BF Check-in

[geners]

How's BF going? Good! The biting has stopped. The super distracted behavior continues but has gotten better.

Successes? I'm happy we've made it this far. Also I love how it will calm C down when nothing else will. It's a handy trick to have up one's sleeve.

Challenges? I mentioned in a randoms thread but I have gotten too lax with letting MH handle feedings and not pumping to replace the bottle. I'm trying to get better about it, by handling more MOTN feedings and making sure I'm pumping if he gives bottles during the day. I want to drop a pump at work so I need to make sure I'm doing everything else I can to keep supply up. We've been trying a couple different things at night and it seems C can make it all night with only one feeding (sometimes other wake-ups but he can just be rocked back to sleep or put himself back down those times) so it's not too bad.

Do you have a goal for how long you want to BF? Maybe 18 months? Not sure. Once he's down to just morning and night nursings I don't know that I'll be too motivated to stop until he's ready.

[christina]

How's BF going? It's going well.

Successes? Harrison is almost exclusively breastfed. I've made it almost 9 months with him only having 2 formula bottles which he flat out refused.

Challenges? Getting him to drink anything but breastmilk. His Ped wants him to start drinking either almond milk or water with meals but he mostly refuses or just plays with the sippy/bottle. He's also currently cutting his first 4 teeth so biting is happening (ouch).

Do you have a goal for how long you want to BF? Until he no longer want it. I went 23 months with my dd. If he's still nursing at 2 I'll probably wean him.

[physiomeg]

How's BF going? Going well. We typically do about 5 sessions per day between her meals. They're much shorter since she's increased her solids, but she seems to be getting enough, which is all that matters. No biting so far ::knock on wood::

Successes? I'm also happy to have made it this far. My initial goal was 6 months, so I feel proud to have reached that one and beyond

Challenges? My pumping output has dropped a ton in the past few months. I'm typically a couple of ounces short per week. I have enough of a freezer stash to likely get me through until 1 year, but I just hope my supply stays relatively stable and doesn't continue to drop.

Do you have a goal for how long you want to BF? 1 year. I'm so over pumping, so that will all stop at 1 year. I'll continue with morning and night sessions for a while afterward, but I'm ok with those dropping off too. I still haven't gotten a period and I'd like to get my body back into a natural rhythm pretty soon after a year so we can think about TFAS.

[RoLoMa]

How's BF going? It is going well still. He is still quite distracted and up until this week had shortened his nursing time but we still nurse 5-6 times a day (except when he has his 2 bottles of bm at daycare)

Successes? I have been able to donate many, many ounces of frozen milk to a mom in my area. She keeps me updated on her daughter's stats as she has appointments and I just love knowing that M and I are able to help her. I am actually pretty sad that I probably only have another 150-200 oz that I will be able to give her. I have to add that this was all done with basically one breast. As I have mentioned, M only nurses on one side. I still pump the other a couple of times a day but only get maybe 1-1.5oz from that side a day.

Challenges? Nothing much besides the distracted nursing.

Do you have a goal for how long you want to BF? Originally, I had every intention of completely weaning at 1 year. As we draw (very!) close to that, I don't think I am ready. M has been eating full table food meals for a while now and I was planning on replacing our 6pm nursing session with dinner last week but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I have found myself in tears a couple of times of the last few weeks thinking about weaning. I am pretty sure I will continue morning and bedtime nursing for as long as he wants but will start weaning some of the day time nursing at a year once we introduce WCM. I am ready to be done pumping and like physiomeg, I would like to get my period back so we can start TFAS. That is the only thing holding us back and we are both ready.

Maybe someone can help who has done it before...I have no idea how to go about weaning and it is terrifying me. Did you just stop offering, did you cut back the time? Ugh.

[gdaisy09]

How's BF going? really well, only occasional biting, and even the distracted eating seems better (or maybe I'm just used to it?)

Successes? Iz is EBF (obviously excluding solids) and I've got enough surplus that all her solids get supplemented with BM.

Challenges? pumping is a challenge. Iz takes 12-15oz while I'm at work and I usually only get 9-10oz, so I've recently added a session back in right after her first feed of the day and can generally catch up if I pump before bed. it's annoying, but it works.

Do you have a goal for how long you want to BF? I'm taking this in steps, my initial goal was to make it to 6 months and then keep going to 1 year if it was going well. if it's still going well at 1 year the plan will be to make it through the winter and reevaluate. I'm not ready to loose the bonding time, but I am ready to loose the pump. I have a huge stash so even if I stopped pumping we could probably make it to 1 year...but I like that we can EBF on the weekends, so I'd like to keep my supply up for that for a while.

[baylorbear]

How's BF going? It's going pretty well but she's starting to get distracted.

Successes? I didn't nurse my older DD at all and pumped exclusively for 4 months until I lost my supply so I'm happy not to have to pay for formula this time.

Challenges? I still have to use the nipple shield since I could never get her off of it and haven't seen an impact in my supply so we just rolled with it. It's annoying to have to remember and if she pulls it off during a letdown, I get milk all over me.

Do you have a goal for how long you want to breastfeed?
I am going to be done at a year. I have already started supplementing with formula for a bottle a day. Once she gets closer to a year, I'm going to have H start giving her a bottle at nighttime and putting her to bed. She's really happy to both nurse and have a bottle so I don't think the transition will be too hard. I am very happy to have made it this far and also that it was successful for me. I'm just really ready to be done.
RoLoMa I haven't weaned with a baby, only with exclusively pumping, but my goal is just to start replacing bottles with nursing and seeing how long I can comfortably go. If I'm too full, I'll probably pump a little to relieve the pressure but not a lot. I'm going to have H give her bottles at bedtime, otherwise she will want to nurse and I don't think she would take a bottle from me at nighttime although she does during the day. I have no idea if it will work but that's my plan for now.

[beaglemom2011]

How's BF going? Good, just dealing with a distracted baby which means more frequent small sessions.
Successes? Figuring out what I can and can't eat! Olivia reacts to dairy, soy and egg in my diet. We're still on the fence about wheat, but mostly because I haven't made a big attempt to reintroduce it. Eating Paleo for her has resulted in some success with weight loss myself so I'm not actively testing that one out and she hasn't tried any on her own yet. Although we were on vacation and I was much more lax, so I am leaning towards it not being an issue.
Challenges? Distracted nursing, I try to go to quiet dark rooms or find things for her to play with in her hands. Also, she is not too interested in solids yet so she is still very dependent on me.
Goal? To whenever she wants to wean, but I'd initiate weaning around 2 probably. I BF DS until the week before his 2nd birthday and that was mostly because I was PG and my milk turned to colostrum. I will pump a bit longer than a year for Olivia given her dairy and soy issues. I'm hoping to stop pumping by March though. 😁

[gdaisy09]

Sept 8, 2016 9:20:41 GMT -5 gdaisy09 said:

How's BF going? really well, only occasional biting, and even the distracted eating seems better (or maybe I'm just used to it?)

Successes? Iz is EBF (obviously excluding solids) and I've got enough surplus that all her solids get supplemented with BM.

Challenges? pumping is a challenge. Iz takes 12-15oz while I'm at work and I usually only get 9-10oz, so I've recently added a session back in right after her first feed of the day and can generally catch up if I pump before bed. it's annoying, but it works.

Do you have a goal for how long you want to BF? I'm taking this in steps, my initial goal was to make it to 6 months and then keep going to 1 year if it was going well. if it's still going well at 1 year the plan will be to make it through the winter and reevaluate. I'm not ready to loose the bonding time, but I am ready to loose the pump. I have a huge stash so even if I stopped pumping we could probably make it to 1 year...but I like that we can EBF on the weekends, so I'd like to keep my supply up for that for a while.

I take it back. My supply is plunging, after work is a struggle, I'm not sure she's getting what she needs. I think this is related to the half marathon I'm training for, need to do more research on exercise and breastfeeding. For now I'm going to try upping my calories and switching some water out for electrolyte

[evenkeeled]

How's BF going? Been exclusively pumping now for a few months. Tried to reintroduce the breast this weekend and she just looked at it and hit it around, lol. But she eats well and pumping has been successful in what she needs and building a freezer stash. Not seeing her back off of her intake as she isn't a big solids eater. She is eating 30 oz easy.

Successes? We have made it 9 months pumping and I am still having to do a MOTN pump and 6x a day. I am pretty proud I have made it this long.

Challenges? Pumping and clogged ducts. Just done with that. I have about 2 months freezer stash so debating on starting to dry up now as my life has been ruled by pumping and I want to break free from the shackles!

Do you have a goal for how long you want to BF? Want her to get to a year of breastmilk and I think we will hit that with the freezer stash.

[gdaisy09]

Sept 9, 2016 9:43:24 GMT -5 evenkeeled said:

How's BF going? Been exclusively pumping now for a few months. Tried to reintroduce the breast this weekend and she just looked at it and hit it around, lol. But she eats well and pumping has been successful in what she needs and building a freezer stash. Not seeing her back off of her intake as she isn't a big solids eater. She is eating 30 oz easy.

Successes? We have made it 9 months pumping and I am still having to do a MOTN pump and 6x a day. I am pretty proud I have made it this long.

Challenges? Pumping and clogged ducts. Just done with that. I have about 2 months freezer stash so debating on starting to dry up now as my life has been ruled by pumping and I want to break free from the shackles!

Do you have a goal for how long you want to BF? Want her to get to a year of breastmilk and I think we will hit that with the freezer stash.

you're so close!! how much are you getting ahead of her each day?

[byjove]

evenkeeled, I would just take it really, really slow. Pump one less minute per session. Add 5 extra minutes between sessions. Only work on dropping one session every week (or few days if you just can't be that patient).

[evenkeeled]

Sept 9, 2016 10:00:31 GMT -5 gdaisy09 said:

Sept 9, 2016 9:43:24 GMT -5 evenkeeled said:

How's BF going? Been exclusively pumping now for a few months. Tried to reintroduce the breast this weekend and she just looked at it and hit it around, lol. But she eats well and pumping has been successful in what she needs and building a freezer stash. Not seeing her back off of her intake as she isn't a big solids eater. She is eating 30 oz easy.

Successes? We have made it 9 months pumping and I am still having to do a MOTN pump and 6x a day. I am pretty proud I have made it this long.

Challenges? Pumping and clogged ducts. Just done with that. I have about 2 months freezer stash so debating on starting to dry up now as my life has been ruled by pumping and I want to break free from the shackles!

Do you have a goal for how long you want to BF? Want her to get to a year of breastmilk and I think we will hit that with the freezer stash.

you're so close!! how much are you getting ahead of her each day?

I was getting between 6-10 oz a day but this week I think I am only 15 oz total. Not sure if that is going to be the norm now it will build back up. This kid eats a lot, a good 30 oz easy. Ped was surprised to hear that at our appointment today. Kiddo is in the 98 percentile in weight, 90 percentile in height. 

[evenkeeled]

Sept 9, 2016 10:36:47 GMT -5 byjove said:

evenkeeled , I would just take it really, really slow. Pump one less minute per session. Add 5 extra minutes between sessions. Only work on dropping one session every week (or few days if you just can't be that patient).

Thank you, that is what I was thinking. I was also going to take some decongenstants, eat lots of mint (which I like anyway) and anything else that is supposed to dry you up! lol. 

I can't wait for my boobs to go back to being just another part of my body and not an area of obsession and fullness! lol. I am a little worried what all this pulling, squeezing, filling up and then draining them out will have done to them. And what size they will end up. I went from a C/D to a DDD, down to a DD right now. 

My husband is going to miss the size though not sure why, can't really touch them. lol

[byjove]

Sept 9, 2016 15:19:40 GMT -5 evenkeeled said:

Sept 9, 2016 10:36:47 GMT -5 byjove said:

evenkeeled , I would just take it really, really slow. Pump one less minute per session. Add 5 extra minutes between sessions. Only work on dropping one session every week (or few days if you just can't be that patient).

Thank you, that is what I was thinking. I was also going to take some decongenstants, eat lots of mint (which I like anyway) and anything else that is supposed to dry you up! lol. 

I can't wait for my boobs to go back to being just another part of my body and not an area of obsession and fullness! lol. I am a little worried what all this pulling, squeezing, filling up and then draining them out will have done to them. And what size they will end up. I went from a C/D to a DDD, down to a DD right now. 

My husband is going to miss the size though not sure why, can't really touch them. lol

Cabbage leaves in the bra are supposed to help dry you up too. I have deflated beaver tails. Not sure what size they will shrink back to

[HelgaHuffle]

How's BF going? Great!

Successes? He's still distracted but it's been so much better since the last WW ended. Every daytime feed isn't a struggle! Since he's been sick and/or teething for a month he's even been comfort nursing some. I might be crazy but I was a little sad that he isn't big on comfort nursing.

Challenges? I was getting tons of clogged ducts a month ago. I started taking sunflower lecithin and haven't had one since! I also stress about his milk / solid ratio a lot.

Do you have a goal for how long you want to BF? As long as he wants, I guess. I expect that won't be as long as big brother. I would love to make it to 2 without him self weaning.

[emmylo413]

How's BF going? Really well. I feel very fortunate to have had such an easy time with it.

Successes? She is taking breastmilk from a bottle and a sippy cup at daycare after refusing bottles for the first 2-3 weeks after I went back to work. She doesn't drink a ton, but I'll take it over nothing at all, and the kid doesn't seem to be hurting for growth...

Challenges? See above - bottle refusal - but that's resolved. Now I just struggle with how much bm to offer via bottle/nursing vs. solids. I worry that my ratio is off.

Do you have a goal for how long you want to BF? I'd like to get through the winter and then decide as we start TFAS early next year. I'll probably drop the pump around 1 year and use up my stash for daytime and then just continue morning/night nursing.

[crinita]

How's BF going? Good!

Successes? We're still bf!?

Challenges? Tongue tie (clipped at 2 mos), thrush (several rounds), mama guilt over weaning child no. 1 right when no. 2 was born (toddler had HFM and we were scared of passing it to the NB), initial oversupply because of timing of weaning no. 1.

Do you have a goal for how long you want to BF? We went 27 mos with no. 1, on one hand I was so ready to be done (I never anticipated nursing for more than a year), on the other hand I feel bad that we stopped when we did. I have no idea how long we will go with no. 2, I am just trying to take it day by day. Nursing is funny like that!

[RoLoMa]

Question for those of you that breastfed beyond a year with your other littles...how often were you nursing a day? I mean, did you drop to just morning or night or did you continue with 5 or whatever times a day? I'm trying to figure out what is going to be best for us beyond a year and need some help

[byjove]

RoLoMa I was flexible. I stopped pumping at work at 14 months. We'd nurse morning, evening, nap time, if she got a booboo. There was no schedule.

[inthewoods]

It's going well!

She's still not taking a bottle at daycare and she's been there a month. She'll take an occasional sip from a sippy or straw cup but nothing substantial. I'm at a loss.

We have night weaned for about a week. My supply has evened out with dropping those 3 feeds.

I'm hoping to continue through the winter if we can.

[beaglemom2011]

RoLoMa We went down to morning wake up and right before bed. For the first month or so after a year we also did a session right after work/daycare. I also nursed him before his naps on weekends, if he was crabby when waking up I'd nurse then as well. I quit pumping at a year.

[Unknown]

How's BF going? Good

Successes? I've reached my milk donation goal of over 1,000oz. Still no teeth which I consider a success. My oldest got teeth late, but then got a ton in quick succession.

Challenges? I was in the hospital a couple weeks ago and my supply dipped. I was producing enough for daily use plus plenty for donation and our own private stash, and now I'm just producing enough for each day. I decided not to do anything to increase supply.

Do you have a goal for how long you want to BF? I BF my first for a year and that is my goal again, so I just want some extra in the freezer to help with the weaning.