Newly BFing Mom here!

  • Hi all,
    I just had my first baby, sweet daughter Sara, exactly a month ago! I've been and plan on continuing to breastfeed, but as the months go on, I'd like to continue losing the pregnancy weight too. I'm interested to hear from others how best to do this- obviously I don't want to diminish milk supply at all. Baby is more important than any diet for me! Is it too early to even think about dieting?

    I found that I lost 5 kg immediately post-birth and then another 5 kg the week following, but since then my weight has stayed steady or increased a little (that's my fault though, as I turn to comfort eating in times of stress when caring for the baby some days!).
  • Welcome to the breastfeeding club

    I am currently breastfeeding my 2nd baby - Sofia and she is currently 9 weeks old. She is partly breast and partly bottle due to being underweight. So I nurse her 6 times a day and then she has bottle top up on 4 of these 6 feeds.

    Like you I also lost 5 kilos straight away, then I ate too much at Christmas and have lost 3.6 kilos this month.

    Finding that if I drink more water, due to extra exercise that I produce a lot more milk = needing to extract = burning more calories.

    I started dieting again 6 weeks after birth and it hasn't been a problem its just a case of not being extreme.

    Good luck and love your profile pic - your baby is so cute.
  • Thank you, Sammy!

    Just had my one-month (actually about 5.5 weeks) post-partum check-up, and the baby is doing great! She's gaining weight well above average actually, haha, and I'm obviously making plenty of milk. I got a clear bill of recovery as well, so I'm going to start trying to incorporate a little exercise into my day whenever I get a chance, and just take the weight losing slow and steady. I'm in no hurry!
  • I had triplets on Jan 21st, and I've been dieting basically since they were born, but I'm still making enough milk for all three of them. In my experience, you have to cut calories *really* significantly before it starts to affect milk supply. If your body is handling moderate exercise and calorie restriction, then there is no reason to let nursing hold you back. Congratulations on your baby.