In need of encouragement

[OM]

I know this really seems selfish, but I think I really need encouragement!

I am breastfeeding my son and of late I am really thinking how nice it would be to put my son onto formula, the reason.........................

cause I can't loose the weight while I am breastfeeding! (Selfish I know).

Does anyone else ever feel like that?

:(

[JanetF]

Hi :) Just coz you stop doesn't guarantee you'll lose weight but the longer you can bf the better for both of you. Your risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer and uterine cancer are all lowered considerably the longer you bf. I'd rather that any day over a few kilos ;) And your child's risk of obesity is considerably lowered as well by you bfing as long as possible so he wouldn't have to lose weight as an adult either! Aside from the health benefits, there are few parenting things LESS convenient than bottle feeding. It's expensive and a pain in the bum when compared with "Lift shirt. Attach baby"

Read these 101 reasons and they'll help you remember why you've decided to optimally nourish your child on so many levels *hugs*
http://www.promom.org/101/index.html

[SugarBlossom]

:o I also had a "Bad body day", and thought how nice it would be to kickstart weightloss by taking optislim or simelar....but thank god I came to my senses after about 5 minutes......a breastfed baby is better than a slightly thinner mama, and we'll get there one day! We've just had babies! ;)

[xkwzit]

Hi All
I'd just like to let you know that I've heard several stories about women whose bf has sent their metabolism into overdrive and the bf HELPS them to lose weight. They eat like horses and still lose it. I even heard of one poor thing who had to make sure she ate some good fats (nuts etc, she didn't stack up on Maccas) every day or she would get too thin :eek: .

So what I'm trying to say is that everyone is different and instead of bf being a hinderance to losing weight, you might find that, for you, bf helps you.

Cheers

[Terrible2+1cutie]

I lost 15 kg's while breastfeeding my son who is now 10 months old, he weaned himself a couple of weeks ago, they say you can lose weight faster while breastfeeding well thats what several people have told me including health proffessionals. Don't stop breastfeeding just for that reason, think about the goodness it is doing for your son both now and in the long term.

[deb&patrick]

My little boy is 6 and half months now and I have been weaning him slowly to formula for the last three weeks. He is happy and so am I. I know there are many fantastic reasons to continue breastfeeding for as long as possible but is it worth it when you don't look forward to feeding time and feel resentment towards your child????

I think we should just do the best we can. breast feeding for one week or 52 weeks, it doesn't matter - you do what is right for you! :)

[Sarie]

My little boy is 6 and half months now and I have been weaning him slowly to formula for the last three weeks. He is happy and so am I. I know there are many fantastic reasons to continue breastfeeding for as long as possible but is it worth it when you don't look forward to feeding time and feel resentment towards your child????

I think we should just do the best we can. breast feeding for one week or 52 weeks, it doesn't matter - you do what is right for you! :)

I agree, :)

[cosmic]

Oscar's mum, you are absolutely entitled to feel a little selfish occasionally - after all you do so much for your bub that it is no wonder you occasionally want to do something for yourself.

But you did come here asking for encouragement to continue breastfeeding and you will get plenty of that from me!! :)

Even if you change to formula, there is no guarantee you will lose weight any more quickly.. and you know what? You just had a baby for goodness sake.. how about being a little less hard on yourself when it comes to your body? That body has just done the absolutely amazing job of growing a human being and is now doing an equally amazing job of nurturing that little human being in the most wonderful, natural way and at the same time, giving him the absolute best start in life he could possibly hope to have.

You're doing a truly fantastic, wonderful thing for your baby. He'll be up and away before you know it and then you will have all the time in the world to get your body back. So just relax and enjoy this precious time and take some of the pressure off yourself to have a 'perfect' body. Your body IS perfect, just maybe not in the way the media would have us believe. And we all know that trying to live up to those standards is crap!!

Hope you're feeling better soon. :)

[nemosmum]

Hi O's mummy,

I know how your feeling coz I had similar feelings when bf DS. Keep bf for as long as you want to and try not to worry too much about your weight, like alot of people have said bf can encourage weight loss so maybe your one of em LOL :D

I know I put on weight while bf but I am very happy I continued, trust me you dont want to have any regrets.........think positive about bf, you wont have to bf for ever LOL and your bub will thankyou for it one day, wont they? ;)

From O's mummy HEHEHE :p

[Audrey]

I know exactly how you feel. I was desperate to loose the excess weight after my first pregnancy and BF did nothing to help me shed it. I took the risk and was careful about what I ate as well as doing one day per week on a soup diet, which did help me to loose some weight. However my milk supply diminished and I stopped BF after about 8/9 months. I can't say if this was because of the dieting or not as I did get sick and had to go on antibiotics for 2 weeks. During this time, I couldn't BF and had to give my son formula. I also had to express and then tip the breast milk down the sink. I remember being fed up with BF and thought that life would be a lot easier if I switched to formula. I later regretted this.

There is a negative side to giving your baby formula that is worth considering. Washing and sterilising bottles and having to get up through the night to make up a bottle and then heat it to the right temp is a pain in the you know what and it still took me 18 months to loose all the weight anyway. I plan on BF baby no.2 for as long as possible.

I hope this encourages you to keep BF. It is the easier option and the weight loss can wait. BF is for such a short time but there will be plenty of time for loosing weight. You may also like to contact Weight Watchers. I have heard they have a program for BF mothers.

[our little treasures]

Breastfeeding may help some people loose weight it doesnt do anything but pile the weight on for me!!!!!!

But who said you can't loose the weight, I've just started aerobics and I feed my 9wk old. I was told that it's not that the milk dries up it's that I'll have alot of lactic acid and bubs will taste it and may refuse it but keep feeding and he will get used to it!! Well so far he has fed beautifully!!

I'm sure your not looking at your baby every feed regretting the fact that you cant loose the pounds!!! God I've put 20 kg and have been very upset by it especially when I did own a fab set of abs, but I've finally got into getting a bit healthier..
Oh and if it's slimming pills your after DONT think if its not good for bubs how good is it for you??

Your doing great feeding and there is nothing wrong with some excersise to help you budge the weight!!

:) so smile and think just how healthy your baby is and how bubby is in good health!!

[OM]

Thanks everyone for the encouragement.

You guys are great :D

I do hate what I look like at the moment and as you guys said BF is for such a short time. Weight loss can weight! What's important is my bub!

It is nice though to hear that I am doing the right thing *hugs* for everyone. :)

[mimi]

I've just started aerobics and I feed my 9wk old. I was told that it's not that the milk dries up it's that I'll have alot of lactic acid and bubs will taste it and may refuse it but keep feeding and he will get used to it!! Well so far he has fed beautifully!!
Just to give you some back-up incase anyone wants to comment on your exercise regime and breastfeeding, angelbaby8!!

The usual concerns regarding exercise and lactation, are whether exercise will affect the milk supply, or the baby, in any way. Researchers have come to the conclusion that exercise during lactation is quite safe for the infant, and benificial for the mother. Following are details of some of the research results.

Studies have been conducted to assess if there is any change to milk composition after exercise, and if a mother’s exercise causes her baby to refuse, or fuss at, the breast. Though exercise at maximal capacity (the extreme upper limit of intensity) appears to cause a small but significant increase in lactic acid in milk, moderate exercise does not produce any increase.

Also, the infants studied have shown no change in acceptance of breastmilk before or after maximal exercise.

Maximal capacity exercise has been shown to reduce Immunoglobulin A for a short period of time.

IgA was shown to return to normal in about an hour, and it is accepted that even if a woman did exercise to maximal capacity, one feed per day with slightly reduced IgA could not be of any real detriment to the breastmilk’s overall protective effect.

No changes in breastmilk calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, fats, protein or lactose levels, or in milk volume, have been demonstrated, after exercise.

[I can give you all the references if you need them!]

If you want to get into an exercise routine you should go for it!! .... just wish I had the motivation myself!! :(


I do hate what I look like at the moment and as you guys said BF is for such a short time. Weight loss can weight! What's important is my bub! So true! Glad you got such great encouragement here O's mum

[mimi]

Ahem .... I have just realised I misread your post angelbaby8!!

I now see you didn't say that they told you your milk WOULD dry up - but that it WOULDN'T ! :o

Teach me to pop in quickly in between jobs and try and post a 'quick one', without reading properly, eh?!!! :D