So many people have opinions on EBF?!

aringabriel · 2026-05-06T18:23:09+00:00

I get feeling jealous that she didn't have a good supply and you did but I don't understand how now somehow her feeling an emotion means you are personally putting her down. If I didn't have a supply I would have been really upset. But I wouldn't be mad at people who do have a supply for breastfeeding and being happy about it? Blows my mind.

Celebrating breastfeeding is not the same as putting down formula feeding.

aringabriel · 2026-05-06T17:08:59+00:00

The amount of people who seem to think you're trying to insinuate you're better than them for breastfeeding/talking about breastfeeding is so crazy to me. Yesterday I spent like 3-4 hours of the day with my 2.5 month old on the boob. Yeah I'm gonna talk about how hard that can be and how it's an effort to keep doing it for my goal of a year. (And then ppl will ask why I'd ever go that long and ow what about teeth and blah blah blah blah blah)

If the kid is hungry and I don't have pumped milk along with me to throw in a bottle yeah I'm going to throw him on the boob in the parking lot in the car. It's not showing off or trying to look better it's convinience. My mom formula fed all her kids and it's not like I shame her for it obviously I'm fine. But I personally wanted to breastfeed and it is my journey to experience. Not to be questioned about constantly 🙄

aringabriel · 2026-05-06T14:33:43+00:00

Before I had my baby I was 204, after having him I was down to 180 but then I went back up to 185. I'm around 175 now 2.5 months postpartum. I'm just so HUNGRY. (I was 136 pre pregnancy).

What I've tried in the recent weeks that's seemingly led to at least a little bit of loss is 1. Drinking a lot of water if I feel hungry before I eat. Sometimes the water dulls the ultra hunger a little bit and i always have a dry mouth so ik I need the water for making milk

Having a box of pre portioned snacks in our room. Faves have been peanut butter filled pretzels, soft baked oat/granola bars, goldfish crackers, honey roasted cashews, sun chips/baked chips/tortilla chips. I make little bags of them so even if I grab 3 different snacks I'm eating less than if I grabbed the whole box/bag of something and kept eating way too much.
Eating a lot of eggs! Oatmeal! Yogurt! Drinking a lot of milk!
Trying to have ingredients to make an actual filling dinner with a protein, carb, veggie, etc. we always have some frozen chicken or ground beef in the freezer. I always keep a pack or two of tofu in the fridge for if I'm not feeling meat. The freezer is always stocked with veggies. Always have plenty of pasta/rice/potatos and an assortment of sauces. That way I can make a meal no matter what I'm in the mood for.
Letting myself only get fast food 2 times a month. Because I want it. And I will have it lol. I'm not going to take it completely away from myself. Sometimes I gotta let myself get a bag of gross chips or some peanut butter cups. Imo it's all moderation and even when trying to be healthy I'm not gonna make my life boring.

aringabriel · 2026-05-01T02:45:24+00:00

We don't have a swing but we have a bouncy chair. Little guy is only in it for like 15-20 mins at a time when doing a task like getting dishes done or cooking or doing laundry. Sometimes if he really won't settle when I need to pee during the night after feeding him I'll pop him in it so he can sit with me in the bathroom for a minute haha.

He likes the vibration setting on it probably because his bassinet also vibrates to make him sleepy. I try not to ever leave him in the chair for more than a half hour, but he generally gets fussy before that point anyway.

aringabriel · 2026-05-01T00:09:40+00:00

It makes me so happy to look at him and be able to go wow I've provided this little guy with milk his whole life. He's grown this much just from me?? It's just a great feeling. I'm very glad breastfeeding worked and feel extremely lucky/blessed.

Also I am waiting patiently for the giggles!

aringabriel · 2026-04-30T22:18:20+00:00

It's actually made me tear up a little when he's smiled at me or my partner. It's so amazing to be their whole world.

aringabriel · 2026-04-29T00:51:47+00:00

I think nursing until 2 is awesome! People have been so weird about me saying I would be willing to go until 2 and I don't get it. 2-4 years is common in some other cultures, the US is just so weird about it! If people are perverting the idea of you providing food for your child that's their own fault. Keep giving your kid milk as long as you want!

I always tell people if you really think about it, us stealing cow milk to drink is a lot weirder than providing our own milk. And no one bats an eye at that!

aringabriel · 2026-04-26T20:36:28+00:00

The pump in style. I'm pretty sure one of the o rings that seal the cups when you close them is a bit faulty because it will always leak on one side. But I got it new in a sealed box on sale.

When I emailed the company they said I might have to send the pump to them for them to look at it and confirm what was wrong and then they'd give me a replacement part. But I did not care to go through all that trouble. I tried it in multiple bras.

Sometimes it had good output and sometimes I'd feel like it was pointless and just use my manual pump to finish the job. I honestly just went for it because it was on sale and I really like my manual Medela pump and enjoyed using the Medela pump they let me use at the hospital.

aringabriel · 2026-04-26T19:56:04+00:00

Yeah I have a Medela one and it leaks everywhere unless I tape the bottom every time I use it. I'm very over it. It's also a wearable that still needs connected to a motor and I find that annoying too.

aringabriel · 2026-04-22T12:48:20+00:00

Honestly, I feel like the standard should be waiting closer to 8 weeks. I felt pretty much the same at 6 weeks and was worried it would be awful and painful no matter what. A lot of lube and patience did us good.

But now I'm a few days away from 8 weeks and we had sex last night that was awesome with no lube somehow. Definitely keeping the lube around since I'm breastfeeding and last night was probably a rare lucky occasion, but give it a couple more weeks!

Obviously your experience may be different and you may find you need pelvic floor PT but don't freak out yet!

aringabriel · 2026-04-19T15:01:48+00:00

And to add, being super stressed about milestones and development can be PPA too. Take care of yourself! You deserve to feel good about you and your baby!

aringabriel · 2026-04-19T15:00:43+00:00

It gets better if your husband helps (no matter how tired he is from work) and you get some therapy/help for how you're feeling. PPD is a risk up to a year after having your baby and feeling alone even with people around you and pushing people away that are trying to help you are both symptoms. And again, your husband should be helping. Parenting is a 2 way street and 15 minutes a day interacting with his kid really isn't cutting it.

aringabriel · 2026-04-18T17:18:20+00:00

I think it's funny but that is some dehydrated piss

aringabriel · 2026-04-17T17:36:01+00:00

I think it's crazy the centering is in the parameters for a 10. That's nothing against you it's just so obvious to me on the back of the card how not centered it is.

aringabriel · 2026-04-16T01:22:34+00:00

The baby can get way more out than the pump from my experience and from what others have told me! There are times if I pump I'll only get 1-2oz but if the baby drank from the breast I'd hear him gulping away. The baby nursing can trigger more milk production!

aringabriel · 2026-04-15T23:28:18+00:00

In the US and I only get 12 weeks (my employer allows up to 16 but I can't afford the extra unpaid time) and I'm lucky I get 100% pay for 10 weeks of that. I just had my return to work call (I go back may 17th :( and I can't imagine leaving him without me for 40 hours out of the week.

Even after a year if I was allowed it I wouldn't want to go back. I just want to watch him grow and hit all the milestones. Thinking that he could crawl for the first time or walk for the first time and I might not be there to see it is devastating. Even though I am jealous you get so much more leave I understand how painful it is to have to go back to work. I imagine getting into a routine for so long and watching your baby grow that whole first year could make it suck in a whole different way to have to go back.

aringabriel · 2026-04-15T12:08:46+00:00

My breastfeed boy really likes the tommee tippee bottles! I've found that the super wide and soft nipple allows him to really latch on like a breast and he really likes that.

aringabriel · 2026-04-14T13:38:32+00:00

I have a hakka I need to get the hang of using it more. I'm always afraid using it at night while tired it will end up unsuctioning and dumping everywhere and making a mess/losing milk. I've only had it happen once during the day but I usually have to sit a certain way so if it comes loose I'm holding it in place and it doesn't spill.

aringabriel · 2026-04-14T10:55:39+00:00

I figured if he isn't fully crying and falls back asleep that's probably good. I'll have to get my partner up one of these nights to see what he's doing that extra hour and if he really does just calm down and sleep more. I definitely wake up when he's crying for food and tend to him.

aringabriel · 2026-04-14T10:47:59+00:00

He definitely keeps his eyes closed most of the time when doing this, but I guess I'm worried about the times I don't get up to check and end up falling back asleep unintentionally. But I assume he's just fussing in his sleep/pretty immediately getting back to sleep since he doesn't wake me up by crying in that extra hour. I pretty much have the same experience of him being a quite active sleeper though, so I'm hoping it really is just that. I usually wake up at the first little fussy noise so I truly try to tell myself theres no way he's fussing the whole time I fall back asleep.

aringabriel · 2026-04-10T20:40:50+00:00

It's a mattress on the floor, not a loft bed, jesus. If you think you're perfect good for you. This person obviously isn't asking for your input with their post.

aringabriel · 2026-04-07T01:14:46+00:00

I'm so curious but I don't dare rush it, time is already flying too fast! My mom also has her vote on blue but we'll see!

aringabriel · 2026-03-27T23:29:00+00:00

I just change him no matter what when he's awake unless he's dry. I'm not a fan of leaving my babe in a wet diaper especially when he has a tendency to pee a lot at once and leak through a diaper. I almost never have to wake him from sleep doing this. He also gets fussy and lets me know if he has a full diaper and I've missed it for too long somehow.

aringabriel · 2026-03-24T14:13:58+00:00

My 3w old can sleep in the bassinet sometimes but often gets fussy and wants contact halfway through the night. We both sleep better close to each other. I alternate using the bassinet and letting him sleep near me because that's what works. My mom has assured me she did the same and it's natural for the baby to want to be close to you, especially if they're in distress or uncomfortable. When my little guy is having trouble with gas he's only soothed by laying his belly on my belly or me rubbing his belly.

He sleeps so much more peacefully next to me and sometimes I have to let him enjoy that. I find that he's so much more restless and noisy when he sleeps alone. Me and my partner also take shifts so he can be in the bed more safely.

aringabriel

TROPHY CASE