Mother's milk

[Manha]

Hi all.Its my first pregnancy,12 week going.Came to know that some ladies cant produce milk!When can it be found whether u can produce milk or not?I do have tender and sore breasts.Cant wear bra,anyone else facing this prob?

[Manha]

Thanks amg_.
I think I need to visit my doctor soon and tell her about these marks.First,I saw a few light marks on my upper legs...then after some time they were clear.And now I can see clear same marks on breasts!Need to confirm whether they r stretch marks or something else?One of my friend told that a pregnant lady should start applying lotions on tommy and breasts, specially, to take care of stretch marks.According to her creams/lotions should be applied 9months before as well as after delivery.Lets see what the doctor has to say...

[amg_]

Sounds like it. They never fully go away, but will fade so they are pale and a little silvery.

The theories on trying to prevent them are drink plenty of water to keep your skin hydrated, and use cream with cocoa butter and vitamin e, almond oil is another that is supposed to help

[Manha]

Thanks for the replies. Now I have started getting some red marks on my breasts and the same kinda marks on upper legs. I am scared, what are they? Will they go away? Are they what are called stretch marks?

[houseofgirls]

Like the others said, you won't really know until you have the baby.  But, most people make plenty of milk.  A lot of people think they aren't making enough, mostly because they can't see how much the baby is drinking.  As long as baby is gaining enough weight, and having plenty of wet/messy diapers, you know your making enough!  Breastfeeding is definately supply and demand.  

[Glenda306]

Some women actually begin lactating during pg, but I never did.  When I was pg the 1st time (3 kids, 2 m/c, & currently pg), my bbs got horribly sore and swollen.  For a while I absolutely could NOT go w/o a bra at all.  With my 2nd and 3rd babies, they were hardly sore at all.  With this one, soreness was one of my 1st pg symptoms.  I'm now 10w5d and still sore.  Never has it been as bad as the 1st time.  My 1st baby refused to nurse much at all and I was afraid she was going to starve.  I broke down and gave her some formula (once in the hospital and once at home) on day 5.  My milk came in that day and so did a case of the baby blues.  The next day DD decided that "full" was better than "hungry" so she just took off with the nursing and continued until she was 13 mos old.

You won't know about milk production until after birth most of the time, but don't give up if your milk is slow coming in or seems to be in low supply.  The more you nurse the more milk you produce.  If you feel like you must supplement, try using a supplemental nursing system which allows a baby to get formula while latched onto you.  It will help increase your supply whereas bottle feeding won't.  Be persistent with it, don't give up after a few days or even a week or 2.  Just be aware of signs of dehydration, so that your baby is healthy--that's the most important thing.  Best wishes.

[cminamyer]

You aren't going to know if you can breastfeed until after you have the baby.

[amg_]

don't know about the milk, although would like to as i very much want to breastfeed.

regarding the bra, i've been in maternity bras since week 6 i think. It was such a relief to not hurt anymore when i tried one on and havent used normal bras since - may be worth trying getting fitted into a maternity bra. ?They also help prevent sagging after birth apparently.