u/gngol

I have an exclusively breastfed 8 month old. He does have 2 solids meals per day but honestly he really isn't eating a whole lot to be getting all his nutrients from food especially iron. Some days he rejects food for just the boob. My GP is dismissive about everything. Lately my son has been losing appetite and also his sleep is going down hill. He is constantly tired. I am anemic myself so I know too well what iron deficiency can be like. I've struggled since I was a baby and get regular infusions.

I hate the way our healthcare is working right now because my GP is the one who looks after my baby and quite literally this guy acts like he has never seen a baby before (he has missed two ear infections so far somehow despite looking in his ear. Urgent care found it later both times). Baby doesn't qualify for a paediatrician so that's not an option. I have brought up my concern and been told there is no testing for baby to check.... yeah. BS.

I am calling and getting on waitlist for a new family doctor but it's taking time.

So basically I am wondering what your doctor has recommended when it comes to iron for breastfed babies? Were they tested or did you just supplement? If you supplemented what did you give your baby.

FTM. I got some smock/long sleeve bibs for baby and also silicone bibs. I have a 15% baby so he is small and most of these smocks type bibs and actual bibs are too large on him so he seems to get food that leaks through the neck hole and ruins his clothes underneath. The smocks are a disaster too because it seems like most of these are one standard size so the long arms bother him so much and it bunches up so he can't effectively move his arms and eat. The silicone bibs he thinks are delicious and chewy so he lifts it and tries to eat it and all the food leaks out of them.

Currently I have resorted to have 3-4 throwaway onesies for him to wear where they are meant to get stained and wet and I just wash it and get rid of it when he ages out. I also sometimes strip him down to diaper only but I live in Canada and I can only do that probably for another month before my baby freezes being naked at home so it's not a long term option.

What are you guys putting on your baby because the food stains are ruining everything!!

FTM. My 6.5 month old has zero desire to feed (bottle, breastfeed, formula doesn't matter) any sort of milk unless desperately hungry. He is literally uninterested and the only way I can feed him is in a dark room before sleep/naps. He has always been on the 10th percentile and is on his curve so doctors are not concerned. I just hear left and right breastfed babies feed often and lots from everyone. People complain their babies feed constantly... mine? I have to beg. If I dare to offer before the 4 hour mark he absolutely loses it and will cry at my breast and arch away. He just doesn't want milk. He currently feeds roughly 5 times in a 24 hour period. He doesn't really like bottles so it's not really a bottle preference issue. Idk what is normal? He waits to be absolutely starved... he eats 2 solid meals a day (was one meal but doctor told us to increase it because he just wouldn't have milk often enough even without solids). He does like his solids most of the time. Even a simple oatmeal is preferred to milk..

Even if I am lucky and he latches while awake he will only eat for 2-3 minutes max.

FTM. My baby absolutely adores his solids (frankly more passionate about solids than BM but that's a different story) and we are travelling within Canada when he is almost going to be 8 months old. We will be in a hotel so no ability to cook or anything like that. What can I give him? I've actually never tried pouches yet but I guess maybe that's what people do lots of? Any ideas wil l be appreciated! I was planning to for sure do some baby oatmeal with fruits he likes but other than that I am out of ideas as I am inexperienced lol. This is all our first time travelling together since the baby so very stressed and clueless here. So far I have done BLW with him and have made all his food from scratch.

FTM. We just started eating solids and he just turned 6 months old so it's pretty new to him this whole eating foods thing. So far we are doing just one meal a day sometimes two if he is up for it. He has tried a few foods and so far he has liked a mash of potato and broccoli and also oatmeal with peaches. That's it. If I give him something new and he happens to not like it he will not eat again for a few days because he is a bit dramatic and gets a bad association with eating. Yesterday was his first time trying eggs and it was the first time I switched his breakfast from oats to eggs and he excitedly tried the egg thinking it was his oats and proceeded to cry and scream after one bite of it. I had made some of his oats on the side for him so he has something he likes to eat but absolutely lost it and decides to not eat again. Today, he won't eat basically at all. This has happened a few times. He basically will go on an eating strike.

I'm doing a combo of BLW and a little bit of purees on the plates as an option for him to practice with a spoon. Anyone have a kiddo this dramatic that can offer some wisdom? Does it get better as they eat more solids with time and get more appetite?

Trigger warning: discussing PPA/PPD/Insomnia

TLDR: breastfeeding triggered PPA/PPD and Insomnia. I want to stop but feel terrible guilt. I don't even know if I am doing the right thing. I worked hard to get to here and feel regret to stop but I may have to for my own sake. If you stopped early for your mental health do you feel better?

FTM. I have breastfed my son (EBF) since the day he was born. For the first two weeks I had to supplement a bottle of formula here and there but otherwise since then he has been fed breastmilk. I love breastfeeding and I am so proud that I have managed to make it this far along but it hasn't been easy. I am a c-section mom with 2 chronic illnesses. I worked my ass off to have enough of a supply to EBF my sweet baby. I am thinking of stopping now and I am flooded DEEPLY with guilt and fear. I want to stop because I have seemingly triggered severe PPA and PPD along with horrific insomnia likely due to PPA and PPD and I am pretty confident this is due to breastfeeding. I have a history of mental issues around hormones in general. Previously have reacted the same towards hormonal contraception.

My baby has no latch issues. I mostly nursed baby directly but did pump for some bottles here and there but specifically I had one pump session at 11pm after the baby went to bed at 8pm. Unfortunately the pump gave me an oversupply briefly and due to inadequate emptying I got mastitis 4 times in 6 months and well over a dozen absolutely horrific clogged ducts. The clogged ducts were happening every week by 4.5 months. I tried 5 different pumps and got professionally sized with an IBCLC and eventually cut the pumps out after my last mastitis. This revealed the horror that is the oversupply I had resulting in fear of sleeping and waking with mastitis. I was pumping once a day just before bed after baby slept. Just one pump session did this. It took 1 whole month to wean that one pump session and in that month I slept with constant fear. The fear translated eventually to PPA and Insomnia around breastfeeding.

The insomnia is the most horrific. I am unable to sleep after feeding him at 3 am. The fear around sleeping is also leading me to take 2-3 hours just to fall asleep at night. I sleep an average of 2 hours per 24hr periods. Impossible to sustain. I slept more when he was a newborn and it's ridiculous because he is sleeping so I should be to. He wakes 1-3 times at night still and usually I feed him once in that period. The rest my husband handles. Despite this I still can't sleep.

Due to the clogs and rock hard boobs my baby hated suddenly feeding. He was choking on milk. I tried so many positions but most he hated. He refused to latch and he was my only source to officially empty my breasts adequately to avoid mastitis. I couldn't pump to save myself. He was the only one who could stop the clogs and mastitis from continuing. He would go on nursing strikes and I had no way to avoid more clogs. Hand expressions and a gentle hand pump or Haaka wasn't cutting it. I was using Ibuprofen for a month straight to calm my breasts (RIP to my stomach. I am now on PPIs due to this). My son can't even tolerate being held in the cradle position because he hates feeds. He also read into my stress I think which further encouraged the strikes. Lo and behold the lack of sleep from insomnia and anxiety combined with severe rock hard boobs brought on low supply.

I am now at the point where my supply is irregular and dips low so baby is being supplemented from my freezer stash. This feeding issue is a disaster. My son is now angry at my boobs for the lack of milk. I think he is done with breastfeeding as he enjoys to get his bottle with no drama and I am thinking it's safer for me and my health to stop to or at least just go down to nursing 1-2 times a day (before sleep and wake up).

The guilt is destroying me. I worked hard for this. I wanted it to be different but I don't think my son is happy either. My supply is too erratic for either of us to be okay. Yeah, I should be well regulated by now but nope. It's clogapalooza or undersupply here.

My 5.5 month old son is not really able to sit unless I really hold him properly upright. I keep hearing that in order to start solids baby should maintain sitting position if you put them in it but mine falls to sides. If I belt him into his high chair he gets mad after 5 minutes or so. He is good with head control so no issue there but he just isn't there yet with sitting. He also has a pretty strong tongue thrust reflex and pushes out the small bits of puree I have tried with him. He has reflux so his paeds told us to start solids at 4 months with simple things like baby oatmeal and has continued to push us but honestly every time I try my son isn't interested. We have been severely pushed to start solids the latest at 6 months so the fact that he is not interested, has the thrust reflex, and can't sit up when put in position worries me. I don't know what to do. I am concerned he is behind on motor skills and my paeds is useless.

He has shown loads of interest in stealing our cucumbers so I have done a BLW style cut of a Persian cucumber and let him gnaw on it while I held him and he was obsessed but that was the only thing he was into. I don't want to force him whatsoever. I just don't know what can be normal as I am a FTM.

Anyone been in this situation? Did you just start solids later than 6 months?

(Yes, I probably should get another paediatrician but I am in Canada and the wait for another one is 4-5 months and I need to unfortunately self doctor most things sadly otherwise nothing will be address in time)

I love Tencel fabric in everything tbh and I have wanted a set of sheets made of Tencel for a while. One thing I have noticed is Tencel tends to pill in clothing sometimes so curious how does it hold up in sheets? Anyone own it that can share their experience? Anything you really recommend?

Percale is my personal favourite but I sleep super hot so even this is not enough to be cooling for me usually. My husband cannot stand linen so that's out of question. Hence Tencel being the next consideration for its cooling effect.

FTM and my baby is 5.5 months old (like 13 days short of 6 months). His paediatrician gave the go ahead to start with some purees due to his reflux at 4 months. We tried some single ingredient purees at 4 months but he really wasn't into eating so we stopped and didn't push. This week he showed lots of interest in our dinner and wanted food so I quickly prepped a mix puree/mash of our own sides which was mashed potato with broccoli and spinach in it. I didn't use any seasoning in his dish. He got a steak to munch on but showed no interest and didn't even touch it. He did absolutely love the puree though. 1 hour later the boy's back is covered in hives. This was basically the first time he truly ate and swallowed food and it basically has now terrified me to my core with starting solids being this was officially our first experience.

I am puzzled because potato+broccoli+spinach?!? These are not common allergens let alone allergic at all?! He was completely fine rash wise by the next day but proceeded to be a really fussy baby for 2-3 days after. No issues with bowel movements either.

Anyone else experience such a thing?

FTM here. Baby is 5.5 months old and is getting really into food so we decided to start introducing solids via some purees based on his paediatricians approval. We started about 10 days ago with a single ingredient puree of carrots then did the same for sweet potato. Guidance I find is a bit of a mess around food but where I grew up baby just gets what mom and dad eat just in a different way obviously to make it safe for them (basically BLW/puree combo of sort based on whatever ingredients are used for dinner). However I was told to do one food item at a time only from my GP but my public health system says to only do single items for allergens and the rest is whatever you want to do to make it age appropriate for a baby (Canadian healthcare mess lol).

Anyways I thought this was insane like why would I introduce every single food alone and limit to one ingredient at a time. I get it for allergens of course but should I really be feeding my child only carrots for an entire day??!! Then the next day potato for the whole day?!? I've legit never heard of this I'm sorry if I sound crazy lol. I proceeded to make my own purees from scratch using whatever I was making for dinner. I've made several purees for baby so far and he has had no issues though he has only eaten very little of them. Today he was passionate about the puree I made which was potato, broccoli, and spinach. Lo and behold the boy breaks out in a massive rash. I think the culprit was spinach. So now I am confused what to do. I will probably just wait another 1.5 weeks until he is officially 6 months old to feed more solids but just started because his doctor gave the okay and he seemed really into it.

How did you start feeding your baby solids? And did your baby happen to have any odd allergies to such non-suspects like spinach?

FTM to a 5 month old. I've had a handful of clogged ducts unfortunately so far since giving birth. None turned to mastitis because I immediately started the new protocol for clogged ducts. I think the ice and ibuprofen are gold for clogs but I take 4-5 sunflower lecithins when I get a clog as well and have remained on one pill a day otherwise however not sure if this supplement actually does anything besides give me gut problems since taking them lol. Not only that, recently I found out that higher than required regular intake of Choline (what lecithin converts to) is contributed to mental health issues which have not been going well on my end either. Overall I feel better mentally and physically without it but I fear what will happen if I quit taking it boob wise.

I have a feeling most of my clogging issues have been caused by pumping. None of my pumps ever empty me and I started pumping only before sleep because of an ill advice that was given to me by an LC to avoid my period when baby is sleeping long stretches (didn't work as I got my period anyway even when baby was nursing around the clock overnight and the LC was wildly wrong about how the LAM works). The single pump sesh caused an oversupply which I have been working on for 3 weeks now especially because my baby never actually took a bottle so the pumped milk was an automatic oversupply. I officially no longer pump besides using a haaka if I am desperate to release like 20ml.

Anyways, curious to know if breastfeeding automatically requires taking sunflower lecithin if you've ever had clogs/mastitis.

I got a pretty bad case of this on my right hand due to having a baby recently. I got officially diagnosed through ultrasound and got a cortisone shot (my first one) 2 weeks ago after being miserable for the past 5 months. Shortly after getting the shot my hand got way worse for the first 4-5 days so I assumed this was just from the shot causing a bad flare. I finally started to improve last week and yesterday was my first near pain free day. Lo and behold I forget my brace last night and today while caring for my baby and I pushed my hand way too far again I think so now I feel back to square one.. immediately got the brace back on now but hand is pretty bad.

I am new to this and live in Canada where healthcare is inaccessible (took just 4 months to book an appointment for imaging). I haven't even had a chance to see a physio yet due to the appointment being next week. Am I totally screwed and I wasted the shot? What does healing look like for DeQuervains? How long does the shot last even?

FTM. My baby eats 5-6 times a day and sleeps 8pm-3am where he wakes usually for a quick feed then he goes down till 7-8am again. I used to have comfortable boobs (my supply I thought was regulated at least) and I only breastfed as my son never took a bottle. Due to horrible advice from an LC from month 3-4.5 I started to pump both breasts before I slept at 11pm. Unfortunately this only led to clogs and mastitis so I made another post where I wanted to stop the pump. So I stopped the pump....

Alas, now I have an oversupply that won't calm down. Please give me your best tip to stop this disaster.

FTM with a 5 month old EBF baby. I've never really been able to figure out how to switch breasts the best way for feedings and it's been 5 months of BFing lol. I struggle with this because my left breast is my "big meal boob" and has a bigger storage capacity so when I feed this boob first baby rarely wants my other one. Then my right breast is my "shitty titty" and this one is extremely clog prone despite a lower supply on it. Shitty titty has mastitis 3x under its belt so I am a bit horrified to go long without feeding on this side.

So far I have been starting feeds with my shitty titty and I offer the big meal boob after. Half the time baby won't take it or if he does he won't really finish it off so it's basically full most of the time. My baby is also a VERY distracted feeder lately so his only proper feeds are when he is super tired before sleep/naps. The big meal booby also has a fast letdown that overwhelms baby. I'm kinda super confused how to manage this. I almost always end up giving the shitty titty first to avoid clogs on it and my big meal booby just remains full the whole day as he uses that as a snack.

Any ideas or suggestions for a better way to manage the switching? I wish it was as simple as "I gave left last time so I will start with right this time" but nope. I have a clog-a-palooza lazy brat on one side and a professional spray gun 2000 on the other.

FTM to a 5 month old baby boy. He was initially a boob obsessed baby. He has never taken a bottle and continues to reject them (somewhere at 3.5 months we stopped trying honestly). However now this boy is pretty much rejecting all awake feeds. I've been having to pick him up in his nap while he is completely asleep to feed him. He will feed before a long stretch of sleep too though it takes some begging as well. He is a 10th percentile baby however he is growing fine and follows his own curve. It's not him gaining weight I am concerned about it my own CLOGGED DUCTS constantly that are killing me. I've been basically taking Ibuprofen on and off for a month since my son started doing this. I also take 4-6 sunflower lecithins a day. I pumped prior to bed myself until a week ago and I cut out that pump because pumping was also contributing to an oversupply. I added that pump before bed to empty breasts when he wouldn't so I can sleep. He sleeps from 8pm-4am and I am waking up engorged with no supply going down. My stomach is being destroyed by Advil and sunflower lecithin at this point.

Anyone experienced this? How can I get the baby to eat or instead reduce my supply to meet his lack of desire to eat? He is starting solids soon so I kinda want to reduce my supply. So far nothing I am doing is making a change besides keeping me engorged for weeks on end. I even hand express for comfort but nope.

I am 5 months pp and a FTM. I have successfully been able to EBF my baby so far. We just got over the horrific 4 months sleep regression and my baby is sleeping from 8-4am ish now (still complains in that stretch a little but usually just needs soothing no milk). He has also dropped his milk needs significantly since hitting 5 months with the major feeds only being before naps. So far I have BF him before he sleeps at 8pm then I pump at 11pm before I go to bed myself. When he wakes at 4 am ish then I BF him. My baby will not take any bottles whatsoever so my pumped milk is not actually needed. I pumped to avoid getting my period but I got my period anyway so it doesn't matter lol. I want to stop this one pump before I sleep completely. Pumping has been hell for me and causes severe clogged ducts and leads to mastitis. My baby nursing alone is the only thing that keeps my breasts healthy. I've tried so SO many pumps and I am just done with this misery.

Have any of you gone this long stretch without nursing/pumping? Is it possible to actually sleep through the night while breastfeeding?

FTM with a 4.5 month old baby boy. He has been refusing the regular breastfeeding sessions completely. We are going on almost 2 weeks of him rejecting the boob screaming. He will feed still but I often have to wait and try again 2-3 hours later leading to him eating way less in the day. He will still breastfeed just with way way longer intervals in between so that he is absolutely desperate and ravenous. To add to all of this my boy won't take ANY bottles whatsoever either. Ever. AND he has CMPA. I've absolutely done everything to get him to take a bottle (tried SO MANY bottles and different nipples and different temp milk/fresh pump) and boy still won't do it. He is so fussy constantly it's like I have a totally new baby. He is attempting to roll though so there is that.

With him rejecting my boob so much I got my period back yesterday too and to top it all off now I have a reduction in supply too from my period now. Making me even more anxious. I don't know what to do. I am so sad and worried. Has anyone experienced this?

FTM to a 5 month old. My son has recently decided he likes to sleep thankfully and has no desire to BF overnight. I literally will wake him from sleep because I am clogging and he will drink for 3 minutes before screaming to be put back to bed. This problem is truly a blessing and a curse lol. I have tried pumping overnight but that was leading to a massive oversupply so I stopped that slowly at 3 months PP with the help of a lactation consultant who helped me wean the pump. It's been a month of my son no longer being interested to feed and I feel like I am dodging mastitis everyday. I just want to sleep too. Every BFing mom I have known has slept through the night and had their supply adjust at one point. I can't imagine doing this for a whole year constantly running from mastitis.

I take sunflower lecithin daily and constantly take Advil for inflammation but nope I still clog if I go the whole night without BF. I pump at 11 before sleeping and my son wakes for an actual feed around 5-6am. I don't want to stop breastfeeding but man I am dying for sleep at this point. Any tips would be appreciated!!

FTM and my baby will on and off sleep through the night without waking from 9pm to around 5am. He is 4.5 months old. He is just coming off the regression and seems to not be interested to wake and ask for milk before 5am on his own. A few times now I woke him up around 3:30-4 to feed him because I was engorged but also I am trying to prevent my period from coming back by removing milk somehow at least every 6 hours (LC told me this method). I don't want to pump in middle of the night so I prefer baby to eat as pumped milk is not that useful to me. I EBF and baby doesn't take any bottles. He absolutely HATES bottles and refused them all after 6 weeks so pumping for me is useless and I just stash it away for mixing into baby's purees or cooking with it when he starts solids. I only pump before I sleep at 11:30pm already which is just for my comfort as baby's last feed before his sleep is at 8-9 pm.

Now I am wondering for an EBF baby who is fed on demand should I just let him be and let my breasts do their thing and we all sleep through the night? At this point I think I don't care to prevent my period this hardcore because the sleep deprivation is harming me way more. Do you have supply damage going without milk removal for 7-8 hours over night? I'm wondering if I should go entirely with the baby's flow and just keep my one pump before my sleep and avoid waking him or pumping.

FTM and EBF. From literally 2 weeks pp I have had the most horrible clogged ducts. It's almost every other day if not at least once a week I get one. It always ALWAYS in my right breast which is also my lazy boob. I have one again today and it's absolutely one of the worst ones I've ever gotten. I am in so much pain I can't even walk. I take daily sunflower lecithin. I am all dairy free as my son has CMPA so that's definitely not contributing. I'm exhausted. I take Advil. Ice around the clock. Nurse. Absolutely no change. At this point it feels like a game of Russian roulette except it's chances of not getting mastitis which I've already had a few times. I don't fricken understand why is it constantly happening to the one boob. Is there something mechanically wrong with the breast?!? How do I get out of this disaster?!? It's truly ruining BF for me. I am in tears constantly.