I wish my sister would stop dropping her gems of wisdom on me. So can someone please tell me of this is true or is she talking utter shite.

[McPhee]

I was saying how heavy my boobs already feel at 19 weeks, and she came out with "well if you think that's bad, just wait until they get so big you're leaking milk everywhere. And that's even before you've had the baby"

She's come out with so many things I'm finding it hard to work out whether she's winding me up or not.

I just need to know so I'm prepared really.

I always told mum I wanted a brother

Cold cabbage is most soothing it you squish it first. There's something in the juice that does the trick.

AThingInYourLife this is by no means her first gem. Some of them have had me in tears. And caused rows with our parents.

McPhee please stop worrying.

It will be fine. You may leak a bit but it is managable. I only leaked with one of my lot. It wasnt till late on and it was only a little bit.
Its normal and healthy.

Three or so days after you have your lovely baby your boobs will indeed feel like bloody great boulders but again, its fine and NORMAL.

They will go down as you feed (if you are bf, I dont know what happens if you are FF but I am sure someone can help you). You can be leaky for a while until you get into the swing of things but you WILL get used to it all and deal with it fine.

All this stuff would be very alarming if you were not pregnant but its perfectly normal when you are

I think it's a normal sibling conversation too.

And yes, your boobs will get bigger and heavier. And if your sister (and mother - have you asked her?) tend to leak antenatally then there is a good chance you will too. It's perfectly normal.

I leaked with DC1 at about 22 weeks but only in the shower, it wasn't much, and my boobs didn't get significantly heavier or fuller. They were massive but I have large boobs anyway. I definitely didn't need pads ore-birth after is another story.

I did however panic and think that said milk production meant that I was about to go into v early labour .

Ore-birth = pre-birth, obvs?

I used lilypadz which were ace, but for the occasional pre-baby dribble I recommend woolly jumpers - thicker is better.

McPhee my (older and more successful) sister took great delight in utterly debunking everything I thought I knew about pregnancy. We had a massive row when she questioned why I didn't 100% believe the midwife about dc1's position (I knew he was breech all along - she said how on earth could I know what position he was in, the midwives knew far more than me). It was a great pleasure for me to tell her after my scan at 38 weeks that he was indeed a footling breech. Even then she sneered at me for having to have a cs.

Fwiw, I didn't leak during pregnancy, but afterwards i could shoot people in the eye at 50 paces when I got a good let down reflex kick in. Even four months after ds was born and in theory it should have stabilised a bit I would get a huge let down every time they showed a baby being born on One Born Every Minute

I didn't leak at all while I was pregnant. But Thing's "fiery boulders of death" just about describes how my breasts felt on day three when the milk came in. Oddly, mine came in one breast at a time so for about four hours I had one fiery boulder and one perfectly normal (if rather veiny) breast.

My boobs were MASSIVE with ds1. Absolutely bloody massive. But they didn't leak at all. I breast fed for 6 months and can't recall any leakage. Don't worry about it x

I leaked a lot during my first pg. Enough to regularly need breast pads as they would soak through my bra and top. That was from about 25 weeks.
This time around I'm at 33 weeks and only leak if I have a squeeze. No aches or pains first time, but this time I get sore boobs, which is why I squeeze them a bit. Seems to relieve the ache. Every pg is different!

Headfairy I think our sisters would get on brilliantly.

I might strap these babys down soon

Not everyone leaks, I bf until ds was 22 mo and never leaked but I know lots of women who did.

I too also leaked from about 20 weeks and have had amazing supply after dd was born and my milk came in. Spraying milk is the norm here and if someone approaches you negatively whilst feeding, accidently slip baby off and let nature spray them in the face

My best advice to you as a pregnant lady is to ignore all advice People always throw their pennies worth in to scare or undermine you or the knowledge that you have learnt. IGNORE HER!

All the best with the rest of your pregnancy

You can leak at any stage but the really full feeling comes after birth when your milk first comes in. It does settle down though

I never started leaking until babies were about 3 weeks old. Had ample supply (donated to milk banks from baby 3 days old). ymmv.

You've heard a lot from the other posts but I started leaking colostrum/pre-milk at about 24wks... I would be sat there happily, look down & find 2 wet patches the size of 50p on my top!!! It didn't gush or pour out, but would definitely 'ooze' so breast pads were worn at all times. I found the washable ones useful at this stage, but nowhere near absorbant enough once my milk came in.

As for the milk - I leaked a LOT all the time my DD was feeding regularly, esp when she fed or I showered but I wasn't someone who could hit the wall opposite, just pouring down my tummy without a towel/pad in place. As she cut down her feeds, I leaked less & less. The disposable pads were then replaced with the washable ones again!!

I didn't leak before DS was born at all but I do remember the swollenboobsfeellikethey'regoingtoburst feelings. Can't remember when, but I remember the feeling!

Mine did leak a bit before the birth, I would wake up in the morning with two yellowy patches on the front of my nightclothes. Then they leaked and turned huge about three days post birth.

Shortly before the birth of DD, I was at a big family party wearing a white maternity top and looked down to see yellow marks across my boobs. Arrgh, thinks me. I had in fact brushed past a vase of lilies earlier on due to trying to manoeuvre around the party with my giant bump and it was actually bright yellow pollen across my chest. No idea how long I'd been walking around like that.

I haven't leaked yet in this pregnancy, but during my first two, I found that I would leak a little if I didn't have a bra on. After the births, this turned into a constant dribble.

I also remember the milk-has-just-come-in-engorgement! I'm not particularly big chested but looked like I had stuck two rockets to my front! Oh! And the pain when DD (2.6) uncharacteristically decided to hit me on one!

God I leaked constantly. I started off a 32C pre preg to a 36D at birth and then a 36G with 3 days...

Within

I've gone from a 36C to a 38DD so far, I'm guessing these puppies haven't finished then

Thanks for putting me in the picture though, In a nice way

I leaked from 18 weeks with pregnancy no 1, so you're already holding out longer than me!