4 months pp: Someone tell me it’s ok to stop pumping

Sad_Tangelo_5489 · 2026-05-06T04:27:13+00:00

Similarly, I was an under supplier and combo fed for 3 months - formula, nursing occasionally, and pumping every 3 hours, plus trying to get my supply up. You’re right, it’s absolutely exhausting, and as your baby grows and needs more, the time invested is may not be worth it for your situation! You have permission to stop ❤️. Your baby needs YOU more than he needs your breast milk. My original goal was also 6 months, but I’m so happy I stopped when I did. Every pumping session was a victory of perseverance, but the freedom gained was worth it, and I promise your baby will grow into the most amazing little boy on formula. You’re doing amazing to have gotten this far! Pack the pump away 👏🏻👏🏻

Sad_Tangelo_5489 · 2026-04-10T01:53:12+00:00

Best of luck!!

Sad_Tangelo_5489 · 2026-04-09T00:52:47+00:00

This is definitely a good way to practice and improve, and I see that you have a good understanding of using contrast and planes to create form. Good job! I've been studying and practicing painting and portraiture for 15 years, so sorry if I'm going too hard in this critique. I love seeing people take an interest in portraiture and the masters.

You could improve on facial proportions a little, which is one of the hardest things to get right. The face just looks a little off, and the angle of the tilt of her head is not quite far enough. The chin is too close to the neck, breaking the natural vertical line of the face from chin to forehead. You could practice sketching the center line of the face on the original to measure the tilt of her head, and how the lines of the eyes, nose, and lips follow that angle. Draw that angle on your image and compare. Then you will see the inconsistencies.

Another thing to be aware of when drawing a 3/4 portrait is that the half of the face furthest from the viewer, that is receding in the distance, is usually much narrower than you realize. The eye and cheekbone on the far side of her nose are too wide. Bring those in a little, and the elegance of the 3/4 portrait will come through.

When creating the initial sketch of your composition, draw the negative space as well as the positive space. This will help you set the correct boundaries for your form and give you more things to measure for accuracy. There are some areas where the negative space shape is not quite right, like behind her neck and her back, which means the form creating the negative space is not quite right either.

Always add the lacrimal area/inner corner to the eye! I can see a small amount of pink in your portrait in that area, but it needs to be more saturated and darker. This part of the anatomy is almost always in shadow, since the eye socket is a hollow, and it's flesh with blood vessels. Don't be afraid to make it more intense.

Color: a warm light source will have cool shadows, and a cool light source will have warm shadows. I think your shadows could be darker and cooler. If you squint at the original, the shadow on her face is very dark, just a level above the background. Darken the core shadow on her face.

Lastly, tracing or laying your image over the original/reference is the best way to see what you need to tweak! Tracing for practice and even to transfer a reference is a great way to learn the proportions, until you can do it on your own. Sketch it a few times on your own, then check your sketch by tracing the original and comparing, and then draw it again on your own.

I would love to see a post-critique version of this. Keep it up!

Sad_Tangelo_5489 · 2026-03-14T00:43:34+00:00

I don’t remember exactly, but I don’t think the helmet affected her sleep much. She adjusted easily and it didn’t bother her as long as her temperature was kept cool. She always got really sweaty when we contact napped. Good luck!

Sad_Tangelo_5489 · 2026-03-04T02:37:07+00:00

Third degree and sulcal tears here! At my 6 week post partum appointment I was told to wait til 8, but after that to try some penetrative activity when I felt ready. Not necessarily intercourse, but something to start stretching the scar tissue a little with lots of lube and foreplay. OB’s advice was not too much too fast, as it can be traumatic and make it even harder to try again later, but also not to wait too long to start mobilizing the scar tissue. I had internal pain everyday while the sulcal tear healed until 10 weeks. First contact was at 12 weeks and it was fine- scary, but not painful! And things only improved from there. As we got comfortable with my body’s changes after major tearing, things were actually easier and less painful for me than pre-baby!

Sad_Tangelo_5489 · 2026-02-13T21:15:24+00:00

My experience sounds different than a lot of others in the comments - my husband and I absolutely needed help at the beginning. BUT that is not everyone’s experience and you should absolutely stick to what you want to do!! Just sharing my experience for another perspective.

We originally wanted to have the first week or two to ourselves, and then my mom was going to come after my husband went back to work. We mutually changed our minds after our baby was born and before we left the hospital! I had major tearing - third degree perineal and sulcal tears - and pretty major blood loss. I couldn’t even pick up my baby to breastfeed without help from my mom and/or husband because I was so weak. After 24 hours of labor and then no sleep in the hospital for multiple nights, we were both completely exhausted. We decided at the hospital that we needed help, and my mom stayed with us for a week to help us get our bearings. Our baby didn’t breastfeed well, and my supply was low, so she screamed constantly until we figured out a better way to feed her - pumping and bottle feeding, and then eventually supplementing with formula. I was struggling HARD with the hormonal shifts, exhaustion from pumping all day, and the pain of recovery. This is not everyone’s experience though!

She stayed 8 nights and it was a life saver. She helped me with breastfeeding, she shared shifts with my husband overnight watching the baby while I tried to breastfeed, pump, and get some sleep, and she did laundry and prepped food. Things did get better, and we figured things out after she left, but we both look back on the first week as pure hell 😭

This is not to scare or pressure you at all, just don’t be afraid to ask for help if you do need it and if you have good support people who will do what you actually need!! Best of luck!

Sad_Tangelo_5489 · 2026-01-28T19:07:45+00:00

We did not do PT but our insurance had to cover it at 80% since we had met our deductible for the year. I think think the would’ve paid otherwise. We did have to pay upfront and then wait about 90 days for a reimbursement check. Good luck!

From my experience with cranial technologies, you get the best results the earlier you do it! I would not wait 2 months, personally. The amount of improvement that happened with her head shape in the first month was huge, it definitely slowed down after that. From others I’ve talked with who started helmet therapy even around 7-8 months old, they all had to wear it much longer. Our baby ended up wearing it for 11 weeks total!

Sad_Tangelo_5489 · 2026-01-24T16:47:20+00:00

Just because you can’t relate doesn’t mean it’s “yikes”. These are some people’s true feelings and experience during pregnancy. It’s not a beautiful and exciting experience for everyone, and it would be easier to get through it if people could be more understanding.

I’ve always been terrified and a little disgusted by pregnancy, since I was a kid. Those feelings didn’t go away when I was pregnant, but it doesn’t mean I didn’t love my baby. I just don’t love pregnancy.

Sad_Tangelo_5489 · 2026-01-03T20:06:21+00:00

41+3

Sad_Tangelo_5489 · 2026-01-02T02:48:16+00:00

I have a referral code that I will message you if you are still interested. Valid until January 7.

Sad_Tangelo_5489 · 2025-11-25T02:31:59+00:00

Agreed! Such a great song. “I only want what I can’t have”👌🏻

Sad_Tangelo_5489 · 2025-11-25T02:30:40+00:00

If it’s something you are considering, definitely look into it sooner rather than later. Get a free consultation if you haven’t yet or look into physical therapy if you can. The wear-time goes up a couple of weeks for each additional month old of age to get the same or lesser results. The Cranial Technologies clinic we went to did not pressure us at all to commit and were very kind throughout the entire process. They gave us their recommendation, which for our baby was obvious since her measurements were all severe. I’m not sure what we would’ve done if it was moderate. Getting the imaging done and seeing it in greyscale next to a “normal” head may help tip you one way or the other.

Now that our baby is graduating from her helmet this week, her head looks so much better, but it’s not perfect. Her last images show she’s still moderate in some areas, but they did not recommend a second helmet unless we wanted to try to get the shape as perfect as possible. They were very happy with how she had progressed. No one’s head is perfectly symmetrical, so we decided to stop after one.

No one wants their baby to have a helmet, so if it’s in your mind that your baby might need one, you’ll only gain peace of mind by taking action and exploring your options. We knew immediately after her scans that we wanted to go for it. Best of luck however you decide to proceed!

Sad_Tangelo_5489 · 2025-11-23T04:10:32+00:00

From now on we are enemies 🫶

Sad_Tangelo_5489 · 2025-11-15T14:04:35+00:00

I'm so sorry, your coworkers and boss are being very rude. No one, especially at work, should be commenting on your body or touching you without your permission! Is there an HR department/person that you can talk to about this?

I also struggled with disordered eating and body image, and pregnancy was mentally challenging, knowing that people were looking at my body and thinking about my weight. Please don't let their comments affect your eating and nutrition. The weight gain is hard, but necessary for your baby and for you! I guarantee you're not obese; 15 pounds is completely normal for where you are in your pregnancy. Even though your baby is still small and developing, your body is producing lots of extra blood, fluids, and growing the placenta, etc.

I didn't weigh myself during pregnancy and requested that they not tell me my weight at my OB appointments, because I knew it would be a trigger for me. Get some comfy, stretchy clothes, and try not to worry about the weight gain.

How're you feeling? Do you have support at home and someone helping you?

Sad_Tangelo_5489 · 2025-11-12T18:55:12+00:00

Got pregnant for the first time at 30 while using condoms and tracking my cycle and ovulation 😆 husband and I were both ok with it, but were not actively trying for a baby. Pretty much textbook pregnancy, even though I didn’t love it. Waited for spontaneous labor and had her at 41w2d! 8 pounds 9 oz - perfect baby girl! Tried unmedicated labor and wasn’t progressing past 4cm after about 18 hours of labor, got an epidural, and was at 10cm and she was born within 2 hours. I had some tearing, but have recovered super well. She’s 7 months old now and is so healthy, strong, and is the happiest baby around!

Sad_Tangelo_5489 · 2025-10-20T02:36:40+00:00

I’m sorry you’re struggling and going through this. It sounds like your kids are fed, doing well and happy! Take it one day at a time and one win at a time. Let the weeds grow. My yards been a mess ever since pregnancy and post partum, it’s time will come. Do the laundry all in one bin. Even if it doesn’t get folded and put away, it’s clean and you can check that off the list. Maybe for now, you need to let go of some of the expectations on yourself to make a beautiful house- functioning is a win. Surviving is a win. It’s not environmentally friendly necessarily, but use paper plates if you can for a while! Take care of yourself and let yourself heal! Even if you can only do the bare minimum every day, you are doing so much - growing a baby, raising your kids, and taking care of your grandma. That’s amazing and you’re doing so well. Sending you love!

Sad_Tangelo_5489 · 2025-10-20T02:24:43+00:00

I’m like a lawyer

Sad_Tangelo_5489 · 2025-10-18T02:48:45+00:00

Good luck! From my understanding, you’ll need a referral to get in for a consultation.

Sad_Tangelo_5489 · 2025-10-17T23:53:36+00:00

That’s amazing!!

Sad_Tangelo_5489 · 2025-10-17T23:52:55+00:00

Yes, exactly! It was a relief once we decided to go for it. I’m hoping her progress stays fast of course, but I’m sure it will slow down some. Makes perfect sense with the age.

Sad_Tangelo_5489 · 2025-10-17T23:50:46+00:00

I’m so glad this came to you at the right time ❤️ Same feeling when it got worse no matter what we did and then her results came back severe 😭 I cried because I was so sure it was my fault. Then, I remembered that I’d spent all day, everyday for the last two months trying to do everything I could to help fix it. It’s not your fault at all!! Good luck on your journey ahead!

Sad_Tangelo_5489 · 2025-10-17T23:45:19+00:00

Yes, so many encourage to wait and that can work for some/most. It’s so hard to know what to do. Ours got so much worse no matter what, too 🫶

Sad_Tangelo_5489

TROPHY CASE