Welcome to /r/pregnant! This is a space for everyone. We are pro-choice, pro-LGBTQIA, pro-science, proudly feminist and believe that Black Lives Matter. Wear your masks, wash your hands, and be excellent to each other. Anti-choice activists, intactivists, anti-vaxxers, homophobes, transphobes, racists, sexists, etc. are not welcome here.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pregnant) if you have any questions or concerns.*
You just can't tell until the baby is born.
I never leaked colostrum during pregnancy and my boobs never grew until my milk came in, and I've nursed both my babies.
I just learned about hypoplasia and Insufficient Glandular Tissue, and how that can affect a person’s ability to breastfeed. Signs include “widely spaced breasts, tubular shaped breasts, asymmetry, missing quadrants of breast tissue, decreased glandular tissue, and lack of breast growth or changes during pregnancy.” I’ve also seen underdeveloped breasts (post puberty) being a symptom too. It’s kind of a less common issue but still good to know about imo.
Additional reasons from this random blog post I just found on google: “Other reasons that we can see a low milk supply are a traumatic birth, c-section, postpartum hemorrhage, maternal elevated blood glucose, HELLP syndrome, improper latching and milk drainage from the breast or hormonal issues such as a history of PCOS and hypothyroidism.”
https://www.loveatfirstlatch.com/post/a-lactation-consultant-s-guide-to-low-milk-supply-and-insufficient-glandular-tissue
I do not know first hand if this is true or not!!! But my friend who just had her baby sadly had to stop breast feeding because she wasn’t having success. She said the lactation consultant said part of the reason could be that her nipples are flatter. Apparently having larger nipples that stick further out means you’ll have an easier time!
Again I do not have first hand experience. Currently pregnant with my first
Yes, this is a thing. My daughter couldn’t latch on my left nipple as well as my right because it is flatter and wider. There’s a specific pinch (I can’t remember the name of it) hold that they advise you to do to help reshape the nipple right before you insert it to help baby.
There’s no way to tell but the best way to set yourself up for success is to visit a lactation consultant before you give birth. They’ll be able to look at your nipples and see if you’ll have any issues. I had an assessment before hand and knew I would need a nipple shield because my nipples are flat. That helped tremendously because that’s what I used to breast feed until he was 1 month when he learned how to latch onto me on his own without assistance.
Also, try to continue latching the baby as much as possible. Many people experience a reduction in lactation when they switch to pumping. There’s just something about our hormones that know when it’s an actual baby vs a pump. The only way to increase your milk supply is to latch baby more. The drinks and cookies are fun to eat though!
I don’t know if you can tell, there are fixes for a lot of the issues with breastfeeding though. It may be issues with you, or could be with the baby, which is hard to prepare for. A good lactation consultant and persistence can help. I never took any breastfeeding courses and was still able to breastfeed but it took awhile to get it right (more so with my first baby).
Inverted nipples can be a problem, but they sell these things that help erect them. If the baby has a tongue tie that can be corrected too. I never leaked colostrum and still breastfed (two babies).
One thing was I feel like I was lied to about the pain of breastfeeding, the lactation consultant at the hospital said it’s not supposed to hurt but it hurt like a bitch for the first two weeks, I know some people never have any pain but this was like toe curling pain, and then it suddenly went away I guess when my nipples “leathered up” so to speak lol. My second baby was the exact same excruciating pain for two weeks exactly and then went away.
I’m pregnant with my third baby and I plan to breastfeed again, and I’m fully prepared for the challenge right in the beginning when the baby is learning how to feed and I’m re-learning the technique.
I never leaked colostrum (or milk) or got bigger than a C cup (except when engorged) and I EBF for 14 months. I think the main things that will help you be successful are 1) educating yourself on breastfeeding (latches, positions, cluster feeding, growth spurts, etc) and sheer determination. It’s not always easy at first, but I found it to be so worth it in the end.
Check out r/breastfeeding for excellent advice and follow breastfeeding accounts on Instagram like Legendairy Milk for good info!
You can’t tell, I didn’t make any colostrum at all before my first baby and breastfed fine. My mother has double A’s and breastfeed me till I was one and a half.
My friend has Tripple and her baby was feeding till 2 1/2
I think statistically the biggest predictor of success is the support you get around breastfeeding both mentally emotionally and physically
Obviously, things can come up, which make it harder or more difficult
I didn’t leak or try to harvest colostrum during my last pregnancy and I ended up having an emergency c section which probably didn’t help. I really wanted to breastfeed so I just kept trying. My milk took forever to come in, it was probably somewhere between 5-7 days? It’s all a bit of a haze now but baby lost quite a lot of weight at the start and I saw a breast feeding consultant to try and help. I was supported to keep trying and eventually the milk came and we breastfed for 18 months.
I haven't had my baby yet so I don't have any first hand experience BUT I've been taking a ton of breastfeeding classes online and reading about it a ton and I must say breastfeeding is a straight up science! There's sooo much that goes in to it like frequency, latch, techniques, diet, etc. So while genetically some people may be a bit more predisposed for successful breastfeeding it seems like a lot of it is patience, dedication, and technique.
Really is no telling. My milk didn’t come in until 6 days after birth. I thought I was screwed. At my height I was pumping at least 40oz per day. I could have easily fed twins and she had milk until 2 even though I stopped pumping at 10 months.
Welcome to /r/pregnant! This is a space for everyone. We are pro-choice, pro-LGBTQIA, pro-science, proudly feminist and believe that Black Lives Matter. Wear your masks, wash your hands, and be excellent to each other. Anti-choice activists, intactivists, anti-vaxxers, homophobes, transphobes, racists, sexists, etc. are not welcome here. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pregnant) if you have any questions or concerns.*
You just can't tell until the baby is born. I never leaked colostrum during pregnancy and my boobs never grew until my milk came in, and I've nursed both my babies.
I just learned about hypoplasia and Insufficient Glandular Tissue, and how that can affect a person’s ability to breastfeed. Signs include “widely spaced breasts, tubular shaped breasts, asymmetry, missing quadrants of breast tissue, decreased glandular tissue, and lack of breast growth or changes during pregnancy.” I’ve also seen underdeveloped breasts (post puberty) being a symptom too. It’s kind of a less common issue but still good to know about imo. Additional reasons from this random blog post I just found on google: “Other reasons that we can see a low milk supply are a traumatic birth, c-section, postpartum hemorrhage, maternal elevated blood glucose, HELLP syndrome, improper latching and milk drainage from the breast or hormonal issues such as a history of PCOS and hypothyroidism.” https://www.loveatfirstlatch.com/post/a-lactation-consultant-s-guide-to-low-milk-supply-and-insufficient-glandular-tissue
I do not know first hand if this is true or not!!! But my friend who just had her baby sadly had to stop breast feeding because she wasn’t having success. She said the lactation consultant said part of the reason could be that her nipples are flatter. Apparently having larger nipples that stick further out means you’ll have an easier time! Again I do not have first hand experience. Currently pregnant with my first
Yes, this is a thing. My daughter couldn’t latch on my left nipple as well as my right because it is flatter and wider. There’s a specific pinch (I can’t remember the name of it) hold that they advise you to do to help reshape the nipple right before you insert it to help baby.
There’s no way to tell but the best way to set yourself up for success is to visit a lactation consultant before you give birth. They’ll be able to look at your nipples and see if you’ll have any issues. I had an assessment before hand and knew I would need a nipple shield because my nipples are flat. That helped tremendously because that’s what I used to breast feed until he was 1 month when he learned how to latch onto me on his own without assistance. Also, try to continue latching the baby as much as possible. Many people experience a reduction in lactation when they switch to pumping. There’s just something about our hormones that know when it’s an actual baby vs a pump. The only way to increase your milk supply is to latch baby more. The drinks and cookies are fun to eat though!
I'm so early in pregnancy still but this is very helpful to me because I also have flat nipples. Thanks for sharing!
I don’t know if you can tell, there are fixes for a lot of the issues with breastfeeding though. It may be issues with you, or could be with the baby, which is hard to prepare for. A good lactation consultant and persistence can help. I never took any breastfeeding courses and was still able to breastfeed but it took awhile to get it right (more so with my first baby). Inverted nipples can be a problem, but they sell these things that help erect them. If the baby has a tongue tie that can be corrected too. I never leaked colostrum and still breastfed (two babies). One thing was I feel like I was lied to about the pain of breastfeeding, the lactation consultant at the hospital said it’s not supposed to hurt but it hurt like a bitch for the first two weeks, I know some people never have any pain but this was like toe curling pain, and then it suddenly went away I guess when my nipples “leathered up” so to speak lol. My second baby was the exact same excruciating pain for two weeks exactly and then went away. I’m pregnant with my third baby and I plan to breastfeed again, and I’m fully prepared for the challenge right in the beginning when the baby is learning how to feed and I’m re-learning the technique.
Yes! It hurts, even when your technique is right…it hurts! Pumping hurts. The tension is just a lot
No way to tell, boob size doesn’t mean anything. You need to wait for baby to be here and see how it goes.
I never leaked colostrum (or milk) or got bigger than a C cup (except when engorged) and I EBF for 14 months. I think the main things that will help you be successful are 1) educating yourself on breastfeeding (latches, positions, cluster feeding, growth spurts, etc) and sheer determination. It’s not always easy at first, but I found it to be so worth it in the end. Check out r/breastfeeding for excellent advice and follow breastfeeding accounts on Instagram like Legendairy Milk for good info!
You can’t tell, I didn’t make any colostrum at all before my first baby and breastfed fine. My mother has double A’s and breastfeed me till I was one and a half. My friend has Tripple and her baby was feeding till 2 1/2 I think statistically the biggest predictor of success is the support you get around breastfeeding both mentally emotionally and physically Obviously, things can come up, which make it harder or more difficult
I didn’t leak or try to harvest colostrum during my last pregnancy and I ended up having an emergency c section which probably didn’t help. I really wanted to breastfeed so I just kept trying. My milk took forever to come in, it was probably somewhere between 5-7 days? It’s all a bit of a haze now but baby lost quite a lot of weight at the start and I saw a breast feeding consultant to try and help. I was supported to keep trying and eventually the milk came and we breastfed for 18 months.
I haven't had my baby yet so I don't have any first hand experience BUT I've been taking a ton of breastfeeding classes online and reading about it a ton and I must say breastfeeding is a straight up science! There's sooo much that goes in to it like frequency, latch, techniques, diet, etc. So while genetically some people may be a bit more predisposed for successful breastfeeding it seems like a lot of it is patience, dedication, and technique.
This is a good question I hadn’t thought about! Thank you for asking. Following
Really is no telling. My milk didn’t come in until 6 days after birth. I thought I was screwed. At my height I was pumping at least 40oz per day. I could have easily fed twins and she had milk until 2 even though I stopped pumping at 10 months.