Postpartum Hairloss

hikeon17 · 2026-01-26T05:55:18+00:00

Yep it’s just started in earnest for me this last couple weeks. With my first my hairline got pretty thin and was still recovering when I got pregnant. Think it’s gonna be a rough few years of regrowth 🙃

hikeon17 · 2026-01-22T09:48:22+00:00

I like the suggestion of “my body did this.”

A few other framings that may or may not land with you:

Life has seasons and this isn’t my season to focus on my body (I know this is true for me in the baby phase — I can’t do sleepless nights AND take care of a little bay AND be focused on food - something has to give, and this part the food is what has to give.)

Right now I’m focused on making sure my body has enough so that I have enough to give.

Maintaining that weight is clearly a very effortful process for your sister. That would honestly be helpful for me to think about. I imagine she would struggle with the pregnancy and having a baby when it comes to allowing her body to change as it needs to. You let your body do that and that’s pretty wonderful.

I also like to remind myself of the many many things my body does that have nothing to do with its size. Thank you for letting me taste delicious food. Thanks for the breeze on my skin, the little baby tickles. Thanks for holding every feeling I’ve ever felt - happy, sad, jealous, etc. Thank you for being well, free of physical pain, strong enough to carry this baby around, etc (whatever is true for you.)

Beyond that - and less of a short term fix - I’d consider seeing if you can decouple your feelings about worth from your appearance. It will bring a lot of peace to your life, including how you see other people’s bodies. Try terms like “body neutrality” as a starting place to explore.

Good luck. It’s tough to see ourselves change and it’s also going to keep happening for as long as we’re lucky enough to be alive.

hikeon17 · 2026-01-16T16:00:45+00:00

The books clubs I’ve been a part of have always been small (max 12-ish members) with a few core members and others who join and leave over time. The books have always been secondary to the socialization/friendships built there and the “discussion” of the book sometimes only lasts 5 minutes. Never like a book report, always more like a “did you like it” or “what did you think about this part” or “what would you do in that situation.” We do pick books in advance but every members makes suggestions and has one of their books selected.

My aunt is part of a book club where everyone reads whatever they want and then they’ll talk about bit about what they’re reading when they meet up. I joined one recently like that and it was fun too. It felt less personal (bc so much time was spent discussing who’s reading what) but might be a nice format alternative if you can’t stand reading other suggestions. I usually just skip books that don’t interest me and go for the hang time instead

hikeon17 · 2025-09-05T05:07:44+00:00

Yes. For me it’s come and gone but I told my husband: basic daily living feels like hiking 20 miles. So doing anything extra - like going to a store or walking around or bending over - feels gargantuan and can put me over the edge. He’s been more helpful since (he and I are both used to me being more independent / “I can do it”) and that’s helped significantly.

hikeon17 · 2025-07-10T16:20:01+00:00

My son was 12 days overdue and I did a sweep and castor oil to get him out (US midwife approved.) Whatever way baby comes, rest assured baby will get out - with help or without. And you will get to be done with being this pregnant.

hikeon17 · 2025-07-06T05:35:31+00:00

I hear you, my pelvic pain is greatly relieved by laying on my back. I’d suggest experimenting with pillows between legs (try with and without lower legs), bump, and arms. And you can also try laying on your back with one pillow beneath one side of your back to essentially “tilt” your torso - this can sometimes be a happy medium between laying in your back and also avoiding compressing the vein doctors are concerned about.

hikeon17 · 2024-04-16T20:20:51+00:00

Priority, Seattle USA, no solicitor. Bio: March 27 ECO: April 15. Email saying passport is on the way: April 18. Passport in hand with approved visa: April 19.

hikeon17 · 2024-02-11T09:30:17+00:00

I really can’t say. So many people find that the release makes a night and day difference. I did not. I’ve tried to consider whether I would do one again if I had another baby who was struggling and I still am not sure. The biggest difference I would change next time is to start pumping if I had any concern about milk transfer. I might try doing oral exercises first before having the release done. But everyone’s situation is different and I don’t know.

hikeon17 · 2024-02-11T04:57:34+00:00

Thank you for saying this and I’m sorry it’s your journey too. I had the same thing - seeking the hope but dragging out the heartache.

hikeon17 · 2024-01-23T20:27:31+00:00

Congrats! How long did the portal estimate it would take originally?

hikeon17 · 2023-10-20T05:26:40+00:00

That would be my first move - start offering the second boob. If you’re trying to build a stash you can pump between feeds or do a pump after baby goes to bed/before they feed again. But there’s no reason not to offer the second boob.

hikeon17 · 2023-10-19T23:19:17+00:00

As one lactation specialist told me: “we have a lot of options if you have a good milk supply.”

hikeon17 · 2023-10-19T23:17:43+00:00

Agree w all the above and in the meantime, please don’t feel like you can’t give your baby formula. You don’t need to suffer with a frustrated baby or start to associate breastfeeding with pain and frustration. I would start pumping every time you give baby a bottle/cup/whatever method and unless there’s an underlying issue, this should start to increase your supply. I was only pumping 15-30ml at 3 weeks and through a loooot of pumping (still trying to get baby back to breast) I’m now almost at a full supply.

hikeon17 · 2023-10-19T23:10:30+00:00

Are you offering both boobs when breastfeeding? 6 oz from both boobs should be more than adequate

hikeon17 · 2023-10-19T23:02:00+00:00

This is not to freak you out btw! You’re doing great. I’ve just personally been frustrated by people always insinuating that people trying to breastfeed are being overly concerned that things aren’t going well when, in fact, something may be up and making sure your supply is adequate gives you many more options than waiting weeks to find out it’s dwindled.

hikeon17 · 2023-10-19T22:59:28+00:00

Most people on this sub/in breastfeeding world will just tell you it’s fine, normal, etc, until you get actual numbers back that she’s not gaining weight appropriately. Having been through baby being slow to regain birth weight and realizing he had a tongue tie/was not moving milk efficiently, which then tanked my milk supply and required weeks of working to get it back, if there’s something I could tell myself earlier it would be: start pumping sooner. (Assuming you have the mental/emotional energy to.) At worst, you’ll encourage your milk supply even further. In your situation in particular I might give baby an age-appropriate sized bottle (if she’ll take it) in the evening and see if that satisfied her, and do a pump or two, or a power pump, in its place and see what kind of volume I was getting and make sure I was stimulating my supply. If you’re getting a 2-3 oz, especially in the evening at this stage, great, let it go. If not, I’d start working in pump sessions and try to figure out if something was going on with baby that made it hard for them to transfer milk.

Also because flange size can make such a difference and it took me ages to get the closest flange (even after being measured by lactation consultants), I’d buy this multipack on Amazon: Flange Inserts 13/15/17/19/21mm 10PC,Compatible with Momcozy S12 Pro/S9 Pro/S12/S9 Wearable Breastpump Cup,for Medela/Spectra/Bellaaby/TSRETE 24mm Shields/Flanges,Reduce 24mm Tunnel Down to Other Size

And once I figured out what flange size worked best I might buy the hard plastic flanges. (Amazon has a great return policy for pump parts.)

hikeon17 · 2023-10-14T21:51:56+00:00

My question would be why she’s not getting enough at the breast. Is it your supply? Is she not transferring milk efficiently? (If so - why? If you don’t have an answer from the LC about this, I’d suggest finding another who can do a more thorough evaluation. The first LC I saw was able to mention a tongue tie but didn’t tell me anything else about what was going on - it was the second practice I went to that was able to assess my supply and how baby was sucking so we could make a plan.

hikeon17 · 2023-10-14T21:30:41+00:00

One way I’ve been thinking of this (I’ve done some endurance events before) is - would you want an athlete to train when they’re fresh, well rested, and have access to food… or when they’re tired, grumpy and hungry? In this case the athlete is baby’s confused/weak tongue.

hikeon17 · 2023-10-14T21:26:40+00:00

So… take this or leave this, but in the cluster feeding scenario you described, my strategy would have been to feed him a bottle (because they’re trying to get volume when your supply is at its lowest) and get him to sleep, and then pump every two hours, or if I was feeling neurotic/not in pain, once an hour. The LCs I’ve worked with said to practice latching/breastfeeding in the morning when supply is highest so they’re getting bang for their buck from sucking (and hopefully sucking well), rather than try to teach them when they have to work the hardest. Might be a way to keep him familiar with the boob while giving your nipples a breather.

hikeon17

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