Community Posts, Tips & Support on Breastfeeding

Honest, unfiltered, and in real-time: what women like you are talking about. Peanut group chats, support, and posts on Breastfeeding

Milk collecting

I’m due in November and would really like to incorporate expressing as well as breast feeding. I know you shouldn’t do this until 6 weeks after giving birth but have heard about using milk collectors to collect milk from the other breast while the babies breast feeding. Has anyone done this? How easy is it and what did you use? Thanks!

Pumping after losing supply

I’m 4 weeks postpartum and was pumping every day and stopped due to lack of motivation and PPD . How can I get back to pumping every day. What do I need to do to get my milk supply back up

Combo feeding

I'm a FTM and really fighting the urge to start combo feeding my 9 week old. My initial plan was to introduce it at 4 months but I'd love to get more time for myself and get my husband involved with the feeds. He refuses a dummy and currently can only by comforted by my boob which significantly reduces the time i have for myself and other chores. Yes I am absolutely loving breastfeeding but the "breastfed baby vs formula baby is still a fed and happy baby" quote I saw somewhere is really sticking with me over the past few days.

I have been expressing my milk and bottle fed him 5-6 times so I know he would have it

Any thoughts or recommendations by anyone who is combo feeding? When did you start and how did it go?

Anyone who breastfed before… is it worth it?

Its much harder than I thought and I almost never get to sleep. Most people told me oh it gets easier but lots of mamas told me like ‘oh my 7 month old still feeds every 1.5 hours’ 😬

Where is the easy part in this? Really need some encouragement. We did formula for our oldest and right now it seems so appealing to share with my husband and get some sleep… 😭🙈

Does anyone else have a baby that won’t breastfeed unless outside?

My son is almost 3 months old and he has decided that most of the time he won’t breastfeed unless he’s outside (about 75% of the time he does this). It just started a few weeks ago and it was a completely random discovery. He was fussy and refused to latch so we went outside because being outside can sometimes calm him down. I decided to try breast-feeding him outside and now unless he’s very calm (not hangry) he will not eat inside. I can fight with him for 20 minutes to latch while inside, then the second we go outside and try to latch, he latches without any issues. I live in Florida so the heat can get pretty bad which makes this situation a bit frustrating, plus the bugs are horrible. Has anyone else experienced this or something similar? I’m so confused.

Breast milk production during period?

I got my period after four months and I noticed during my period my milk production significantly dropped. I’m supposed to get my period this week and I’ve already noticed a dip in production (went from pumping 6oz on one breast to 2oz if I’m lucky).

Any tips of how to maintain supply while on your period? Pumping made it easier to be out of the house and I have rather long dentist appointment this week.

Nursery anxiety/ebf baby

My little one will be around 10-11 months when she starts nursery. I know there is still like 5 months to go but I started to have anxiety. She is exclusive breastsfed and I try to give her expressed milk but she might not have it and normally she mostly want to b with me while sleeping so just wondering any advice on preparing for the transition on going back to work etc please? I'm quite anxious

Obsessed with milk intake

Anybody else obsessed with there little ones milk intake? I panic so much if she isn’t close to what she had day before or whatever. Anybody else the same

feeding and drinking

is anyone having trouble giving their baby milk, my daughter refuses to drink plain milk unless it's a milkshake any tips or tricks for this.
anyone having trouble with their baby's sleeping all the way through she wakes up about 3 times a night.
and is anyone having trouble with trying to get their kids off a 6month plus bottle and my daughter refuses won't take anything else and how do i get her to eat a bit more than she does as she's drinks so much juice that she just doesn't want to eat much food.

Stopping breastfeeding

I told myself when I first became a mom, that I would want to breastfeed till 6 months. Baby has just turned 6 months yesterday, and although we had combo feed one bottle a night (and I still pump after), lately, due to travelling and jet lag, her cycles are now messed and we're also having to give more formula/bottles. I also only brought my portable pump instead of my spectra but I really had enough of pumping. It might be because she is still having jet lag etc but breastfeeding her to sleep is painful - both literally and metaphorically. She pinches my other nipple, hits her hand on my chest repeatedly (although it doesn't hurt so bad) and stretches her legs out at times while I'm holding her. Last night we thought she was full of energy and after staying up for too long, she was hysterical, and only some formula could calm her down.

I know I wanted to stop breastfeeding but somehow I feel really emotional about it, and every time she seems to go cranky my husband says give her a bottle and I just had a go at him. :(

Just wanting to get this off my chest and if anyone has anything encouraging to say, you're more than welcome to do so. x

He’s here & I’m struggling

Hey ladies! The little man is here but I’m struggling. Day 2 and he won’t sleep unless I hold him all night, we had an emergency c-section and I’m a single mom struggling tough. He is getting donor milk in the hospital along with matching because I’m not producing yet.

Does anyone have suggestions for things to help me recover, bottles/nipples for the formula feeds at home that won’t mess up me breast feeding until I’m producing more, and ways to get him to sleep not in my arms… it’s so hard to move a lot right now so if he doesn’t go down on his own I can’t keep getting up and down but that means I end up sitting sitting straight up and I’m not getting much sleep.

I’m sure once I’m producing milk and more healed it’ll be easier but right now it’s rough!! I gave in and introduced a pacifier too which I’m worried is why he’s not latching as much on the right side,

Pic of little man to draw more suggestions

How do you know baby is getting enough breast milk?

I’m new to this, he is feeding well, he doesn’t seem unhappy.

Opinions on top ups?

I’m absolutely baffled…I had SO many people coming for me on TikTok because I said I top my baby up.

I had a rough start to breastfeeding, baby had jaundice & a tongue tie so she was on the boob 24/7 but wasn’t gaining the weight back that she lost. Everyone was super concerned and kept saying she will be admitted to hospital if I continue just breastfeeding. I was advised to pump at every feed. Then feed her that in a bottle after a feed. Then if she’s still hungry, give her some formula. She has never been sick from ‘over feeding’. She’s not a sicky baby at all. So there’s no signs that I’m giving her more than she can handle.

Anyways, It made her weight go up super fast, now that she’s back up to birth weight, the Drs, midwives, health visitors & lactation consultants have all told me to CONTINUE what I’m doing. It’s made her weight stable and it’s made her so much more of a happy baby.

Everyone on tiktok was saying that what im doing is dangerous and misleading to other new mums and saying i shouldn’t ever top up. Saying crying all day is normal because its to build my supply (even tho baby is on boob constantly + im pumping).

Im honestly so confused. What happened to feeding on demand? What happened to following hunger ques? What happened to listening to medical advice?
As if I’m being told by strangers to just let my baby be hungry all day. So so confused!

I NEVER knew topping up was viewed so badly and strongly by people!
I really wish I didn’t have to, I wish my breast was enough for her. I wish I could feed for 20 mins then leave the house but I can’t. She’d be on the boob 24/7. We wouldn’t be Able to do anything! I had 2 weeks of that before the feeding plan it was hell.

Cluster feeding / spit ups

My baby is coming up on one month old and is in a stage of cluster feeding every hour or so can be every 30 mins to every couple hours but usually every hour or so during the day , she will fall asleep during or after and no matter how long I burp her successful or not and sit her up right she spits up is this normal ?? Can vary from a little to a lot I used to think it was because I was laying her down too soon after feeding but over time it’s just become her norm after feeding and then she will get upset and want to feed again :/ her poor belly .. and a very stressed out mama .. any advice to save my boobs from aching and my girly from being uncomfortable??

Still breastfeeding

Hey is any one else still breastfeeding their 18 month old during the night or just me ? Any advice how to get off the breast during the night please ?? I tried giving her water or rocking to get back to sleep but she cried for 4 hours and than eventually i gave up and feed her

Importance of Breast Feeding?

I gave birth to my first kiddo a week ago today and all the doctors and nurses keep asking if I’m breast feeding and seeming… disappointed? Concerned? When I say that I mainly pump and bottle feed and then recommend a lactation specialist. We used formula the first couple of days at the hospital, but I now pump enough milk to keep up with feedings.
My baby just doesn’t always latch and gets frantic when he can’t latch and then it all goes downhill from there so we typically stick to bottles. He does latch maybe once or twice a day when he just won’t accept a bottle nipple or to comfort feed, but it’s easier for us to bottle feed. Should I be trying the breast first?

Breastmilk

I’ve heard so many different things. I took my breastmilk out of the fridge and poured 4oz in a bottle I gave it to baby he maybe drank 1 oz and fell asleep. What do I do with it now? He Sleeps about 4 hours before waking up for a feed….. can I still use it after 4 hours if it just sitting at room temp? Do I need to put it back in the fridge for the 4 hours!! Ima new mom help please.

Breast milk supply low

I am 27 days post partum and I am able to express total of 55 mill breast milk in one pumping session. This is before offering to breastfeed my baby and maybe I have another 10 ml that baby eats after.
I am worried my flow is lesser than what’s is usual for this phase.
I had a difficult first few weeks postpartum due to sore and cracked nipples which reduced my milk supply. We were doing 70 percent formula and 30 percent breast milk for first 2 weeks. Eventually now we are able to do 90 percent breast milk and 10 percent formula which is mostly huge before night sleep. Last 10 were better with a steady increase in BM supply until yesterday when I noticed she wasn’t full after several feeds.

Is this a growth spurt and hence she needs more milk than usual? I am worried I’m feeding her less than what’s she needs. Please advise.

Attached to mummy

My 5 month old currently will not settle with anyone else if she is upset apart from me.
Backstory is I am exclusively breastfeeding but have given her many bottles which she takes absolutely fine from me. On the odd occasion she will take a bit of a bottle from my husband but only daytime and when the timing is perfect. She will scream if anyone else tries to give her a bedtime feed to the point she chokes and doesn't settle.

I also have a 2 year old but he was combination fed from the start and my supply naturally went around 9 weeks. He went through a short stage of preferring me but quickly came out of it and always settled with my mum too (his nana).

I guess I'm just looking to aee if anyone has been in a similar circumstance and has came out of it? It would be good to know if this is just a phase and that she will eventually get there.
Tips welcome too but I feel like we have tried so many different things now that have been recommended so no doubt we have done it unfortunately.

I just feel exhausted. I absolutely love breastfeeding but for 5 months I have never had proper time to myself and I feel like parenting is the only thing I do now and I'm loosing a bit of me through it all. I want to be the best mum I can be but the exhaustion and monotonous days are quite tricky at times and leave me feeling deflated.

Anyone been or in a similar situation?

Colostrum

How on earth are we collecting colostrum?
I’m 37 weeks had to go ahead from my midwives, but how are we getting colostrum into those tiny syringes?
I’ve had expressed and colostrum is coming out. I’m scraping it into a pot, and then trying to syringe it up but obviously there isn’t a lot so how on earth are we doing this?
Is it easier to use a hand held pump?? Or hand express??
I’m a second time mum but new to colostrum and breast feeding