Hi there!

I fell into the same trap thinking that I would lose weight when I breastfeed but with both my daughters I actually gained weight when I breastfeed and then lost the weight after I weaned.

My hips have also gone crazy and even though my upper body is now relatively normal looking my hips just look plain awful and I don't think they will bounce back.

In terms of increasing supply - camomile tea actually worked quite well for me, as well as the german organic nursing tea (hmm forgotten the brand, but the effect was instantaneous). I also found that frequent pumping, though exhausting, definitely increased the supplies a lot.

Feel free to add me if you like!

KWKY

WIth Mother's Milk I sweeten with honey. There is also a breast feeding tea made by Yoga Tea for nursing moms that I think tastes a bit better.

I too did not get the benefit of losing weight when breastfeeding or not having a period. Seriously pissed about the period thing, 5wks after. Give a girl a break. Guess I am just meant to have kids.

I'm a first time mom to a baby girl thats 7 weeks. My milk supply has been an issue since 2.5weeks. At that time I went from a great supply to an undersupply with no reason. Met with a Lactation RN and I was doing everything correct. She suggested taking Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle at the same time. That worked wonders for me, took it for about 1 week. My supply has stayed up for the most part without taking the supplements. I have noticed less when I pump in the morning the last few days but I was also sick with food poising a week ago.

I'm hesitant to start trying to loose weight. As before I had lost 50lbs and I'm sort of an all or nothing type of person and I dont want to affect my supply. Past few weeks I have been tracking my calories but not adding my breastfeeding or exercise and I have not lost anything. Breastfeeding and exercise should be about 700 calories deficit so there should be some weight loss but nothing yet.

Its a hard place to be, wanting to keep supply up to feed the baby but also want to get back in shape. Having others in same situation is something I'm looking for as well so FR sent.

Exercising is not the issue, not getting enough calories is.

And with me I got fixated on losing weight in the past and don't want to put that a head of producing milk for the baby. Alot of it is mental and I feel I'm not ready to balance both. If I did not lose weight as quick as I had before I think I would feel like I was failing and push my self harder. Hope that makes sense.

Under food search for breastfeeding and the calories are negative. I have heard its any where from 300-500 calorie loss to breastfeed.

I log breastfeeding under my exercises and guessed the ounces which burn 20 calories an ounce, then counted the ounces as minutes. For instance breastfeeding - 20 ounces, logged exercise breastfeeding as 20 "minutes" at 20 calories/minute = 400 calories burned.

Hi all, I'm new to MFP and actually still pregnant. This very issue was what brought me to the community part of MFP. I am due with my 3rd child this week and am planning on breast feeding. Both my other children were also breast feed, but for various reasons I couldn't continue past 6months. Hoping to go a full year this time. I usually struggle to maintain my supply and rarely have a stockpile. I however would recommend building (slowly) a stockpile as that was one of the reasons I had to stop with my son. I was put on a pain medication that I couldn't take while BFing and I only had 1 day of reserves. Because of my injury it was very difficult to pump so I didn't do it enough and by the time I could get off the meds I was too far behind the power curve for my son to be happy nursing. He wanted a nice easy bottle:(.

Anyway, I too don't let go of the weight well after delivery so I would love to friend you ladies for motivation! I have to fit into a preordered bridesmaids dress in 7 weeks! I had to just guess my size and think I ordered too small! Of course I am not willing to sacrifice my supply but really want to lose as much as possible;)

Good luck and congrats to those with their new babies! I'm jealous!

Michelle

Hi - I'm feeding my 5week old, haven't found a drop in my supply, In my first week of dieting I lost 4lb & he gained 10oz so we are both happy! I do drink gallons of water! At least 8-10 glasses a day on top of tea & fresh orange juice, I really feel this helps. I too am to be a bridesmaid! I have 10weeks to fit into my dress, at the moment its about an inch from closing, I am very motivated so hopefully it should be no problem. Never found the weight dropped off when i breastfed my first son (now 19months) but i do feel i used feeding as an excuse not to diet & indulge in cake with mummy friends! I am seeing this as a lifestyle change & tracking what i eat so i keep on straight & narrow!
Best of luck to you, Has your baby arrived yet? X

I am a full time working mom who breastfeeds ( have 3 kids, youngest is 3 months old right now)... as far as storing milk.... still feed your baby on demand but try to squeeze in a pumping session once or twice a day at first. As someone said before, your body adjusts to the demand.. so if you add in a pumping session a day eventually your body will produce more to accomodate your extra demand... it may take a few days though.

Stay hydrated and be sure to eat .. always feed your baby on demand - dont swap feeding your baby for a pumping session. Once your body has started producing more milk, you can pump a bit at first before feed your baby then feed your baby the rest (this will also help so that you dont choke the baby at first with the let down response from your body and the milk shooting out of you). <-- to do this i generally started pumping about 10 minutes before actual feeding time and I never fully emptied, but got enough out of each side to freeze and then still feed my baby.

Once your baby sleeps through the night, you can opt to pump once during the night since the baby will be sleeping and you will still be producing milk -- this will help create a supply as well. Personally, I pump once after the baby goes to sleep (about 2 hours after the baby goes to sleep) and then right when i wake up in the morning, then i feed the baby.

I have noticed that on days when i dont get enough calories I dont produce as much milk and it is harder to make the milk that i freeze.

Remember too that a breast pump is not the same as your baby... you may not get the same amount of milk out as your baby can --they are just more efficient at it. So you may only get 3.5 ounces total from both.. your baby is probably getting more... as long as your baby is gaining weight and healthy - they are fine.

Personally I have never done anything other than drink lots of water and adjust my food intake and frequency of feedings/pumpings to get more milk. For times when I really need to up milk production for daycare, i spend the weekend relaxing (no exercise) drinking lots of water, eating good food, and feeding as frequently as the baby will allow. Your baby will be a huge part of increasing production since they really trigger the body to produce more (and are much better than a breast pump). After these kinds of weekends I see a signiificant increase in milk production over the next week.

Just remember that you body will adjust to the 'supply and demand' approach.

I know how you feel. My son is 5 months old and I'm still breastfeeding. I was told the same thing, but like you, it wasn't cutting it for me. On average bf will use about 500 cals a day. So you gotta make sure that you keep your calorie intake up enough otherwise your supply will go down. How I got mine up is by pumping and keeping my son at breast longer. So even tho he may not be eating, keep your son at breast. Then when I'm done, i usually try to pump a little, even if you don't pump a lot and you think it doesn't matter, it does. Your milk supply will slowly go up. Also, if you over exercise n over exert your body, your supply will go down, so make sure you pace yourself. It's hard, but you can do it!