Breastfeeding Burns Through Calories and Sleep

“At around 3-3.5 months my EBF son started being much more difficult to feed. At first I thought it's because I suck at feeding him while we're out (since I only do side lying at home) but then he also started refusing the boob at home. He fusses and cries when I put him down and he gets SO ANGRY. But the thing is that many of these times he will end up taking the boob anyway. I don't know when I should give us and when I should persist. I read online that at this age they get more ef”

“Abruptly had to stop my breastfeeding journey last week due to CMPA and a bit on the slower side of weight gain. We had a tough start, triple feeding to get going because she was 37 weeks and tiny. Finally had it figured out and then going back to work made my supply definitely start to dip as I’m not at a job where I can pump on a consistent schedule. I am truly gutted. I’ve cried once a day since last week and I miss the bonding experience so much. Baby is doing great, taking the formula and b”

My feeding journey thus far hasn’t been easy. From a sleepy baby at the breast, to a poor latch (no ties, just a bad latch), raynauds, clogs, constant weight checks, leading to…

“I thought I had the breasfeeding part down when my milk came in and baby was latching good and gaining weight. But the past few days it seems like my letdown is too fast for my 6 week old. He always has milk coming out of sides of his mouth,pushing the breast out of his mouth by moving his arms and legs or crying while he has the nipple in his mouth. It just sounds like he is struggling to swallow all of it. He does eventually calm down but the initial latching on has started getting so difficul”

“How do I make this work? It started last night and I basically have not been able to eat anything really due to the nausea. I’ve had some electrolytes and water but I’m freaking out on how to handle this. submitted by /u/greenishfroggy [link] [comments]”

“My baby is almost 6 weeks Friday and she gained 3 pounds from exclusively breastfeeding but I’ve been waking up between 9-11am and I have 0 appetite I was eating a lot 3-4 times a day with snacks but now I’m eating twice a day , coffee in the morning and small snack in between like banana and oatmeal cream pies and I don’t feel as if there a dip in my supply but I’m just worried it will, is there any recommendations to eat more ? What do you guys recommend to eat or drink? I feel like I need to”

“Venting about myself! Does anyone else feel the overwhelming anxiety as to whether your baby is getting enough each feed? When does it stop?! Despite the weight gain, wet nappies, happy temperament between feeds etc, I cannot shift this feeling that hes not getting enough from me every single day. Its like my brain just thinks of new reasons to believe it. Initially it was latching issues, then the time each feed took, fussiness when feeding, amount of time between each feed, reduced number of f”

“Hey all, The title really. But baby is almost 4 months and was becoming really fussy and we just put it down to teething/sleep regression. We got him weighed just ad a routine visit and he’s lost 2oz in 3 weeks. Now I’m convinced it’s because my supply has tanked and this is why he’s been so irritable and fussy. He is EBF except a bottle on a night but that’s been that way since he was 6 weeks old. My breasts never feel ‘full’ and are totally smaller than a week ago, my period had just come back”

“I don’t know what to do. She is 9 months old. Now it’s 5am, I am trying to latch her since I woke up uncomfortable at 4am (we bedshare) and as soon as the milk comes she unlatches and rolls away. She had a 60ml (1oz) bottle at daycare at 2pm. submitted by /u/Huge-Nectarine-8563 [link] [comments]”

“I've been triple feeding for five weeks now after a week long failed induction that resulted in a c-section. So things have been stressful for a while. No supply or latch issues, just a poor suck. Doctor's have assessed him, no physical issues other than a higher palate, but not so high that it should be concerning. A few feeds he manages to breastfeed 10-15 minutes straight, but others he just screams and cries until given the bottle or immediately falls asleep. His suck is decent for a”

“Hi parents, Our second baby is 3 weeks old, and has been doing a massive sick 5-10mins after feeding (EBF) 1-2 times during the daytime, of course often at the most inconvenient timings to do a full outfit change of me and her! Aside from this, she doesn’t bring up milk regularly after feeds, is not fussy or crying after feeds (in fact she couldn’t be less bothered as she is bringing up these huge volumes of milk!). So I don’t think it’s reflux - also she sleeps on her back happily overnight wit”

“My baby is 11 days old and I’m really struggling with breastfeeding. I really want to continue, but I’m starting to feel completely overwhelmed by it and would love to hear from anyone who went through something similar. She can latch (but to me is not deep enough) and breastfeed. We’ve had feeds where she stays on for 20–40 mins and I can see/hear her swallowing, so I know she’s capable of doing it. The problem is that it’s incredibly inconsistent. Often she’ll latch well on one side, feed for”

“Hi! I’m desperate for some advice 😭 My daughter is 10 months old and has been exclusively breastfed since birth. We had a few latch issues in the very beginning, but otherwise breastfeeding has gone really well. The problem is she absolutely REFUSES a bottle and will only begrudgingly drink pumped milk out of one specific straw cup. Since she got teeth, nursing has definitely gotten more uncomfortable, but in the last week it has become excruciating . Like crying-while-she-latches, freshly-post”

“so STM here, my first was a very happy baby so I am not used to a unhappy newborn. He is five days old, cluster-feeding like crazy. Pediatrician was surprised with how little weight he lost and how much he gained again. I am nursing and he poops pretty much after every feed - yellow mustard-seed ish. I even pumped today to make sure the crying as soon as he’s awake isn’t cause of hunger but he finished an almost 3 oz bottle and 5 minutes later wanted more. He cried sooo loud, one might think he”

“No matter what I do I can’t seem to get LO to latch and stay on. I hate having to pump because at this point I feel like all I am is an attachment for the pump because all LO will actually stay latched on is a bottle. It doesn’t matter how much I work with a lactation specialist or how much money I throw at tools that will “help” nothing seems to be working. Has anyone else gone through this? Any advice is appreciated. LO is 8 weeks today submitted by /u/jen_dan [link] [comment”

“I am a FTM to a 4 week old little girl. I am obsessed with my daughter and love her so so much. We are currently breastfeeding with the exception of a bottle or two of pumped milk that my husband will give her overnight so I can get some sleep. I have an older step daughter who I adore. We spend a lot of time together and I am missing my solo time with her. I scheduled something fun for us to do together next weekend that will cause me to be away from my baby for 4-5 hours. During this time, my”

“EBF my 9 week old. Third baby. She is, and always has been, fussy and crying immediately after every nursing session except for those in the middle of the night. This is after she unlatches herself. She unlatches quietly but then when I pick her up to burp she immediately starts crying. I saw an LC once at 4 weeks who said I have an oversupply and overactive let down. I do nurse reclined and use Mylicon gas drops that seem to help. I try relatching, latching on other breast, even offering a bott”

“Hi all! My baby has been showing some unusual behavior since the past 2-3 days. She is one month old and has been crying while breastfeeding. She starts off okay, but hardly after 5 mins of feeding, she starts crying and screaming. I then calm her down and put her again on the breast and she starts crying again. It’s heartbreaking. I finally give up and give her a bottle. I’m using Dr. Brown’s anti-cholic bottle with premie nipple. Anyone been through this? How can I resolve this? I have booked”

“Originally my husband and I really wanted to do breast feeding! For the baby's immune system and developement. However pregnancy has been grueling, I have a ferritin of 7, I'm so worn down and I'm still vomitting at 20 weeks. Also currently my baby is breeched, i know that at this stage they toss and turn a lot so its definitely liable to change but I know like, a C section is a possibility I may need to consider I dont really want to prolong my physical recovery. I think the reality”

“I recently weaned around four months (I continued having on and off issues with nursing and had to stop, my baby was so much happier after I switched to bottles), and I didn’t realize until I stopped that finally my dizziness and feeling off balance throughout the day disappeared. I was drinking lots of water and trying to get as much sleep as I could, but I had the scary off-balance feeling during the day and felt somewhat dizzy fairly often. Since I weaned, it has completely gone away for the”

“As the header says, lol, I am having such a hard time just trusting the process. LO is 3 weeks. Is gaining well (up 17 oz in 13 days), was back to birthweight at one week. I had such a difficult time with my firstborn, severe tongue and lip tie requiring revision. Ultimately my supply suffered as it was pretty late before I figured it out and I made it to 7 1/2 months. I’m really hoping to make it to a year with this one. I just have so much anxiety that she is suddenly going to stop gaining wei”

“I’m hoping to hear from other moms who have gone through something similar because I’m honestly struggling a little and my health anxiety is making me worry that something is else is wrong or my terrible panic attacks are back. I stopped nursing my son completely about 2 weeks ago . He weaned himself around 18 months , and for the last ~6 months I had only been nursing twice a day, so I thought the transition would be pretty easy. I didn’t expect to feel this weird afterward. Since completely st”

“I don’t exactly know how to say this so I’m just going to word vomit: I need help. I’m falling back into old disordered eating habits. My LO is almost 3 months and in an effort to lose weight, I’ve been tracking my calories and maxing my protein (90-110 every day). The protein is great, but I find myself only hitting around 1300-1600 calories everyday and fearing certain foods or eating at all. I think my supply is dipping because of it, but I can’t motivate myself to eat more for the fear of ga”

“She doesn't actively nurse for hours truthfully. For the past four days I think, every night, baby nurses for hours. What I mean by not actively nursing is that most of the time she's crying. It starts out fine. Baby is happy content drinking. But after the initial let down she starts getting fussy. Then a second let down and she gets worse and worse. She will latch and unlatch and scream, crying. Or if she doesnt latch well and is struggling. She just gets so frustrated. My husband thin”

“My 9 week old is a very fast eater. I feel like the only way I can tell it was a good feed is if my boobs are hard then empty after (maybe that’s normal lol). Some days my boobs feel like they’ve been full all day despite feeding on a normal basis, so I keep trying to nurse her more often thinking she must not have gotten enough but she clearly doesn’t want it. I can’t tell if my supply is just more those days or if she is not eating enough! Any tips? Overthinking everything after her weight dro”

“I’m a FTM and mostly nursing with some occasional bottles. I feel as though my baby is sleeping, nursing or crying and needs to be soothed with nursing again to calm down and then goes back to sleep. He’s 3 weeks old today. Is this normal? I’m not expecting him to have huge awake / alert time and I know breastfeeding is comforting but I’m surprised that it seems to be the only thing that he wants if not sleeping. Any insight is appreciated!! submitted by /u/ehergawhat [link] [c”

“My 8 week old started this bf journey with a tongue tie and sleepiness that meant I triple fed for the first 4 weeks until she suddenly decided she didn't need the bottle anymore. The triple feeding put me in an oversupply, but I have finally weaned off the pump. The last couple of days this hasn't been as bad (I think I'm finally regulating to he??r), but my letdowns would be kind of intense and she would have to really gulp and occasionally coughed. I don't know if it's bec”

“I’m a FTM and my baby is almost 6 months old. I have been lucky to have been able to exclusively breastfeed. I’m so proud he hasn’t ever needed a drop of formula! But I’m so stuck and tired. My goal was to breastfeed for 6 months but baby is hard to keep asleep so I cosleep and boob him when he wakes up so I can’t imagine stopping now. We are travelling towards the end of the year and it seems more convenient to breastfeed than pack formula for going overseas so I am looking at trying to continu”

“3 weeks postpartum and I am so incredibly angry. I have read multiple books and gone to classes to prepare for baby. All they ever tell you is that the placenta detaching is the trigger for your body releasing colostrum, your milk will come in 3-5 days after birth, nipple to nose, babies suckle instinctively and it's such a beautiful natural experience blah blah blah. I was completely blindsided by all the issues I experienced because nobody ever mentioned that things not being awesome and e”

“I’m 3 weeks postpartum with my 2nd. I’m combo feeding, by choice, and have a great supply this time around, which is a huge deal for me. My baby latches most of the time but will almost always fall asleep mid-feed. I do weighted feeds just to make sure she’s getting enough, but we get really good count of diapers and she’s put on 8-10oz per week anyway. I don’t understand why I’m so angry when I breastfeed. I pump to build supply, but I can’t comfort her when I pump. My husband and I take turns”

“I can’t believe how I got here from starting off underproducing, combo feeding and having vasospasms, but my son turns 3 at the end of this month and he is a total booby monster! At first I was grateful just to have made it 1 year and said “we’ll see how much longer this goes, we’ll probably be done by 2.” Well, 2 came and went and I said “he’ll probably give it up on his own before 3.” And now here we are! On the one hand, I think it’s time. He’s been in preschool for the past year, he doesn’t”

“FTM here, my bub is a month old tomorrow and has what I think is gerd (severe reflux) From weeks 2-3 she only gained 50grams and from week 3-4 she managed to lose it even though I have been supplementing with 1-2 formula bottles a day, and is now only 10grams over her birth weight.. I feel so defeated, currently in the process of getting her diagnosed but the family health nurse fully believes its from her vomiting as she throws up most of her feed every single time 😢😢 Now I’m being told by ot”

“I don’t understand what is going on with my little one. I breastfeed for about 15 to 20 minutes and then she starts crying and refusing to latch anymore. I tried to rock her and burp her, but nothing works. I think she’s still hungry so I try to get her to latch again but she refuses to.. she doesn’t calm down until I give her formula which she only drinks 1 ounce. I don’t understand. Is she hungry or does she just want that topping off of formula. Anybody else experience this ? any tips? btw i”

“The only point to this post is to reiterate how hard breastfeeding is, even if it is going “well.” I am a STM nursing my 3-month-old… no supply or latch issues, he is gaining weight well, and he is now doing long enough stretches that he is almost sleeping through the night. I am very grateful, but even with this, it is still so hard and such a struggle. It is something I wish my husband and others understood. For instance, I have PPA and still experience anxiety about whether he is getting enou”

“My 11 week old flails so much during feedings. She’ll dig at her face/eyes and often pull the boob out. Then she gets super upset and I have to try and soothe her before relatching. I’ve tried holding her hands but she fights so much and still scratches herself. Some times I keep her swaddled during a feed and it goes much better. Is this okay? Anything else I can try? submitted by /u/WaitLauraWho [link] [comments]”

“About 2 weeks ago my now 4mo old has become so irritated while breastfeeding (not every feed… but a good many) she grunts, pulls away at the nipple, arches back, relatches, arms flailing, feet kicking… She’s got plenty of wet/poopy diapers, seems satisfied and smiley after feeds, doesn’t ever spit up. I have no idea what’s going on. Sometimes she does have to burp, but mostly she’s doing it just… because? My husband looked it up and AI claims it’s the 3/4 month breastfeeding crisis? Can anyone r”

“My baby is 8 weeks and I’ve been doing everything I can to EBF, it was really important to me. I’ve been trying my hardest and it’s been so hard on me bc I don’t have an amazing supply. My baby seemed to always cry and always seemed hungry. I eventually caved and gave him one bottle of formula and he downed it immediately. That proved that he was hungry and it hurt me a lot bc for two months I’ve been busting my butt and it wasn’t enough. I wanted so badly for my baby to feed from me and be happ”

“My 7.5-month-old daughter has suddenly become very fussy and cries intensely, sometimes screaming over small things. She refuses to take a bottle from anyone and only wants to breastfeed. She wakes up frequently during the night and seems to need breastfeeding to settle back to sleep. She has also started refusing solid foods and closes her mouth when I try to feed her. She gets extremely upset even with minor things submitted by /u/Menna_Aly [link] [comments]”

“My baby is 3 weeks old today. My doctor suggested topping up my feeds with formula and idk why but I feel so bummed about it 😭 my baby is gaining well but my dr is worried I’m going to burnout with the amount my baby wants to be on my boobs. Baby still does good 2-3 hour naps in the afternoon and like 3-4 hour chunks of sleep at night so I don’t think that’s too bad?? Other than that though it’s probably like every 1-2 hours that I’m feeding…. Idk - how should I feel about this? For some reason”

“I just had my 2nd baby. My milk came in day 3 vs day 6 with my first. My first was a struggle and I had low supply with lots of formula supplements. This time I thought I was nailing it. I have been keeping baby on me non stop to boost supply. I have been drinking mothers milk tea and eating oatmeal and drinking lots of water. He is a big boy, currently 4 weeks and his birth weight was 10 pounds. It feels like out of no where my supply has dipped at 4 weeks. Reasons I think this: He squirms and”

“My EBF baby has been increasingly fussy when trying to get her latched. She will flail and cry when I put my breast on her face/mouth even though I know that she is hungry (hasn't eaten in 2-3 hours). She takes the pacifier (Mam brand) just fine and I have tricked her by giving the pacifier, pulling it out, and exchanging for the nipple which has worked. I also had a sore throat yesterday, and her dad has been feeling a little sick so we are wondering if this could be a factor. We have also”

“Wth is going on with this hunger? I'm 4 weeks postpartum. Food doesn't satisfy me at all. I'll eat and feel full, but never satisfied, and I'm hungry again like 10 minutes later. I don't know what's wrong with me or what to do. I'm 25 pounds down and I still have another 10 pounds to go before I'm back to my normal weight, but I guess I'm just going to gain the 25 pounds back soon because all I want is sweets. Real meals don't satisfy me ever. I truly don&”

“My son is just over 3 months old and doesn’t want to eat. I am exclusively breastfeeding and I can only feed him as soon as he is waking up, if I miss that opportunity then I have to wait until after the next nap. He feeds well during the night time. I have tried all the tips I’ve read online and nothing works. He refuses to latch and gets really frustrated and cries. I need him to eat but I’m worried I’m making him hate nursing more by trying to force it. I am so stressed that my supply will be”

“I’m 4 months pp and have always had strong letdowns & an overproducer. I haven’t had any letdowns since about 10pm last night, it’s 10am when I’m posting this. This is very unusual for my body. Anyone ever experience this? I’m worried I’m losing my supply but don’t have any reason to think that besides the lack of letdowns. submitted by /u/DearAprilSideA [link] [comments]”

“Over the last 4 days I’ve gotten a total of 16 hours of sleep? I got the worst mastitis and was miserable for 2 days, on top of that my 10month old has decided to wake up at 4am and just wan to play? For reference he’s EBF which I’m weening off after the mastitis horror and him hitting me to relief teething pain. Since a newborn he never liked to sleep in his crib if so he’d wake up within minutes , dealing with PP and as a mom who has 0 help I started co sleeping to at least wake up every hour-”

“Hello everyone, I (25F, 39 Weeks) am getting induced in 6 days and the worries of how I’m going to feed this child when I go back to work keeps coming up to the point of waking me up in the middle of the night, simply because I just can’t figure it out. Yes, my worries are probably premature and I probably need to chill out, but as much as I’d like to, my brain won’t calm down. I’m too much of a planner and unfortunately this seems so out of my control. For some context, I own a wedding photogra”

“I’m 7wks pp and I want to stop breastfeeding already it’s my 3rd baby I breastfed but I hate it I know there’s so many benefits to it but I’m just hating it now submitted by /u/No-Enthusiasm2490 [link] [comments]”

“I am tandem feeding a 2.5yo and a 6mo and for the last 3 months ive felt so depleted and exhausted. I keep catching back to back illnesses. I have maybe 1 or 2 days a week where I feel close ish to normal but never completely normal. I'm getting bloodwork tomorrow. I'm lowkey worried I'm just severely depleted of vitamins and nutrients?? I often forget my multivitamin but I'm trying 😭 anyone else experience this? submitted by /u/Busy_Toe5792 [link] [comments]”

“I’m just so confused! My daughter is 2.5, so she hardly feeds now. She tends to feed after her lunch for a nap (when she decides she wants to we’re slowly ‘ trying ’ to drop it) and when she goes to sleep at night. But I just can’t seem to shift this weight! I used to fluctuate around 9/10 stone before getting pregnant and now I’m 14st 1! I was 14st 4 but it’s like I’ve hit a wall. I eat clean, I exercise 4/5 times a week and it won’t budge. The lowest I got to was 13st 11 and then I just fluctu”

“I'm at a complete loss on what to do with my 5.5 month old rn and I just feel like I'm loosing the plot. She literally will not feed properly and I'm literally writing this whilst having what feels like my 100th breakdown this weekend. Every feed she is on/off constantly and will not settle on the boob. She arches and pulls away or tries to sit up but when I sit her up thinking she needs to burp she's trying to twist back towards me and feed. I take her off the boob and she's”

“I enjoy breastfeeding my daughter but it has been hard. She’s 11 weeks now. The first 6 week I was blissfully ignorant that anything was wrong - I thought babies were supposed to eat constantly and it was normal cluster feeding time. The fact that it could take her an hour to finish an oz in the bottle should have been a sign….then sure enough we found out her weight gain wasn’t tracking and she had a tongue tie. We got the tongue tie fixed and now she drinks bottles like a champ. I don’t think”

“Currently nursing my 15 month old and feeling immense guilt because I got pregnant earlier than anticipated (I’m 8w) and now my supply is dropping. My first I BF to 23m so I intended to do the same the second time around, but that won’t be happening obviously. How can I wean a 15mo old that still wakes 3-4 times a night and screams til she gets to me to nurse? Wants nothing to do with my husband. I appreciate any and all help 😩 submitted by /u/mariamald [link] [comments]”

“This is my second baby (12 years later) and breastfeeding is giving me a run for my money this time around. Baby was born 8lbs 10oz and was 8lbs 5oz leaving the hospital. She is almost 10 weeks and her weight is 10lbs 11oz now. She has dropped from the 93rd percentile to the 23rd percentile. Supply is not an issue. She is the sleepiest baby in the entire world. She sleeps all night (I’m waking her up for one nursing session overnight) and if it was up to her she would sleep all day as well. As s”

“Has anyone else felt completely exhausted around the 1-year breastfeeding mark? My baby girl just turned 1 years old and lately I just feel so tired. Not just “I have a baby” tired, but deeply exhausted . Even when I eat well, stay hydrated, and get a decent amount of sleep, I still feel drained. I’ve been to the doctor and they have done blood work for so many things but everything came back fine. Which was very much to my suprise 🙃 I’m more looking for solidarity and other people’s experience”

“Hi!! FTM and I mainly breastfeed my 10 week old daughter. However 3 days ago (August 1st) I needed a break from her. So my husband took her for most of the day and bottle fed (Como tomo bottles with the slow flow nipple) what I had pumped for her. Since then feeds have been a shit show. Except at night mostly ?? She wakes up 2-3 times at night still and most of the time has no issues latching and being happy at breast. But otherwise she gets so insanely upset. I even try to trick her with a Ninn”

“I need any advice and encouragement going. Today has been the worst day. Sometimes he still fights the nipple but he's been taking it okay. But he constantly asks starving. He emptied my breasts last night then woke up twice and went to bed okay. But he is insatiable. I recently learned about hind milk and I doubt he was getting much as I kept having to switch breasts and he kept falling asleep. He is 13 days old. submitted by /u/user-220213 [link] [comments]”

“FTD here. Son was born about eight weeks ago. He was in the 40-60th percentiles across his measurements. We exclusively breastfed for about 3-4 weeks, and he was gaining weight after losing about 7% post birth. Anyway, at around 4 weeks, we discovered he’s started to lose weight. This is on the heels of a lactation consultation with a weighted feed that indicated he was perfectly able to extract milk. We tried breastfeeding for one more week and weighed in again, and the doc recommended formula”

“FTM. I have an EBF baby who just turned 6 months old. He used to be a fantastic feeder and very efficient until 4 months old. He started somewhere along the line getting severely distracted and rejecting the boob literally arching his back screaming at me the entire time. I keep holding on to hope that this is a phase and it will get better but it's only getting worse. I can now only nurse him in his dark nursery or while rocking him in his nursery completely naked. It's resulting in me”

“My baby will be 8 weeks tomorrow. The past two weeks she’s only been nursing for 5 minutes and then refuses to nurse after that. She’s also incredibly fussy. Today has been the worst day. Basically is she’s not asleep she’s crying. She won’t comfort nurse and whenever I offer her my breast she will latch and then spit it out and cry. I know that I have milk and it’s not a supply issue. She keeps acting like she’s hungry but won’t nurse. I’m at my wits end with the crying- I don’t know what to do”