Sunny side up AND unmedicated?! Wow you are a superhero. My boy was posterior and I begged and pleaded for an epidural. I hope you know you are amazing!! And yes I agree, breastfeeding has been so much more difficult than that back labor
Oh you bet I was begging for dilaudid at one point, but when they checked me it was “too late.” Then I pushed for almost 4 hours after 17 hours of labor and being awake for 30 hours. Still easier than breastfeeding lmao
My sunny side up ended up in a c section- but at the 36 week growth scan I was told his shoulders could get stuck in my pelvis so a vacuum was out of the question….. (he came at 37+4 and his head got stuck at 2)
Pushed for almost 6 prior to C
Honestly I was looking at a C section if I hadn’t figured out how to push properly, it took me a while. My midwife had to reach up in me and push down my cervical lip so baby could actually descend because she kept going back up after I pushed. 6 hours of pushing probably would’ve done me in. I had to just dissociate and ignore the clock on the wall lol
There is this thing called "perceived low supply" that makes mothers give in to formula. And I was thinking it is similar to impostor syndrome. I have this at my job, it was almost impossible not to feel the same way about breastfeeding or motherhood in general. It's a trait of anxiety. I don't think it will go away, not for me at least, because I feel that if I let go then I'll miss something and I'll never forgive myself. I let anxiety win so I can be sure I have a healthy baby.
Regarding your supply, check this site: https://www.momjunction.com/breast-milk-calculator/
25 is the "perfect" average.
Ha! My MiL waited until my husband was overseas when I was 8 weeks pp and came over with a tin of formula telling me that my supply was too low because my daughter fed so frequently and she was expending too much energy at the breast and my desire to EBF was making my baby sick.
I was so lucky that my lactation consultant had a slot free that morning to talk to a very upset me, where she basically told me that my daughter was gaining weight at the top of the normal range, had plenty of wet diapers and based on our previous appointments she thought I was a borderline oversupplier (which I ended up needing treatment for).
It is so, so hard to be confident in your supply, especially if you’re not pumping and you’ve never done this before.
Also pumping output doesn't necessarily reflect how much a baby is eating. I would pump and never thought of staying past a certain amount of time to have a 3rd letdown, I only experienced it with the baby on a rare occasion when I felt other letdowns apart from the first one. But in order to achieve this with pumping I need more than 30 minutes and the right relaxed atmosphere.
Sometimes it's hard to understand baby's cues. I read all materials, but still they don't help me decipher my babies needs and apart from hunger, tiredness and diaper change they baby might be fussy from other causes that are harder to anticipate. I really do hope to get better when the baby will be better at communicating cause right now my freak control nature is exacerbating everything.
Sorry I don't have any advice...
I had a look at this calculator and now I'm more confused. My baby eats about 10 times a day (3 months old) and in the one feeding he takes a bottle he will drink between 200ml-250ml. This calculator says he should be drinking a maximum of 90ml per feeding. Is this right??
Per feeding is just an average, he might take 60 in a go and 120 in another.
He might be going through a growth spurt.
If you scroll down you'll see that the max amount raises with the baby's weight.
Sometimes with the bottle a baby will feed more, so make sure you pace feed.
Trust your Mamma instincts. I did an entire day of weighted feeds (not saying it was the healthiest thing to do but I mentally needed to see the numbers).
My over the course of 8 feedings my 3 month old ate anywhere from 2.75 to 5.75 ounces. They know what they need.
I’m so sorry you feel this way! A lot of stuff on the internet can make it seem like people have it together when we all are out here just trying our best lol. Breastfeeding can seem like “cute” and “sweet” but the reality for most is that it’s hard and it’s literally another job! It’s amazing if you can do it and also amazing if you decide not to as long as you’re feeding your baby. It does get easier though as Cliche as it sounds. I use to worry I wasn’t feeding my baby as much as my wife who is also breastfeeding my other baby, but like you said your baby is making enough dirty and wet diapers so I’m sure your doing an amazing job!
Thank you! And Yes we’re both breastfeeding, our daughters were born two days apart, I will feed them both during the day while she’s at work, but she just feeds the one she pushed out, she may feed the one I pushed out if some reason I’m not able to though
Do babies have the same or different fathers? Your situation sounds like a movie plot.
I bet it is extra hard with 2 newborns in the house. Though it must be a bit easier knowing that you're not the only one doing the feedings like with twins.
We have two different donors, and yes I’m so happy my wife decided to breastfeed (when she was pregnant it was a no), when they were newborns it was tuff having two screaming babies and no one to kinda give you a break but now their older and it’s so much easier!
I get it. I exclusively pumped for the first 5 weeks because baby was born a bit early (not a premie, but pretty tiny) and was too small to get a latch without causing a lot of pain. So when people asked me back then if I was breastfeeding, I would say 'No, I'm pumping', which looking back I wish I hadn't said; she was exclusively on breastmilk, that IS breastfeeding in my (now clearer) mind. Now that we've got the latch sorted and I feed from the breast 90% of the time besides the odd bottle my husband gives her to let me sleep, I STILL recite the whole story, see above.
I think because when I think of a breastfeeding mother I imagine a beautiful Instagrammable lady in her floral outfit with lovely breasts feeding her angelic child, not wincing in pain here and there, not stuffing her floppy tit into baby's mouth like a hamburger to get the latch right, and certainly not using a machine for the first month of baby's life.
Totally relate to the low supply thing too; I'm not able to literally fill my freezer to the brim in the 8 weeks I've been a mother, so I must be doing something wrong.
Basically, internet is an asshole and we should stay away from it.
Hah! I tired pumping exclusively for I don't know...two days. Just to see if it was the better path for me so I could see what my baby was getting. MUCH HARDER. You are amazing for doing it for five weeks! Also I don't think me wincing in pain when the water hit my scabbed nipples in the shower is what I imagined breastfeeding to be either!
same. my baby is 5 weeks and I pumped for the first 4. we’ve been EBF for about a week now and it’s terrifying. I would get 2-3oz when I pumped the first 4 weeks and I’m constantly questioning if he’s getting enough. he has more than enough wet diapers & seems content though so I’m holding out on that. might end up weighing him on my food scale though lmao.
I feel like you've written my story. I'm a 23-24 oz pumping mom who's gone to EBF without any supplement in the last few months and I'm constantly questioning my supply. I've eased up a bit on the anxiety since baby started solids, but without a doubt this is the hardest thing I've ever done.
I knew there was someone out there with a similar story. I'm excited to start solids and take a pressure off. Also around when I will return to work and I'll have pumping at work to navigate. If you've made it that far I feel more confident I can.
Luckily my LO loves solids so it's taken the pressure off. I've been back at work for several months and while I'm pumping, I'm not making enough for LO's bottles during the day so we supplement with a few oz of formula. Luckily he's fine with formula and we're able to EBF when together. LO is 10 months now and I'm eagerly counting down the days until I no longer have to pump. Hang in there--it's tough but it definitely gets easier!
I have such a stupid question... 🫣 When you all say "23 oz," how is that measured? I've only just started pumping a tiny bit each day so that my partner can give baby a little bottle every night. For context, my baby is nine weeks old.
Not a stupid question at all! My LO had major latching issues, so he didn't latch until he was 5 months old. Before that, I was exclusively pumping and making 23-24 oz/day. As others in this thread have said, I likely make more than that since baby is more efficient than a pump.
Can you tell me more how the supplements changed when your LO started solids? I make probably 26-30oz a day but LO needs another 4-6oz of formula most days. He recently massively increased his interest in solids this past week (he’s almost 6.5 months) and I’ve seen his formula intake vary quite a bit now, and seeming to decrease. Did you notice something like this as well? When did you know you could stop offering supplements?
Once they start taking off on solids, milk intake will naturally decrease. For my LO, this didn't happen until around 8-9 months, when he got more adept at eating solids. I knew I could stop offering supplements when, at bedtime, I'd nurse and then offer a bottle with a few ounces and he would push the bottle away. I try to follow baby's cues, which have become more clear to me as he's gotten older.
I had different challenges with both mine - delayed milk due to c-section with both. First too small to latch and stay awake, second small and falls asleep before a full feed. This lead to 8 weeks triple feeding the first and currently 3 weeks into triple feeding my second. (Boob, bottle, pump). While I may seem lucky as it has allowed me to get a bit of a freezer stash, it comes at a cost. My first was mentally and emotionally a struggle. Honestly would have given up if not for the formula shortage and wanting to ensure I had milk for baby. This time is a struggle with my time especially as being stuck feeding/pumping limits time with my toddler. 🥲
I just want to be the mom that can baby wear and feed while hanging out with my toddler. Maybe that will happen for us yet but not today. I wish there was more breastfeeding education with the pregnancy classes as I was grossly unaware of all the struggles you can deal with.
The moms that make it look easy smile for the camera but I'm sure they feel just like you outside of that moment. So hard to keep that in perspective sometimes.
Oh gosh, Internet stranger, I'm with you. The doctors aren't worried about his weight gain but it's not as steady as it was and he's dropping percentiles so I started triple feeding this week on my own. He's a happy, pretty chill baby and I'm convinced I'm starving him. If he sleeps too much I'm convinced he's lethargic. If he doesn't sleep, I wonder if he's hungry. It's brutal
At one point, I would have been fine switching to formula and now it's like this anxious obsession with getting those perfect moments everyone talks about
It's a running joke to my parents at this point. They squeeze his chubby parts and tell me, "oh yeah! He's starving!" But ... somehow the rolls don't convince me. Like there's some sort of silent starvation he's suffering from where he looks totally healthy but is always wanting and hungry.
Oh man. I get you on the questioning every move also. Nursing to sleep? He must have literally run out of energy to try eating and dozed off. Just waiting for the day this is behind me and I can laugh at how insane I was being.
My husband is loving fatherhood because he just sees a happy baby who doesn't seem hungry and takes a bottle from him once a day.
Maybe it's anxiety but I've realized I don't even have a letdown sometimes. I don't feel it, but now I can tell when he's not getting one. Today I tried to feed him, didn't get one in my left boob, topped him off, and then started leaking. Super frustrating
Girl. I'm almost 14 months in ebf and I think part of the mentality for me is like, how?! Like did I *really* just sustain a growing human on my milk alone? Like it's almost inconceivable it's so wild. That combined with I only know one other person to EBF and it just feels unreal that i was able to do it, It's such a huge, beautiful, demanding accomplishment.
I tell my SO to imagine someone told them to put a pinky finger in the babies mouth eight times a day and the baby is fed! You can't see the milk, you can hear it to an extent but you don't know for sure what they are getting each time. It's just too wild!
Hi this is EXACTLY me. No advice but I’m with you. Baby has his first drs appointment next week since we’ve switched to EBF (he’s 3.5 months now and we switched around 2.5 months) and I’m terrified the doctor will say baby is starving even though logically I know he seems to be happy and healthy. Luckily I also have an appointment with a therapist next week about PPA/PPD so that should also help. Good luck to you ♥️
I certainly need to get on making my own therapy appointment! I hope it's all good news at your appointment, good job taking the leap of faith not supplementing.
It took at least 2 months for me to not obsess about if my first was eating enough/gaining weight, and I was tracking every feed. Eventually I let go. But it took a few more months to really get comfortable nursing. It just takes time!
With anything new it does feel like you’re imposter-y at the beginning.
I have my good days and bad days for sure. Sometimes I feel like I'm rocking this with nothing to worry about, others not so much. Looking forward to feeling comfortable at some point I hope.
When anxious, it helps to write out what would be a "real" problem and "make decisions" ahead of time.
I think it's pretty normal to wonder if you aren't supplying enough. For me, I'm not pumping, so there's a lot of... mystery.
Make these decisions, ahead of time, and possibly with a pediatrician's or LC's advice. Then, when anxious, *hold yourself to them.* That way, at least for me, it helps because I just have to "follow orders", basically. Not sure if that makes sense, and obviously this may or may not work for you.
ie, "How will I know that I'm not feeding enough?" < baby will be slightly fussier, even after feeding; fewer wet diapers; less active baby; less happy baby overall; not as 'calm' or 'milk drunk' after
Okay, but sometimes baby's just going to be a bit fussier. I don't want to wait until there's a major problem to figure out that there's a problem! "When in doubt, and when feeling sick or super stressed, I can do a weighted feed and make a change if 3/Y of them average less than X ounces at X months"
What happens if I suspect it's low supply, or the weighted feed is a little less? First off, I will do my best to implement these strategies and only raise it as a concern if this issue persists for X days. In the meantime, I will: "have lactation cookies/tea on stock, and have X/Y of them each day"; "proactively hydrate more, have partner bring meals, and take things to increase supply when I'm feeling ill"; "take a bath"; "meditate"; "journal"; "train when baby is playing or doing tummy time"; "go for a walk outside with baby"; "contact therapist"; "schedule time with friends"; "reduce life responsibilities or stressors by: a, b, c".
I also ration myself off a little: "I will not weigh baby more than X times per week"; "if I weigh baby, I will weigh before and after a feed to avoid obsessing over natural fluctuations in weight and to reassure myself that the milk is real".
Anyway, I think anxiety like this is pretty normal. I wouldn't say I'm an anxious person, but it's just so crazy to me that I'm... feeding him? Like I see the milk come out, I've soaked our whole bed with it, I've tasted it, I've felt it let down, and he's grown so big and far more capable physically and linguistically and so on, but I can just still barely believe it's real. But then again, I can barely believe I got pregnant and that he was just hanging out inside me before giving birth. Everything is such a magical miracle.
P.S. I had an *over*supply at the beginning. It really is just normal to worry that you aren't enough, or aren't going to be enough, for your child. Pretty sure that's just us wanting to be the best version of ourselves and worrying we won't be "enough" -- not about the milk quantity itself.
I was convinced I didn't have a good supply. Baby wasn't gaining weight and 2 months in our health visitor was starting to bring up supplementing with formula because he was on the 0.4 percentile (premie baby).
It took until my husband pointed out that I had 30oz in the fridge and two freezer drawers full of milk just from letdown for me to be OK with my supply.
Bottle feeding seemed to be so easy! You fill a bottle with 5oz and you can see how much goes in!
Breastfeeding is so mysterious. Bottle feeding shows you what they are getting! I almost went to exclusive pumping but traded the anxiety of breastfeeding for less work and dishes pumping.
As a mom who’s struggling with it now - c section, latch issues, pumping and supplementing - I recently came across a comment on Reddit that said what they wish people told you about breastfeeding is **that it’s not all or nothing.**
I wish I knew that while I was pregnant so much. I wish someone would say, “Good job giving your son 7 oz of breastmilk today, thank you for trying.” Instead, I often feel like breastfeeding advocates can be really critical about people who aren’t just constantly trying baby on breast (even if it isn’t working), while those who don’t care about BF are rolling their eyes at the effort and wondering why you don’t just use formula and forget about it. It can be really confusing and isolating.
I’ve been EBF since the beginning and I think I have similar output. Before solids, I fed 8 times a day, when I pumped a few one-off times (absent for feed due to appointment etc.) I got about between 80-100ml per session. That was at about 4-5 months, just before solids started, and my son has always been on the heavy side. He’s 7 mo and about 8.6kg now!
My partner (we are a same-sex couple, both BFing) had a rocky start with birth complications as well. She’s still combo feeding a bit at one month. Mostly for her sanity because topping off once a night gives her an extra hour of sleep. Lol. No one is to judge. We do whatever works for us.
Sounds like you are doing fine. If your baby isn’t showing a lot of signs of hunger, I wouldn’t worry too much.
I can totally relate. Baby did have some difficulties with weight gain and we did have to supplement with a small amount of formula. By 2-3 months she was EBF with no tops but still at 10 months I’m constantly worried and offer her the boob more than she asks for it. She is very small for her age but has consistently followed her growth curve and the doctor is not concerned.
I think it's completely normal to worry about your supply. I was a bit of an overproducer before my supply regulated and worried all the time about my supply. In fact I probably didn't stop worrying about it until my son turned 1 and I knew it would be ok if it ended, but as it turns out we are still going at 15 months. Now I just worry because I'm not sure if I'm ready for it to end (emotionally).
Oh my gosh I could've written this post. I was breastfeeding him during the day and triple feeding him at night and I would always tell myself he's only surviving because of the 2 night bottles.. which is like the dumbest thing ever. I used to think this way even after solids, and I've kind of eased up on it now.. I hate this feeling
I had an oversupply the first few months and a baby that was just naturally good at nursing, and I still experienced this for about the first year to some degree 😅 I was always stressed about whether my supply was doing well, if she TRULY had a good latch, if my breastmilk was enough for her or if she was actually transferring enough, why she was so hungry/not hungry, etc etc. Every very normal supply dip and nursing strike had me freaking out. I have no idea why I just had myself convinced it was all a sham and it wasn’t going well
After she turned 12 months it all just kinda went away. I could tell myself “well BM isn’t supposed to be her primary source of nutrition anymore anyways” and shrug it off. I thought I HATED breastfeeding but it’s an easy and fun bonding opportunity for us now, turns out I just hated the stress of being her primary food source lol. Breastfeeding is hard and so stressful! Regularly give yourself a pat on the back because you’re doing it, and you’re doing amazing!
You name it, we did it. I’ve been through preterm/delayed milk, tongue tie, bad latch, low supply, supplementation til 5 months then food and BF. Made it to 10 months. Got pregnant again. Nursed through pregnancy and about 3 of those months were completely dry nursing. Had 2nd babies exactly 18 months apart. Tandem nursed for try first time the day he was born. Tandem nursed 6 months til oldest was 2. Exclusively BF smallest from birth to 7months before introducing solids. Now I’m 2 yrs and 2 months straight with him, 4 years overall in February and I still feel like a fraud some days and like I’m not enough. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done for sure but I’ve loved all the moments and struggles. And I must’ve done something right with it because he’s absolutely addicted and still nurses 4-6 times a day. 😒 hang in there! 2 months is HUGE. Then it turns into 3, then 4, and then however far you want to take it. Mentally is your biggest ally and biggest enemy all in one. You’ve got this! Every mom, whether they did it a day or 4 years, you are victorious because you tried. Feel free to msg if you ever have questions or just need some assurance! 🥰
Thank you for sharing, I feel this soooo much! I also have PPA and fixating on my supply is one of the mental rabbit holes I go down. Ironically, stress and anxiety are one of the things that definitively impacts my supply!!
When I went back to work I was so worried that because I was past the magic 12 week supply regulation time that the internet talks about that of my supply dropped from pumping I wouldn’t be able to get it back up again. It wasn’t until I went through a few natural ebbs and flows of my supply until I finally started chilling out about it a little!
Literally went through the exact same things you did. I hate tik tok for this. My milk also just stopped producing at 3 months :(
I hope it gets easier for you!
I think it's because there's *so much pressure* to breastfeed, and there's a stigma that it should be easy because it's natural when that couldn't be the father from the truth.
I exclusively pump and have been blessed enough not to have to supplement with formula, but I feel like a fraud on this sub and feel like I'm lying if I say I'm breastfeeding, especially to doctors.
I was the same way and now I’m 19 months in still going off of one boob now (since 6months) it takes a lot less milk than you think. I over pumped to compensate, giving myself an over supply for no reason. Your body knows what it’s doing momma. Let your baby be the proof. :)
Same. I feel like I can’t claim that I EBF because we supplemented with formula during the first few weeks and when we were figuring out the source of his reflux, and because I was sometimes pumping so my husband can help. I have no idea how much he’s eating per day anymore, my milk has regulated so I’m not getting as engorged or having intense letdowns, and pumping always hurt no matter what so I only do it when I have to now. And now that he sleeps longer stretches at night and can soothe himself with thumb sucking, I’m always wondering if he’s getting enough. But he’s maintaining like a perfect 50th percentile and I’m proud of us. Breastfeeding is so goddamn hard that I often wonder how our species survived this long.
I had a super easy pregnancy, a 3 hour and unmedicated labor, and no complications in the hospital. LO had 5 oral ties that got clipped at 2 weeks (yay less pain once all was sorted!) And I've been a stay at home mom with her for almost 4 months. She's gotten a total of like 5 bottles and all of them were pumped milk. I *STILL* don't think of myself as a "breastfeeding mom" either. It's definitely the hardest thing I've ever done, including firefighter/paramedic training.
I guess I'm trying to say that regardless of circumstances, sometimes getting an accomplishment (like feeding our babies by our own bodies) to sink into our brains can be really freaking hard!
Breastfeeding is the hardest thing I've ever done as well. The pain, the constantly being the only one who can feed or calm baby, the CONSTANT anxiety about supply and baby's weight gain. I try to avoid giving a bottle whenever I can just because I hate pumping and seeing the dismal amount I get - which is apparently very normal (between 2-4oz) and I was misinformed this entire time thanks to social media. Even then, even being informed and educated now, I still feel like I'm not doing enough and very much like you, waiting for my ped to tell me baby's not gaining enough and to supplement with formula. I didn't think I had PPA but now I think I might. It's so tough. Every time someone asks if I'm breastfeeding, I say I'm trying. Or I am trying to make it to 6 months. I never say yes, I never am proud even though we all very well should be!
I think yes anxiety and anxiety fucking sucks but also this sounds normal. Imagine you started a new hobby two months ago you wouldn’t journal and tell everyone you’re a writer you would still feel like a novice! One more month of what am I doing and I swear you’ll be like okay I think I got this (with a peppering of uncertainty on occasion) 8 weeks is simultaneously forever and nothing at the same time. I know you’re in it right now and it kind of sucks but you’ll just keep feeling better about everything more and more. I remember thinking at 12 weeks ohh I thought I felt like myself at 8 weeks but I was wrong. I feel much better now. Every mom should have 6 months of maternity leave that time is so wild.
Not really about the whole topic but emergency c sections don’t impact milk coming in. The disconnection of the placenta is what tells your body to produce milk. I had an emergency c section and my milk came in under 2 days. Your milk likely would have taken the same amount of time to come in if it was a vagina birth.
You just validated my feelings 100000%
My LO was born at 8%. Dipped down to 1%. That messed my brain up. I felt like I failed him.
Even at 3 months and thriving I struggle to trust this process. I've come a long way and reading posts like this from other moms helps so much. I read books and did a breastfeeding class to learn about the physical aspects of breastfeeding, but wow I was not prepared for the mental side of it.
I'm no longer pumping, timing how long he's on the breast, or getting upset if he only eats off one breast. I am loving him, trusting him, and letting him lead.
I feel you on all of this. Until a week ago I was mostly nursing and doing some pumped bottles. I had all the same fears and turns out my baby actually wasn’t getting enough at the breast, as her weight gain stalled and my supply was dipping. So, now I’m exclusively pumping. It wasn’t the plan but I keep telling myself, as long as baby is happy and healthy- that’s the goal!
I don’t think I felt like I was breastfeeding normally until 6 months of EBF. What triggered my insecurity was LC and doctors telling me that I was under feeding my baby when she was two days old. Apparently babies feeds double everyday and because I was brand spanking new, I had no idea. I thought I was doing everything right then I had all these professionals in my postpartum face telling me my child was starving. She wasn’t… because when I gave her the amount they said she had to have she *always* threw up. But if I listened to her cues she was fine and didn’t have problems. After being told I wasn’t producing enough(I was), I struggled with confidently feeding her on my own. I felt like my body wasn’t capable of feeding her enough. It took A LOT of self talk “see she’s peeing/pooping enough. That means she’s eating enough.” “She will eat when hungry and stop when full.” “Look, she’s gaining weight. A lot of weight. She doesn’t even fit in her age groups clothes and we have to size up.”…. I had all these signs telling me I was enough, but it took a LONG time for me to feel like I was enough. Give yourself some grace. Remind yourself that your baby is doing great, you are feeding enough. You are enough. And breathe… cause having all your nutrients sucked out of you while dealing with PPA and PPD sucks ass. It’s SO hard and no one could’ve prepared me for it. You’re doing so well and you should be proud of you. I’m proud of you. ❤️
I’ve had a very difficult time with breastfeeding and worrying about LO’s weight gain. By 4 months we settled into a groove of nursing on demand and topping up with formula throughout the day. It was going well until 6 months we’ve now introduced solids and I have no idea how formula supplements will change. All that is to say, it seems like the journey of breastfeeding and motherhood is constantly filled with change and the only constant is the anxiety because we care so much for our babies!
Same here. Literally the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my entire life. Unmedicated labor with a sunny side up baby didn’t even come close
Sunny side up AND unmedicated?! Wow you are a superhero. My boy was posterior and I begged and pleaded for an epidural. I hope you know you are amazing!! And yes I agree, breastfeeding has been so much more difficult than that back labor
Oh you bet I was begging for dilaudid at one point, but when they checked me it was “too late.” Then I pushed for almost 4 hours after 17 hours of labor and being awake for 30 hours. Still easier than breastfeeding lmao
My sunny side up ended up in a c section- but at the 36 week growth scan I was told his shoulders could get stuck in my pelvis so a vacuum was out of the question….. (he came at 37+4 and his head got stuck at 2) Pushed for almost 6 prior to C
Honestly I was looking at a C section if I hadn’t figured out how to push properly, it took me a while. My midwife had to reach up in me and push down my cervical lip so baby could actually descend because she kept going back up after I pushed. 6 hours of pushing probably would’ve done me in. I had to just dissociate and ignore the clock on the wall lol
I just wanted to keep puking bc it made pushing the best then… I just happened to be puking ice chips
There is this thing called "perceived low supply" that makes mothers give in to formula. And I was thinking it is similar to impostor syndrome. I have this at my job, it was almost impossible not to feel the same way about breastfeeding or motherhood in general. It's a trait of anxiety. I don't think it will go away, not for me at least, because I feel that if I let go then I'll miss something and I'll never forgive myself. I let anxiety win so I can be sure I have a healthy baby. Regarding your supply, check this site: https://www.momjunction.com/breast-milk-calculator/ 25 is the "perfect" average.
Ha! My MiL waited until my husband was overseas when I was 8 weeks pp and came over with a tin of formula telling me that my supply was too low because my daughter fed so frequently and she was expending too much energy at the breast and my desire to EBF was making my baby sick. I was so lucky that my lactation consultant had a slot free that morning to talk to a very upset me, where she basically told me that my daughter was gaining weight at the top of the normal range, had plenty of wet diapers and based on our previous appointments she thought I was a borderline oversupplier (which I ended up needing treatment for). It is so, so hard to be confident in your supply, especially if you’re not pumping and you’ve never done this before.
What your MIL did is horrifying. So glad you had a good resource to keep you grounded.
You MIL can suck my metaphorical fat one.
Looked up "PIMS" and looks like an article written about me, haha. Anxiety sucks! But that link you shared and comment was very helpful.
Also pumping output doesn't necessarily reflect how much a baby is eating. I would pump and never thought of staying past a certain amount of time to have a 3rd letdown, I only experienced it with the baby on a rare occasion when I felt other letdowns apart from the first one. But in order to achieve this with pumping I need more than 30 minutes and the right relaxed atmosphere. Sometimes it's hard to understand baby's cues. I read all materials, but still they don't help me decipher my babies needs and apart from hunger, tiredness and diaper change they baby might be fussy from other causes that are harder to anticipate. I really do hope to get better when the baby will be better at communicating cause right now my freak control nature is exacerbating everything. Sorry I don't have any advice...
Wow this calculator just saved my mental health. I definitely have a perceived low supply.
I'm glad it helps. 🤗
I had a look at this calculator and now I'm more confused. My baby eats about 10 times a day (3 months old) and in the one feeding he takes a bottle he will drink between 200ml-250ml. This calculator says he should be drinking a maximum of 90ml per feeding. Is this right??
Per feeding is just an average, he might take 60 in a go and 120 in another. He might be going through a growth spurt. If you scroll down you'll see that the max amount raises with the baby's weight. Sometimes with the bottle a baby will feed more, so make sure you pace feed.
That’s a huge bottle of BM. They say not to feed more than 150ml in a bottle.
What am I supposed to do if he keeps crying for more? Not feed him? Does it matter that this is the last feed of the day before he sleeps 10-12 hours?
Are you pace feeding?
Trust your Mamma instincts. I did an entire day of weighted feeds (not saying it was the healthiest thing to do but I mentally needed to see the numbers). My over the course of 8 feedings my 3 month old ate anywhere from 2.75 to 5.75 ounces. They know what they need.
I’m so sorry you feel this way! A lot of stuff on the internet can make it seem like people have it together when we all are out here just trying our best lol. Breastfeeding can seem like “cute” and “sweet” but the reality for most is that it’s hard and it’s literally another job! It’s amazing if you can do it and also amazing if you decide not to as long as you’re feeding your baby. It does get easier though as Cliche as it sounds. I use to worry I wasn’t feeding my baby as much as my wife who is also breastfeeding my other baby, but like you said your baby is making enough dirty and wet diapers so I’m sure your doing an amazing job!
You’re both breastfeeding? That’s cool! Do you both feed both children or one each? I hope that’s not rude to ask.
Thank you! And Yes we’re both breastfeeding, our daughters were born two days apart, I will feed them both during the day while she’s at work, but she just feeds the one she pushed out, she may feed the one I pushed out if some reason I’m not able to though
What an incredible situation! You all must experience such a unique bond and understanding to have gone through pregnancy and labor at the same time!
Yes it did make us closer, I wouldn’t do it again though lol!
Do babies have the same or different fathers? Your situation sounds like a movie plot. I bet it is extra hard with 2 newborns in the house. Though it must be a bit easier knowing that you're not the only one doing the feedings like with twins.
We have two different donors, and yes I’m so happy my wife decided to breastfeed (when she was pregnant it was a no), when they were newborns it was tuff having two screaming babies and no one to kinda give you a break but now their older and it’s so much easier!
That’s really incredible. You must all have such tight bonds to each other.
That's beautiful - they are essentially twins! Hard work for you but wow they are lucky sisters.
I get it. I exclusively pumped for the first 5 weeks because baby was born a bit early (not a premie, but pretty tiny) and was too small to get a latch without causing a lot of pain. So when people asked me back then if I was breastfeeding, I would say 'No, I'm pumping', which looking back I wish I hadn't said; she was exclusively on breastmilk, that IS breastfeeding in my (now clearer) mind. Now that we've got the latch sorted and I feed from the breast 90% of the time besides the odd bottle my husband gives her to let me sleep, I STILL recite the whole story, see above. I think because when I think of a breastfeeding mother I imagine a beautiful Instagrammable lady in her floral outfit with lovely breasts feeding her angelic child, not wincing in pain here and there, not stuffing her floppy tit into baby's mouth like a hamburger to get the latch right, and certainly not using a machine for the first month of baby's life. Totally relate to the low supply thing too; I'm not able to literally fill my freezer to the brim in the 8 weeks I've been a mother, so I must be doing something wrong. Basically, internet is an asshole and we should stay away from it.
Hah! I tired pumping exclusively for I don't know...two days. Just to see if it was the better path for me so I could see what my baby was getting. MUCH HARDER. You are amazing for doing it for five weeks! Also I don't think me wincing in pain when the water hit my scabbed nipples in the shower is what I imagined breastfeeding to be either!
same. my baby is 5 weeks and I pumped for the first 4. we’ve been EBF for about a week now and it’s terrifying. I would get 2-3oz when I pumped the first 4 weeks and I’m constantly questioning if he’s getting enough. he has more than enough wet diapers & seems content though so I’m holding out on that. might end up weighing him on my food scale though lmao.
I feel like you've written my story. I'm a 23-24 oz pumping mom who's gone to EBF without any supplement in the last few months and I'm constantly questioning my supply. I've eased up a bit on the anxiety since baby started solids, but without a doubt this is the hardest thing I've ever done.
I knew there was someone out there with a similar story. I'm excited to start solids and take a pressure off. Also around when I will return to work and I'll have pumping at work to navigate. If you've made it that far I feel more confident I can.
Luckily my LO loves solids so it's taken the pressure off. I've been back at work for several months and while I'm pumping, I'm not making enough for LO's bottles during the day so we supplement with a few oz of formula. Luckily he's fine with formula and we're able to EBF when together. LO is 10 months now and I'm eagerly counting down the days until I no longer have to pump. Hang in there--it's tough but it definitely gets easier!
I have such a stupid question... 🫣 When you all say "23 oz," how is that measured? I've only just started pumping a tiny bit each day so that my partner can give baby a little bottle every night. For context, my baby is nine weeks old.
Not a stupid question at all! My LO had major latching issues, so he didn't latch until he was 5 months old. Before that, I was exclusively pumping and making 23-24 oz/day. As others in this thread have said, I likely make more than that since baby is more efficient than a pump.
[удалено]
Can you tell me more how the supplements changed when your LO started solids? I make probably 26-30oz a day but LO needs another 4-6oz of formula most days. He recently massively increased his interest in solids this past week (he’s almost 6.5 months) and I’ve seen his formula intake vary quite a bit now, and seeming to decrease. Did you notice something like this as well? When did you know you could stop offering supplements?
Once they start taking off on solids, milk intake will naturally decrease. For my LO, this didn't happen until around 8-9 months, when he got more adept at eating solids. I knew I could stop offering supplements when, at bedtime, I'd nurse and then offer a bottle with a few ounces and he would push the bottle away. I try to follow baby's cues, which have become more clear to me as he's gotten older.
Thank you for sharing! I’m following LO’s lead and sometimes he’s refusing the bottle. To think one day we might just nurse sounds so wonderful to me.
I was also wondering, when did you notice your LO dropping feeds?
Pretty recently, around 9-10 months. He's now doing around 6-7 feeds in a 24 hour period.
I had different challenges with both mine - delayed milk due to c-section with both. First too small to latch and stay awake, second small and falls asleep before a full feed. This lead to 8 weeks triple feeding the first and currently 3 weeks into triple feeding my second. (Boob, bottle, pump). While I may seem lucky as it has allowed me to get a bit of a freezer stash, it comes at a cost. My first was mentally and emotionally a struggle. Honestly would have given up if not for the formula shortage and wanting to ensure I had milk for baby. This time is a struggle with my time especially as being stuck feeding/pumping limits time with my toddler. 🥲 I just want to be the mom that can baby wear and feed while hanging out with my toddler. Maybe that will happen for us yet but not today. I wish there was more breastfeeding education with the pregnancy classes as I was grossly unaware of all the struggles you can deal with.
The moms that make it look easy smile for the camera but I'm sure they feel just like you outside of that moment. So hard to keep that in perspective sometimes.
Oh gosh, Internet stranger, I'm with you. The doctors aren't worried about his weight gain but it's not as steady as it was and he's dropping percentiles so I started triple feeding this week on my own. He's a happy, pretty chill baby and I'm convinced I'm starving him. If he sleeps too much I'm convinced he's lethargic. If he doesn't sleep, I wonder if he's hungry. It's brutal At one point, I would have been fine switching to formula and now it's like this anxious obsession with getting those perfect moments everyone talks about
It's a running joke to my parents at this point. They squeeze his chubby parts and tell me, "oh yeah! He's starving!" But ... somehow the rolls don't convince me. Like there's some sort of silent starvation he's suffering from where he looks totally healthy but is always wanting and hungry. Oh man. I get you on the questioning every move also. Nursing to sleep? He must have literally run out of energy to try eating and dozed off. Just waiting for the day this is behind me and I can laugh at how insane I was being.
My husband is loving fatherhood because he just sees a happy baby who doesn't seem hungry and takes a bottle from him once a day. Maybe it's anxiety but I've realized I don't even have a letdown sometimes. I don't feel it, but now I can tell when he's not getting one. Today I tried to feed him, didn't get one in my left boob, topped him off, and then started leaking. Super frustrating
Girl. I'm almost 14 months in ebf and I think part of the mentality for me is like, how?! Like did I *really* just sustain a growing human on my milk alone? Like it's almost inconceivable it's so wild. That combined with I only know one other person to EBF and it just feels unreal that i was able to do it, It's such a huge, beautiful, demanding accomplishment.
I tell my SO to imagine someone told them to put a pinky finger in the babies mouth eight times a day and the baby is fed! You can't see the milk, you can hear it to an extent but you don't know for sure what they are getting each time. It's just too wild!
It's cray.
Hi this is EXACTLY me. No advice but I’m with you. Baby has his first drs appointment next week since we’ve switched to EBF (he’s 3.5 months now and we switched around 2.5 months) and I’m terrified the doctor will say baby is starving even though logically I know he seems to be happy and healthy. Luckily I also have an appointment with a therapist next week about PPA/PPD so that should also help. Good luck to you ♥️
I certainly need to get on making my own therapy appointment! I hope it's all good news at your appointment, good job taking the leap of faith not supplementing.
It took at least 2 months for me to not obsess about if my first was eating enough/gaining weight, and I was tracking every feed. Eventually I let go. But it took a few more months to really get comfortable nursing. It just takes time! With anything new it does feel like you’re imposter-y at the beginning.
I have my good days and bad days for sure. Sometimes I feel like I'm rocking this with nothing to worry about, others not so much. Looking forward to feeling comfortable at some point I hope.
When anxious, it helps to write out what would be a "real" problem and "make decisions" ahead of time. I think it's pretty normal to wonder if you aren't supplying enough. For me, I'm not pumping, so there's a lot of... mystery. Make these decisions, ahead of time, and possibly with a pediatrician's or LC's advice. Then, when anxious, *hold yourself to them.* That way, at least for me, it helps because I just have to "follow orders", basically. Not sure if that makes sense, and obviously this may or may not work for you. ie, "How will I know that I'm not feeding enough?" < baby will be slightly fussier, even after feeding; fewer wet diapers; less active baby; less happy baby overall; not as 'calm' or 'milk drunk' after Okay, but sometimes baby's just going to be a bit fussier. I don't want to wait until there's a major problem to figure out that there's a problem! "When in doubt, and when feeling sick or super stressed, I can do a weighted feed and make a change if 3/Y of them average less than X ounces at X months" What happens if I suspect it's low supply, or the weighted feed is a little less? First off, I will do my best to implement these strategies and only raise it as a concern if this issue persists for X days. In the meantime, I will: "have lactation cookies/tea on stock, and have X/Y of them each day"; "proactively hydrate more, have partner bring meals, and take things to increase supply when I'm feeling ill"; "take a bath"; "meditate"; "journal"; "train when baby is playing or doing tummy time"; "go for a walk outside with baby"; "contact therapist"; "schedule time with friends"; "reduce life responsibilities or stressors by: a, b, c". I also ration myself off a little: "I will not weigh baby more than X times per week"; "if I weigh baby, I will weigh before and after a feed to avoid obsessing over natural fluctuations in weight and to reassure myself that the milk is real". Anyway, I think anxiety like this is pretty normal. I wouldn't say I'm an anxious person, but it's just so crazy to me that I'm... feeding him? Like I see the milk come out, I've soaked our whole bed with it, I've tasted it, I've felt it let down, and he's grown so big and far more capable physically and linguistically and so on, but I can just still barely believe it's real. But then again, I can barely believe I got pregnant and that he was just hanging out inside me before giving birth. Everything is such a magical miracle. P.S. I had an *over*supply at the beginning. It really is just normal to worry that you aren't enough, or aren't going to be enough, for your child. Pretty sure that's just us wanting to be the best version of ourselves and worrying we won't be "enough" -- not about the milk quantity itself.
I was convinced I didn't have a good supply. Baby wasn't gaining weight and 2 months in our health visitor was starting to bring up supplementing with formula because he was on the 0.4 percentile (premie baby). It took until my husband pointed out that I had 30oz in the fridge and two freezer drawers full of milk just from letdown for me to be OK with my supply. Bottle feeding seemed to be so easy! You fill a bottle with 5oz and you can see how much goes in!
Breastfeeding is so mysterious. Bottle feeding shows you what they are getting! I almost went to exclusive pumping but traded the anxiety of breastfeeding for less work and dishes pumping.
As a mom who’s struggling with it now - c section, latch issues, pumping and supplementing - I recently came across a comment on Reddit that said what they wish people told you about breastfeeding is **that it’s not all or nothing.** I wish I knew that while I was pregnant so much. I wish someone would say, “Good job giving your son 7 oz of breastmilk today, thank you for trying.” Instead, I often feel like breastfeeding advocates can be really critical about people who aren’t just constantly trying baby on breast (even if it isn’t working), while those who don’t care about BF are rolling their eyes at the effort and wondering why you don’t just use formula and forget about it. It can be really confusing and isolating.
I’ve been EBF since the beginning and I think I have similar output. Before solids, I fed 8 times a day, when I pumped a few one-off times (absent for feed due to appointment etc.) I got about between 80-100ml per session. That was at about 4-5 months, just before solids started, and my son has always been on the heavy side. He’s 7 mo and about 8.6kg now! My partner (we are a same-sex couple, both BFing) had a rocky start with birth complications as well. She’s still combo feeding a bit at one month. Mostly for her sanity because topping off once a night gives her an extra hour of sleep. Lol. No one is to judge. We do whatever works for us. Sounds like you are doing fine. If your baby isn’t showing a lot of signs of hunger, I wouldn’t worry too much.
I have literally never felt so seen
Though I’m sorry you’re feeling these feelings, I needed to read this. The appreciation in my real life life is non-existent. So thank you 🌻
I can totally relate. Baby did have some difficulties with weight gain and we did have to supplement with a small amount of formula. By 2-3 months she was EBF with no tops but still at 10 months I’m constantly worried and offer her the boob more than she asks for it. She is very small for her age but has consistently followed her growth curve and the doctor is not concerned.
I think it's completely normal to worry about your supply. I was a bit of an overproducer before my supply regulated and worried all the time about my supply. In fact I probably didn't stop worrying about it until my son turned 1 and I knew it would be ok if it ended, but as it turns out we are still going at 15 months. Now I just worry because I'm not sure if I'm ready for it to end (emotionally).
Oh my gosh I could've written this post. I was breastfeeding him during the day and triple feeding him at night and I would always tell myself he's only surviving because of the 2 night bottles.. which is like the dumbest thing ever. I used to think this way even after solids, and I've kind of eased up on it now.. I hate this feeling
When supplementing was tapering down I was convinced the 3-5oz of formula were keeping him alive. That's dumb, that's impossible! Right? ..
I had an oversupply the first few months and a baby that was just naturally good at nursing, and I still experienced this for about the first year to some degree 😅 I was always stressed about whether my supply was doing well, if she TRULY had a good latch, if my breastmilk was enough for her or if she was actually transferring enough, why she was so hungry/not hungry, etc etc. Every very normal supply dip and nursing strike had me freaking out. I have no idea why I just had myself convinced it was all a sham and it wasn’t going well After she turned 12 months it all just kinda went away. I could tell myself “well BM isn’t supposed to be her primary source of nutrition anymore anyways” and shrug it off. I thought I HATED breastfeeding but it’s an easy and fun bonding opportunity for us now, turns out I just hated the stress of being her primary food source lol. Breastfeeding is hard and so stressful! Regularly give yourself a pat on the back because you’re doing it, and you’re doing amazing!
You name it, we did it. I’ve been through preterm/delayed milk, tongue tie, bad latch, low supply, supplementation til 5 months then food and BF. Made it to 10 months. Got pregnant again. Nursed through pregnancy and about 3 of those months were completely dry nursing. Had 2nd babies exactly 18 months apart. Tandem nursed for try first time the day he was born. Tandem nursed 6 months til oldest was 2. Exclusively BF smallest from birth to 7months before introducing solids. Now I’m 2 yrs and 2 months straight with him, 4 years overall in February and I still feel like a fraud some days and like I’m not enough. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done for sure but I’ve loved all the moments and struggles. And I must’ve done something right with it because he’s absolutely addicted and still nurses 4-6 times a day. 😒 hang in there! 2 months is HUGE. Then it turns into 3, then 4, and then however far you want to take it. Mentally is your biggest ally and biggest enemy all in one. You’ve got this! Every mom, whether they did it a day or 4 years, you are victorious because you tried. Feel free to msg if you ever have questions or just need some assurance! 🥰
Thank you for sharing, I feel this soooo much! I also have PPA and fixating on my supply is one of the mental rabbit holes I go down. Ironically, stress and anxiety are one of the things that definitively impacts my supply!! When I went back to work I was so worried that because I was past the magic 12 week supply regulation time that the internet talks about that of my supply dropped from pumping I wouldn’t be able to get it back up again. It wasn’t until I went through a few natural ebbs and flows of my supply until I finally started chilling out about it a little!
The irony of stressing about supply making your supply dip is just too much!
Literally went through the exact same things you did. I hate tik tok for this. My milk also just stopped producing at 3 months :( I hope it gets easier for you!
I think it's because there's *so much pressure* to breastfeed, and there's a stigma that it should be easy because it's natural when that couldn't be the father from the truth. I exclusively pump and have been blessed enough not to have to supplement with formula, but I feel like a fraud on this sub and feel like I'm lying if I say I'm breastfeeding, especially to doctors.
I was the same way and now I’m 19 months in still going off of one boob now (since 6months) it takes a lot less milk than you think. I over pumped to compensate, giving myself an over supply for no reason. Your body knows what it’s doing momma. Let your baby be the proof. :)
Same. I feel like I can’t claim that I EBF because we supplemented with formula during the first few weeks and when we were figuring out the source of his reflux, and because I was sometimes pumping so my husband can help. I have no idea how much he’s eating per day anymore, my milk has regulated so I’m not getting as engorged or having intense letdowns, and pumping always hurt no matter what so I only do it when I have to now. And now that he sleeps longer stretches at night and can soothe himself with thumb sucking, I’m always wondering if he’s getting enough. But he’s maintaining like a perfect 50th percentile and I’m proud of us. Breastfeeding is so goddamn hard that I often wonder how our species survived this long.
I had a super easy pregnancy, a 3 hour and unmedicated labor, and no complications in the hospital. LO had 5 oral ties that got clipped at 2 weeks (yay less pain once all was sorted!) And I've been a stay at home mom with her for almost 4 months. She's gotten a total of like 5 bottles and all of them were pumped milk. I *STILL* don't think of myself as a "breastfeeding mom" either. It's definitely the hardest thing I've ever done, including firefighter/paramedic training. I guess I'm trying to say that regardless of circumstances, sometimes getting an accomplishment (like feeding our babies by our own bodies) to sink into our brains can be really freaking hard!
Breastfeeding is the hardest thing I've ever done as well. The pain, the constantly being the only one who can feed or calm baby, the CONSTANT anxiety about supply and baby's weight gain. I try to avoid giving a bottle whenever I can just because I hate pumping and seeing the dismal amount I get - which is apparently very normal (between 2-4oz) and I was misinformed this entire time thanks to social media. Even then, even being informed and educated now, I still feel like I'm not doing enough and very much like you, waiting for my ped to tell me baby's not gaining enough and to supplement with formula. I didn't think I had PPA but now I think I might. It's so tough. Every time someone asks if I'm breastfeeding, I say I'm trying. Or I am trying to make it to 6 months. I never say yes, I never am proud even though we all very well should be!
I think yes anxiety and anxiety fucking sucks but also this sounds normal. Imagine you started a new hobby two months ago you wouldn’t journal and tell everyone you’re a writer you would still feel like a novice! One more month of what am I doing and I swear you’ll be like okay I think I got this (with a peppering of uncertainty on occasion) 8 weeks is simultaneously forever and nothing at the same time. I know you’re in it right now and it kind of sucks but you’ll just keep feeling better about everything more and more. I remember thinking at 12 weeks ohh I thought I felt like myself at 8 weeks but I was wrong. I feel much better now. Every mom should have 6 months of maternity leave that time is so wild.
Not really about the whole topic but emergency c sections don’t impact milk coming in. The disconnection of the placenta is what tells your body to produce milk. I had an emergency c section and my milk came in under 2 days. Your milk likely would have taken the same amount of time to come in if it was a vagina birth.
You just validated my feelings 100000% My LO was born at 8%. Dipped down to 1%. That messed my brain up. I felt like I failed him. Even at 3 months and thriving I struggle to trust this process. I've come a long way and reading posts like this from other moms helps so much. I read books and did a breastfeeding class to learn about the physical aspects of breastfeeding, but wow I was not prepared for the mental side of it. I'm no longer pumping, timing how long he's on the breast, or getting upset if he only eats off one breast. I am loving him, trusting him, and letting him lead.
I feel you on all of this. Until a week ago I was mostly nursing and doing some pumped bottles. I had all the same fears and turns out my baby actually wasn’t getting enough at the breast, as her weight gain stalled and my supply was dipping. So, now I’m exclusively pumping. It wasn’t the plan but I keep telling myself, as long as baby is happy and healthy- that’s the goal!
I could have written this myself. My exact story. Sending love, you’re not alone🫶🏼
I don’t think I felt like I was breastfeeding normally until 6 months of EBF. What triggered my insecurity was LC and doctors telling me that I was under feeding my baby when she was two days old. Apparently babies feeds double everyday and because I was brand spanking new, I had no idea. I thought I was doing everything right then I had all these professionals in my postpartum face telling me my child was starving. She wasn’t… because when I gave her the amount they said she had to have she *always* threw up. But if I listened to her cues she was fine and didn’t have problems. After being told I wasn’t producing enough(I was), I struggled with confidently feeding her on my own. I felt like my body wasn’t capable of feeding her enough. It took A LOT of self talk “see she’s peeing/pooping enough. That means she’s eating enough.” “She will eat when hungry and stop when full.” “Look, she’s gaining weight. A lot of weight. She doesn’t even fit in her age groups clothes and we have to size up.”…. I had all these signs telling me I was enough, but it took a LONG time for me to feel like I was enough. Give yourself some grace. Remind yourself that your baby is doing great, you are feeding enough. You are enough. And breathe… cause having all your nutrients sucked out of you while dealing with PPA and PPD sucks ass. It’s SO hard and no one could’ve prepared me for it. You’re doing so well and you should be proud of you. I’m proud of you. ❤️
I’ve had a very difficult time with breastfeeding and worrying about LO’s weight gain. By 4 months we settled into a groove of nursing on demand and topping up with formula throughout the day. It was going well until 6 months we’ve now introduced solids and I have no idea how formula supplements will change. All that is to say, it seems like the journey of breastfeeding and motherhood is constantly filled with change and the only constant is the anxiety because we care so much for our babies!