For moms who breastfeed, I have a few questions

[NicMom]

This is going to sound so vain, but I'm wondering.... do your breasts suffer more damage if you breastfeed vs. formula? With my son I didn't even try to bf him, but this time around I'm starting to think it over. I'm worried that bf'ing will make my breasts well I don't know how to put it in a nice way. After my mom finished bf'ing my little brother her boobs shrivled up and now look like stretch mark pancakes just lying there. Mine are much bigger than hers, I'd have to roll them up to get them into a bra if that happened. If this is the case I just want to be prepared and start saving for my post baby boob lift ;-)

Also... is it true that bf babies don't sleep as long at night? If that's the case can you supplement with formula also? Will a baby switch between breast and formula?

Thanks guys I'm kind of an idiot when it comes to this subject and appreciate your answers!

[KM604]

My daughter is 4 weeks old and I am exclusivly breastfeeding and pump when I can to keep up my supply and have some saved for when I go back to work in 4 weeks.  Sometimes my daughter has is so hungry she just messes around with boob so I also use some of the pumped milk in a bottle when that happens.  As far as the stretch marks or sagginess, I can't answer that yet.  But I did have to supplement formula for my daughter a few times when she was around a week old because of latching issues, and she did sleep longer.  The formula is more filling so thats why the sleep longer.  Sometimes putting rice cereal in the formula is supposed to help them sleep longer also.  But she slept a little too long and I had to wake her to feed her.  With me breastfeeding, she eats every 2-4 hours (it truly just depends) and she lets me know when she is hungry - I rarely have to wake her.  My stomach has already taken a hit with stretch marks, which came with the pregnancy, but to me I would rather take the chance of having saggy boobs than not breastfeed - you might see that once you do breastfeed because it truly is a bonding experience.  To each her own, its good that you are going the research now.  I know when I had my first doctors appointment the nurse told me, "you don't need the answers now, but we suggest you start thinking about whether you will breastfeed or not and if you have a boy whether you will circumsize him or not".  Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

[Mumita]

Maybe the reason why your bbs "sagged" or "deflated" is because you lost soo much weight (which is awesome) bbs are mostly made up of fat and milk glands so when loosing the fat in them then they are definitely going to sag.  Good luck on your boob job.  But remember that if you get pregnant again and you don't BF your bbs might end up bigger than you thought.

[g8r grl]

I went from a 36A before pregnancy to a 38C after I had my son. I breastfed for only 6 weeks and it ruined me forever. My BBs didn't have any stretchmarks before my milk came in, but now they definitely do. It's kinda gross. I lost all of my pregnancy weight plus another 20lbs on top of that, so now I'm back down to a 36A again.

It's not the stretchmarks that bother me because they've lightened a lot...it's the squishiness...they're not firm at all and it's gross. If my BBs were naturally larger before, I think they would have faired better.

Here's the great part---I'M GETTING A BOOB JOB ON APRIL 3RD! Hooray!!! I'm 26 and don't deserve mom-boobs, so I've decided to get a hott new rack. 375cc of silicone in each...should be a 36C (full) or small D. They're trying to get away from saline implants...they leak and you need to have them fixed within 10 years. The new "gummy bear" implants are safe and last for 30 years. I'm so excited :) It's well worth the money!

[GRose]

OH, they went back to the same size after baby, maybe got a tad bigger.

[GRose]

I am was a full D pre pregnancy and I breastfed with my son for a year and intent to bf this time around as well. My breasts are not in anyway flat like pancakes, they do sag a little but they are still pretty attractive lol.

[SusanRaj]

Breast feeding is one of the best thing and is definitely beneficial to the mother . Scientifically a breast feeding mother looses an average of 500 calories a day

and in addition to this when you breast feed , your pituatory gland secretes a harmone called Oxytocin , it helps the uterus to shrunk to its original size as it was in your pre-pregnancy

Oxytocin has one other important effect: inducing loving feelings in moms toward their babies. That's why it's sometimes called the love hormone.

Leaving away science and facts ...guys its the best thing that god has given us i am 15 weeks now and i will definitely bf my baby for atleast 2 years . It will boost her/his immunity level

[JoyRenee]

WhitneyLauren- I think that the doctors came to the conclusion that pregnancy causes sagging because there are many women who do not breastfeed at all and their breasts sag, sometimes worse than breastfeeding mothers. I have heard many health professionals say the same- pregnancy is the ultimate culprit.

I think breastfeeding can actually be beneficial to keeping your breasts younger and healthier looking, even perkier.

But again, every single woman has their own genetic makeup and different ways how they react to changes in their body. So it's just something that people have to wait and see. Ultimately a child's nutrition is the most important part in breastfeeding.

[bryanarae]

I breastfed my son only in the afternoons. I would supplement at night with formula. Not only because he slept much better with formula in his belly, but because then we could take turns feeding and what not. I started that schedule right away, and my son never seemed to have a problem going from boob to bottle and back again. I think it all depends on the child and how early you start the pattern. :)
Oh, and my boobs don't sag more, they just seem "less full" if you know what I mean. I plan on doing the same with this baby, as long as she co-operates like our son did! :)

[martikadragoon]

Yes to all your questions. my bb's are normally a C and when pregnant I went to a DDD. They're a bit droopy now and I do have stretch marks but not many more than I did before TJ. I'm back to a good sized large C small D now, and my bb's look pretty good still. Tummy.... that's another thing. I do have some stretched out skin on my stomach..

when I'm 30 and done having kids I'm gonna get a tummy tuck and boob job... I guess I better start saving right now!

[chantal21]

Yea give it a shot! It will be so beneficial to the baby and his/her health! =) And can also help you lose the baby weight after birth. And like you said, if you are really worried about sagging, you can always go get a lift later on! That's what I told my husband I would do if I ever got REALLY bad. lol. But I'm too chicken and would never go under the knife for that...haha. And like Mumita said, formula will never be as perfect as mommy's milk! And on top of that, the bonding experience is wonderful! I can't even put it into words. =)

[Mumita]

It wont be horrible.  I'm a true believer of BF, I don't think that formula will ever be as perfect as breastmilk.

[NicMom]

I'm leaning towards doing it. I figure if it's really horrible then I can always get a lift a few years from now. From everything I've been reading the benefits for the baby out weigh the personal pain and physical effects for me. I'm going to give it a shot.

[Mumita]

Well I once lost A LOT of weight for my size and I have always been a 34A so when I lost the weight my bbs sagged and were tiny, well I gained some weight back and my boobs perked up again.
I think what happens is that your breasts get bigger diring pregnancy and then whenyou loose the pregnancy weight well they literally deflate.  Many women that don't breastfeed loose less weight than the bf women so their boobs don't sag as much.

That's my theory, maybe when I'm done with BF I will think about fat injections :P

[NicMom]

I really think that when your milk comes in and they get even bigger and heavy that causes sagging. I'm serious about getting a lift. I want one or two more kids after this so by the time I'm done I'll be able to tie them around my neck like a scarf. I'm a 36 D right now can you imagine how big and heavy those suckers will get?! I think the sagging is something I won't be able to get away from.

[Whitneylauren]

There is a current debate among scientists about whether simply pregnancy or breast feeding or a combination causes sagging breasts. I think the general consensus is that pregnancy itself is the main cause of sagging. I have to say, though, that I disagree. I think it is a combination of the two.
With my first son I went from a 34 D to a 36 E within a month and stayed in an E while nursing. Now, with my second, I am in a 34 F and have yet to get my milk (I am due in 4 days). I nursed for 17 months with my first and will do the same with my second. When your breasts are filled with milk for a long period of time, of course they are going to sag after a while- those babies are heavy!

[pookie1121]

Mine are the same as they were before I had my daughter and I breastfed her until she was 16 months old (6 months exclusively, then slowly reduced # times per day, around 1 year old she was nursing twice a day and that lasted until 16 months).  But I do not notice any difference from before and after.

My DD started sleeping through the night (ca 6-7 hours) at about 3 months old.   When she was around 7 months old, she started getting a rice-cereal before bedtime and would sleep 8-9 hours per night.

[Mumita]

I haven't had my baby yet but I have worried about that too.  Right now I'm 19 weeks pregnant and my boobs are looking awesome (except for the huge dark nipples) I wish that they will stay like this because I was a size A before, now I'm reachign size C!

However I've always planned on breastfeeding exclusively because to me saggy boobs don't mean a thing compared with the best nutrition that your baby can have.  Also, it helps shed off the pounds gained during pregnancy a lot faster than not breastfeeding.  And I'd rather have saggy boobs than keep the weight that I've gained.

[jenkaye21]

I think it varies greatly from person to person.  I bf my 3rd child, but for only 5 weeks, and had no change in my breasts.  

My best friend has bf all four of her children for a full year, and her breasts look great!  I swear, the girl still looks good in a bikini, after four kids, and she attributes it to bf -ing for so long.

So, on the plus side, it is a *great* way to lose weight!

[Kimberlee_20]

Haha I'm so glad you asked this because I was thinking the same thing, I've heard of nipples being EXTREMELY long after and it scared the sh*t out of me hahaha - I'm going to try breastfeeding too, so hopefully they don't look HORRIBLE after! :X

[Michele, Katy, TX]

I have to disagree that breastfeeding doesn't cause sagging and that only pregnancy does.  My mom just turned 54 last week.  She has always been tiny but had a pretty full bust.  I was always very proportioned.  Not flat chested, but def not like my mom.  My mom never breastfed me or my brother and she has a chest I would love to have.  I swear she has actually gotten bigger over time.  All of the women in my family are very well endowed; except for me.  So my mom had 2 kids and had no problems in that dept.  I again was never flat chested, but after I had my first and breastfed him, my chest was never the same.

When I was a teenager, I had a friend who had a sister that had just had a baby.  Her sister told me that if I ever breastfed, my boobs would never be the same.  That meant absolutley nothing to me when I was 13, but in the end, it ended up being true for me.

But as others have said, it depends on the person I suppose.  Others have had opposite experiences from me.

[chantal21]

My son in just about 11 months and only nurses twice a day now. I was a full B before I got pregnant and once I started nursing I went up to a C almost a D. Now that he is not nursing as much I can fit into my bras that I wore before I got pregnant, so I know I am back to a B. I don't have any stretch marks either, thankfully. My husband says he likes them more now than before...lol. (that makes me feel better about nursing, because I thought they would look horrible afterwards)

Also, my son slept great at night! The second night home he started sleeping 3-4 hours a night! I was in shock. A couple of months later he started sleeping 12 hours a night.  Even now...he goes to bed at 7pm and wakes up at 7am and sometimes goes back to sleep until 9am. I couldn't have been more blessed. I know not every baby is like that, but he was strictly breastfed until a couple of months ago when I started introducing food. Just to say that breastfed babies can sleep through the night. We never supplemented, so I don't have any info on formula. Good luck!! =)

[NicMom]

thanks guys I'm getting answers and thinking of millions of new questions. I'm glad I started looking into this early.

[houseofgirls]

I have breastfed 2 babies so far, one for 11 months and one for 16 months.  I am currently pregnant with my 3rd baby,  who will also breastfeed.  I didn't supplement with formula, so I'm not much help there.  I can tell you that a lot of people do supplement.  Some babies won't take formula if they are breastfed, so you may have a hard time with that.  You won't know until you try!   You could always pump for your baby so that other caregivers can feed your baby.

My breasts are pretty much the same as they were before I had my kids.  They might be a little smaller, and not quite as perky, but I don't have stretch marks or anything like that.  I've known women who did not breastfeed and still ended up being saggy with stretch marks.  I think it all depends on the person.  I know for me, I only go up about one cup size when I'm nursing, so maybe that has something to do with my breasts still looking pretty much the same after.

[JoyRenee]

Breastfeeding doesn't cause sagging- pregnancy does.