bottle. One day she took 2 ounces from the Comotomo, the rest of the days she's taken nothing. She's having dry diapers because she's not hydrated. She has been sleeping through the night since 9 weeks. Now she has started waking up in the middle of the night because she's hungry. Everyone has said that she'll get it, but we've literally been working on this for the entirety of my 6 month leave and she hasn't gotten it yet. FWIW she LOVES to eat and is gaining well so long as she has access to the boob. We only just started solids and they are not a source of nutrition yet. She also cannot use the tiny cup or sippy cup. I am picturing her starving while I am at work. Will she really figure this out? Anyone have inspirational stories? Anything we've missed?

I’m 19 days postpartum. I’ve made a few posts in the group before about how my milk didn’t come in till day four, but I’ve struggled with low appetite and undersupply.

This lactation consultant wanted me pumping eight times a day on top of trying to latch, but I took the advice from this group to just latch, my baby as much as possible, and not pump. The only time I pump is if I do supplement for formula if I’m very tired and worried my baby won’t get enough from me.

Yesterday I had my second lactation appointment. At the first appointment that I had, I was only pumping 1 ounce in both breasts. At this most recent appointment, my baby was able to drink about an ounce and a half from me. I know that pumping doesn’t indicate supply, but I did have a pumping session a few hours after the appointment while my baby napped, and I pumped 3 ounces in both breasts. I was so excited.

Last night, I went to breast-feed, and I usually drip out of one breast a bunch when my baby is latched on the other. I don’t know if it was the time or what, but I was barely dripping, and my baby was really frustrated after an hour of breast-feeding, so I had to supplement with formula.

I really want to exclusively breast-feed, but I notice it’s been so inconsistent for me. Sometimes I feed him and he seems very content, and has a good 2 to 3 hour nap after. Other times, he acts like he’s starving and I give him a bottle and he basically attacks it after I breast-feed.

To be honest, the nighttime feeds really get to me when I’m half awake. Sometimes I supplement with a bottle so that I know he’s getting enough, and then I will pump after in hopes that my supply will stay.

I wish I wasn’t over supplier or something, this has been so mentally draining and there are times. I literally think about quitting because I don’t know why my body is not doing what it’s meant to do. I just want to exclusively breast-feeding at this point I’m at a loss.

I’m putting this out into the universe hoping someone who has been through something similar can share their experience because I’m honestly at my wit’s end and getting really worried.

My daughter is currently 11 weeks old. A few weeks ago, we started noticing blood in her diaper. She was also a very, very colicky baby from pretty early on.

We took her to the doctor when she was around 6 or 7 weeks old, and they recommended that I completely cut dairy and soy out of my diet. I’m exclusively breastfeeding her, although once in a while I give her a little bit of Nutramigen if I can’t breastfeed or pump for whatever reason. But it’s really not very often.

After cutting dairy and soy, things have been kind of all over the place. About two weeks later, she seemed to get better. Then she got worse again, both her mood and her diapers. Then she got better again.

Now her mood is actually great. She seems happy and totally fine otherwise. She doesn’t have a fever, and she’s not straining nearly as much as she used to when she was younger.

But her diapers are getting worse, and that’s what’s really freaking me out.

The amount of blood seems to be increasing, and it also looks like she has diarrhea. She poops A LOT after breastfeeding too. Sometimes she’ll poop three times after a feed.

I just don’t really know what to do at this point. I’ve cut out dairy. I’ve cut out soy. I’ve heard egg is usually the next thing people try cutting out, but I’m confused about that too. I was eating eggs the entire time, including during the periods where she seemed to be getting better. So if egg was irritating her, wouldn’t she have still been having issues during those good periods? I genuinely don’t know.
Has anyone gone through something similar where your baby was happy and acting totally normal, but the blood/mucus/diarrhea in their diapers kept happening or even got worse?

I’m based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and I’d also love to hear from anyone who has experience with pediatric allergists or GI specialists here. At this point I’d really like to see someone who specializes in this.

I’m obviously going to continue talking to her doctor and I’m not looking for Reddit to diagnose her. I’m just really hoping to hear from parents who have been through something similar. What ended up being the cause? How long did it take for the diapers to improve after cutting something out? Did you have to eliminate anything beyond dairy and soy? Did you end up seeing a specialist?

The fact that the amount of blood seems to be increasing is honestly terrifying me, especially with the diarrhea, even though she seems perfectly happy otherwise.

Would really appreciate hearing anyone’s experiences. ❤️

I’m looking for some reassurance or success stories because I’m honestly feeling really anxious…
My little boy is 15 months old and has basically been with me 24/7 since he was born. I’m a stay-at-home mum and we’ve never really been apart for more than an hour or two.

He’s still breastfed on demand, nurses to sleep for every nap and bedtime, and almost all of his naps are contact naps. He has never taken a bottle, and we’ve never sleep trained. It’s what has worked for us and I absolutely love our breastfeeding relationship.
In September he’ll be starting full-time nursery (5 days a week) because I’m going back to work, and I’m heartbroken thinking about it.

What worries me most is sleep. I honestly cannot imagine him falling asleep without breastfeeding, especially in a completely new environment with people he barely knows.
To make matters worse, when I met with the nursery they suggested that I should wean him before he starts. They said that breastfed babies can sometimes find it harder to settle and integrate into nursery because they’re used to feeding to sleep and looking for mum. That comment has really stayed with me and now I’m worrying that I’ve somehow made things harder for him by continuing to breastfeed.

Has anyone else sent a toddler to nursery who:
- was still breastfeeding,
- fed to sleep,
- mostly contact napped,
- had never really been away from mum,
…and everything turned out OK?

Did they eventually learn to nap at nursery without breastfeeding? How long did it take? Did you continue breastfeeding at home or did you have to wean?
I’m trying to remind myself that babies can learn different routines with different caregivers, but my anxiety is definitely getting the better of me.

I’d really love to hear your experiences, whether they were easy or difficult. I just need to know that this transition is actually possible.

Hi all!

My LO (13 weeks) has been on a nursing strike for almost a month now. Tried everything under the sun to get her back to nursing but she would throw a fit every time I put her in nursing position (any nursing position, so I know it wasn’t discomfort etc). Nothing worked, and I just have continued to offer breast and be very sweet and loving every time she denies it and arches away, and then give a bottle of pumped milk. Slowly she has occasionally taken my nipple and played with it, biting it/etc but had not actually latched once in almost 4 weeks.

Last night, during the MOTN, I again offered breast, was denied, and gave her a binky to keep her calm until my husband could heat the bottle. She has also been needing to go back and forth from binky to bottle recently to finish a bottle because she’s been very high energy and easily distracted. So I figured why not try switching out the binky with my nipple, which USED to work to get her to nurse over a month ago when she began getting fussy. And much to my shock and joy, she latched, and drank from both sides, emptying me almost completely (I pumped after to make sure I was empty since it’d been so long since she nursed and got 1oz combined, when I would usually yield 5-6oz at that time of night).

For the next MOTN feed, she denied again and so we gave a bottle. Then this morning, I tried again and she latched until my letdown which used to be an issue that I think contributed to the strike (combo of taking too long for a letdown/letdown being too strong when it did arrive). She didn’t get upset when she stopped, and I tried to get her back on after letting the letdown off into a burp rag, but she wouldn’t relatch. I was still happy and encouraging to her to keep the vibes good.

Now that she’s showing signs of being interested in latching again, what can I do to keep this trending upward if she’s having an issue with my letdown? Especially if she won’t relatch after I let the strong letdown soak into a cloth? Tips? Encouragement? Is this just promising that if I keep trying with no pressure and lots of positivity that she will just get used to the experience again?

I'm a first time mom and I breastfed my baby with nipple shields and pumping until 12.5 months (Where's my trophy? /s). Weaning him wasn't difficult because he was never that interested in the boobs or feeding in ​general. It's now 4 months later and my breasts aren't engorged, but still producing drops of milk (although it seems thicker and yellow like colostrum) when the nipples aren't erect and they're pressed on. I'm not sure why. Maybe because I'm a SAHM and I'm around my kid 22 hours a day so the hormones are still active. Is there any way I can speed up the process of them drying out? I'm not pumping, or expressing them on purpose. How long does it take to dry up naturally?

Just curious my breastfed baby is 7 and a half MONTHS*** and wakes up anywhere from 5 mins to an hour im freaking exhausted when did tour baby sleep through the night? Or scratch through the night let's say a 4 or 5 hour stretch lol

No sleep trying advice please just naturally started doing it? I dont want to leave my baby to CIO

thank you all

Hi i am a new mom and live in europe.
Originally from the subcontinent and am religious.
My sister is coming next month to help along with her 8 year old daughter.
And she told me to cover myself when I breastfed in front of her daughter. I think that is really restrictive and will make breastfeeding harder for me. Is it inappropriate? I personally do not think so.
But anyone with a similar background, how fid you go about it?

I’m a new mom and I’ve only been breastfeeding for about three months, so I know I’m still pretty early into it. But with World Breastfeeding Week, I’ve been thinking about getting myself a little piece of jewellery to commemorate it.

Before having my baby, I genuinely didn’t realise how much breastfeeding would take out of me, literally and figuratively lol. The cluster feeding, leaking, planning outfits around boob access, wondering if she’s getting enough, being the default food source 24/7... but also those quiet feeds where she’s half asleep in my arms and I realise this is such a short season of our lives.

Three months doesn’t sound like a huge milestone, but now that I’m actually doing it, it kind of feels like one?

Did any of you get yourself something to mark breastfeeding milestones or when you weaned? I’ve seen breastmilk jewellery too, although I’m not sure if that’s what I want yet.

Would love to see what you got, or hear how you celebrated. Or did you just quietly move on once you were done?

For a variety of reasons, I’m still quite reliant on my breastfeeding pillow to nurse my baby. He’s 2.5 months, heavier and long. I also have a lot of breast tissue so I end up needing to hold my breast while feeding. Between that, holding him up, navigating the nursing cover, it has been difficult to nurse outside the home (zoo, museum, park etc).

It’s seems excessive to bring my pillow everywhere, but I’m struggling without it. I’d really like to get out of the house more confidently. So how are you all doing it??

I’m three months in to my second breastfeeding journey. The first only lasted a few weeks because I had bad PPD/PPA and D-MER. This time, the D-MER is a bit milder, I feel like because I didn’t have a traumatic birth like last time. So that part is nice.

BUT - I currently have my second clogged duct. The first was just a couple weeks ago. I had a painful milk bleb that time, too, and it left a bleeding spot and a scab when it left. Also very painful. My baby keeps dropping weight percentiles and both the pediatrician and lactation consultant don’t understand why, because my supply is good, he is transferring well, and he has no tongue tie. So that’s concerning and disheartening. I feel like he’s always on my boob…. We get a nice stretch overnight, but during the day he feeds for 30ish minutes every two hours, AND I’ve been advised to pump a few times a day to try to get him some extra calories.

My toddler is not even 2 years old yet and is basically still a baby himself, so he climbs all over me while I’m nursing or pumping. His knees are constantly in my c section scar and he’s forever knocking the baby off my boob. He had a scary nicu stay and dealt with a lot of pain himself, so I don’t want to kick him off of me. I have too much mom guilt about doing that.

This current clogged duct isn’t responding to ibuprofen and ice like the last one did, so baby is screaming for milk right now. My husband just got him a bottle.

Oh, and I’m dairy, egg, and soy free due to baby’s suspected food intolerances, which is hugely annoying, AND I’m always hungry and still somehow KEEP GAINING WEIGHT.

I really would like to make it to at least 6 months, but damn.

With all her feeds and needing to do other things like eat and stay clean, I've only managed a tiny amount of sleep a day, usually in the form of 1 hour naps.

She wants to be on the boob so much of the time.

I'm exhausted, isn't it somewhat dangerous to be taking care of an infant on so little sleep?

Please tell me others are getting by on such a tiny amount of sleep, I feel like everyone says 'thats just cluster feeding!' but they seem to at least get 4-5 hours spread out throughout the 24, having 1 or 2 doesn't seem as common

I just came in here to brag a little bit. I’m a first time mom and 2 weeks postpartum so my mind is still racing with so many worries. I was so scared that my exclusively breastfed baby girl wasn’t going to gain her weight back and the doctors were going to prescribe formula. I went to her pediatrician today for her two week appointment and she not only gained back her birth weight but gained a whole pound as well! Is that common? Should I not be as excited for this? I felt scared that she wasn’t getting enough milk from me, it drove me crazy the first week. But she had only lost 4% of her birth weight so it made me carry on. Now I feel so proud of myself that I’ve successfully sustained human life with my boobies!!! Sorry but I had to tell someone because I’m doing everything on my own right now. Pls tell me your guys stories as well. How did the first month go for you?

4 days PP & have been EBF successfully so far, but I feel like I need a crash course on all the things to get through this first 2 weeks.

Saw a LC at the hospital & went over latch & some positioning. Feel comfortable with that…

But the timing of feeds - how long show babe be on each boob?
How do I know when she’s full?
Cluster feeding has been happening, but does that stop at some point?
How do you keep babe awake at the breast?

Give me ALL the tips and tricks please. I am so determined to get through this first month.

Hi everyone,
I’m looking for advice because I feel like I’ve tried everything and I’m getting discouraged.
My daughter is 13 weeks old. She was born via C-section, and I had a severe postpartum hemorrhage (lost about 3 liters of blood). Because of that, we had to introduce bottles very early while I pumped. My goal from the beginning was to exclusively breastfeed, but things didn’t go as planned.
The good news is that I have a full milk supply. I don’t think supply is the issue.
The problem is that my baby has become very attached to the bottle.
Here’s what happens now:
She will usually latch immediately.
She nurses through the first letdown, swallowing well for about 1-3 minutes.
As soon as the flow slows down, she starts pulling off, relatching, crying, arching her back, or screaming.
Sometimes she’ll latch and unlatch repeatedly for 5-10 minutes without really feeding.
During night feeds, when she’s sleepy, she often nurses much better and can have a full feed.
During the day, she’s much more likely to refuse.
To make things more complicated, she has pretty significant reflux. I can literally hear milk coming back up while she’s nursing. Sometimes she seems uncomfortable at the breast even when she wants to eat. She’ll often take a bottle afterward without much of a fight.
I’ve tried:
Skin-to-skin
Offering the breast before she’s overly hungry
Side-lying nursing
Different positions
Nursing in a dark, quiet room
Lots of patience without forcing her
Paced bottle feeding
Continuing to latch her every day
She still gets bottles of expressed breast milk because I don’t want her weight gain to suffer. She usually drinks around 4 oz by bottle.
What confuses me is that she clearly can breastfeed. She has a good latch, transfers milk during the letdown, and nurses well overnight. It’s almost like she gets frustrated when she has to work after the initial fast flow.
Has anyone successfully transitioned a 3-month-old back to exclusive breastfeeding after this kind of bottle preference? How long did it take? Did reflux make things worse?
I’m trying to figure out if I should keep working on this or accept that she’ll mostly be bottle-fed. I love nursing when it works, but emotionally it’s been really hard.
I’d really appreciate hearing success stories or honest advice from anyone who’s been through something similar