Breastfeeding in Public Still Feels Like a Risk

“Hi. My baby has started refusing milk from breast and take only when he is sleep during night time. Otherwise he is okay to have milk (breast amd top feed) both from bottle, spoon and syringe. Its very overwhelminf to fulfill the demand by pumping the milk. I tried visiting doctors but no one actually has helped. They said its a habit and you have to work on it. I tried working on it for two days but nothing worked. Baby cried for 2 hours but didnt take breast so eventually had to give him bottl”

“My baby is 9 weeks old and has had bottles since birth due to being in NICU and later slower weight gain. She can breastfeed well at night when sleepy, usually for 15–20 mins, but during the day she often screams as soon as I bring her near the breast or gets frustrated after a few minutes when the flow slows. We saw a lactation consultant today and the plan is to “rewire” her experience of the breast by offering in different positions/places, keeping things low-pressure and creating positive as”

“My 3 month old started sleeping more consistently around ~6 weeks so I let my husband off the hook and took over night feeds so he could wake up early with our other kids. Before that, he’d been giving her one bottle a day during an overnight feed. She has occasionally had a bottle since then, but if I’m being honest we’d gotten lazy because she was nursing well! I’ve got to leave her for three days next week and she’s refusing the Dr. Brown’s bottle with kendamil. To complicate things more, we’”

“My baby is 3.5 weeks old and we have been supplementing from the beginning. We’re now down to 4-5oz of formula in 24 hours and the rest is pumped breast milk and nursing. The problem is, he still falls asleep when I’m breastfeeding him and then if I move him, he will wake up crying for more and repeat. With two other kids, I unfortunately can’t breastfeed him literally all day. I’m pumping an average of 2oz per pumping session and it seems like it’s almost enough for him, but not quite. Every ti”

“Looking for advice. My baby is exclusively breastfed with the exception of 1 bottle a night until she was about 4 months old. I think I messed up and switched to every other night while on vacation because shortly after she started refusing the bottle. We’ve tried a variety of different things over the past month - changing bottles, nipples, mom leaving house, fresh vs frozen milk - but no luck. I don’t think it’s an issue with flow because she doesn’t even take a sip lol. Mom has better luck ge”

“Ugh, I think I’m grasping at straws here but wanted to see if anyone has experience or thoughts on this. Baby is 14 weeks old, EBF, primarily direct nursed. Since 8-9 weeks or so I’ve pumped after first morning feed to build a stash and to have milk ready for a nightly bedtime bottle. My son has been colicky from the start, screaming much less now but has to be constantly held (literally can’t set him down for more than about 2 minutes MAX before he starts crying) and has been an awful sleeper f”

“My 3-month-old used to get frustrated nursing because my flow was too slow, and she was drinking 4–6 oz early on, which I struggled to keep up with. She also used to take a pacifier. I never gave up on breastfeeding, though, and continued offering my breast while supplementing with pumped milk and formula. Now, she constantly wants my breast, especially when she’s tired (which is most of the time haha). She’ll nurse at first, but then switches to occasional little sucks, almost like she’s using”

“My LO is 5 months old today, and has been sleeping through the night for the last week (yay!). She goes to bed around 8-9pm and then will wake up after an hour for her last feed, then back down till ~6am. Should I be waking up to pump? Is my supply going to decrease if I don’t? submitted by /u/OldCookie2539 [link] [comments]”

“Im 2 weeks post partum so im still building my supply, but i dont want to breast feed at night. I have a bunch of bobbi cans that im open to using for like approximately 3-4 bottles during the night hours and i can pump 1x at night just to keep the supply up if needed since my boobs hurt so bad at night from getting so engorged (if i dont have to do that pls lmk) but i was wondering if thats a possible thing to do, i cant see myself sitting up for 45+ mins every night multiple times a night brea”

“Baby is satisfied during the day but 7-11pm gets frustrated while bf almost like my milk isn’t coming out. I feel like my supply during those hours might be low. How to increase? submitted by /u/Purple_Apple9 [link] [comments]”

“Hey y’all. My supply tends to dip in the early evening, and my little guy who is three months is generally unsatisfied at that time of day (5-7ish). I’ve been pumping in the morning when it’s higher so we can give him a bottle then to make it easier to get him to bed at 7 because if I just breast-feed him, he’ll often have a false start and wake up hungry again after an hour or so. Is there a way to increase my supply at that time of day or should I just keep pumping in the morning and giving a”

“My LO is 7 weeks old and my partner has returned to work. He does night shifts and is gone for 14 hours a day several days per week. When he’s here I can easily have him bottle feed her while I pump, but while he’s gone it feels like she always gets hungry when it’s time for me to pump which because her wake windows are at least an hour, it delays me pumping to the point where i’m only able to get around 6 pumps in per day. I know that this time is crucial for building supply and i’m already und”

“Pretty much since birth, I’ve been basically exclusively pumping for my 3 month old and she takes breastmilk from a bottle. She would just fall asleep at the boob and she seemed to take a bottle just fine so we fell into the exclusive pumping camp with the occasional breast feeding session for comfort. Fast forward to three nights ago, she started having a meltdown around bedtime and refused her evening top off bottle before bed. She also seemed to be starting a sleep regression so I thought it”

“3 months in to breastfeeding journey and I’m really struggling with the sleep debt from overnight feeds. Baby is exclusively breastfed and I do all the feedings until 2AM, then my husband gives baby a one or two bottles during the early morning shift from 3 AM - until 8AM ish. I take care of baby during the day, my husband is working. I am not good at napping, but I will listen to a meditation tape. I will have to go back to work in early November. I’m exhausted. Husband suggested I make him a l”

“My baby is 19 days old and I’ve been breastfeeding from the breasts. Id like to start pumping at some point so that my husband can help with an overnight feed here and there. I read that I shouldn’t start too soon or too late and am just confused. When can I start ? When should I start? @pumping submitted by /u/Smart-Breadfruit-863 [link] [comments]”

“Hi - my baby is 4months old and has been 90% breastfed up till this point. We supplement a bottle of formula an evening so I can get some sleep and husband can help out. Recently my supply has really seemed to decrease. Partially I’m sure due to supply regulation but also I dropped my middle of the night pump coz I wanted to prioritise my sleep. Baby has been taking my breast for the start of the feed when my milk flow is faster but then refusing my breast when it slows. We then have to top up w”

“My almost 7-month-old is exclusively breastfed and has refused bottles and pacifiers since birth. I love breastfeeding and don’t want to stop, but I’m exhausted. Some nights she gives me a long stretch; other nights she wakes every 20–60 minutes and only settles by nursing. She usually starts her day around 10–11 a.m., takes two naps, and doesn’t fall asleep for the night until around 1 a.m. She gets a burst of energy at night. If she falls asleep at 9–10 p.m., she wakes an hour later ready to p”

“My almost 7-month-old is exclusively breastfed and has refused bottles and pacifiers since birth. I love breastfeeding and don’t want to stop, but I’m exhausted. Some nights she gives me a long stretch; other nights she wakes every 20–60 minutes and only settles by nursing. She usually starts her day around 10–11 a.m., takes two naps, and doesn’t fall asleep for the night until around 1 a.m. She gets a burst of energy at night. If she falls asleep at 9–10 p.m., she wakes an hour later ready to p”

“Did anyone tried to quit bottle and just breastfeed? Need help ASAP Me and my little boy were told to start formula after 5 days of his living. I had flat nipples, he struggled to take the milk out of me. Rn we are good, he can latch well but he just doesn’t want it. I do have milk cuz my breast are full and I often have blocked milk ducks. He lost not even 5% of his body that time when they told me to just feed him with bottle - it wasn’t a reason for them to tell me I have to start formula. I’”

“I’ve been EBF my baby who is now 7 weeks old. She’s been a slow weight gainer, so the pediatrician is still having me wake her every 3-4 hours overnight to eat. To make sure she gets enough calories at night, I give her bottles of expressed milk and then I pump when she’s done feeding. During the day, she’s mostly only at the breast. Up until this week, I’ve been able to pump to replace a feed (3-4 oz). This week, when I’ve pumped to replace a feed, I’ve been lucky to get 1-2 oz. Why would I sud”

“FTM - My LO is 6 weeks old. We started offering one bottle for a night feed around 4 weeks to help with my sleep deprivation. I was still waking to pump for that feed, but it allowed me to sleep through her longest first stretch in a separate room. She took the first few bottles with no issues for my husband, but then out of nowhere started refusing the bottle or becoming inconsolable partway through. We had started with Lansinoh XS and then started trying different nipples - Pigeon SS, Evenflo”

“My almost 9 month old has begun to wake more at night to feed - previously was waking around 1x per night, but for the last two weeks has been waking at least 2x and eating. We decided to try giving a 4oz bottle tonight after a long-ish bedtime breastfeeding session and he hungrily guzzled it down! I'm still on leave so I breastfeed on demand and bottles are only used occasionally when I'm out of the house. I feel like my supply must not be keeping up with his needs in this case? Is ther”

“Hi moms, My baby (9 weeks) tends to have good mornings with me, we feed play and go take a nap for 1-1.5hour. Then come the 5pm nap he seems tired but unable to nap. I usually nurse a bit for comfort to sleep, sometimes he pops off after couple minutes sometimes he stays on longer to drink more. But around evening he would try to drink and drink and get upset at the breast. It’s like he’s impatient because there isn’t more milk? He would have to work hard for a letdown? He may not nap much after”

“My LO is 6 weeks old and has begun only waking once per night. Previously she woke 2-3 times so husband would give a bottle one feed at 1am while I pumped, and I would breast feed the other feeds. Then at the morning feed I would feed and pump the rest. This would yield me about 16-18oz per day to bag and freeze. Now she is waking once at 4am and then up for the day at 8am. I told husband I will just wake with her as it’s only once per night. My question is to continue building a stash, should I”

“My baby is 11 weeks and was exclusively breast fed until mid to late august, when I started to offer a bottle at night because my supply had suffered a slight drop (still breastmilk). Before that I have noticed during the evenings that my baby was having pretty bad fussiness but I had just contributed that to the drop in supply. The bottle also had no effect and actually made nursing more successful during the evenings. Over the last 2 weeks my baby has gone from only having trouble in the eveni”

“My baby struggled to latch as a newborn, so I pumped for most feeds with the occasional formula top up, and didn't have any issues with supply. At around three months she managed to latch and we've gradually transitioned to a point where I'm now exclusively breastfeeding on the boob. Baby girl is thriving and deliciously chunky so I'm not worried about her not getting enough. I've just started solids at 6 months, and lots of puree recipes call for a bit of breast milk, so I&#”

“Last night my 8 week old slept 8 hours straight. I didn’t wake up to pump. I’m trying to just be grateful for the extra sleep, but I’m also having some supply anxiety. Somebody tell me it’ll be okay? submitted by /u/IHaveATummyGremlin [link] [comments]”

“Hi Guys, I wasn’t sure where to go so if this isn’t allowed it can be deleted. So my breastfeeding journey as a first time mom was really hard the first like 2 months I’d say. I had issues with latch, and bleeding and it was just awful but I stuck through it and here we are. I feel like I’m having a hard time with her sleep. Naturally over the course of the last few weeks we started to put her down to sleep at 7pm and she would sleep until 12am-3am it depends on the night. Then I would feed her”

“FTM with 6 day old Baby :) Like a lot of moms, my supply was really low the first few days. It was only 2 days ago that I started filling up and actually leaking (yay!) But I have had to implement formula to get Baby to use the rr more often than he initially was, and to clear up the minimal jaundice. He’s peeing and pooping super great now and his slightly yellowed eyes are clearing up! Today I’m wondering if his nursing patterns are okay. We have started to combo feed. But the max I prefer to”

“Baby is 6 days old today and we’ve been really struggling with feeds. We were kept in overnight at the hospital because of it and had to supplement with a formula bottle as she wasn’t drinking enough. She doesn’t drink effectively so gets very tired at the boob, leading to 45 min sessions every hour and a half ish. She is gaining weight again now but less than they’d like. It’s making me miserable. I’m crying every day, and don’t know how I’ll carry on. I tried pumping last night but that made m”

“So my baby is 8 weeks old. Mainly breast feed (occasionally a breast milk bottle) And just starting to sleep 7 hours through the night.(but even at 5hours) I would wake up to feed and be soaked and engorged like painfully crazy! So my question is, should I still be waking up to pump every 3hours? I have to pump after a the night feed anyway because of how engorged I am. I don’t want to mess up my supply. And concerned if I keep sleeping through the night it will eventually stop producing at nigh”

“Does anyone else’s baby only feed from one breast per feed overnight, and are there any possible consequences on milk supply from them doing this? My baby is six weeks old, exclusively breastfed, and gaining a pound a week so fortunately I’m not too concerned about if he’s getting enough milk. He also completely empties both breasts 90% of the time during the day. I just want to make sure feeding him from one side every ~3 hours overnight (and alternating the breast each time of course!) won’t h”

“LO is 7 months and this week, babe has started going 7-8 hours without a feed. I am mixing the feed but now worried about if I should be waking up to feed? I am engorged and leaking but not in pain and no clogged ducts. Babe is not consistent with these long stretches so also nervous about pumping and baby waking to feed right after I pump. I am an exact producer so can’t afford a supply dip and would really like to get to 1 year of EBFing if possible. Any thoughts on approaching this? Bc of wor”

“My baby boy is one month old and EBF. However he does take a bottle of pumped breast milk if we are out and about because I’m not super confident in nursing in public yet. Lately he has become extremely fussy with his last feed of the night. He will latch, suckle once or twice, then pull off and cry and repeat for quite a while before finally tiring himself out and falling asleep. I do have an overactive let down and thought maybe when he’s so tired at night he can’t handle it and it frustrated”

“I'm currently weaning my LO (12 months) and we're down to just night feeds. He hasn't been particularly interested in breastfeeding for the past 4 months or so, and I've had recurring mastitis from having to use nipple guards, so it's time. The trouble is, my LO will not drink cows milk. I think it's the taste. He has a CMPA, but thankfully he's grown out of it. It's just this hurdle we can't get over! Please help! Any tips? submitted by /u/catch_t”

“My baby has been breastfed since birth with an occasional bottle (pretty much daily since about 2 weeks pp) to give me an uninterrupted 3ish hours of sleep while dad takes over. She’s now 7 weeks. She is suddenly refusing that bottle and he is having a hell of a time during that window with her being hungry but refusing to take the bottle and not settling for him. We have tried multiple bottles, different flow rates, reheated pumped breastmilk, freshly pumped breastmilk, and nothing is working t”

“i understand google says you can night wean around 6 months of baby is healthy and gaining but that just seems so young.. my baby is 9 months and i’m curious to know what age was your baby when you night weaned and why? also how did you night wean? so when they woke up what did you do? ive heard a lot of different opinions on night weaning. right now im considering trying it to see if it helps him sleep in longer stretches he wakes every 1-2 hours since birth. but im also hesitant to take away h”

“My 6-month-old breastfeeds on demand during the day. At 3am she latches but won’t go back to sleep unless the boob stays in her mouth. If I unlatch her, she wakes, cries, and roots for it. Last night I finally gave her 4 oz of formula and she immediately knocked out. Not a regular thing to do that but I was touched out. Could this mean my supply is low, or is this more likely a sleep/comfort nursing association? Has anyone experienced this? submitted by /u/hftm77 [link] [commen”

“Hi, mommies! I’m having this concern with my baby. He doesn’t want to drink breast milk from a bottle. Instead, he just wants to direct latch all the time. I have this amount of breast milk stash in my freezer that still hasn’t been used. (Stocking so that he can have it while i’m away)🥲 Do you have any advice or tips on what we can do or practice so he can get used to using a baby bottle? I need to go back to work soon, and I’m worried that he might not be able to feed while I’m away. At night”

“Basically as the title says - my 10 month old still wakes around 11pm and 3am for a feed - so I thought, combined with her not having the biggest appetite during the day, I might night wean her to try and encourage her solids. Well I’m writing this at 4:16 after spending the last hour trying to settle and soothe her without feeding her. I managed to rock her back to sleep at 11 which I felt so proud of! And now I’ve ruined all this work by feeding her now. I’m just so exhausted. My partner has h”

“Hello! I am a FTM to a 7 month old who is mainly breastfed. He gets one bottle before bed which is when I pump. We had gone on vacation recently and I was not the best about pumping at the same times while away. I would normally pump around 8 or 9 pm when at home since he gets a bottle at 730 pm. While on vacation it kept getting pushed since I was out and about. Usually between 10-12 it ended up being. We have been back for about 2 weeks now and it feels like my body isn't responding to my”

“My baby has just turned 3 months old and we have had a lot of struggle with breastfeeding. In the first few weeks she wasn’t gaining weight adequately and they found out she had a tongue tie (so she wasn’t transferring milk adequately due to this) which was snipped when she was 2 weeks old. Due to the slow weight gain we had to start topping up with formula but she started getting bottle preference during the day but would still feed at night. I try and pump 3/4 times a day and we had a good com”

“I have a six day old, she’s my second baby. first baby did not latch and we wound up bottle feeding pumped milk. feeding this time has started off great but the last day or two (since my milk came in) has gotten much harder. we saw an IBCLC on day 4 when things were still going pretty well, and she said babe was doing great. I had a good supply/slight oversupply with the first and was producinf around 1200 ML per day once I cut it back from 1500 so none of us think there’s a supply issue with th”

“I’ve been working on weaning my baby from nursing. We’ve cut out all day feeds but he still nurses at night. We don’t feed to sleep but do feed at wake ups. I’ve noticed the second half of the night he’ll just stay on for longer and longer times. Is it possible that my supply is just almost gone or he’s just trying to make up for not getting any in the day. submitted by /u/Calieahrens [link] [comments]”

“I’ve been working on weaning my baby from nursing. We’ve cut out all day feeds but he still nurses at night. We don’t feed to sleep but do feed at wake ups. I’ve noticed the second half of the night he’ll just stay on for longer and longer times. Is it possible that my supply is just almost gone or he’s just trying to make up for not getting any in the day. Also side question when night weaning did you do one feed at a time, did you do it like pushing later and later each night? submitted”

“Hey all, I have a three week old and I’ve only been breast feeding so far. The sleep deprivation is getting to me so my LC suggested to pump once in the morning and use that to skip one feed so I can get some sleep. Problem is pumping hurts a lot more and then I can’t fall back asleep so instead of doing a pump in the early morning I want to do that in the evening. Wondering if anyone was able to do a pump only in the evening or afternoon and still keep their supply up? I would use that pump to”

“I’ve been EBF my 9 week old, but about 10 days ago we started introducing one bottle at night so that I can get a 4 hour stretch of sleep while Dad feeds him. A few days ago, he started having issues at some feeds— latching for a minute or 2 but then crying at the nipple and refusing to eat more even though I know he’s hungry. He then happily drinks from a bottle in those moments. I’m doing all the tricks to try to deal with a nursing strike, but as silly as it might sound the whole thing is str”

“Last night my baby slept from 11pm-4am and my breasts started to hurt. She’s starting to sleep through the night, I had to wake her up to feed because my boobs were so sore. How should I manage this when baby starts sleeping longer? Btw, I’m not a fan of pumping and I will certainly not wake up in the MOTN to pump. submitted by /u/Educational_Tune_722 [link] [comments]”

“Hi all, hope you all might be able to help. I’m a FTM Of a two-month-old, nursing and pumping. I fed at 8pm, skipped my midnight pump (husband gives the baby a bottle so I can get some sleep) and woke up for our 4am feed with painfully engorged breasts (I’m kicking myself now ofc, but I was exhausted). My breasts are a little sore today, I’m feeling run down, and I’m worried I might be coming down with mastitis. What can I do, if anything, to try and head this off? Hydrating, pumping more freque”

“My baby is 6 weeks, almost 7 and I’m trying to figure out breastfeeding supply. We breastfeed 90% of the time and give him one bottle every other day. I’ve been waking him up every six hours (when he sleeps through) so my supply doesn’t dip. Should I be? We’ve had no issues with supply so far. Just wondering how people sleep through the night and keep their supply up. submitted by /u/confusedpsych-major [link] [comments]”

“I’m mainly breastfeeding my (just) 7 month old, with maybe one bottle of formula in the day time. The nights are killing me, he will go down in his cot maybe 1.5-2 hours initially and can be settled back in there, but then from 9:30 onwards he’s in the bed with me. He’s feeding every 1-2 hours, this is the only way he will settle. The same happened with my first and I ended up going cold turkey to wean him off around 10 months. The lack of sleep is killing me. I’ve heard switching to formula won”

“My baby is 7 months old and we’ve been combo feeding since she was about 4.5 months. Breastfeeding has always been difficult — she needs a nipple shield and never transferred milk very well, so I started pumping and supplementing with formula when she stopped gaining enough weight. I’m now really exhausted from pumping three times a day, and I’m also dealing with quite a lot of nipple wounds. I would really like to stop pumping, as she doesn’t need my milk nutritionally anymore. The thing is, sh”

“Hi all, just curious if anyone else has noticed really wacky hormone swings during extended nursing? We are still nursing overnight multiple times and then I don’t offer but don’t refuse during the day but the schedule is obviously inconsistent and my kid nurses sometimes for a full session and sometimes just for a minute before getting bored and wandering off. But since we’ve transitioned more fully to solids I’ve gradually had increasingly intense anxiety, fatigue and hormone swings during my”

“Hi everyone. I need some tips! I’m a FTM. My baby is refusing bottles at 9 months despite taking it before, and i go back to work in a few days.😭 For context, I had been breastfeeding exclusively since my LO was born until he was 4 months and I had to go back to work. My mum feeds him using pigeon bottles of my pumped milk when I’m at work from 7am to 6pm. He drinks it happily and is even excited! he hates and has never used a pacifier and when I’ve given it to him he has always gagged. At 8 mo”

“My milk supply dried up at around 10 months I supplemented with formula and continued to try nurse because baby was still getting little breast milk very little I'm talking droplets. We are over 12 months no more formula yet baby still nurses a lot every time I'm sitting down he tries to nurse and there's basically no milk coming out like droplets only. It hurts. There's no milk. He's frustrated at me all the time and gets mad every time I have my shirt on. He constantly want”

“I mostly breastfeed during the day, but we’ll give baby 2 pumped bottles overnight (one before bedtime and one middle of the night feed). My 12 week old is now starting to sleep longer stretches thank god - how do I also go overnight without pumping? I’m really scared of getting mastitis and I also have an oversupply. So for instance I pumped right before bed at 10:30, then woke up at 3:30 kind of engorged. It gets uncomfortable and I have to pump because I get scared of clogged ducts (I had som”

“Hi everyone, I am almost 9 months postpartum. I had a question about maintaining a milk supply but only for overnight nursing, I currently pump twice a day (and sometimes a motn pump) and yield around 12-16oz from that. I have always nursed on demand through the night and his last feed of the day is nursing. Is there a way to completely drop the pumps and only nurse EOD and through the night? Or will dropping all of the pumps completely dry me out? submitted by /u/NoContest6806 [link”

“FTM-EBF-baby is 13w. I'm basically asking to the mama whose babies rejected bottle feeding, if they eventually started to drink from bottle with no issue, including from those they were rejecting. I honestly have tried a lot, not to say EVERYTHING: -I've tried like different brands -change nipple size I tried to feed with my boob next to the bottle -warmed up, almost heat up, the milk -laid down feeding. -having my husband feeding -let her feel hungry for a few minutes... and the list go”

“My LO is almost 4mo. My supply has been low since the very beginning. We’ve been combo feeding, we went from one bottle of formula during the day to mostly formula, one overnight nursing sesh and I wouldn’t pump to get maybe 1 bottle of breastmilk. I will admit I probably could have kept my supply higher had I ate and drank more and pumped more often but it was a lot for me so I slacked off. I’m not insanely attached to breastfeeding but I’m not ready to give it up completely. I would like to ke”