Looking for breastfeeding and postpartum mommy friends!

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mrspatchon
mrspatchon Posts: 6
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello Everyone!

I'm back on MFP after almost a year. I lost over 20 lbs the first time and then became pregnant with my second Blessing. He's been here 3 weeks now and I'm ready to shed the baby weight. I'm also exclusively breastfeeding him, and when I had my first son and was EBF him and tried to loose weight I suffered a huge drop in my supply so I'm really hoping to not have that happen again and to make some friends who have "been there and done that" with exercise and breastfeeding.

I'd also love to be friends with any mommies who are working on their post postpartum bodies.

Thanks! :)
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Replies

  • Mjnslce
    Mjnslce Posts: 84 Member
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    Hi! congrats on the little one! Try to keep calorie intake above 1500 to keep up your supply. With a new born breastfeeding you burn about 500 calories a day. keeping it up to 1500 or more should keep your supply up. You need these calories to produce. Drink lots of water to. If you have questions I can help I am a registered lactation. :)
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    I've breastfed 2, now aged 3 and 7

    you can lose weight and breastfeed, just be very careful to aim for slow weight loss and eat enough in the process. If you eat too little your supply will drop, but if you aim for something like 1lb fat loss a week, plus eat back exercise calories and breastfeeding calories, you should be fine.

    Also I found that eating lean protein like chicken breast, and lots of fruit, helped to boost milk supply.
  • waltzingaround11
    waltzingaround11 Posts: 20 Member
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    Hello! I have an almost 4 month old baby and today I officially lost all of the weight I gained from my pregnancy with her. The first 15-20lbs came off from baby, uterus, water,etc in a few weeks and then it stopped and I didn't really get started losing real weight until about 3 months ago. BUT now I am working on the weight I gained from my FIRST pregnancy, another 20lbs to go for that. I'd love to befriend you. There is also a community on here for breastfeeding mothers, check it out!
  • kiraleilani
    kiraleilani Posts: 124 Member
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    I'm not breastfeeding or postpartum anymore, but I am just coming off of four years of straight pregnancy and long term breastfeeding of two babies! I'm super supportive of breastfeeding and am a nurse with a desire to become a lactation consultant. Feel free to add me so I can cheer you on and help answer any Qs you might have :)
  • honkytonks85
    honkytonks85 Posts: 669 Member
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    I am having my baby on Tuesday and will be a breastfeeding mother.

    I gained a fair bit of weight during the pregnancy - more than I'd have liked to. I did try not to gain too much, but unfortunately it all started to unravel toward the end as my appetite just ramped up I felt like eating all the time. I got on the scales at the hospital the other day and I am almost bordering on morbidly obese - I was pretty devastated. I'm hoping some of that will drop off of course after the baby is born, but pretty keen to get myself on track.

    I would be happy to have other breastfeeding mothers as friends.
  • orangeplum
    orangeplum Posts: 1
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    I'm still nursing my 16 month old probably 5-6 times a day, and am not sure how to count calories burned for an older baby - anyone have any suggestions? Through a food search, I found an entry by someone else that is "breastfeeding 3-5 x daily" and adds 400 calories. Does this sound reasonable? I don't want to be eating too many calories but certainly don't want to be putting my supply at risk!

    Congratulations on your new arrivals everyone!
  • jhmomofmany
    jhmomofmany Posts: 571 Member
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    My youngest is 2 1/2 months, exclusively bf'ed (although I have to pump instead of nursing him). As of this week I am 10 pounds under what I weighed when I got pregnant with him.

    Feel free to add me! :smile:
  • dandelyon
    dandelyon Posts: 620 Member
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    I always had a hard time finding the right balance for supply and weight loss. It took a while until my body was ready to lose weight normally. I swear that calories in, calories out did not apply the first six months!
  • honkytonks85
    honkytonks85 Posts: 669 Member
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    I'm still nursing my 16 month old probably 5-6 times a day, and am not sure how to count calories burned for an older baby - anyone have any suggestions? Through a food search, I found an entry by someone else that is "breastfeeding 3-5 x daily" and adds 400 calories. Does this sound reasonable? I don't want to be eating too many calories but certainly don't want to be putting my supply at risk!

    Congratulations on your new arrivals everyone!

    I have heard anywhere between 200-500 is a reasonable figure, but I think it's going to be an estimate.
  • melimama2
    melimama2 Posts: 40 Member
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    My youngest is to be 2 in October...I nursed her till about 13 months. I added 500 calories to my BMR and didn't have any problems with supply. It's kind of trial and error till you find what works for you...unless you have a fitbit or something your BMR is likely an estimate that could be off by 15%.
  • dandelyon
    dandelyon Posts: 620 Member
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    I'm still nursing my 16 month old probably 5-6 times a day, and am not sure how to count calories burned for an older baby - anyone have any suggestions? Through a food search, I found an entry by someone else that is "breastfeeding 3-5 x daily" and adds 400 calories. Does this sound reasonable? I don't want to be eating too many calories but certainly don't want to be putting my supply at risk!

    Congratulations on your new arrivals everyone!

    I did 250 after 12 months and 500 prior to that, and I had a normal 500 cal deficit on MFP. If you have a large deficit and are trying to lose 2lbs per week then I'd give myself more nursing calories. However, at this point your supply is very well established so if you were to notice a dip in supply you could just eat more. I don't think you could permanently damage your supply at 16 mos if you continue to nurse.

    My toddler nurses several times a day and I don't eat back those calories at this point.
  • honkytonks85
    honkytonks85 Posts: 669 Member
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    I always had a hard time finding the right balance for supply and weight loss. It took a while until my body was ready to lose weight normally. I swear that calories in, calories out did not apply the first six months!

    That worries me a little - what did you find worked in the end?
  • dandelyon
    dandelyon Posts: 620 Member
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    I always had a hard time finding the right balance for supply and weight loss. It took a while until my body was ready to lose weight normally. I swear that calories in, calories out did not apply the first six months!

    That worries me a little - what did you find worked in the end?

    Well, after losing the initial postpartum weight, I gained and lost the same 5lbs for 5-6 months. One week I would lose 7lbs, the next week I would gain a pound, the next SIX weeks I would stay exactly the same. After a couple months of this I was discouraged and stopped tracking religiously. But I managed to not really gain much. Around 9 months postpartum I got serious about weight loss and this time, tracking my calories worked pretty well for me. I set it at 1lb/week and that's exactly what I lost, sometimes more.

    Because I work, and because working/pumping moms often have a hard time meeting their baby's demands, I put breastfeeding first and weight loss second.

    But what worked in the end was giving myself more time to lose the weight. Even with waiting, I was back to my prepregnancy weight by a year, and I think that's decent progress for a non-celebrity :P
  • scorl
    scorl Posts: 51 Member
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    I have a 5 wk old boy and a 2 year old (EBF for 8months..) I am trying to figure out how to set my calories.My BMR is around 1600 but I've been walking 30 min a day and chasing my oldest around. I am EBF my little guy and trying to figure out how to set it. And if I log breastfeeding as food or exercise (not sure which) I'm supposed to eat those back?
  • rainunrefined
    rainunrefined Posts: 850 Member
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    I have a 3yr old and a 3 month old, EBFing! I've used MFP for a few years and have had great success. Now I'm back to get this baby weight off. Feel free to add me!
  • hottamolly00
    hottamolly00 Posts: 334 Member
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    Kudos to you for EBFing! I was able to keep my weight down the whole time my daughter was nursing just by counting my calories. I did not exercise. When my daughter self-weaned at 10 months, I gained it ALL BACK! Ugh... Now I'm 7 months into my weight loss do-over and down 28 pounds. The best advice I can give is to do what you're doing. Just start a REAL regimine (sp?) now and reduce the calories once you're done BFing. Friend me if you want! I plan to have another and nurse him/her as well.
  • soupandcookies
    soupandcookies Posts: 212 Member
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    Congrats on your baby! I'm breastfeeding my 8 month old, and I have a 5 and 3 year old, as well. With my first 2 kids, I had lost all my baby weight, by 8 months, but this time, I'm still about 15 pounds away from my pre-preg weight. I'm definitely struggling with balancing hunger, breastfeeding, and weight loss. We're in this together!
  • soupandcookies
    soupandcookies Posts: 212 Member
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    I'm still nursing my 16 month old probably 5-6 times a day, and am not sure how to count calories burned for an older baby - anyone have any suggestions? Through a food search, I found an entry by someone else that is "breastfeeding 3-5 x daily" and adds 400 calories. Does this sound reasonable? I don't want to be eating too many calories but certainly don't want to be putting my supply at risk!

    Oh my goodness! Good for you! I am only nursing my 8 month old a few times a day, because he loves solids. I had to really experiment with calorie levels, to find the right amount. I find that I lose really well, at 2000 calories. Actually, I lose if I eat up to 2300, but if I exceed that amount, I stay the same or gain. I don't want to dip any lower than 2000, or it messes with my supply and my metabolism. I have experimented with both lower and higher calorie levels, and I've found that 2000 is optimal for me. I think breastfeeding and losing weight takes a lot of trial and error. Good luck!
  • apedeb09
    apedeb09 Posts: 805 Member
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    I'm EBF my almost 2 month old baby girl and I'm ready to lose the weight too. I used this site last year and lost over 20 lbs before i got pregnant so now I'm starting from square one again! Any nursing mamas feel free to add me! :)
  • Aiiryfairy
    Aiiryfairy Posts: 35 Member
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    Hey! Congratulations on your little one :) I'm 10 months post partum, still nursing my little girl and still trying to shed the chubb. Feel free to add me if you want :)

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