Bras and sweeteners!

[Bobsmum]

Two quick questions:

1 - I'm b/f my 11 month ds (3 feeds/days) but would like to start to lose a bit of weight - can I take sweeteners in my tea/coffee? I know some people do while feeding, but I've been so careful about everything else in my diet, I'd just like to make sure it's ok.

2 - Since breastfeeding, I'm now a big girl up top (J cup - D cup pre ds). I've been wearing a bra at night, totally paranoid that I'll sag everywhere if I don't and so far so good. Does anyone else still wear a nursing bra at night or am I being excessively worried about gravity taking its toll?

Hi, strongly suspect that what will be will be re the shape of your breasts after having kids. I was a dd before ds (small back) now still dd (bigger back!) but don't think it's too bad. Don't care anyway. More worried about my hips, because you can't put your hips in a push-up bra I am sure sweeteners are fine. They are taken in microscopic amounts and very, very tiny amounts of what you eat gets into breastmilk anyway. Imagine a tiny, weeny fraction of a sweetener tablet. However, why not give up sugar bit by bit, taking slightly less with each cup of tea. I have to admit I don't like sweeteners.

Bobsmum - have you tried Splenda? It has fewer nasties in it than most sweeteners and is made solely from sugar derivatives. I am not a chemist so only go on the little bit I have read up on and the different sweetener labels and it seems to be one of the better ones - it has bright yellow packaging and comes in loose "granular" style large packs for sprinkling and cooking and also the little tablet form for drinks etc. We use it exclusively now as an alternative to sugar and even my fussy DH has got used to it - he wouldn?t use Hermaseta or any of the other ones as they tasted "too sweet or artificial"...HTH

Thanks folks! - it was the "nasties" I was worried about like aspartame etc - they all sound a bit sinister.
I'm down to one sugar from two, but a cup of tea just isn't right without a bit of sweetness - just hot milk otherwise!
I'd love to switch to fruit or herbal teas, but have yet to find one that doesn't taste like a cold lemsip.

IMO it's better to have small amounts of natural foods eg sugar / butter ... than larger amounts of artificial sweeteners / margarine. Healthy, well-balanced diet, lots of water (2-3 litres / day esp when b/fing), not much tea/coffee/alcohol and regular exercise more likely to induce weight loss than not having sugar in tea. Easier said than done - am off out tonight for nice (big) meal out with plenty of booze and tabs, and hope dd doesn't wake up in night so breast milk will be clear from all that naughtiness by tomorrow night !

I also have a dd cup, but my lactation consultant said not to wear a bra at night because it increases the risk of mastitis. I may be wrong but I thought it was pregnancy that wrecks your boobs, not breastfeeding.