Mihow

Breastfeeding

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Mihow
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I read somewhere recently that a woman can destroy her boobs if she doesn’t breastfeed properly. This perplexes me. What can go wrong? I mean, how can they get any worse than they already are? Does it have to do with poor pumping techniques? Scheduling? Poor suction? Is it the baby’s fault? And what does “destroy” mean anyway? Do they sag more? Turn into cottage cheese looking ornaments? What do they mean by destroy? I have so many questions. I should probably just wait and ask them during class.

I plan on breastfeeding. I have said as much before. And I’m scheduled to take a class in order to learn how. But I am a little worried breastfeeding will further destroy the boobs currently being destroyed just by being pregnant.

Comments

17 responses to “Breastfeeding”

  1. Amanda Avatar
    Amanda

    Destroyed? I don’t like the sound of that at all. I’m actually pretty enamoured with my breasts at the moment because, I HAVE BREASTS NOW.

    I’ve heard that they not only disappear after you finish breastfeeding, but that they also get smaller than they were originally. That’s bullshit, Geraldo.

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  2. jenblossom Avatar
    jenblossom

    Gah. My mom gained a cup size with me and another with my little brother… which is an absolutely terrifying prospect. Boobzilla attack! (Of course her hair got less curly, too, which would be cool…)

    I’ve heard about people having issues with milk production (or the lack thereof), of stretch marks, chapping and that sort of thing, but never that you could ruin your breasts. That’s kind of scary stuff.

    Please do post what you find out here.

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  3. jenblossom Avatar
    jenblossom

    Also, TJ should totally buy you some of these:
    http://www.agentprovocateur.com/maternity.php

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  4. mihow Avatar
    mihow

    I am already saving up (seriously) for an operation after this is all said and done. I am so not pleased with the size of my chest. And now it’s bigger. And I am told it gets even bigger when your milk comes in. I am not pleased at all with this part of the pregnancy. :[

    Checking out that link, Jen.

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  5. Julie Avatar
    Julie

    I would say that breastfeeding is not kind to your breasts. Destroyed is way too harsh of a description. I agree with Amanda as mine too are not quite as large as they used to be. Saggy, oh yes. But nothing a great bra can’t fix.

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  6. mihow Avatar
    mihow

    Mine are already saggy as well. They are saggy because they were already too big to begin with. It’s going to get worse. This is a new biggest fear. (See new post above).

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  7. Natasa Avatar
    Natasa

    A friend of mine described her boobs after her two kids were done with them as a pair of stockings, which pretty much sums it up:). Seriously, don’t worry too much about your breasts; breastfeeding is a pretty rewarding thing. Don’t worry in general, just take things as they come. Boobs start to sag no matter what you do. I mean even Jane Fonda grew old despite all the aerobics…

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  8. Wendy Avatar
    Wendy

    Mihow, I’m sorry to tell you, they probably WILL get a cup size bigger when your milk comes in. I was a B before pregnancy, popped up to a C during, and then a DD when my milk came in. Nearly 11 months post-partum, I think I’ve dropped to a D (which is still freakin big in my view), but I’m still breastfeeding, so that may be why.

    And I think I can explain the breastfeeding improperly ruining your breasts…if the baby’s latch is not correct, it is agonizing painful, and you can get chapped, cracked, very painful nipples. And just to let you know…once you get that latch right, sometimes babies get lazy and latch shallowly as they get older, and you have to keep vigilant to protect those nipples! Then the teeth come, and that’s a whole other story. Although, maybe some other moms who breastfed in the past can back this one up, I don’t think my breasts will ever be quite so sensitive as before. Breastfeeding kind of numbs them.

    Too much information? Sorry!

    ;)
    I’m a breastfeeding militant!

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  9. mihow Avatar
    mihow

    Dude, no such thing as too much information. I am a firm believer in the fact that if you’ve/we’ve thought it, they have too. I did this to read stories.

    I went from a C to a D cup in the first trimester. SO NOT PLEASED. Seriously, I will go into debt for an operation if I have to. But I want to wait until I am finished with this little dude.

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  10. Michele Chaves Avatar
    Michele Chaves

    I breastfed for over a year and my breasts are no worse than they were before. They’re going to sag no matter what – age and gravity do more damage than breastfeeding. You do need some extra boob support during breastfeeding – get a good nursing bra and basically wear it every waking minute, unless you’re in the shower—no more free boobing it. They are heavier and if you don’t support them it is reasonable to assume that they will sag more quickly.

    I can’t imagine the latch would cause long-term problems because if you don’t get the latch right you aren’t going to be breast feeding very long—the pain will end it and your supply will dry up. I don’t know if every woman has pain at first, but I suspect that all women have some as the baby learns to latch and your nipples get use to a workout like they’ve never had before. Remember, babies eat all the time. At first, if they aren’t sleeping, they’re eating and you kind of feel like a cow, literally…a milk dispenser! The lanolin lotion was helpful for the pain and chapping and it did go away after a week or two, as I recall.

    You have to be patient and see it through because it takes a while to get it right. You feel like the baby isn’t getting enough and you’re exhausted and it is easy to give up – but you have to stick with it. I had a great lactation consultant through the hospital and I think until you are doing it, it is nearly impossible to prepare for it. My consultant told me that there are actually very few women who have true medical reasons that prevent them from producing milk. If you stimulate the breasts with the baby suckling or a pump the milk will come. After the first few days or week it really comes…and the suppy eventually regulates itself to what your baby needs. It is really amazing and wonderful.

    Breast feeding is so much easier and cheaper than bottles and formula – you don’t have to sterilize bottles, mix formula, carry bottles everywhere, find someplace to warm them and so on. Just whip out the boob and baby is fed – voila! Leakage is a problem – breast pads are a must – I personally liked the washable ones best. It all seems so complicated, but once you’ve got the hang of it it is super easy and really rewarding.

    Good luck!

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  11. Michele Chaves Avatar
    Michele Chaves

    I don’t know why some of my reply has lines crossed out. I didn’t do that on purpose.

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  12. Sandi Avatar
    Sandi

    I’ve only been breastfeeding for 10 weeks ( I have twins), but I can say that your baby’s latch is super important! A bad latch will make you want to stop nursing. I went to breastfeeding class and I have a lactation consultant. I think the LC was a better investment as she was able to come to my house after we got home from the hospital. The class was alright, but I didn’t feel like I learned much. It was more about giving us reasons to breastfeed. Now that I’ve been nursing I think that having someone try to tell you how to breastfeed without actually doing it is like having someone try to explain how to ride a bike without hopping on.

    I’m with you on the boob job. I was huge to begin with and now I’m comically big. I second getting a good nursing bra and using the lanolin cream. Be ready to take it one day at a time.

    Hope this helped :)

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  13. mihow Avatar
    mihow

    Thank you, everyone! For the awesome information regarding boobage.

    Are there things I can do now to get the baby to latch properly? Latch music I can play for him? heh

    Also, Michele, yeah, Typo does that ALL THE TIME if you use double hyphens for (are they) em dashes. I hate it and many of my older posts (after we switched over) still have it. I wish there was something I could do. I will chat with the Web guy, aka my hubby and see if it’s a fixable thing or if I can at least do it manually.

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  14. Allison Avatar
    Allison

    I found Dr. Sears’ “The Breastfeeding Book” enormously helpful. It has a TON of information, and every time I had a problem, that was the place I ended up finding the answer.

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  15. Wendy Avatar
    Wendy

    You may be lucky, and have a baby who seems to know instinctively how to latch, or you may spend a lot of time waiting for the wide open mouth and shoving yourself into it. ;) Not as awkward as it sounds, really! But keep trying if it doesn’t work-it took us about 3 weeks to really get breastfeeding working, and I am so, so glad I kept perservering.

    http://www.kellymom.com is a great website to read up on all sorts of breastfeeding things.

    My favourite book is called “So That’s What They’re For!” by Janet Tamaro. It’s hilarious and full of great information. I’m still picking it up to read up on things, and I’ve had it for well over a year, read it cover to cover many times.

    To Sandi who commented above-I bow down to you! Breastfeeding twins is a major accomplishment! :)

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  16. Natasa Avatar
    Natasa

    I really feel I need to add something. From my not-so-rich experience (only one baby) I can tell you that babies are naturally-talented when it comes to breast-feeding. We started really well and after a few weeks I came across some UNICEF or something like that publication about breastfeeding and I swear I got all confused. The baby on their pictures seemed to have a different technique than mine… So really, take things easy and just follow the baby. It’s incredible how intuitive they are. But I did appreciate all the help and advice the nurses gave us at hospital. And the first night at home we used a substitute milk (I don’t know what to call it in English) and we did use that horrible pump the first day. But after that, things went smoothly. It’s really worth giving it a try… on so many level. It’s healthier, cleaner, always available, it helps you shed pounds, it’s for free… Good luck.

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  17. mihow Avatar
    mihow

    Natasa: thank you. And, I know it might sound really selfish, but one of the big reasons I want to breastfeed (besides the fact that it seems like the right thing to do) is that I get to lose weight! WOO! And boy do I need it!

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