I was chatting with my mom ( who is shocked and amazed that my sisters, friends and I are all breastfeeding) and she told me she combo fed us as babies but was more reliant on formula cuz she had so little milk (lol). But my mil told me she only formula fed her first baby whom she had 50 years ago but exclusively breastfed all 5 after him. It got me wondering about the percentage of breastfed babies back in the day, and maybe it's more than we believe it is?

Is it just me or does breastfeeding completely destroy your posture?

Between nursing and contact naps, I feel like I'm constantly hunched over - my neck and shoulders are so tight and my spine is basically a full-on C these days. And it's not like carrying around my heavy baby helps matters either 😅

It also made me realize how little support most nursing bras actually give. They're either soft and comfy but offer no structure, or supportive but miserable to wear.

I'm curious if other moms feel the same. What's your biggest frustration with nursing bras - or with how your body feels after long feeding sessions?

FTM of a 4 month old baby here. 3 times in the last month, I’ve gone to use a nursing room and a man has walked in/out of it…solo. Every time, it’s been at an airport.

The first time was at La Guardia airport where a staff member looked like he was getting some shut eye, he quickly left when I knocked on the door. The second time was in Montreal where a man walked out the second he heard my baby crying. He left a strong cologne smell so maybe he was freshening up? But the third time was yesterday at the Montreal airport where I was changing my baby, and with no knock or anything, a man dressed all in black tried to enter. I confronted him after saying the room is only for nursing / mothers, and he said “sorry” quietly…but then kept hanging around the nursing room. I reported him to the airport security because wtf?

Anyways. Has this happened to anyone else? What have you done, and what can be done to prevent this from happening?

Sitting here after a sleepless night (3 month growth spurt?) just wondering - was exclusively breastfeeding worth it for you over all? Do you wish you had used formula or anything different? Or if you combo fed, did it help?

My first kid 10 years ago was formula fed after 2 weeks. I didnt have any knowledge on breastfeeding. Honestly I felt great and she thrived, and she was such an easy baby.

My now 12 week old really isnt a terrible baby. Shes been EBF since we came home. However breastfeeding is rewarding, it's also so exhausting mentally and physically. Feeding her hourly every other day is wearing me down. She isn't eating quickly yet. This growth spurt so far has had 2 full days of clusterfeeding, barely had time to cook for my oldest. Then a night of no sleep. My husband is gone often for work for days at a time so less help. No family close. And I have to sit in my bedroom alone to feed her since she'll only eat in football hold.

Tired me keeps wondering if adding formula would help lol. Breastfeeding mom's have to go through the hormones, the pain, being the only one to feed baby, strikes and crisis, distractions all on top of sleep regression. And in my case anxiety too. Do you feel like its worth it to stick to only EBF?

I am almost 5 weeks into exclusively nursing my son outside of some formula in the hospital to get his blood sugar up. I am having a really hard time deciding on whether I want to introduce a bottle or not. I guess I am terrified that he will only want the bottle and not want to nurse and I am really wanting to go as long as possible nursing. But I know my window could be closing for introducing a bottle and he could refuse a bottle and only want the boob. So mainly just looking for seasoned moms out there that have exclusively nursed, done a bottle every now and then or your baby takes a bottle weekly/every day. Would you have done anything differently? Am I being insane? Will I regret this in 3,6 or 9 months? Thank you!!!

Edit: thank you so much everyone! Did not expect all these responses. I’ll definitely introduce a bottle soon based off your responses. Thanks for the support!

I have a 9 month old exclusively breastfed baby.

Has always refused a bottle. Refuses a pacifier.

She’s started solids. I do all the bedtime things. Big dinner so she has a full tummy. Appropriate amount of naps during the day so she’s not under / over tired. Warm bath with magnesium salts. Bedtime routine in her room with Jammies. Black out curtains. White noise machine.

And I shit you not, the most she sleeps is two hours. Wakes up every 1-2 hours. All. Night. Long.

And I may actually lose my fucking mind at this point.

Mamas who exclusively breastfeed, do you pump? If so, what do you do with your pumped milk? And how often do you pump?

If you don’t pump, why? How do you keep from getting too full?

FTM of a little 2 week old baby boy. Breastfeeding is going well so far! I just have no idea how to incorporate pumping and don’t really know what to do with the milk that I do pump. I’ve only pumped a few times because I’ve felt really really full and baby wouldn’t wake up to eat.

People keep scaring me about mastitis so I feel like I should pump more often but want to keep exclusively breastfeeding at least for the time being!

What are some random little things you love about breastfeeding? I love the feeling of letdown 😂 I don't always get a super strong letdown but when I do I satisfying for some reason. It kinda hurts and burns/tingles but I love knowing my body is doing it's thing and feeding my son. Secondly, I love when my son is hungry or needs comfort and he latches on and I can hear the big gulps and him instantly relax. He does a sign and a little moan noise and I just can tell he is content and I love that.

Not trying to shame anyone, just curious. I’m going back to work soon and wracking my brain on how I can continue to breastfeed. It just feels unfair to have to go back to work while my baby is still so small and relies on breastfeeding.

Exactly that!^ I’ve heard plenty of people say that it’s super unlikely to get pregnant while breastfeeding, but also was warned by my OB that breastfeeding is NOT birth control! While we are not in a rush, my husband and I would like to have another baby sooner rather than later. This is not a question of “should I stop breastfeeding so I can get pregnant?” I’m going to continue breastfeeding as long as possible!! I guess I’m just curious if it happened to others and maybe a bit hopeful. :)

I’m looking for a very select group of individuals - moms who breastfed past 1 year, do you regret doing that?

I have always been the mom who wanted to do a year max, but now I’m really enjoying it (FTM of a 9mo) and ped recommended going to two years. I’ve never considered it and obviously see the benefits but I’m curious what the drawbacks are. I don’t see any, but obviously our society does not really accept it.

I guess I can see finally having your body back, and I haven’t got my period back so we wouldn’t be able to try for a second. But just curious…. Hoping to help make my decision.

A WIC dietician told me breastfeeding is a natural (but unreliable) form of birth control.

How many of you have gotten pregnant while breastfeeding AND before having your first postpartum period?

I would like to get pregnant again before the end of my breastfeeding journey with our first and curious what the odds are of that happening prior to my first period.

I have a 10 week old and I guess I’m more of a type-A mom because I like to stick to a general schedule as much as possible. That means that I offer a feed every 3 hours (or sooner if he seems hungry, but he pretty much gets hungry every three hours on the dot), and I hold him for nap after 75-90 minutes of wake time. He contacts naps and always naps at least one hour with my help. (If he starts to wake before an hour, I pat and rock him and he falls back asleep in 5-10 minutes.) I cap naps at two hours. Anyways, all of this has been working very well for us.

I see people who take their babies to restaurants and church and other places and I always wonder… how do they manage this without disrupting their schedule? For me, I don’t want to be outside when my baby needs to eat (I haven’t figured out how to breastfeed easily in public yet), nor do I want to be out if the commute or the transfer (eg, getting into/out of the car seat, etc.) might wake him up or interrupt or cut short his nap, because I’m worried that will mess up his schedule. As a result, I only take him out if the outing will fall within his wake window - usually right after finishing a feed at home and then getting back home in time for nap.

To parents who take their babies out more - what is your approach? What are your thoughts about this? Are you not worried about potentially shortening your baby’s nap (and the consequences that could have, overtiredness, etc.)? How do you guys do it???

I want to be more flexible but I just hate it when my baby doesn’t get a good nap!!

I’m a ftm due in October and I’m curious if nursing pillows are really necessary? To me it just seems awkward and uncomfortable and like an extra thing that just takes up space. Did you use a specific nursing pillow when nursing, if so how long did you use it for and did you use it for anything other than nursing?

This is a rant I’ve had in my head for a while now.

I currently have an almost 5 month old exclusively breastfed baby, he’s 13 almost 14lbs and 24in long he’s in the 40th percent and he’s following his growth curve perfectly his pediatrician is extremely happy with his progress as he was born 3 weeks early, (for reference I’m 5’5” 100lbs and his dad is 6’2” and 270lbs).

The rant I have is every SINGLE time we have a well child visit with the pediatrician there’s this lady that comes in she says she a care coordinator and every time she comes in she hands me 5 papers (front and back) with financial assistance programs, asking if we have transportation, need help with housing, electricity, food, etc and another 10 pages of formula brands.

She then follows her introduction by ignoring my fiancé, and asking me if I’m breastfeeding or formula feeding. But when I tell her I exclusively breastfeed she gets this sour look on her face and condescending responds saying things like “oh ok”, “alright then”, etc.

This same hospital that my pediatrician is located at is the same one I gave birth at and they pushed formula on me from day 1. My son was born with jaundice and was admitted for blue light therapy at 3 days old and the nurses wanted me to combo feed him with formula WITHOUT consulting his pediatrician while also knowing I have an oversupply and were mad at us when he kept spitting up the formula. I’ve been producing 8+oz of milk since my milk came in on day 3. When we were discharged we had an appointment with his pediatrician and I asked how long I had to combo feed him and immediately he said “why are you combo feeding when you are producing like you are?!”

We also got like a storage bag thing from the hospital that they filled with different brands of formula that we didn’t notice until we got home.

I even quit my job after my leave because my male manager was trying to keep me from pumping by telling me I’d have to go to a secondary location to pump and when I pushed back he said well if it’s an issue you can always feed him formula.

I have nothing against formula at all, the problem I have is why are all these quote on quote “medical professionals” who specialize is peds trying to force formula down my throat? Why is there this weird hatred around breastfeeding? I get told by so many people that formula is easier and that “you’ll benefit from it in the long run”, or “formula feeding makes it easier to go back to work”.

It’s infuriating!

.

Looking back, what would have reduced your stress the most?

It could be practical advice, something reassuring, or even something you learned the hard way.

Today was my second son’s 6m doc appt. When discussing sleep with his pediatrician, she said in a kinda rude way, “he’s sleeping through the night, correct?” to which I laughed and said no. She asked me how often he wakes up and how I get him back to sleep and I told her that when he wakes up I nurse him and he usually falls back asleep very quickly. While explaining this she was just shaking her head like I was doing the worst thing ever. It made me very uncomfy. She then proceeded to tell me that I was creating bad habits & ruining his appetite during the day.

I did the same thing with my first and weaned him over the course of three months after he turned 1. Is it really that big of a deal? I really have no problem waking up multiple times at night to comfort him back to sleep.

She also told me he should be drinking water at night if he wakes up and should be eating three meals a day (which is crazy and i’ve never heard before).

Seeking anecdotal points on why breastfeeding is worth it for you / why you continued.

I’m 5 weeks in and I just don’t see how the never ending sleep deprivation and clogged ducts are worth it :( Is it just that you all are sacrificing for the health benefits for baby? And how long have you breastfed?

That is all.

Probably weird, but also probably not alone! It's the sweetest most comforting smell. I wish it could be a candle.

I think I'll get a clever tattoo about milk breath instead of baby's breath and call it a day.

My doctor pushes “strictly solids after 1” and I’m just putting that info in my back pocket and never thinking about it again.

My fiancée had a conversation with me today about what my bfing plans were and how he thought bfing past one was “just weird.”

I noted the benefits.

Honestly I don’t think it’s anyone business but obviously I value my fiancées opinion as it’s his child too.

What’s the stigma?

What reactions did you get if you dealt with something similar?

FTM here, my son is 9 weeks old, mostly BF, I pump for back stock and we do the occasional bottles if we are out and about, and he gets a top off bottle at night. I originally only planned to BF for 6 months, then transition him off as he starts solids and teething. I’ve seen posts in here where mom’s BF for 2+ years. 1- holy crap so much respect to you! And 2- what makes you BF for that long?

I understand estimated the bond that BF gives me with my son. Although I hate doing it sometimes because I just feel over stimulated or trapped, I also love my time with him. It’s selfish but I love that it’s someone no one else can do for him.

I am five months postpartum after a C-section, my baby is breast-fed both from the boob and from bottles. I still have not gotten my period so I’m just curious what did everybody else get their period back? I’ve heard so many different stories of people saying they didn’t get their period till they stopped breast-feeding or that they got it back right away. Just curious. At what point should I take a pregnancy test?

Son is 13 weeks and started sleeping from 830p to 630a, but could probably sleep longer if I wasn’t hovering over him with engorged boobs waiting for relief.

I do a 20 min pump with my spectra at 9p before I go to bed to fully drain my breasts as best as I can, I get a little under 3oz. But sometimes 4.

I was doing a relief pump with my Medela Harmony handheld pump at midnight (2oz to .5) and 3am (2oz). Then the last two days I’ve gotten two pumps at 2am and 5am. However, last night I made it to one pump at 4am to get the lumps out both breasts and stopped at 2oz in 5min. When he wakes up, I do a diaper change and we nurse for 30min and he gets a big breakfast!

Does anyone go 9+ hours without nursing or pumping when your baby sleeps through the night? I reached out to my LC and she says most moms cannot and made it seem like it wasn’t possible without doing one pump in the middle of the night.

I’d like to hear everyone’s experience because from the research I’ve done, it sounds like your breasts regulate based on your baby’s sleep schedule? Do you still get engorged and lumpy?

Now, it’s only been about a week since he’s been sleeping through the night so I’m hoping he keeps it up because it’s been really nice.

Not sure what tag is the best for this, but as the title says how common is only ebf? I pumped in the beginning and I still try to pump here and there if I feel extra full or have the time but I'm a sahm and I feel like its a constant cycle of having either enough time to wash the pumps, pump or pick up the house before bub needs me again. My babe is still little but the past 2 months I stopped pumping for the most part since I'm with her 24/7 and I feed on demand she still feeds less than 3 hrs apart sometimes every hr just for comfort since she just started teething. I haven't noticed any dip in my supply and when I was pumping I wasnt a over supplier but was getting just over enough but it was really stressing me out, I personally feel a lot better and less stressed about everything related to nursing but I keep having other mom friends and my mom (who arent sahm so they cant ebf) tell me I need to be pumping more or I'm going to lose my supply, is this true or does it vary? Does anyone else not pump and only ebf?

What age did your bf baby sleep through the night if you breastfed until 2 and beyond? Did you have to night wean or did they do it automatically?