When you know your empty, do you unlatch your baby? For context, I’ve had a rollercoaster bf journey and am finally in a pretty comfortable spot. However, I always start my baby on my least producing boob to increase supply there. Often though, she will just continue suckling even when im empty on that side.
I unlatch her and sometimes she will nurse the other side but often she doesn’t. Is it bad to unlatch a baby?

Show of hands? 😂 anyone?!
My daughter is 15m. She drinks milk out of sippy cups during the day. Only nurses before naps/sleep.
I stopped pumping over a month ago. I would be shocked if whenever she nurses she’s actually getting enough to be full.
Yet, this girl will finish a huge dinner, and a whole 6 ounce of milk out of a sippy cup, and then still want to nurse. That’s why I have to think she’s doing it for comfort.
I’m being used 😂

Did you know in the UK we don't have a statutory right to:

- paid breastfeeding/expressing breaks

- a private, hygienic nursing space

Yet 130 countries around the world DO 🤷

It's time to change the law!

I've launched a petition to do just that.

No woman should have to choose between breastfeeding her baby and earning a living.

If you think this too, please sign and share the petition:

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/779114

N.B. you must be a British citizen or UK resident to sign.

Like the title says, I want to switch to more breastfeeding, but I'm struggling. She struggles to latch and does this crying/snorting thing while shaking her head, and when she does latch, she falls asleep 10 minutes in. I'm lucky if she drinks in her sleep.

She's also a heavy sleeper in my arms. I've tried all the suggestions of waking her up like leaving her in her nappy, shaking her body, pulling her ear etcetera.

At first, she was fine. She fed 10-20 minutes on the breast before the bottle. I figured it would get better once I got more experience but it's been on and off.

I'm worried about my supply drying up.

My LO is currently 9 weeks and had issues with latching and milk transfer since birth. Was working with a lactation consultant who said that he had a lip and tongue tie. Went and saw an ENT who recommended releasing the tongue and not the lip. After that I have been working with a different LC doing tongue exercises and weighted feeds. The most he has ever transferred is 80 mL in 35 mins. He typically takes in about 60-70 ml at our weighted feeds. He will latch and suck for about 15-20 mins before getting tired and then I switch to the other side and sometimes he will latch for another 15-20 mins but otherwise he gets sleepy and I’m doing triple feeds most of the time. At our 2 month peds appt, she said he is gaining weight but trending down on the curve and wants him to take between 4-6 oz a feeding, as of right now, he isn’t even close taking that from the breast. I’m just looking for success stories or similar situations where this does get easier and baby eventually transfers more. My husband thinks I should just pump and bottle feed as he feels I’m doing too much and we both want him to grow and gain weight. I really want to exclusively breastfed, I truly enjoy that bonding experience with our son, but it ends up taking over an hour between nursing, pumping, and then bottle feeding.

Baby started sleeping through the night at about 8 or 9 weeks. She’s been 75th percentile for most of her life except she has recently dropped to 50th. LC recommended introducing a middle of the night feed to help with this. I will of course do this but I feel like this might also put me in the pattern of needing to continue night feeds for a while. Has anyone reintroduced night feedings because of bad weight gain at this age? How long did you have to do it?

Some other info - baby has been crawling for two months now and is super active. I also have resumed my menstrual cycle and it definitely lowers my supply for the second half of the month. I think we’ve hit some supply issues when she needed a calorie boost and she does seem quite hungry at the breast.

I have a 4 month old and I’m worried I’m not making enough milk. Has anyone else noticed a reduction in supply around the 4 month mark and successfully increased it? I’ve never made a lot of milk, but it was always just enough for my little one until now.

We breastfeed, but my son gets bottles one or two days a week when I work. I started noticing that he’s drinking 4 oz at a time now, but I only produce 2 or maybe 3 ounces when I pump if I’m lucky. I started doing weighted feeds and this also confirms he’s only getting 2-3 ounces per feed every 2.5 hours.

He usually seems content at the breast and won’t feed for long periods of time. If I offer a bottle after the feed he will guzzle down 2.5 oz easily. I’ve noticed the days he’s bottle fed he sleeps better at night. The days he’s breastfed he wakes up 2-3 times to feed.

This week I’m going to try power pumping once a day. I tried it today after a feed and only produced an additional 1 oz after an hour of pumping on and off. I’m also going to increase water intake.

I’m feeling really defeated. I was able to breastfeed my first baby for 10 months and I’m so sad my supply is already dropping after only 4 months this time around.

10 weeks pp and just starting my first period 😭 Usually my cramps are pretty bad and the only thing that helps is midol. Has anyone had any supply issues or effects on baby when taking midol? Just want to make sure as a nervous FTM!

Hi everyone,
My LO is 12 weeks old and after getting her weighed she’s dropped down the percentile. For reference she was born on the 30th percentile, eventually went onto the 19th percentile, then 9th and now is nearing the 2nd percentile.

I feel like I have failed her, having exclusively breastfed her. My two older kids followed this exact same pattern of dropping weight too, with my second not being measured much due to Covid. With my first born i was referred to the hospital as baby’s weight dropped off the chart but nothing was found wrong. We did supplement with formula for a while but till this day i have no idea what went wrong, same as now.

I know she will drop more in weight and I’m not sure why. I feel on demand, she drinks well. She is satisfied after feeds and is alert. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong. Is my milk not enough? Do I need to up my nutrition or drink more water? She’s gained 90g per week between 8 weeks old to 12 weeks🙁

We are resorting to supplementing with formula after some thinking.

Please if there is anyone with a similar experience can you share any advice. Much appreciated❤️

UPDATE: I had to be away from baby for an hour due to some work, she woke up from her nap and was screaming. I just fed her two hours before. My husband gave her 3oz of ready milk and she gulped that down. By the time I got to her she calmed down, had a feed from one side and feel into a deep sleep. Usually she would have milk from both sides, so if she didn’t accept it there seems to be nothing wrong with the latch or feeding? Maybe she likes to feed more often, and is a hungry baby with a fast metabolism? Is that possible? Next time we will supplement her the milk after if needed after breast feeding and see how that goes..

As I’m watching her sleep I can’t help but cry, I honestly wish it was a lot simpler.

SECOND UPDATE: She woke up 1 hour later and is also drinking my milk now.

Does anyone have success stories or tips for going from supplementing with formula to EBF?

My plan from the start was to EBF. LO latched great in the hospital, but on day 2 at home, he refused to latch and was screaming from what I now know was probably overtiredness. I was sleep deprived, sobbing, and hormonal, so my husband went and got formula.
Since then, we’ve done a mix of BF and formula during the day and EBF overnight. I’d love to get back to EBF because I enjoy the convenience and bonding.

After seeing my IBCLC, his latch is great and he transfers milk quickly. Her plan is to nurse during the day, switch nurse, and supplement as needed, with no pumping. I always offer the breast first, but from around 12-8 pm, he starts fussing, crying, and pulling off until he gets a bottle. I can fully feed him without supplementing in the mornings and overnight.

I power pump with my Spectra in the morning and usually once more in the afternoon.
Just looking for advice, tips, or solidarity from anyone who’s been through this!

I am breastfeeding my daughter who was born just over two weeks ago. Initially we had to deal with a shallow latch which I feel like has been resolved. However my nipples are still extremely sore and sensitive. Nipple balm seems to be helping stop my nipples becoming cracked but not helping at all with soreness/pain. Also when initiating a feed, it can be painful, even when I’m pretty sure she’s got a decent latch.

It feels like if I gave my nipples a rest, it would help but obviously not possible.

Any advice for how to improve the pain? Or how long can I expect it to take for my nipples to get used to it?

Hi guys, my LO is 5 weeks old(6weeks Sunday) and lately she’s been super fussy and crying/screaming before even latching on.. Is this connected to a growth spurt? Or am I doing something wrong😭 (she’s calm until we put her near the boob) I’m so stressed out because I know she’s hungry but she just cries and screams, me or my partner have to settle her and make her a little sleepy for her to latch on. TIA

i am almost 7 months pp, baby stopped latching around 3ish months. i was almost exclusively pumping besides the times she decided to latch (was born early so her latch was always finicky) during her evening scaries today she tried suckling on my arm so i whipped the breast out and she suckled for a couple minutes and was biting. (i don’t even care about the biting im just ecstatic she didn’t scream horrifically at the sight of my boob) i am literally a week away from from having a stash for the rest of her first year. i would so so so happily would love to switch to just direct breastfeeding and some bottles here and there. any advice on how to move forward from here would be great, im going to get in touch with my WIC lactation consultant ASAP