Gaining Weight and Breastfeeding

YES! The exact same thing happened to me. I lost the first 20 pounds (I only gained 30) and then kept the last ten (and even gained some more) while breastfeeding - and I breastfed A LOT!

When the baby was exclusively breastfeeding, I always wanted to eat and craved, uncontrollably, sweets. I would wake up in the middle of the night and shove chocolate chips in my mouth!

When the baby cut down to just one or two sessions a day, I still wanted to eat all the time. I ate mostly healthy food, and exercised, but still held on to those pounds. I agree with the other responses who blame the hormones and lack of sleep.

Good news - though. I weaned my son at 1 year and my daughter at 2 years. After weaning, my appetite went back to normal and I ended up at pre-baby weight (and smaller) with no effort in a very short time.

Give yourself break.

Personally, I gained weight and could not lose it while nursing (even with tons of exercise) because my body was exhausted and needed extra calories even more than when I was pregnant! It all came of right away (and I got my energy back!) when I stopped nursing, and suddenly my exercise had an effect again.
Not everyone drops pounds while nursing. Give yourself permission not to worry about your weight for this precious fleeting time, and keep up the healthy habits.

Hi R..
I went through a similar thing. I lost and then I gained. for me, it was a signal that my body needs to do a bit of exercise to get the metabolism going a bit. i started walking more. My mistake -- so you can learn from it :) -- is that I should have walked even more --- that is, taking 1/2 hour a day to do so on my own...for body and mind.

Jilly

Remember your hormones are still outta wack too. I barely lost any weight while nursing, even though I was eating less than pregnant. But after I stopped nursing it came off much easier. Women were made to hold on to the fat so we always have some reserves for baby. Your body is doing what it is intended to do. Focus on being healthy more than weight loss. Your baby needs a healthy mama, not a skinny one! :)

If you really want to nurse, drop the similac and just nurse on demand. You will not be able to keep your milk supply up if you supplement. If you are trying to wean, consider continuing to nurse. You have made it through the hardest part of nursing and now the next year is a breeze!

Cheers,
C.

Does that 20 lbs include the baby? Like, is the 20 lbs since you came home from the hospital? I think you should focus less on the scale and be in tune with what your body tells you. As long as you are eating healthy (cut out fruit juice and refined flour and sugar) and walking briskly, you will lose weight in conjunction with the breastfeeding. You may not reach "skinny" while breastfeeding since the body needs some fat to keep working properly but you will look good. Are you enjoying your walks at Todd's Point? :)

Your body is doing what it should to produce the milk. You do need some fat to help produce the milk because it does take energy to make milk. Do not supplement with simalac if you want to nurse full time. Right now your body is getting ready for the next growth spurt of your child and that is why you do not lose weight. Your body and baby are one in the making of the food that is necessary for him/her to live and grow.

Once you have completed the nursing at around a year you will be able to lose the rest of your weight. It took you nine months to gain and it will take that amount of time or longer to lose the extra pounds. Do your regular clothes fit your body or are they hanging off? It will even out once you are finished.

Enjoy being a new mon and stop worrying about getting back to "normal" as it may now be a new "normal' for your body.

The other S.

Congratulations and thats awesome that you're breastfeeding! Even just a little is great! Could it be your boobs? I lost weight just feeding! Your boobs could be what's holding you back. :) god bless!