r/breastfeedingsupport

My baby is 11 weeks old. He has suddenly started to refuse breastmilk after a minute or two. Even if i have the let down, he drinks for a minute only and then starts crying (so i know waiting for let down or supply isn’t the issue). I wouldn’t worry much if he was acting normally otherwise but his urine output has also reduced significantly. He used to have 8-10 wet diapers a day but now having 5 wet diapers since past 2 days. Once it had been 4.5 hours and he had not peed once while he used to pee every 30 minutes. Anyone had similar experience or any advice?

I have an 8 hour course coming up on the 13th and will be leaving my breastfed baby with my MIL for the day. He will be 4 months by then. Since 9 weeks we have been trying to introduce a bottle once a day. He’s able to drink from the bottle but he gets bored & doesn’t finish it. Max he’s drank is 60ml and we usually have to throw the breastmilk away. We left him with my MIL today for a trial run for 3.5 hours. She gave him a bottle as soon as we left and he drank 50-60ml. He then had a great morning with her and took a nap, but when he woke up he was hungry and inconsolable which is right when my husband and I arrived to pick him up. He wouldn’t take the bottle from her at that point because he wouldn’t stop crying. This makes me so worried to leave him for the entire day. Any tips or tricks to get him to take the bottle?

Getting a bit disheartened and could really do with any words of advice or encouragement from anyone who’s been through similar!

I had my first baby 4 weeks ago. I’m EBF and we struggled with the latch from the start, as it’s shallow and painful. I have since seen a private lactation consultant twice and each time we’ve been able to achieve a deep latch and a comfortable feed immediately, so I know my daughter is able to do it.

I just can’t recreate it when I’m not with the LC. I don’t understand the chin first thing - my baby doesn’t always open her mouth wide when I bring her chin to the breast, and when she does, it doesn’t always result in a deep latch. When she does latch well, it’s only temporary - her latch gets shallower towards the end of a feed, or she’ll keep coming off the breast and have to relatch, which is tiring for us both.

She is gaining 300g per week (!) and has plenty of wet and dirty nappies, so she’s getting enough milk, which I know is the most important thing. But I am tired of being in pain. My nipples come out ridged or lipstick-shaped after a feed. I can’t relax during feeds as the pain is distracting.

I also worry about how upset my baby sometimes gets during feeds, when she has to unlatch and relatch over and over. I worry she’ll associate me with being stressed and it will affect our bond. I really want to keep breastfeeding but is it bad for her in the long run if she’s getting upset?

Is it worth booking another session with the LC? I haven’t been great at taking in information postpartum and I feel really stupid for not being able to recreate the latch, especially as the LC is pretty expensive. I feel like it’s all my fault and I just don’t know what to do 😞

Looking for some encouragement and practical advice from anyone who's been through this.

My little one is 7.5 months old and has been exclusively breastfed since birth. He's never taken a bottle despite us trying on and off over the months

My main motivation is simply to have a bit more flexibility so someone else (my husband, grandparents, etc.) can feed him occasionally. I'd love to be able to leave the house for more than a couple of hours without stressing about getting back for a feed.

We've recently started introducing a straw cup for water which he hasn’t really taken to either.

If your older baby eventually accepted a bottle after refusing for months, I'd love to hear:

How old were they when it finally clicked?
What type of bottle/teat/straw cup/open cup ended up working?
Was it breastmilk or formula?
What approach made the biggest difference? (Someone else offering it? Different positions? When they were sleepy? Cold vs warm milk? Daily practice?)
How long did it take before they accepted it?

Success stories especially would be amazing because I'm starting to wonder if it's ever going to happen! 🤍

I’m looking for some positive stories!

My baby is 10 days old today and my milk supply has never fully come in.

I had a c section and lost 800ml of blood in recovery.

He was exclusively breastfeeding for the first few days but he was losing too much weight and started having less wet nappy’s so I was told to supplement with formula. The last few days he doesn’t want to latch at all

Ive been referred to a lactation specialist and in the interim have been told to pump 8 times a day. I’m getting so little when pumping (15ml from both breasts after 30 min pumping is a good result for me) I’m not surprised baby doesn’t want to latch anymore

I’m starting to lose hope that I’ll be able to feed him and I’m so heartbroken.

Was anyone else successful in increasing their supply at this stage?

I want to EBF my baby, but right now, I probably don't have enough milk, so I would like to start pumping to increase my supply. My pump doesn't quite fit, so I would like to buy a new one. Do you have any recommendations? I want to pump daily, so something practical (but strog enough to really empty the breast) would be great.

Looking forward to any suggestions 🫶

I’ve had a tough breastfeeding journey. triple feeding and supply issues for the first two months. then suddenly it all clicked and I was exclusively breastfeeding, other than 1-2 bottle feeds (of expressed milk) per day.

now baby is 3.5 months and it’s gotten sooo hard again. she’s always had a flow preference and would get frustrated when mine slowed down. I switch breasts multiple times and do compressions which has helped but lately it’s not. she unlatches and relatches constantly. plus we’re also in the distracted phase.

shes not taking in full feeds so she gets fussy in like an hour, but then she wont latch longer than the first let down. I’ve tried switching breasts, compressions (before and during the feed), different positions, feeding in a dark room - nothing helps. we do paced feeds with bottles too with slow flow nipples but she’s getting fussy at those now too!

I’m losing my mind and about to just quit entirely it’s been so stressful. would love any advice to get past this stage!

And does it affect your supply?

I have a terrible headache and I have a 7 day old. We’ve had To supplement with formula until my milk came in but now that it’s in, I’m thinking of giving him 2 bottles of formula overnight so I can sleep And fix my headache.

Is this a terrible idea? Typically I would nurse and then offer the bottle.

Hi everyone,

I'm 2 week pp and currently EBF. I pump once a day after the morning feed for about 10-15 min for a freezer stash. I’ve been suffering from engorgement since 4-5d pp. My breasts get rock hard and create a very fast let down for LO, but he is still able to latch. You can hear him struggling to keep up and needing to pause every few suckles. I’ve been feeding him in a reclined position that hasn’t seemed to help too much. The pain from engorgement is also becoming intolerable.

When BF, I offer both breasts, but due to the oversupply, LO spends the entire time on one breast, and doesn’t even empty the one breast completely.

I have tried hand expressing, which gives me very mild relief for a hot second and helps with LO’s feed, but then my boob refills quickly within an hour and the cycle restarts.

I recently started using the haakaa before feeds and end up needing to remove about 1oz before feeling relief.

Recently, the pedi approved that we push daytime feeds from every 2-3 hours to 3-4 hours. Evenings we just feed on demand, which ends up being around 4 hours and that has only worsened my engorgement.

I can’t take ibuprofen due to side effects (tinnitus) and am seeking help/suggestions on what to do for my situation.

edit: pedi’s recommendation about feeds - baby is gaining weight steadily (reached birth weight at 5d pp) and, to clarify, we do still feed on demand

Hello mamas!

I originally journaled a 31 Day Relactation Journey and many moms wanted to see my entire journey.

My goal was to inspire moms out there that it is possible! But everyone on Reddit abandoned ship so we didn't know how they did, but don't worry... I did not! I eventually was able to exclusively breastfeed (via pumping)

MY HIGHEST AMOUNT WAS 836 mls (Day 168)

I suggest you start here on my previous post! <<< It's more of a diary, but this one is straight up data. With a few notes when I made significant changes to my habits. It also shows how i did it. P.S. it wasn't fun.

Good luck to all of you out there! It was a wild but satisfying ride! Ask me any questions below!

____

A few notes before you read:

• I was dried up for 5-6 weeks (no milk, but when you squeezed each nipple, a bead of milk would appear)
• Already had 2 x periods before I started, and my period came back around ~Day 200
• Was working out daily
• Used a breast pump (Lasinoh)
• Pumped 8 times a day. Including 3AM everyday.
• I started to "slow my supply" around Day 200. So you'll notice it starts to decrease then.
• When i would drink alcohol at first, I pumped and dumped and did not record! Why, not sure. But near the end I would record the amounts then dump it.
• BUT if you do have extra breastmilk that you're dumping, I started to freeze it and use it in baths! It's so good for baby skin. Liquid gold!

____

Day 1

• Amount: Single bead via hand expression (Nothing from pump)
• Key Habit Changes: Started electric pumping every 3 hours for 20 minutes (slept from 1am to 8am). Practiced hand expressing to get single beads of milk.

Day 2

• Amount: Single bead via hand expression (Nothing from pump)

Day 3

• Amount: Single bead via hand expression (Nothing from pump)
• Key Habit Changes: Introduced short skin-to-skin sessions (2–3 minutes). Decided to add nighttime pump sessions.

Day 4

• Amount: 1-2 drips (Second milk gland opened)
• Key Habit Changes: Formally started night pumping twice per night.

Day 5

• Amount: 1-2 drips
• Key Habit Changes: Researched benefits of skin-to-skin and baby saliva; increased skin-to-skin to 20 minutes daily (10 mins day / 10 mins night) via naked dancing to jazz music.

Day 6

• Amount: 1-2 drips
• Key Habit Changes: Began active latch attempts/putting breast in baby’s mouth to build routine.

Day 7

• Amount: 1 drip per breast per session

Day 8

• Amount: 1 drip per breast (One side slowing down)

Day 9

• Amount: 1 drip per breast
• Key Habit Changes: Missed alarms due to extreme fatigue, reducing night pumps from 2 down to 1.

Day 10 (Sept 23)

• Amount: 1 drip per breast
• Key Habit Changes: Doctor visit. Changed strategy to focus heavily on hydration and received a recommendation for a medical-grade pump.

Day 11 (Sept 24)

• Amount: 1 drip per breast
• Key Habit Changes: Ordered medical-grade pump. Fell asleep with pumps on during night sessions.

Day 12 (Sept 25)

• Amount: First single drip into the pump cup

Day 13 (Sept 26)

• Amount: 0.1 ml (3-4 drips coming through)

Day 14

• Amount: 0.6 ml (Leaked 7 drips from active side before pumping)
• Key Habit Changes: Medical-grade pump arrived. Shifted from casual collection to active syringe harvesting and feeding.

Day 15

• Amount: 0.9 ml (Inactive breast dripping 4-5 drops into cup)
• Key Habit Changes: Mixed usage of standard and medical-grade pumps.

Day 16

• Amount: 1.2 ml

Day 17

• Amount: 1.6 ml

Day 18

• Amount: 1.4 ml (Estimated ~3.0 ml potential)

Day 19

• Amount: 4.4 ml

Day 20

• Amount: 5.1 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Increased select pump sessions to 30 minutes when possible. Began drinking a full water bottle during every single pump session for hydration.

Day 21

• Amount: 8.1 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Began testing and switching between different flange sizes to figure out variance in milk flow.

Day 22

• Amount: 14.6 ml

Day 23

• Amount: 22.4 ml

Day 24

• Amount: 28.9 ml

Day 25

• Amount: 36.15 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Hit 1 oz daily milestone goal. Added a manual pump at the end of the final night session to stimulate extra milk flow.

Day 26

• Amount: 43.5 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Paired a manual pump session before throwing on the automatic medical-grade pump and hand expressing.

Day 27

• Amount: 59.2 ml
• Side Note: Out for a friend's birthday tonight; drinking alcohol.

Day 28

• Amount: 39.8 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Pumped and dumped standard sessions.
• Side Note: Skipping breastfeeding today to wait for breastmilk alcohol test strips to arrive in the mail.

Day 29

• Amount: 86.1 ml

Day 30

• Amount: 45.9 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Resumed feeding excess milk after confirming zero alcohol presence via test strips.

Day 31

• Amount: 96.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Deliberately increased water consumption further to compensate for zero free time and skipped pumps.

Day 32

• Amount: 97.2 ml

Day 33

• Amount: 125.5 ml

Day 34

• Amount: 130.9 ml

Day 35

• Amount: 157.2 ml

Day 36

• Amount: 170.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Changed feeding strategy: started dividing breast milk into smaller feeds (60–90 ml portions) instead of one large feed to accommodate baby's eating difficulties.

Day 37

• Amount: 120.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Maintained splitting feeds into smaller 90 ml increments to match baby's new self-regulated 4-hour intervals.

Day 38

• Amount: 202.0 ml

Day 39

• Amount: 207.0 ml

Day 40

• Amount: 164.3 ml

Day 41

• Amount: 125.6 ml

Day 42

• Amount: 133.5 ml

Day 43

• Amount: 152.5 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Pump-and-dump required for a portion of the day.
• Side Note: Drinking alcohol today.

Day 44

• Amount: 146.5 ml

Day 45

• Amount: 134.0 ml

Day 46

• Amount: 228.5 ml

Day 47

• Amount: 314.8 ml

Day 48

• Amount: 151.0 ml

Day 49

• Amount: 191.4 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Pump-and-dump executed for night window.
• Side Note: Went drinking the night before.

Day 50

• Amount: 596.0 ml

Day 51

• Amount: 373.0 ml

Day 52

• Amount: 324.0 ml

Day 53

• Amount: 302.5 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Added a Fenugreek capsule into the nighttime supplement routine.

Day 54

• Amount: 399.0 ml

Day 55

• Amount: 444.0 ml

Day 56

• Amount: 528.0 ml

Day 57

• Amount: 595.0 ml

Day 58

• Amount: 568.0 ml

Day 59

• Amount: 436.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Restructured tracking: shifted the 7am pump into the daytime log and skipped the midnight pump window.

Day 60

• Amount: 428.0 ml

Day 61

• Amount: 523.0 ml

Day 62

• Amount: 397.0 ml

Day 63

• Amount: 466.0 ml
• Side Note: Out most of the day and was drinking alcohol.

Day 64

• Amount: 410.0 ml

Day 65

• Amount: 528.0 ml

Day 66

• Amount: 663.0 ml

Day 67

• Amount: 430.0 ml

Day 68

• Amount: 650.0 ml

Day 69

• Amount: 421.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Changed schedule framework entirely to test a new pumping method sourced from ChatGPT.

Day 70

• Amount: 353.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Pumped and dumped a portion of the daily supply.
• Side Note: Had to pump and dump due to alcohol.

Day 71

• Amount: 510.0 ml

Day 72

• Amount: 544.0 ml

Day 73

• Amount: 646.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: First log breaking the 500 ml milestone.

Day 74

• Amount: 494.0 ml

Day 75

• Amount: 732.0 ml

Day 76

• Amount: 435.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Restricted schedule tracking due to alcohol gaps.
• Side Note: Was drinking alcohol after the 9:30pm pump.

Day 78

• Amount: 712.0 ml

Day 79

• Amount: 509.0 ml

Day 80

• Amount: 585.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Introduced Nutritional Yeast into daily dietary intake.

Day 81

• Amount: 635.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Skipped the mid-morning pump block deliberately to prioritize sleep recovery.

Day 82

• Amount: 712.0 ml

Day 83

• Amount: 512.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Transitioned to an optimized sleep-focused pumping schedule framework recommended by ChatGPT.

Day 84

• Amount: 742.0 ml

Day 85

• Amount: 455.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Disrupted normal timing schedule; adjusted next pump to 9:30am.
• Side Note: Went drinking, affecting the layout of the schedule.

Day 86

• Amount: 615.0 ml

Day 87

• Amount: 585.0 ml

Day 88

• Amount: 560.0 ml

Day 89

• Amount: 565.0 ml

Day 90

• Amount: 535.0 ml

Day 91

• Amount: 526.0 ml

Day 92

• Amount: 375.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Skipped overnight pump completely.
• Side Note: Night pump skipped due to drinking.

Day 93

• Amount: 545.0 ml

Day 94

• Amount: 555.0 ml

Day 95

• Amount: 610.0 ml

Day 96

• Amount: 641.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Performed a single extended full pump run in the evening to account for larger time gaps.

Day 97

• Amount: 613.0 ml

Day 98

• Amount: 538.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Slept through morning alarm; forgot to pump again late night until 6am the following morning.
• Side Note: Went drinking and forgot to pump.

Day 99

• Amount: 200.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Dumped massive morning 210 ml run; schedule disrupted.
• Side Note: Screwed up schedule and dumped morning milk due to the night out drinking.

Day 100

• Amount: 345.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Implemented a multi-pump clustering routine (20 min pump, 10 min break, 10 min pump, 10 min break, 10 min pump) and high frequency pumping to restimulate and rejuvenate the supply.

Day 101

• Amount: 443.0 ml

Day 102

• Amount: 640.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Added a brief 10-minute micro-pump to the end of the evening schedule.

Day 103

• Amount: 586.0 ml

Day 104

• Amount: 545.0 ml

Day 105

• Amount: 565.0 ml

Day 106

• Amount: 662.0 ml

Day 107

• Amount: 560.0 ml

Day 108

• Amount: 551.0 ml

Day 109

• Amount: 620.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Implemented a dedicated full pump session at 6:30pm.

Day 110

• Amount: 570.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Shifted to a full-length pump execution during the 9:30pm and 5pm blocks.

Day 111

• Amount: 648.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Incorporated short, rapid maintenance pumps during the late afternoon blocks.

Day 112

• Amount: 690.0 ml

Day 113

• Amount: 727.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Slept in significantly due to being very sick; compressed daytime sessions.

Day 114

• Amount: 460.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Executed a short 5-minute express micro-pump at 2:15pm.

Day 115

• Amount: 548.0 ml

Day 116

• Amount: 619.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Voluntarily skipped the late 9:30pm pump block to go straight to bed for recovery.

Day 117

• Amount: 618.0 ml

Day 118

• Amount: 565.0 ml

Day 119

• Amount: 490.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Tossed out a 120 ml overnight run.
• Side Note: 120 ml overnight run tossed due to alcohol. Went out and skipped until 10:30pm.

Day 120

• Amount: 529.0 ml

Day 121

• Amount: 501.0 ml

Day 122

• Amount: 544.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Implemented a new structural change to daily pumping mechanics in the mid-afternoon.

Day 123

• Amount: 689.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Changed emptying technique: began working to empty breasts completely of every single drop, adding an extra 10 minutes to the back end of pump sessions.

Day 124

• Amount: 539.0 ml

Day 125

• Amount: 645.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Maintained a strict 15-minute time cap on the early evening session due to constraints.

Day 126

• Amount: 670.0 ml

Day 127

• Amount: 720.0 ml

Day 128

• Amount: 672.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Intentionally skipped the 9pm pump window.
• Side Note: Skipped pump window to have a beer.

Day 129

• Amount: 560.0 ml

Day 130

• Amount: 620.0 ml

Day 131

• Amount: 632.0 ml

Day 132

• Amount: 585.0 ml

Day 133

• Amount: 600.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Skipped the late night session window.
• Side Note: Skipped window to have a beer. Was drinking for the remainder of the night.

Day 134

• Amount: 645.0 ml

Day 135

• Amount: 615.0 ml

Day 136

• Amount: 651.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Split the afternoon session into two rapid 10-minute extraction blocks.

Day 137

• Amount: 620.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Dumped a 60 ml block.
• Side Note: Drank alcohol; dumped the 11:30pm 60 ml pump.

Day 138

• Amount: 652.0 ml

Day 139

• Amount: 650.0 ml

Day 140

• Amount: 718.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Transitioned the 5:30pm slot into an explicit full-length pump block.
• Side Note: Was drinking alcohol today.

Day 141

• Amount: 540.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Used a short 5-minute micro-pump routine at 7:30pm.

Day 142

• Amount: 685.0 ml

Day 143

• Amount: 680.0 ml

Day 144

• Amount: 835.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: All-time record log breaking the 800 ml milestone.

Day 145

• Amount: 698.0 ml

Day 146

• Amount: 688.0 ml

Day 147

• Amount: 800.0 ml

Day 148

• Amount: 555.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Executed a full-duration unemptied pump at 10pm to balance skipped windows.

Day 149

• Amount: 655.0 ml

Day 150

• Amount: 535.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Locally documented a physical breast infection; output baseline drops.

Day 151

• Amount: 535.0 ml

Day 152

• Amount: 635.0 ml

Day 153

• Amount: 648.0 ml

Day 154

• Amount: 595.0 ml

Day 155

• Amount: 600.0 ml

Day 156

• Amount: 675.0 ml

Day 157

• Amount: 617.0 ml

Day 158

• Amount: 665.0 ml

Day 159

• Amount: 695.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Shortened the early night run down to a rapid 3-minute check pump.

Day 160

• Amount: 648.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Placed a strict 10-minute duration cap on the morning 11am session.

Day 161

• Amount: 652.0 ml

Day 162

• Amount: 585.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Restricted midday pump to 10 minutes; combined later output into a single major afternoon double-block run.

Day 163

• Amount: 767.0 ml

Day 164

• Amount: 760.0 ml

Day 165

• Amount: 715.0 ml

Day 166

• Amount: 703.0 ml

Day 167

• Amount: 732.0 ml

Day 168

• Amount: 836.0 ml

Day 169

• Amount: 694.0 ml

Day 170

• Amount: 697.0 ml

Day 171

• Amount: 715.0 ml

Day 172

• Amount: 605.0 ml

Day 173

• Amount: 715.0 ml

Day 174

• Amount: 682.0 ml

Day 175

• Amount: 776.0 ml

Day 176

• Amount: 775.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Adjusted logging schedules to track against Daylight Savings time shifts.

Day 177

• Amount: 765.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Ran a restricted 5-minute morning micro-pump, followed by shorter 15 and 10-minute afternoon extractions.

Day 178

• Amount: 820.0 ml

Day 179

• Amount: 739.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Left pump early due to driving constraints without fully emptying breasts.

Day 180

• Amount: 752.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Extended final session to 8 minutes instead of the standard 5-minute cap.

Day 190

• Amount: 660.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Pump piece ripped. Ran a compromised mechanical tracking schedule due to broken hardware.

Day 191

• Amount: 710.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Received and installed the replacement valve hardware; resumed full extraction workflow by late afternoon.

Day 192

• Amount: 683.0 ml

Day 193

• Amount: 597.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Re-implemented a tailored ChatGPT sleep schedule structure to protect rest windows.

Day 194

• Amount: 800.0 ml

Day 195

• Amount: 698.0 ml

Day 196

• Amount: 525.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Dumped final 150 ml evening pump session.
• Side Note: Dumped final 150 ml run due to alcohol consumption.

Day 197 (MARCH 20)

• Amount: 650.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Formally initiated step-down weaning protocol to stop supply. Caps placed on pump run times (dropped 3pm session down to 10 mins).

Day 198

• Amount: 740.0 ml
• Side Note: Was out for a birthday for the remainder of the day.

Day 199

• Amount: 390.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Dropped late afternoon pump run down to a hard 10-minute time cap.

Day 200

• Amount: 541.0 ml

Day 201

• Amount: 583.0 ml

Day 202

• Amount: 690.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Used a short 10-minute catch up pump at 7:30pm.

Day 203

• Amount: 576.0 ml

Day 204

• Amount: 448.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Successfully scaled total down to 4 distinct pumping intervals over the 24-hour cycle.

Day 205

• Amount: 631.0 ml

Day 206

• Amount: 570.0 ml

Day 207

• Amount: 595.0 ml

Day 208

• Amount: 535.0 ml

Day 209

• Amount: 669.0 ml

Day 210

• Amount: 520.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Dropped daily schedule down to 4 pump sessions total.

Day 211

• Amount: 522.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Dropped daily schedule down to 3 pump sessions total.

Day 212

• Amount: 660.0 ml

Day 213

• Amount: 545.0 ml

Day 214

• Amount: 533.0 ml

Day 215

• Amount: 555.0 ml

Day 216

• Amount: 520.0 ml

Day 217

• Amount: 507.0 ml

Day 218

• Amount: 508.0 ml

Day 219

• Amount: 510.0 ml

Day 220

• Amount: 500.0 ml

Day 221

• Amount: 470.0 ml

Day 222

• Amount: 530.0 ml

Day 223

• Amount: 425.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Aggressively dropped schedule back down to a fixed 3 sessions per day.

Day 224

• Amount: 368.0 ml

Day 225

• Amount: 460.0 ml

Day 226

• Amount: 465.0 ml

Day 227

• Amount: 457.0 ml

Day 228

• Amount: 390.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Dropped daily frequency down to 3 pump sessions.

Day 229

• Amount: 430.0 ml

Day 230

• Amount: 455.0 ml

Day 231

• Amount: 405.0 ml

Day 232

• Amount: 355.0 ml
• Side Note: Went out this evening.

Day 233

• Amount: 345.0 ml
• Side Note: Was drinking alcohol the remainder of the night.

Day 234

• Amount: 315.0 ml

Day 235

• Amount: 318.0 ml

Day 236

• Amount: 315.0 ml

Day 237

• Amount: 329.0 ml

Day 238

• Amount: 300.0 ml

Day 239

• Amount: 285.0 ml

Day 240

• Amount: 310.0 ml

Day 241

• Amount: 265.0 ml

Day 242

• Amount: 155.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Implemented brief 6-minute timing caps to rapidly downscale remaining milk production.

Day 243

• Amount: 220.0 ml
• Key Habit Changes: Commenced Microneedling routine alongside final baseline 3-pump schedule.

Day 244

• Amount: 190.0 ml

Day 245

• Amount: 285.0 ml

Day 246

• Amount: 230.0 ml

Day 247

• Amount: 265.0 ml

Had a video call this morning that was supposed to be 15 minutes and it turned into almost an hour. About halfway through I reached for my coffee, shifted in my chair, and suddenly realized my breast pump was still going. I had started a session right before the call and completely forgot about it. Nothing happened, nobody saw anything, but the realization hit me in the middle of explaining something to a client and I just completely lost my train of thought for a second. I had to pretend my wifi glitched while I collected myself.

Please tell me I'm not the only one who has forgotten they were pumping and had a little panic moment afterwards :)

For context, I no longer pump, but I’m a boss with an employee who does and I want better for her.

When I had my baby, my job (specifically the female HR administrator that deals with all things baby leave/etc) basically told me to try and book the conference room if I needed to pump. Well, many people have keys to the conf room, and it’s always booked for meetings, so I wasn’t comfortable using it.

I only have an open cubicle, so I tried to advocate for myself and they erected a small cubical inside of a closet on the floor below my office area. It had a fridge, a chair, and a small side table. Problem was that though the cubical had a door, it wasn’t ceiling height, so people kept peeking into it wondering why there was a cubicle in the lab coat closet, which had a ton of traffic. I searched some laws, and found that areas provided to pump had to be a certain height, brought that back to the company, and they had to bring it to the ceiling.

Now, I don’t want to sound unappreciative, but having to come there every 2-3 hours (the time my baby was feeding at the time) and pump, plus cleaning the parts, plus the travel time, and lugging all my stuff back and forth. (There was no sink so I’d also have to go to the cafeteria if I wanted to wash anything, but tried to just use wipes.) Well, you can imagine it took so much time from my work day, and the constant disruptions impacted my work.

It wasn’t long before I just stopped going to the room bc it was so far. I ended up (when my boss was in meetings or not in office) used her office to pump which at the time was near my desk, or pump in my car. Eventually, I started pumping less bc of the disruption it made to my work which lowered my supply and I had to combo feed. It sucked, but I was the only one pumping, they technically were adhering to the laws, so I just let it go.

My boss ended up moving her office downstairs next to this pumping room, and then after having her 2nd baby, attempted to use it, but found the same issues I did, even though the room was on the opposite wall of her office. She eventually just pumped in her office and kept the door locked when doing so, and that worked for her.

Welp, my employee just came back to work, and facilities gave her access to the “pump room” (really just a closet in a closet) upon request. Luckily, they’ve moved the lab coats so there’s not as much traffic, but had similar issues I did. So she started pumping at her desk (with the ones that go in your bra) by like day 3 back at work. She told me about it, and I asked her if there was anything I could do, maybe I could talk to HR/Facilities if she could use an office upstairs, or if they could just close off her cubical. She agreed to the closing off her cube, and so I asked if that would be possible. Welp, HR told her it doesn’t meet the requirements, so she’s not allowed to pump AT ALL at her desk, or in any office even if it’s not in use, and she HAS to use the “pump room”. She was so upset, and I feel like I made things worse, bc now she can’t even use her (in bra) pump at her desk.

I don’t know what to do anymore. I’ve tried to go back to HR and they just say it “doesn’t meet the requirements”. (Assuming they mean fridge access and height of space.)

I’ve felt so terrible about this. I offered to my employee (who was already working hybrid schedule) to just work from home entirely if she wanted, whatever she needed to support her and her baby. I also, out of my own pocket, went and bought a portable bottle/pump part dishwasher/sterilizer/dryer and a separate drying rack since there’s no sink access in that room. I also got a bunch of other things to make it better/more comfortable: ice packs, breast milk bags, labels, storage containers, pump/bottle wipes, a rolling cart/desk and attachment for cup/bottle holder, pump chargers for two different pumps. I figured if anyone else has a baby, they could use all this stuff too.

Since I know she uses a spectra, I’m going to bring in mine (I can go online and get some replacement parts for her) and just leave that one in the pump room. This way she never has to worry about lugging hers back and forth to work. And again, if anyone else has a baby and ends up pumping and needs to use it, they could just plug in their own parts.

I just feel bad for making the situation worse. And I know other people have it worse, and it wasn’t a terrible situation, but I just didn’t want her to end up how I did. I just need a sanity check. Was the request unreasonable? Should I be more thankful of the space provided? Did I mess everything up for my employee?

Edit: I forgot to also mention that the only other person that was pregnant recently before me, was in a different building. She was told the same thing about using a conf room, but the only conf room in her building had one wall of window, barely covering by some flimsy blinds, so she ended up just pumping in her car. And within a short period, stopped pumping all together for the same reasons regarding it being a disruption to have to constantly go to her car.

Hi everyone, I’m a first-time mom looking for some reassurance. I’m 3 weeks postpartum. I had a postpartum hemorrhage, mild anemia, and I have hypothyroidism. My baby lost 9.2% of her birth weight by day 3, so we’ve been supplementing with formula while I work on increasing my milk supply. I’m pumping 8–10 times a day. Today’s total pumped was about 17.3 oz (510 mL). Most pumping sessions are around 1.3–2 oz, with my morning pump usually around 2.5–2.6 oz. My supply has steadily increased over the past week (from about 6 oz/day to 17 oz/day), but I’m worried that I’m still behind for 3 weeks postpartum.

Does this look like a good trajectory? Has anyone had a similar delayed start and still gone on to build a full or mostly full supply?

I’m worried that I may never catch up and would really appreciate hearing about others’ experiences.

A babysitting family member took the fresh milk I had given her to feed baby for the day and she just froze the whole bottle. I can’t find a reputable source online about if this milk is safe for baby to drink since that’s obviously not the recommended storage.

The milk is frozen in roughly 6oz portions in the Lansinoh plastic collection bottles with a good air gap between the milk and the screw on plastic lid. My concerns are that the bottles are leakproof but not necessarily airtight so I am concerned about odors and bacteria from the freezer getting to the milk and making baby sick. Also concerned about hot spots in the reheating process.

An entire days worth of pumping was frozen this way :( Would you feed it to your baby or do you think it’s ruined?

The first 5 weeks pp I was producing 30 oz a day. Then ebf onward. The first week ebf she got 24 oz a day then it kept dwindling now she gets 16-20 oz on a good day and she’s 3 months old.

She won’t take formula or pumped milk from a bottle or syringe. I’ve tried different kinds of nipples and warming the milk. Holding her close to the breast. But she just won’t eat. She cries makes an offended face and spits it all out which is weird bc she’ll take her gripe water and gas drops from the syringe. I don’t have high lipase milk. Idk what to do she’s 0% percentile for weight and has been the same weight for the last 2 weeks. I tried to message and call her pediatrician but the soonest they can get her in is the 17th. I’m scared I’m a bad mom and I don’t know what else to do.

I thought I’d start pumping after half of my sessions for 10 minutes so that by the end of the day I have a 3-6 oz bottle for her to push her to the 20-24 oz range daily but she won’t take the milk from a bottle or syringe. What do I do.

Just some insights. She was born April 7th at 39 weeks and some change. She weighed 6 lbs and 9.5 oz at birth. At her 1 month appt on 5/11 she weighed 6 lbs and 14 oz. According to my at home hatch scale she has weighed 8 lbs and 4 oz since June 15… I’m scared she has plateaued because today she still weighed that weigh I go to start a weighed feed and after she’ll eat 1.5-3 oz normally sometimes 3-6 if she’s really hungry.

I’ve tried everything. I’ve tried feeding her every three hours or four hours to make her more hungry and usually that works, but I’ve been needing to feed her more because even then it’s still not enough. Whenever I feed her more frequently like every two hours, she’ll eat maybe like an ounce and a half which is even less than if I were to feed her less frequently I don’t understand. Latch feels great: she nurses for 30 minutes (15 min each side). She usually uses a shield but transfer isn’t bad according to our weighted feeds from LC and without it is good too she says? I’m perplexed honestly?

Any advice or similar situations. The pediatrician cant get me in earlier and i asked to be put on their cancellation list.

I should also know that for the first five weeks, I was exclusively pumping because she was not able to really latch and she was falling asleep. Now she’s much more awake. But still not eating enough, but she has been eating a lot more than at the five week mark with a bottle. At five weeks with a bottle, she was eating 18 ounces a day. But finally at six weeks the nipple showed worked and then a couple of weeks later I was able to takeoff the shield sometimes but haven’t been able to completely wean off of it because she freaks out whenever I try to put her on the boob without the shield first. I don’t really notice a difference in transfer with or without the shield to be honest.

Also, she has enough wet diapers every day she has anywhere from 6 to 9 wet diapers, but as of the last week, she’s only pooped once in a week. I read online though that this could be normal. She doesn’t seem too sleepy or anything and smiles at us and his meeting all of her a milestones like her eyes are able to track high contrast cards and she’s trying to start to laugh like a clicking sound. And has been putting her hands in her mouth all of the time even when she’s definitely not hungry like after eating 6 ounces maybe overnight that happens once in a blue moon. I just don’t understand.

Last note, she usually eats 7 to 8 times a day.

I don’t know why this is so triggering/annoying to me. I think because of birth interventions my milk came in later than I would have liked. I felt like I had to scramble to figure out feeding. I guess I thought it would be easier, smooth from the get go. It has become much better as I have a good supply and my baby latches well at 2.5 months. At first we were pumping and bottle feeding and I absolutely hated when people would check up to make sure I’d fed her. I literally switched from pumping to nursing bc I couldn’t handle my mother asking if she was hungry or if I was feeding her enough. I’ve tried snapping at her when she suggests my daughter needs some milk. She’s a little bit of a grumpy baby, by that I mean she’s just not the baby who never cries. She cries, I don’t mind it or blame her or get too frustrated. My mother on the other hand can’t handle it and as soon as baby starts crying she will say “ohh mama, I think somebody’s hungry” or “do you have a bottle for her” if she’s the one holding her. If I’m holding her it’s “when’s the last time she had a bottle?” As if I would forget to feed my baby. I’m a SAHM and all I do is change her, contact nap with her and watch for her hunger cues, she’s not going to get to full on crying out of hunger before I’ve fed her. I think I’m doing pretty well with this mom stuff so far. I’m offended people seem to think I haven’t fed my daughter and she’s having a hunger meltdown. Babies just cry sometimes. Is anyone else irritated when people try to intervene on your baby’s feeding?

FTM baby 1 week old -

I can’t get baby to latch without a nipple shield, my nipple kind of just wrinkles up and stays flat, so nothing is hitting the roof of the mouth or signaling baby to suck. I’ve tried manipulating it and pinching it into a different shape but it’s just not really working. I think I have inverted or flat nipples as well, they do come out sometimes but only a tiny bit and not for long. its always been this way but since my boobs got larger they have been less likely to stay uninverted. I’m a 40g and my nipples are really large idk if this matters but i feel like if they were smaller maybe it would be working ??

Hi all! Not sure if this is the right place to ask for support/help but I’m getting myself all worked up and anxious and need some help.
My baby is 11 months and due to a number of reasons I’d like to wean him off next month after he turns 1. I’ve then got a window of roughly a month before he starts nursery and I go back to work.
I’m so anxious: where do I start? How do I start? Will I make him upset? Will it break down our bond?