This week’s Breastfeeding Blog Hop topic is: Breastfeeding and Body Changes.
I have been nursing for almost 10 months now. I know, I know. No need to applaud. Baby E and I are an amazing team. Beside one little distracted baby strike, we havent had any problems. Unless you count the still not sleeping at night thing and I think thats a story for another week.
So some issues I have seen discussed about what breastfeeding does to your body are just crazy weird. Like I heard when I was nursing my first son that I would lose feeling in my nipples if I breastfed too long? What? I also heard that breastfeeding would make my boobs sag to my waist (also with my first son) Happily neither of these happened. I will say I hate the way my breasts feel after feeding Baby E. They feel like they have been deflated and are just skin with nothing in them. However, with my experience with my ODS, the amazing M, they do go back to pretty much normal a few weeks after you stop breastfeeding.
Another issue I hear people talking about is dear old Aunt Flo. I am very blessed in the fact that I am on the Depo shot and I havent had a period since 8 weeks after Baby E was born. I also didnt have one for 7 years before he was born but who’s bragging? Many breastfeeding women find out they wont have periods while they breastfed. Some wont the entire time, some will begin 6-8 months later, and some dont have that luxury and theirs start a few weeks after baby. Every woman is different but judging by the women in my family and my friends, most women are lucky enough to at least get a few extra months of no Aunt Flo while breastfeeding.
Another issue with breasts. That sentence sounds weird ;p I was a D cup with my first son and went up to a DD or bigger(my bras were really tight) but after I weaned him, they went down to a C cup. I was happy though because I hated the back pain. Then 8 years later before I got pregnant with Baby E,I gained a bit of weight and was a D cup again so now again while I am breastfeeding I am a DD and let me tell you it is so hard to find nursing tanks that fit across my chest that don’t sag around my body. They should have bra sizes not small, medium, and large.
Now the big issue that was constantly brought up to me by people was that breastfeeding makes you lose the weight faster. Did it me? No idea. I gained a little over 20 lbs and ended up losing 25 within a week of having him. Was it breastfeeding? Again, no idea. It probably was though because honestly the only time I got off my butt to do anything was to change a diaper or get some more to drink (BF’ing makes you very thirsty). And I ate everything under the sun because I had gestational diabetes while pregnant and couldnt eat anything 🙁
Any other issues you wanna talk about? Anything you want to know? I am not an expert but I have nursed two kids and I do feel comfortable talking about anything and everything breastfeeding.
So glad to read that your boobs go back to “normal” after you stop BFing! I also hate the deflated, saggy thing and was really worried that it was my mammary future! I also gained 19 lbs with pregnancy and lost more….I do credit BFing!
Ditto on what Cynthia said! I am so worried that the “empty” look will be the new look after weaning. Not hot. I was actually pumping in the parking lot at a wedding reception recently. After I was empty and headed back in, my mom looked at me and informed me that my boobs looked a lot smaller. . . Nice.