@mrszoobear I am not well-endowed (baby A cup here) but I also hoped to bf my first. It didn’t work out as well as I’d hoped and I was disappointed. I’m trying again this go round but if it doesn’t go well again I plan on pumping and bottle feeding if I can.
ETA- Pinterest is full of bf blogs! I’m already reading some to try and prepare myself for whatever may happen.
Does anyone have any experience breastfeeding after a reduction? I am nervous to breastfeed I feel like it’s a whole other field on top of a new baby. I had a reduction when I was about 21 and they gave me a 50/50 chance to bf after. My doctor now said I pretty much just have to wait and see hat happens lol.
@mrszoobear I was a G pre-baby as well, now I think I’m an H or I (I’ve been wearing the same nursing bras since he was born and he’s almost 2 now so I forget). I had some trouble breastfeeding at first but it had nothing to do with breast size. The only difference I’m aware of is that there are some positions that don’t work as well. For instance side-lying was impossible when he was small because my boob was bigger than his head. Otherwise it’s just things like being unable to wear nursing tanks and it being nearly impossible to find a bathing suit top that doesn’t look pornographic 😂
@mrszoobear I am a G cup too, but I don’t feel like my boobs are super big (32G). But I had no problem breastfeeding my 2nd child. My first completely refused to latch, and I don’t respond well to pumps, so we have up after about 2 months.
@ktmaesim I haven’t had a reduction, but I had a breast tumor and there were concerns about nursing on that side, but it worked out perfectly well.
@mrszoobear I'm a G/H cup as well. The one thing I will say is that breastfeeding is a two handed job. I can't just walk around with baby in one arm attached to the boob while I do other things! I have supply issues, but no problems related to size.
@ktmaesim I had a reduction a few years ago, between my third and fourth babies. Obviously I should have waited Actually though, baby number four was the best breastfeeder of them all, and I had the best supply with him, so the surgery didn't affect me at all. Hopefully you find the same thing!
Any STM have luck breastfeeding their second after an under-supply with the first?
With my first, I did absolutely everything possible (EBF, power pump, supplements, tons of water, oats, bars etc.) and my daughter was a fantastic, comfortable nurser but I purely never made enough and she was losing weight. My boobs never grew with my first pregnancy and I always made milk, i think just from a volume standpoint they didnt hold more than 3oz. My breasts havent grown yet this pregnancy either so am wondering if I should even hold out hope to not have an under supply this time.
@bakerstreetboys, @holly321 and @CapricaAndrea - thank you all for sharing! It's nice to know it can be done but that it might be harder then the TV ads make it look. I was hoping for the ability to be able to do something else while breastfeeding so it's a nice reality check to find out some of those positions wont work.
I am pretty small, however I have already gone up a cup size. I haven't been able to BF in the past due to medicines that I have been on. This time I am going to be 100 percent med free, and I fully intend on BFing.
I think I am going to take a BF class as well because I want to stick with it.
I’m still breastfeeding my 13 month old after a few unsuccessful attempts to wean. Has anyone in our group nursed while pregnant or have any tips to wean? 🙃
@agrhicks I'm currently in the process of weaning my 17-mo. I will admit, it helps that he's older and had decreased down to just a short session in the morning. We had made it an effort to not include it as part of his bedtime routine because DH puts him to bed while I'm working a few nights every week and we wanted to be super consistent with his routine. I'm basically doing a "don't offer, don't refuse" approach. We skip it in the morning and go directly to breakfast. Later in the day if he comes up and acts like he wants to nurse I will, but that's only happened about twice in the almost 2 weeks I've been trying to wean. He gives up fairly quickly because there isn't much there at this point. Not sure where you are on your nursing journey, but I hope this helps!
Has anyone else had issues with pumping? I didn’t have any issues with supply, but I just don’t respond well to pumps, I tried different ones and sizes. I do a bit better with manual pumps, but that gets tiresome.
@holly321 Yeah, I never had great luck with pumping. One side was ok, but the other one was almost nothing. I tried a few different sizes of flanges as well, and it didn't seem to make a difference.
Work storage question - at my work most people pack lunch so the fridge has very little room/space. When I start pumping, can I just use a small insulated lunch bag to store my milk bags in? Any other suggestions for milk storage at work with minimal space?
I've being reading Emily Oster's new book "Crib sheet" which covers breastfeeding and is a whole guide to parenthood from birth to preschool. I'd highly recommend it! She is the person who also wrote "Expecting Better".
@holly321 The only pump that worked for me was the hospital grade one, at least for the first few months. I rented it for every baby, and then when I needed to use it less, I could get away with my Medela one at home, which is basically one below hospital grade.
@mrszoobear if your office has a dedicated pumping room they may have a small fridge in there just for storing your milk daily. If it doesn’t you could ask if they could get one. 2 of the offices I works in while pumping last time had dedicated fridges, my float office did not. In each I still kept my milk in a small insulated bag. Madela makes one specifically to hold 4 4oz bottles. I didn’t get a ton when pumping so this was typically enough space for me.
@holly321 I exclusively pumped for my son for over a year as he had some medical needs that prevented nursing. It might help to try different brands. I got on really well with the Spectra.
@ashorkey - thanks for the suggestions but my company is hella cheap and only accommodates breast pumping at work because they have to. The room provided to the last girl who pumped at work was the office break room with a sign up when she was using it. It doesn't even lock. I'm going to ask for a different room as we have several available now (they let several people go) when I start. But I can guarantee you they won't provide an once of extra convenience like a mini fridge.
I have nursed all 3 of mine to toddlerhood. The best advice I can give is every single baby is different. Don't let one experience make you feel like the rest will be the same. Read, read, read and prepare yourself for the issue that can arise and how to fix them. The womanly art of breastfeeding is a good resource. In the very beginning DO NOT SUPPLEMENT. So many peds are misinformed and tell you to give formula until your milk comes in. That is the worst thing you can do while establishing your supply. (I know there are always instances that people many need to supplement, just try to research the issue and talk to your Dr about it before you do). Once you give birth nurse often( every 2 to 3 hours or sooner if baby wants) and as long as baby wants. Stay hydrated and get a second opinion from a lactation consultant while your in the hospital if you are having doubts. I have big boobs and working through engorgement was difficult but not impossible. You just have to find what positions work well for you.
@holly321 a medical grade pump will be better than a regular commercial pump. Sometimes insurance will let you rent those. And a hand-pump is also going to be more effective. If you're comparing pumping to BFing though, your baby will almost always be more successful at extracting milk vs a pump. You may only get 1-2 oz from a pumping session when your baby is nursing 4ish oz.
Married to DH for 6 years (together for 16) DS born 12.13.14 DD born 10.15.16 BFP 1.24.18, MC 3.13.18 BFP 4.25.19, EDD 12.31.19
My son had a hard time latching and I wore a nipple shield while BFing him for 17 months. When I returned to work around 6 months PP, I felt like my supply dipped quite a lot. I had a bad experience with a daycare provider over-feeding him and going through my 3-month stash in a month. So I had to supplement with donor milk and do a handful of things to increase my supply to rebuild. Power pumping really helps. I also wore Freemies which would collect milk on one breast while nursing on the other (similar to Hakaa which is now better IMO). I also made lactation cookies in bulk, as well as lactation smoothies and lactation bites. I pretty much smelled like maple syrup for months because of the ingredients in lactation treats. But I was so damn proud to have BF'd him for so long. He weaned because I started to dry up when I was pregnant with DD.
With DD, she had also a hard time latching and I had to wear a nipple shield. She'd also throw up after almost every feeding, which was incredibly stressful. This time around I felt a bit more informed and went to a lactation consultant on the regular. We learned she had a lip tie, and had that corrected via laser at 8 weeks old. Literally 2 minutes after her tie was corrected, she latched perfectly without a shield. We never had a problem again and she EBF'd until she self-weaned at 16 months old.
Hindsight being 20/20, we probably should have had my son checked for a tie for his latch troubles. But we were new parents and had no idea that was even a thing. **If you suspect your child has a tie, go to n IBCLC/Lactation Consultant, Pediatric ENT or a Pediatric Dentist. Regular Pediatricians are NOT trained to recognize ties and often times will fail to diagnose it. Insurance usually covers the correction.**
Married to DH for 6 years (together for 16) DS born 12.13.14 DD born 10.15.16 BFP 1.24.18, MC 3.13.18 BFP 4.25.19, EDD 12.31.19
Hi all, I'm a FTM currently doing some breastfeeding research. I will return to work 3 months postpartum, so I am planning to pump at that time and I hope to feed my baby breastmilk until 1 year if possible. For moms who have breastfed and pumped, did your baby have a hard time switching between breast and bottle? And when did you first begin introducing the bottle? I'm not sure if I should focus on breastfeeding at first and then transition to the bottle closer to when I'll return to work, or if it will be easier on my baby to intro the bottle from the start. Thanks!
@blueskychicago12 my son had no issue with using a bottle when I breast fed, but I have heard other moms say they had issues with their baby.
I didn’t wait until I returned to work before giving a bottle. He had one once or twice when Dh and I had gone out and my mom watched him, and I would give him one here and there in the last few weeks of my maternity leave, but he never fought it.
@blueskychicago12 my DD never had any issues with going from breast to bottle- she also used a paci so no nipple confusion here. We did use tommee tippee bottles which have a wider nipple base and are more "breast" like....there are other bottle brands like that too out there. I wouldnt wait too long to introduce a bottle because sometimes they will refuse the bottle all together, I've had a couple friends this happened to.
@mrszoobear I’m and Fish cup. I highly recommend the football hold. It was the most comfortable position for us given my size. Otherwise I didn’t have any issues. Other than extra back pain due to size and weight of the boobies.
@blueskychicago12 my daughter didn’t like to take bottles from me, but would from others. We waited until 6 weeks to give her a bottle, she was confused at first but didn’t decline it at all. I didn’t keep a huge stash and didn’t start pumping until about 6 weeks. Slowly my stash grew once she started eating more solids but I don’t think it ever went above 60oz. In the event you don’t get a lot pumping, don’t get discouraged! I only ever produced 12-15 oz between 3 sessions and it was plenty for the next day!
@blueskychicago12 I went back to work 12 weeks PP with DS1. We started using a bottle some around 6 or 8 weeks I think per the lactation consultants recommendation. He took bottles fine.
@blueskychicago12 I went back to work after 18 weeks. She took it when she was just a few weeks, but I found bottle feeding a pain and didn't really keep it up unless we had a family member babysit. I started giving her bottles more regularly a few weeks before going to daycare, and I had trouble getting my daughter to take a bottle. She wouldn't take it, and it was a battle, but we got there in the end. I was super nervous but the pediatrician said that she was not going to let herself go hungry, so to just tough it out.
I highly recommend that everyone get a lactation consultant as soon as you get home from the hospital. Mine came to my house, did a feeding with me, and weighed my daughter to know how much she was getting after each side. She also showed me multiple ways to hold the baby. It helped demystify the whole process, and gave me so much more confidence. Also, while you pay out of pocket, it is reimbursed by insurance per the Affordable Care Act, so it is 100% covered after a small deductible (can't remember what it was).
In terms of supplies, I recommend that you get a hospital grade pump if you are struggling with the regular one. Insurance should cover it (again, due to the Affordable Care Act) and you can have the hospital one at home and leave the other one at work. For storage bags, I liked Lansinoh and Nuk (Medela leaked all over the place).
I would also recommend that you start pumping and storing milk well before going back to work, so you have a stash built up. My lactation consultant said that pumping in the morning, after the first feed, was most effective because morning is when your supply is highest.
If you have to travel for work or other reasons without baby, check out mamava for pumping in the airport and Milkstork for shipping your milk. Also, allow yourself extra time for ridiculous security checks on your pumped milk, because TSA acts like the pump and breast milk are highly suspicious potential bomb material.
Basically, they do all the heavy lifting when it comes to getting your breast pump through insurance. I plan to use them to get ours. It'll make life a TON easier.
Is anyone familiar with Bellababy breast pumps? Just found one brand new in its box at a thrift store and it seems great. Any reason to not use this one? I think I can get one through insurance but if I have one used I'm totally happy to use it. Would love your thoughts! Amazon reviews are pretty good, but it's not a brand I'm familiar with.
Has anyone used a Haakaa? I've been reading about them and moms seem to rave about them. They're really affordable, so I'm thinking of getting one addition to a pump, but I can't say I completely understand what they are used for and how.
@blueskychicago12 basically I used to haakaa on the opposite boob I was nursing on to catch the letdown- I could probably get a couple extra ounces that way. I never really used it as a pump on its own.
@blueskychicago12 I have one. I love the idea. And when I used it I collected almost an additional 8 ounce bottle through the day. However, I didn’t routinely use it. Setting up to feed was a process. And adding another step was annoying to me. So in theory I love it and when I used it, it was great. But in practical application I didn’t use it that much. But that’s just me. I will try again this time.
I got an off-brand haakaa but just like @Spartanrd4 said, I’d put it on the opposite breast. I never used it while breastfeeding, but I only had a single pump so I’d use it while pumping. Oftentimes is actually get more out of it than the side with the pump, but that’s also because I pumped pretty infrequently and never really figured out why it didn’t work well for me because I didn’t want to spend the extra money on trying all the different sizes flanges and everything.
mrszoobear
member
Re: Breastfeeding
My concern is that I have extremely large breasts. I'm a G cup pre pregnancy and the silly things are already getting bigger and sooo much heavier!
Are there any well-endowed women in this group who have had success with breastfeeding? Is there any advice you can give me?
ETA- Pinterest is full of bf blogs! I’m already reading some to try and prepare myself for whatever may happen.
@ktmaesim I haven’t had a reduction, but I had a breast tumor and there were concerns about nursing on that side, but it worked out perfectly well.
@ktmaesim I had a reduction a few years ago, between my third and fourth babies. Obviously I should have waited
With my first, I did absolutely everything possible (EBF, power pump, supplements, tons of water, oats, bars etc.) and my daughter was a fantastic, comfortable nurser but I purely never made enough and she was losing weight. My boobs never grew with my first pregnancy and I always made milk, i think just from a volume standpoint they didnt hold more than 3oz. My breasts havent grown yet this pregnancy either so am wondering if I should even hold out hope to not have an under supply this time.
[spoiler]
Me: 28 Him: 30
Married: 11/15/14
TTC: 02/2016
IF DX: MFI (low count & morphology) & mild PCOS
June 2016 BFP - MC @8w2d
August 2016 BFP - MC @6w1d
June 2017 - 50 mg Clomid + Ovidrel + IUI = BFP 7/6/17!!
Beta #1 = 422 (14dpo), Beta #2 = 810, prog - 12.3 (16dpo), Beta #3 = 5023, prog - 18.9 (20dpo)
[/spoiler]
I think I am going to take a BF class as well because I want to stick with it.
Married to DH for 6 years (together for 16)
DS born 12.13.14
DD born 10.15.16
BFP 1.24.18, MC 3.13.18
With DD, she had also a hard time latching and I had to wear a nipple shield. She'd also throw up after almost every feeding, which was incredibly stressful. This time around I felt a bit more informed and went to a lactation consultant on the regular. We learned she had a lip tie, and had that corrected via laser at 8 weeks old. Literally 2 minutes after her tie was corrected, she latched perfectly without a shield. We never had a problem again and she EBF'd until she self-weaned at 16 months old.
Hindsight being 20/20, we probably should have had my son checked for a tie for his latch troubles. But we were new parents and had no idea that was even a thing. **If you suspect your child has a tie, go to n IBCLC/Lactation Consultant, Pediatric ENT or a Pediatric Dentist. Regular Pediatricians are NOT trained to recognize ties and often times will fail to diagnose it. Insurance usually covers the correction.**
Married to DH for 6 years (together for 16)
DS born 12.13.14
DD born 10.15.16
BFP 1.24.18, MC 3.13.18
I didn’t wait until I returned to work before giving a bottle. He had one once or twice when Dh and I had gone out and my mom watched him, and I would give him one here and there in the last few weeks of my maternity leave, but he never fought it.
Married 1/28/17
TW:
BFP #2 10/10/17, MC 11/4/17
BFP #3 12/17/17 Birth 8/13/18
BFP #4 4/21/19 Birth 12/5/2019
@mamallamato4 Great advice! I second all of that!!
Married 1/28/17
TW:
BFP #2 10/10/17, MC 11/4/17
BFP #3 12/17/17 Birth 8/13/18
BFP #4 4/21/19 Birth 12/5/2019
I highly recommend that everyone get a lactation consultant as soon as you get home from the hospital. Mine came to my house, did a feeding with me, and weighed my daughter to know how much she was getting after each side. She also showed me multiple ways to hold the baby. It helped demystify the whole process, and gave me so much more confidence. Also, while you pay out of pocket, it is reimbursed by insurance per the Affordable Care Act, so it is 100% covered after a small deductible (can't remember what it was).
In terms of supplies, I recommend that you get a hospital grade pump if you are struggling with the regular one. Insurance should cover it (again, due to the Affordable Care Act) and you can have the hospital one at home and leave the other one at work. For storage bags, I liked Lansinoh and Nuk (Medela leaked all over the place).
I would also recommend that you start pumping and storing milk well before going back to work, so you have a stash built up. My lactation consultant said that pumping in the morning, after the first feed, was most effective because morning is when your supply is highest.
If you have to travel for work or other reasons without baby, check out mamava for pumping in the airport and Milkstork for shipping your milk. Also, allow yourself extra time for ridiculous security checks on your pumped milk, because TSA acts like the pump and breast milk are highly suspicious potential bomb material.
Basically, they do all the heavy lifting when it comes to getting your breast pump through insurance. I plan to use them to get ours. It'll make life a TON easier.
Married 1/28/17
TW:
BFP #2 10/10/17, MC 11/4/17
BFP #3 12/17/17 Birth 8/13/18
BFP #4 4/21/19 Birth 12/5/2019