two weeks in, my breasts feel very empty half the time

[swottybetty]

is this normal?

when there has been a long break between feeds they do feel fuller, but for most of the day i feel very floppy and empty. even HV commented on it, saying it didnt look like i had much milk.

pre-preg my breasts were quite big. i am leaking loads of milk still and changing tops three times a day despite using fresh breast pads after every feed.

should i be expressing to build my supply? ds putting on weight great and already back to his birth weight. lots of wet and pooy nappies. i guess i just find this new empty floppiness really disconcerting and i fel quite upset feeding him when i am squeezing them flat.

also, when i stop BF will my breasts always feel and look like the empty version of them?

yep normal - hv should be shot for misinformation. It can take up to eight months or so to not become engorged (when they are big). Flat is okay. Don't worry. I feed two children at once and my boobs don't look like they could contain an ounce!

So long as he's thriving don't do anything different

Agree totally with Whomoved, tell your hv to stop looking at your boobs and start looking at the baby's weight gain and obvious health.

As for what yr boobs will be like post b/feeding? Its been proven that b/feeding doesn't effect the proportions/fullness of yr boobs - its pregnancy that changes them.

Personally once I stop feeding my boobs go mostly back to the size/shape they were b4 my pregnancies, just sit slightly lower iykwim? - decent bra can't tell the diff

Agree totally with Whomoved, tell your hv to stop looking at your boobs and start looking at the baby's weight gain and obvious health.

As for what yr boobs will be like post b/feeding? Its been proven that b/feeding doesn't effect the proportions/fullness of yr boobs - its pregnancy that changes them.

Personally once I stop feeding my boobs go mostly back to the size/shape they were b4 my pregnancies, just sit slightly lower iykwim? - decent bra can't tell the diff

ooh er- double post?? sorry??

Agree with wmmc.

Also, mine took a year to fill out again after stopping bf but they're pretty good now, albeit not as shit-hot as they were (they were very, very good but as the rest of me never was, meh).

Apparently the fatty tissue in your breasts makes way for the enlarged milk ducts but this fat is redeposited after you stop feeding.

Might not ever really be the same but actually it's pregnancy that changes them, not bf.

Congratulations on your baby!

If he's doing fine then you have enough milk. How often is he feeding? If pretty often then it's not surprising you don't look/feel "full".

swotty

That's a terrible thing for your HV to say.

Breastfeeding shouldn't have to be a matter of confidence but in our society it often is, and boneheadedness (and this is what it is) and wilful ignorance (ditto) and unkindness (the same) from someone whose job it is to know how to evaluate breastfeeding is shocking.

Please don;t think you need to express. You will only encourage over supply.

Your baby is clearly being beautifully nourished; your feelings of flatness some of the time are normal.

You might want to share this thread with your HV

ty all.

tbh i dismissed the comment as the HV said it - i have been lurking on mn feeding threads long enough to know nonesense when i hear it. it sounded like the kind of thing my mums generation were told. i guess i was quite upset tho' cause that the feeling of floppiness i thought was just me being oversensitive was visible to someone sitting on other side of the living room.

can i keep asking questions? i find the feeling of feeding really unsettling when i start off with empty feeling breasts. at the beginning of the day it is not a prob cause i feel full and feeding is quite a nice thing to do. as day goes on it becomes dif experience as i am having to push them quite flat to keep ds sucking. the late night feeds i am finding quite upsetting cause of this - also cause tired then, but then i really hate the sensations and hate all things BF.

today i woke up and for the first time in my fortnight of feeding my boobs did not feel full even at the start of the day. i have had to use both boobs for each of todays feeds and i just feel funny and weird.

tbh i am just going to be feeding on a week by week basis, and my only goal at the moment is one month. if expressing could raise supply and make each feed feel less icky is it worth doing just to get me to that first goal? it really does feel so different when i start with full breasts. also it is making me self conscienous - yesterday i covered boob and ds in the evening because i did not want dh to see how much i was having to squash boob. i know ds is getting enough milk (tho' feeds feel less efficient, but that could just be me being paranoid), i just woould appreciate it being slightly more pleasant and i am keen to find out if there is anything i can do or if this is just how it is.

tia

portand lemon - feeding maybe eight times a day. sometimes every couple of hours and sometimes there is a six hour gap (hurrah!). yesterdy we were two hourly-ish for five back to back feeds and my boobs just felt very empty all the way thru and very very empty by the time i went to bed.

swotty - using 2 sides at every feed is fine and it's what most people have to do, anyway, at least at first.

The 'proof of the pudding' is in the fact your ds is gaining weight and thriving. To deliberately increase your milk supply by expressing to give you fuller breasts risks making your leaking even worse, overwhelming your baby with a fast-as-lightening let down, and just making your life more complicated...but there is no harm in trying if you want to do it, just to see what happens.

My guess is that your breasts have undergone the normal changes that many women experience with established bf - but it's happened to you sooner. I wonder if you have become very sensitive to the 'look' of them because of your HV's daft remark? And that in reality, they look just fine?