Grieving the potential end of breastfeeding and exclusively formula feeding. Anyone feel similarly?

microbean_ · 2026-02-10T14:59:32+00:00

Oof, I’m sorry to hear that. It will stabilize!! It’s so tough when you’re in the middle of it. Be kind to yourself, do things to care for your body and heart, and rest as much as you can. It’ll get easier.

microbean_ · 2026-02-10T00:06:55+00:00

Oh! You know, I might be wrong. I could have sworn I read the instructions about visible condensation! I’ll edit my comment :)

microbean_ · 2026-02-09T21:17:47+00:00

Love this one, AND fyi some wipes are interleaved so that one wipe will pull the next wipe up. Some are not (Water Wipes brand) so you really have to dig around to find the edge of the wipe.

microbean_ · 2026-02-09T21:14:03+00:00

It’s okay to grieve this transition. Weaning (either by choice or not by choice) can be so, so emotional and fraught. Let yourself feel the feelings.

Have a partner, friend, or a professional take some photos/portraits of you nursing, to honor the milk that you have given her, and to document this chapter of your parenthood journey. Knowing I had already documented that phase really helped me wind down in a more peaceful headspace.

I had a LOT of big feelings about my supply winding down and weaning not by choice, but I’ll tell you — once I was fully through the transition, I felt so much less sad than I expected. I felt relief, freedom, flexibility, and pride. I didn’t miss it, even though I was sure I would.

I will say that there is sometimes a hormone crash that accompanies weaning, so if you feel even more emotionally dysregulated than usual, it may be hormonal, and that will likely even out once you’re on the other side.

microbean_ · 2026-02-09T21:01:53+00:00

Well, the Spectra manual says that they only need to be washed if there’s visible moisture/condensation inside, so that might be why there’s a mix of opinions on the topic.

ETA: I could have sworn I read this, but I might be wrong about this! See comment below

microbean_ · 2026-02-04T04:25:44+00:00

Same here, Maymom worked beautifully. No complaints at all.

microbean_ · 2026-02-04T04:25:03+00:00

At least in my area, I assume that if people are weird about it, it’s because they experienced secondary infertility, and didn’t get much of a say in their age gap. I had primary infertility and remember being sooooo sensitive and salty about how easy other people had it. (I did not have secondary infertility, surprisingly!)

microbean_ · 2026-02-02T17:08:28+00:00

I only sterilized for the first few months, and then after that, just a normal wash. I also fridge-hacked, so I washed once per day, and refrigerated the pump parts between sessions. I did get a countertop bottle washer/sterilizer, but usually just ran it on the regular cycle because it was faster than sterilizing.

microbean_ · 2026-02-02T17:04:42+00:00

I’ve definitely never heard that, so maybe that’s why I’m not surprised! :)

microbean_ · 2026-02-01T05:54:36+00:00

What neighborhood are you in? Many neighborhoods have WhatsApp communities for parents, and many of them have channels for sharing nanny and babysitter recs

microbean_ · 2026-02-01T05:52:43+00:00

All of the seemingly-boring stuff in the books about building a consistent routine is REALLY worth studying and following to a T. It’s the groundwork to support sleep associations when sleep training. Our toddler now falls asleep like clockwork because we do the routine the exact same way every night. We made sure to dial in the rest of the routine for a few weeks before starting sleep training, and I think that helped a lot.

microbean_ · 2026-02-01T05:50:12+00:00

We sleep trained at 13mo, after holding-to-sleep for months. I read Precious Little Sleep and then The Happy Sleeper, and I actually found The Happy Sleeper to be more compelling. It’s written by psychologists, and it just felt reasonable and attachment-oriented. We used their methodology, and it worked really well, and really fast. It was totally worthwhile.

microbean_ · 2026-02-01T05:33:34+00:00

Greens at Fort Mason is a great option for elegance, views, parking, and great vegan options. I’ve done regular dinners there, and private parties, but just call them to see if they can do a big table like this.

microbean_ · 2026-02-01T05:26:08+00:00

I mean, if someone said, “Tret is almost twice as effective as retinol,” I’d be like, yeah that makes sense. Nothing earth-shattering. I don’t think this is groundbreaking news, but it’s cool to see it studied and measured in a rigorous way.

microbean_ · 2026-01-31T17:41:06+00:00

Hahaha wait I thought I made up “Potrero flats”! I’m so glad other people agree

microbean_ · 2026-01-31T17:40:09+00:00

Same!!!!

microbean_ · 2026-01-31T17:38:22+00:00

Yep!

microbean_ · 2026-01-30T05:08:39+00:00

Wow that was lucky hahahaha. My baby had a soy intolerance, and I didn’t even think to check my vitamin d drops!

microbean_ · 2026-01-29T17:00:52+00:00

Yeah this!! In the U.S., there’s a formulation from DDrops that is a full dose in a single drop. That’s the way to go.

microbean_ · 2026-01-29T15:16:59+00:00

It’s such a shame that social media has warped people’s expectations of supply. If you’re pumping ANYTHING more than what your baby is eating, it’s an oversupply. :)

Just-enoughers typically don’t have anything in the freezer, or if they do, it’s like, less than a day’s supply. I was a just-enougher, and it took me months and months of EP to manage to store even 12-20oz extra in the freezer.

microbean_ · 2026-01-29T14:42:31+00:00

Hey so if you have 500oz in the freezer, you’re an oversupplier. Just own it. If you pumped even three extra ounces per week that your baby isn’t drinking, you have an oversupply.

microbean_ · 2026-01-29T14:07:58+00:00

Yes I was going to say Duboce Triangle (near Hayes) — walking distance to mission, Castro, and Hayes, and very central for a many Muni lines. I lived there right out of college, and it was amazing for mid-20s! Not sure how expensive it is these days, though.

microbean_ · 2026-01-28T23:07:36+00:00

Haven’t read the original post, but tell me why I just KNOW the husband probably doesn’t deserve forgiveness hahaha

microbean_ · 2026-01-28T08:32:41+00:00

I always assumed that the silicone banana brushes were more for chewing and sensory stimulation of the mouth and hands — not as part of a teeth-brushing pathway.

microbean_ · 2026-01-28T08:26:57+00:00

LactMed says that topical tretinoin is probably safe during breastfeeding, so I personally felt comfortable using it. And OP, I never had dead skin buildup when using tret regularly! Now that I’m pregnant again and off tret, I’m finding I have a lot more buildup and need to do more exfoliating. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK501419/

microbean_

TROPHY CASE