Booby snacks and exercise...

[Gracie123]

Anyone on here breastfeeding and joined a gym/started doing something about shifting the baby poundage?

Background is I have a massive over production of milk (started leaking at about 4 months pg with DS!) and have always had loads more than DS was interested in.

Now, 3 years on I have DD and I had the same 'problem' initially with her. It's not that big a deal, I usually end up expressing more than I need and freezing some so I can have a drink 'pump and dump' and defrost a feed for her.

However this week I joined a gym. I have been three times and have noticed after each session that I am able to express less. Significantly less.

Actually I usually express around 8-9oz, now I can only get about 4oz.

Could exercise be making me produce less? I'm having to top up her feeds with frozen milk two to three times a day and I'm scared I'll run out soon.

What should I do?

p.s. I'm going to bed as I have 9 week old baby and toddler, hence I'm shattered.
Look forward to hearing from you all tomorrow.
x

Nice thread you've got yourself over here Gracie

I'm a lazy mare when it comes to proper exercise (I'm of the eat cake and walk school of thought) so don't have any experience of this but thought I'd bump ya.

I know losing weight too fast (can't remember how fast) can reduce milk but presumably you can't have lost much in a week.

Found this which is semi-interesting:
www.ivillage.com/exercise-does-it-cause-reduction-milk-supply/6-n-137009

thanks cakes

so maybe it's something else. Just seems odd that both me and the woman answering the question had exactly the same experience.

Still, only one week in, so maybe it will get better?

hi gracie,

my supply seems to have gone down to point where i have also taken milk out freezer to top up bedtime feed as DS cries in frustration at breast when not enough comes out.
I did start exercising properly 2 weeks ago and never made the connection between the two! although i have been ill over last few days so maybe that has made it worse too!

anyone else have similar experiences?

I hope someone has some idea about this, I'm worried enough about DS's eating without adding this on top but at the same time I'm so sick of being this fat I really need to shift some...

Are you drinking lots of water when exercising? If not up the water intake and should help stabilise your supply. If you need the expressed milk, express before your exercise session too - that way its more comfortable for you to exercise. And watch the weight loss - if you do lose too fast it will definitely effect your milk production.

Chulita - you can exercise and bf still. I did it both times with my boys. Just make sure you either express or feed them before exercise, dont go overboard on the exercise front (aim for a loss of 1lb a week max - slow and steady is the way to go) and drink lots of water and eat healthily and you'll shift the weight and still be able to bf your child for as long as you want to (DS2 is now 18months and bf morning and night - I exercise hard around 8 times a week).

I reckon dinky's got a good point. Maybe it's more to do with the lack of fluids in your body after exercising so there isn't enough to make the extra milk.

the amount you can express often bears little to the amount your lo can get. so just because you can only get 4oz at time (which is still loads by most people's standards) does not mean that you are not producing enough. However if you continue to supplement with frozen milk and not by keeping you lo at the breast then you are in danger of reducing your supply. The more you feed the more you produce.

I reckon you're right about the water. I've been having lots of headaches and seem to barely pee anymore either!

I know 4oz sounds a lot, but my greedy girl guzzled around 10oz per sitting!

There's a good chance that your DD drinks a lot more than she needs. If they attempt to comfort suck on a bottle, then they happen to get a load of milk. As a point of reference the normal range of BM babies intake is 19-30oz over a day, with average being 25oz.

This is also the normal time for oversupply to sort itself out (just because it didn't last time, doesn't mean it won't this time).

If your topping up her meals everyday, then this could lead to supply issues, compounding the situation.

As for drinks, if I'm just having the one, then I don't pump and dump.

She has four feeds a day, so she should only need 7.5oz at each feed? (assuming she is the 30oz kind of baby - she is pretty big)
Man, my son drank loads more than that.

We actually worked out he was having around 50-65oz in a 24hour period at around this age. HV said you couldn't over feed a breast fed baby, and in her defence he is actually still pretty skinny. He just eats loads.

Is it possible my kids just have super fast metabolisms? Their daddy does.

If your child had 30 oz in a day, would you not continue to feed them then? I'm a little confused. I don't want my little girl to grow up with weight issues, but equally, don't want her to not be getting what she needs - especially if it's just so that I can lose weight IYSWIM.

Not sure how much weight is too fast to lose, but I have lost 36lb in 8 weeks. Is that the problem?

I thought it was exercise as it dropped off so rapidly after joining the gym. I'm going to try and drink more water anyway and see how that goes.

It's not possible to overfeed a breastfed baby if fed directly, but once it's from a bottle then same rules as formula apply. So you can't predict their daily intake based on what they have from a few bottles in the day. One way to do it is to give her just enough so that she's not crying for more when you take the bottle (We've found the bottle needs to be emptied so if she wants more we then add it then). If she is still hungry later, then let her feed from you and then you don't need to worry and just trust your body to sort itself out accordingly i.e. while your out the plan is to give her just enough to get through until you get home. (Boy do i waffle)

Yeah four feeds would average 7-8oz per feed. I wish mine fed only four times a day.

Thanks, that has made things clearer. It also validates a theory I have. I always express my childrens last feed before bed, because daddy is home and it's nice for him to have a cuddle and feed before they go to bed. I'm convinced they sleep through bette when he puts them down than when I do. I guess they are drinking more because they are emptying a bottle, whereas when I feed them they eat less and wake up hungry again a few hours later.