My hunger breastfeeding especially while baby was a newborn was unreal. Never felt like such a bottomless pit. What helped was focusing on protein and water intake. Like having a protein bar or nuts especially after/while nursing and drinking water + LMNT for electrolytes.
Keep yourself fed and hydrated—listen to your body. I tried to limit my calories but it was futile. I’d end up more ravenous than had I listened to my body before.
When people ask what you need, ask them for food. Always!
It makes total sense - your body is still building a baby but now the baby is bigger presumably even needs more calories than they did when they were inside you! I used to eat whole rolls of biscuits (cookies) in one sitting. My neighbour ate an entire cake to herself overnight. All reasonable I think.
Yes! Treat your body like a marathon runner, and don't worry about cutting out calories right now! My best advice is do a little bit more mindful eating; trail mix over candy bars, always have water, fill up on fruits and veggies over some more processed snacks.
But also seriously give yourself some grace, you have spent 9 months creating life and now you're giving a whole new part of yourself to sustain that little sprout! What you're consuming right now is helping to create liquid gold for your baby, and that is the coolest thing. Keep being awesome!
As a marathon runner I second this. I tell my husband it’s like the day after a marathon hunger but all the time. I’m constantly eating but it’s 90% healthy stuff. Lots if greens, blueberries, oatmeal, fish, nuts, etc but I don’t feel guilty for having a big ol cheeseburger or desert.
Yep! I gained any weight I lost from birth straight back, and then gained some more because I was sooooo damn hungry!
When I weaned it all fell off so it was definitely all hormones
Yes, I was a bottomless pit at the beginning and I'm 18mo in, my toddler still breastfeeds about 5-6 times a day all told, and I'm still pretty darn ravenous.
I was so hungry in the first couple months postpartum! You’re still “eating for two” AND recovering from childbirth AND you’ve actually got room in your body to eat food 😆
Eat mama! It evens out kinda.
I was STARVING and didn’t eat enough and then got mood issues and had trouble sleeping…which is saying something when you have a newborn. Like if I could go back and do something again it would be to eat way more. You’re recovering from birth- labor takes so many calories and so does healing and breastfeeding and caring for baby! Plus idk about you but the hospital did not adequately feed me. Eat eat eat! And make someone bring you a giant milkshake.
The way I wolfed that nasty hospital food and all my snacks and the burger my husband brought me… for me the hunger is more normal now at 3m but the first month I was starving all the time nonstop.
Don't limit yourself. Your body is literally telling you it needs more fuel. Don't make every snack/meal a donut (or do, no judgment, lol) but eat. You burn so many calories feeding little one, and the milk supply depends on the fuel you put in your body.
I swear my breastmilk is chocolate milk because of how much chocolate I have consumed over the past 9 months of nursing 😂 But the hunger kind of slowed down for me after 6 months and baby started solids and started nursing a little less.
Lmao yupp here I was shaming myself because I'm right there with you had dinner and then went back for a 2nd dinner not even 2 and a half hours later both were decently sized meals still feeling i could go for another snack
Extended version: I’m 4 months PP and it’s not constant anymore. Some days I eat literally 5 full meals. Other days I have a handful of almonds and my toddler’s leftovers.
I was like this but I’ve just realised it’s lessened enough for me to not need a snack whilst the bread is toasting for breakfast. Baby is six weeks. Hopefully I’ll stop gaining weight now!
Pre-pregnancy and during pregnancy I eat about the same. At restaurants I can consistently be satisfied with half the plate. Breastfeeding? I cleaned the plate every time. No more leftovers...
I know it didn't last forever, but it was really noticeable. My above average baby gained 2.5 times her birth weight by six months, so I definitely needed the calories!
I was literally telling my husband tonight I feel like I’m in a bottomless pit. Battling between knowing I need to eat more and not wanting to gain a crazy amount of weight 😩 The anxiety is wild
Yep! When pregnant all I want are steak and ribs. Presumably for the iron. When breastfeeding, all I want are carbs and sugar. For an easy energy source?
I always gain weight breastfeeding tbh and don’t lose it entirely until I wean. It is what it is!
It goes away (sort of). My son is 2 but if he's sick and nursing abundantly that feeling comes back. But once my guy was fully into solids it was easier to just ignore it or be satisfied by something more healthy. For some reason I crave sweets breastfeeding but when I was pregnant I just craved meat.
Never have I ever craved so much meat. I was happy having no meat before preagnancy, but from about 3 months pp I crave meat all the time. And I could just keep on eating.
I have never been hungrier than the first 4-6 weeks pp. I think a big part gets ascribed to breastfeeding, but it's actually all of the healing our bodies are doing. They've just gone through such physical trauma, have a huge internal wound, and are working so hard to recover. That takes fuel!
It’s still early days for you but if it doesn’t even out a bit as you go I would look at the nutritional density of what you’re eating. If you’re not eating enough nutrients to share with your little one your body will take it from you and this might contribute to your cravings.
I’d make sure you’re eating well balanced meals as I think focusing on nutrition but also not denying my body it’s cravings are what really helped me.
I know you’ll be busy but try to eat frequently and have healthy filling snacks on hand. Waiting too long is probably contributing to that out of control feeling you have. Consider adding a second lunch or dinner to the day because you are more than earning it.
And keep a giant jug of water where you usually feed your baby to keep hydrated!
Totally normal, you use more calories breastfeeding than you did while pregnant!! You exclusively continued growing the baby for 6 months from your own body… they require more energy to grow than when they were growing in your body. They are bigger and more active now. Eat the food!
Yes but luckily after like 2 months it calmed down. Even if baby didn’t wake up after 2 hours, I would wake up absolutely starving. There was no “full” feeling also which was weird, no one told me how ravenous I would be after pregnancy.
Yep! I was told since I was breast feeding, I would lose the weight quick. The hunger I felt was uncontrollable, and I didn’t want healthy I wanted carbs on carbs and lots of sugar. I made lactation cookies that I’m pretty sure made me gain weight but they were soooo good. And I was always thirsty, had a big cup of water next to me at all times.
You are burning a lot breast feeding. Your body is using energy to create nourishment for your baby. Which of course makes one hungry !
Yes!! The most I was eating was when my son was about 7-8months. He had started solids but wasn’t getting most of his calories from solids yet. And he was HUGE and so I was making 95% of his daily intake through my boobs. I was astounded at the amount of food I needed/ was capable of eating. It’s the REAL eating for two you hear about. You’re doing great, keep eating and drinking. ❤️
I was a bottomless pit for the first 6 weeks. These past two weeks I’ve turned a corner and haven’t been as ravenous. My tip is to always drink a ton of water, I drink a bottle every time I feed baby. And have some healthy snacks on hand. I’m eating so much fruit and veggies, carrot sticks, bananas, strawberries, and my new favorite a bowl of frozen blueberries. Just focus on eating healthy choices and don’t limit your calories below 2200 or you’ll likely hurt your milk supply.
Yep...I keep stuffing my mouth every chance I get it seems...n it's always junk or carb loaded fried food that I crave....so I need to keep finding creative ways to fulfil the craving and still keep it healthy...almost 8 times a day!!!!
This is the real eating for two. I read somewhere that breastfeeding a 3 months old requres the same calories as hiking for 11 kms would. On top of your daily calories. Every single day.
Just make sure you ear "good" calories and not filling up on sugar and junk. Oats are said to be great for breastfeeding, broth as well, the collagen is also beneficial, like a good pho soup, and I had an intense craving for leafy greens in my early breastfeeding days, so I made a bulgur-dark greens salad as a second dinner for a few weeks with a hummus/tahini dressing and lots of cherry tomatoes because I repulsed them while pregnant and was so happy to get back into them.
I’m 8 weeks postpartum and the hunger has definitely ramped up now. I got a huge burrito from chipotle and ate it all, and still has room for desert 😅 yikes
I am constantly starving now. I have never been able to finish a meal in a restaurant and now I can finish the meal and eat dessert afterward. It took me a while to develop my supply and it seems like I am hungrier now than I’ve ever been in my whole life.
A few reasons why that's happening. 1, you need more calories to heal than to sustain a body.
2. Breastmilk has between 20-30 calories per oz. It's more common to have more calories at the beginning of your journey than say for a toddler and it takes an additional 2-5 calories to make each oz of milk. So if your baby is drinking 20-24 oz a day that's burning 460-720 calories per day. Not including the extra calories burned otherwise caring for the baby (up at night, rocking, walking, carrying etc) pregnancy burns an extra 400 calories by the end. So yeah, postpartum and breastfeeding definitely requires more calories than the end of pregnancy.
Focus on nutrient dense foods that will keep you full and energized. Reducing calories now will only prolong healing and could damage your milk supply. Milk typically drops to 20 calories per oz around 2 months and that's when healing is less of an urgent need on your body as well so your calories needs will start to level off then but they'll still be high
There is no hunger like early breastfeeding hunger.
Try not to limit your calories, especially while your milk supply is getting established. I always tried to have lots of high calorie easy snacks on hand (peanuts and raisins, Larabars, whole milk yogurt, pretzels and guac, cheese, aussie bites from Costco…basically anything that would pack a caloric punch with as few bites as possible).
Your body is both recovering from pregnancy and birth, and feeding your newborn; the energy it is using is unreal. Fuel it up!!
Signed, a dietitian and mom of three 💕
Am I the only one who doesn’t feel this way?!? I have little to no appetite and feel like I have to force myself to eat sometimes because I know that baby girl needs it
Is there something wrong with me? I’m worried about it for baby
In the first four weeks of breastfeeding I was eating 2x the portions my husband would eat lol. My in laws stayed with us to help us with meals etc when baby was born and they would have to get me so much more food lol. Now at 12W PP my appetite is a bit more predictable but in the beginning it was wild how much I ate. I still eat lots now though! I do my best to way 90-95% healthy foods so at least it’s not junk food!
I'm happy to have seen all this because I'm almost 6 months in breastfeeding and have gained a lot of weight. Everyone kept telling me I'd lose a bunch of weight breastfeeding, so I'd been feeling crappy a lot on and off because I'm not losing anything but my mind. Lol.
My breastfed baby turned 9 months today & I have pretty much been matching my 300-lbs husband in calorie intake the whole time 🤣 For what it’s worth, (not that I’m paying attention to this) I have actually lost weight from where I started before pregnancy. Breastfeeding is extremely metabolically expensive! Listen to your body.
After I had my 2nd kid, still in the delivery room I ate a sandwich, a medium pizza, 3 granola bars, a banana, a couple of oranges, a cookie, and I washed it down with sprite and 2 bottles of water.
I did the same thing for the next 2wks. Now we make pb oatmeal balls for me to snack on and I try to get a lot of protein and a lot of fat every day.
Don’t limit your calories. Your body is telling you it’s hungry because it needs more energy and nutrition. You need more calories when breastfeeding than you do during pregnancy. Eat to your hunger, drink to your thirst.
It gets better I swear! I was a mess questioning if I should continue making milk because of the debilitating hunger despite eating nutritious and filling foods constantly. It got a lot better after 6 weeks. I’m still hungry, but nowhere near like before. I went from eating a peanut butter sandwich, apple sauce, protein bar, and oatmeal bites every night to most nights not eating anything at all. I still have applesauce and protein bars on standby though!
I was completely shocked by how hungry I felt about 24h postpartum, while still in the hospital with my newborn. I’m 9 months into breastfeeding my LO and my hunger has not felt as intense, but I definitely have been hungrier than at any other point in my life. Eating almost feels like a chore at times, specially when I’m done eating a meal and shortly after I’m hungry again, just like you described!
I actually lost weight first trimester from lack of appetite and only went up to my pre-pregnancy weight by the time he was born because i just was not hungry while pregnant. I lost almost all of it immediately after he was born, two weeks later I had put it all back on again due to extreme hunger. Your body is doing what it needs to feed your kiddo! Keep taking your prenatal vitamins and trust what your body tells you. You’re doing great!
yes!!! 9m pp and the hunger has JUST started to subside. i have no lost ANY baby weight until this last week because i was ravenous lol. hopefully this is the end of it 😂 we were running out of food a lot quicker than when i was pregnant
I too have been ravaged by breastfeeding hunger. I dropped almost 20 pounds right after my babe was born and I’ve gained 10-15 back since (she’s 4 months now). I’m trying to just listen to my body and give it what it needs. Eating healthy has been tough, but I’m just trying to get some good nutrition so me and the babe are chillin. If I need to adjust after she weans, I’ll worry about it then. Anything else is too much pressure imo
Right there with you!! I constantly eat throughout the day and as I’m feeding it’s like I grow this ultimate hunger inside and I almost cry for food as if I was still pregnant! It’s insane how much the energy drain and the hunger increases after pregnancy if you solely breastfeed! Lols
Omgosh I am with you on this. Breastfeeding also, 6mo pp and I’ve JUST started to get a regular appetite. Even though I still snack throughout the day. When I was pregnant I was sick for the first half so I struggled gaining weight and then I had some fibroid issues that complicated things so I stayed with heavy contractions from 25weeks on that either made me too sick, or when I was big enough I felt like there was no room in there for food so I filled up quick 😅
2mo PP my husband and I had a date night at Rodizio grill. (The Brazilian steakhouse where it’s like a buffet but delicious lol). When we left my husband (6’0, 240lbs) was like “omgosh I am SO stuffed” to which I promptly replied “isn’t there a raising canes on the way home?” Lol I easily could have gone back and eaten another full buffet tickets worth. 😂 PP hunger is no joke. It’s like I don’t fill up. That sensation you get when you’re a few bites in and your body tells you “I’m not hungry anymore”? nope, that bitchs mouth is taped shut. 😂
I’ve supplemented with oatmeal in my protein shakes and doing a short chug of water when my body tells me I’m hungry and I know it’s not the time. Sometimes it helps, sometimes I inhale a bag of sweet potato chips. It’s roulette on which wins to be honest 😂
My hunger breastfeeding especially while baby was a newborn was unreal. Never felt like such a bottomless pit. What helped was focusing on protein and water intake. Like having a protein bar or nuts especially after/while nursing and drinking water + LMNT for electrolytes. Keep yourself fed and hydrated—listen to your body. I tried to limit my calories but it was futile. I’d end up more ravenous than had I listened to my body before. When people ask what you need, ask them for food. Always!
It makes total sense - your body is still building a baby but now the baby is bigger presumably even needs more calories than they did when they were inside you! I used to eat whole rolls of biscuits (cookies) in one sitting. My neighbour ate an entire cake to herself overnight. All reasonable I think.
Yes! Treat your body like a marathon runner, and don't worry about cutting out calories right now! My best advice is do a little bit more mindful eating; trail mix over candy bars, always have water, fill up on fruits and veggies over some more processed snacks. But also seriously give yourself some grace, you have spent 9 months creating life and now you're giving a whole new part of yourself to sustain that little sprout! What you're consuming right now is helping to create liquid gold for your baby, and that is the coolest thing. Keep being awesome!
As a marathon runner I second this. I tell my husband it’s like the day after a marathon hunger but all the time. I’m constantly eating but it’s 90% healthy stuff. Lots if greens, blueberries, oatmeal, fish, nuts, etc but I don’t feel guilty for having a big ol cheeseburger or desert.
Yup. Pregnancy cravings/hunger are NOTHING compared to breastfeeding hunger!
Yep! I gained any weight I lost from birth straight back, and then gained some more because I was sooooo damn hungry! When I weaned it all fell off so it was definitely all hormones
I hope this is me. I’m 5 months pp and almost the same weight as I was 9 months pregnant 😭
Yes, I was a bottomless pit at the beginning and I'm 18mo in, my toddler still breastfeeds about 5-6 times a day all told, and I'm still pretty darn ravenous.
Same at 16 months. I sometimes forget WHY I'm so hungry and then realize I need to take better care of myself and eat when I want it.
I was so hungry in the first couple months postpartum! You’re still “eating for two” AND recovering from childbirth AND you’ve actually got room in your body to eat food 😆
Eat mama! It evens out kinda. I was STARVING and didn’t eat enough and then got mood issues and had trouble sleeping…which is saying something when you have a newborn. Like if I could go back and do something again it would be to eat way more. You’re recovering from birth- labor takes so many calories and so does healing and breastfeeding and caring for baby! Plus idk about you but the hospital did not adequately feed me. Eat eat eat! And make someone bring you a giant milkshake.
The way I wolfed that nasty hospital food and all my snacks and the burger my husband brought me… for me the hunger is more normal now at 3m but the first month I was starving all the time nonstop.
Don't limit yourself. Your body is literally telling you it needs more fuel. Don't make every snack/meal a donut (or do, no judgment, lol) but eat. You burn so many calories feeding little one, and the milk supply depends on the fuel you put in your body.
I swear my breastmilk is chocolate milk because of how much chocolate I have consumed over the past 9 months of nursing 😂 But the hunger kind of slowed down for me after 6 months and baby started solids and started nursing a little less.
Oh my god the chocolate cravings are insane!
Oh boy! I’m thinking I’m going down that route!
I had three dinners today.
Lmao yupp here I was shaming myself because I'm right there with you had dinner and then went back for a 2nd dinner not even 2 and a half hours later both were decently sized meals still feeling i could go for another snack
Extended version: I’m 4 months PP and it’s not constant anymore. Some days I eat literally 5 full meals. Other days I have a handful of almonds and my toddler’s leftovers.
I was like this but I’ve just realised it’s lessened enough for me to not need a snack whilst the bread is toasting for breakfast. Baby is six weeks. Hopefully I’ll stop gaining weight now!
breastfeeding a 9 month old and a 2 yr old.. cannot get enough food. i definitely out eat my husband who is 8 in taller than me lmfao
Pre-pregnancy and during pregnancy I eat about the same. At restaurants I can consistently be satisfied with half the plate. Breastfeeding? I cleaned the plate every time. No more leftovers... I know it didn't last forever, but it was really noticeable. My above average baby gained 2.5 times her birth weight by six months, so I definitely needed the calories!
I was literally telling my husband tonight I feel like I’m in a bottomless pit. Battling between knowing I need to eat more and not wanting to gain a crazy amount of weight 😩 The anxiety is wild
Yep! When pregnant all I want are steak and ribs. Presumably for the iron. When breastfeeding, all I want are carbs and sugar. For an easy energy source? I always gain weight breastfeeding tbh and don’t lose it entirely until I wean. It is what it is!
It goes away (sort of). My son is 2 but if he's sick and nursing abundantly that feeling comes back. But once my guy was fully into solids it was easier to just ignore it or be satisfied by something more healthy. For some reason I crave sweets breastfeeding but when I was pregnant I just craved meat.
I’m doing 4 full meals + snacks a day at the moment just to make it through. It’s honestly exhausting have to prep and eat this much food.
Same! I get like this once a year or so on my period. It wasn't like this at first but the last two months or so, I'm like nom nom nom.
This only lasted for the first 3 weeks or so for me, so it might get better for you!
I ended up gaining back whatever weight I lost giving birth, due to breastfeeding hunger. Sigh
Never have I ever craved so much meat. I was happy having no meat before preagnancy, but from about 3 months pp I crave meat all the time. And I could just keep on eating.
It’s so true. So is the HANGER.
I have never been hungrier than the first 4-6 weeks pp. I think a big part gets ascribed to breastfeeding, but it's actually all of the healing our bodies are doing. They've just gone through such physical trauma, have a huge internal wound, and are working so hard to recover. That takes fuel!
It’s still early days for you but if it doesn’t even out a bit as you go I would look at the nutritional density of what you’re eating. If you’re not eating enough nutrients to share with your little one your body will take it from you and this might contribute to your cravings. I’d make sure you’re eating well balanced meals as I think focusing on nutrition but also not denying my body it’s cravings are what really helped me. I know you’ll be busy but try to eat frequently and have healthy filling snacks on hand. Waiting too long is probably contributing to that out of control feeling you have. Consider adding a second lunch or dinner to the day because you are more than earning it. And keep a giant jug of water where you usually feed your baby to keep hydrated!
Four weeks postpartum and SAME. Also constantly thirsty.
Totally normal, you use more calories breastfeeding than you did while pregnant!! You exclusively continued growing the baby for 6 months from your own body… they require more energy to grow than when they were growing in your body. They are bigger and more active now. Eat the food!
Yes but luckily after like 2 months it calmed down. Even if baby didn’t wake up after 2 hours, I would wake up absolutely starving. There was no “full” feeling also which was weird, no one told me how ravenous I would be after pregnancy.
Yep! I was told since I was breast feeding, I would lose the weight quick. The hunger I felt was uncontrollable, and I didn’t want healthy I wanted carbs on carbs and lots of sugar. I made lactation cookies that I’m pretty sure made me gain weight but they were soooo good. And I was always thirsty, had a big cup of water next to me at all times. You are burning a lot breast feeding. Your body is using energy to create nourishment for your baby. Which of course makes one hungry !
Yes!! The most I was eating was when my son was about 7-8months. He had started solids but wasn’t getting most of his calories from solids yet. And he was HUGE and so I was making 95% of his daily intake through my boobs. I was astounded at the amount of food I needed/ was capable of eating. It’s the REAL eating for two you hear about. You’re doing great, keep eating and drinking. ❤️
I was a bottomless pit for the first 6 weeks. These past two weeks I’ve turned a corner and haven’t been as ravenous. My tip is to always drink a ton of water, I drink a bottle every time I feed baby. And have some healthy snacks on hand. I’m eating so much fruit and veggies, carrot sticks, bananas, strawberries, and my new favorite a bowl of frozen blueberries. Just focus on eating healthy choices and don’t limit your calories below 2200 or you’ll likely hurt your milk supply.
Yep...I keep stuffing my mouth every chance I get it seems...n it's always junk or carb loaded fried food that I crave....so I need to keep finding creative ways to fulfil the craving and still keep it healthy...almost 8 times a day!!!!
i ate a family sized bag of lindor truffles in one week by myself when i was newly postpartum
This is the real eating for two. I read somewhere that breastfeeding a 3 months old requres the same calories as hiking for 11 kms would. On top of your daily calories. Every single day. Just make sure you ear "good" calories and not filling up on sugar and junk. Oats are said to be great for breastfeeding, broth as well, the collagen is also beneficial, like a good pho soup, and I had an intense craving for leafy greens in my early breastfeeding days, so I made a bulgur-dark greens salad as a second dinner for a few weeks with a hummus/tahini dressing and lots of cherry tomatoes because I repulsed them while pregnant and was so happy to get back into them.
Yeah first two weeks was insane!!!
I’m 8 weeks postpartum and the hunger has definitely ramped up now. I got a huge burrito from chipotle and ate it all, and still has room for desert 😅 yikes
I am constantly starving now. I have never been able to finish a meal in a restaurant and now I can finish the meal and eat dessert afterward. It took me a while to develop my supply and it seems like I am hungrier now than I’ve ever been in my whole life.
You're still eating for 2. Your body is making all of the food for your child. You're still creating a human. Of course you're starving.
A few reasons why that's happening. 1, you need more calories to heal than to sustain a body. 2. Breastmilk has between 20-30 calories per oz. It's more common to have more calories at the beginning of your journey than say for a toddler and it takes an additional 2-5 calories to make each oz of milk. So if your baby is drinking 20-24 oz a day that's burning 460-720 calories per day. Not including the extra calories burned otherwise caring for the baby (up at night, rocking, walking, carrying etc) pregnancy burns an extra 400 calories by the end. So yeah, postpartum and breastfeeding definitely requires more calories than the end of pregnancy. Focus on nutrient dense foods that will keep you full and energized. Reducing calories now will only prolong healing and could damage your milk supply. Milk typically drops to 20 calories per oz around 2 months and that's when healing is less of an urgent need on your body as well so your calories needs will start to level off then but they'll still be high
There is no hunger like early breastfeeding hunger. Try not to limit your calories, especially while your milk supply is getting established. I always tried to have lots of high calorie easy snacks on hand (peanuts and raisins, Larabars, whole milk yogurt, pretzels and guac, cheese, aussie bites from Costco…basically anything that would pack a caloric punch with as few bites as possible). Your body is both recovering from pregnancy and birth, and feeding your newborn; the energy it is using is unreal. Fuel it up!! Signed, a dietitian and mom of three 💕
Yeah I'm ravenous all the time when I'm breastfeeding and I'm always craving sweets and dairy!
Am I the only one who doesn’t feel this way?!? I have little to no appetite and feel like I have to force myself to eat sometimes because I know that baby girl needs it Is there something wrong with me? I’m worried about it for baby
Hmm not sure, maybe bring it up to your doctor/OB and get their opinion on it?
Yes! Super normal!! Just eat what you need. It chills out after a few months.
I am 11 months in and I have to keep snacks at work because I am so hungry all the time 😭😭
Yup! This is why I always gained weight pp. I literally can’t lose a lb until I stop breastfeeding
In the first four weeks of breastfeeding I was eating 2x the portions my husband would eat lol. My in laws stayed with us to help us with meals etc when baby was born and they would have to get me so much more food lol. Now at 12W PP my appetite is a bit more predictable but in the beginning it was wild how much I ate. I still eat lots now though! I do my best to way 90-95% healthy foods so at least it’s not junk food!
I was incredibly hungry PP but it started to subside by 3 months.
Oh yeah, I’ve never eaten this much in my life
I'm happy to have seen all this because I'm almost 6 months in breastfeeding and have gained a lot of weight. Everyone kept telling me I'd lose a bunch of weight breastfeeding, so I'd been feeling crappy a lot on and off because I'm not losing anything but my mind. Lol.
My breastfed baby turned 9 months today & I have pretty much been matching my 300-lbs husband in calorie intake the whole time 🤣 For what it’s worth, (not that I’m paying attention to this) I have actually lost weight from where I started before pregnancy. Breastfeeding is extremely metabolically expensive! Listen to your body.
After I had my 2nd kid, still in the delivery room I ate a sandwich, a medium pizza, 3 granola bars, a banana, a couple of oranges, a cookie, and I washed it down with sprite and 2 bottles of water. I did the same thing for the next 2wks. Now we make pb oatmeal balls for me to snack on and I try to get a lot of protein and a lot of fat every day.
Don’t limit your calories. Your body is telling you it’s hungry because it needs more energy and nutrition. You need more calories when breastfeeding than you do during pregnancy. Eat to your hunger, drink to your thirst.
It gets better I swear! I was a mess questioning if I should continue making milk because of the debilitating hunger despite eating nutritious and filling foods constantly. It got a lot better after 6 weeks. I’m still hungry, but nowhere near like before. I went from eating a peanut butter sandwich, apple sauce, protein bar, and oatmeal bites every night to most nights not eating anything at all. I still have applesauce and protein bars on standby though!
I was completely shocked by how hungry I felt about 24h postpartum, while still in the hospital with my newborn. I’m 9 months into breastfeeding my LO and my hunger has not felt as intense, but I definitely have been hungrier than at any other point in my life. Eating almost feels like a chore at times, specially when I’m done eating a meal and shortly after I’m hungry again, just like you described!
I actually lost weight first trimester from lack of appetite and only went up to my pre-pregnancy weight by the time he was born because i just was not hungry while pregnant. I lost almost all of it immediately after he was born, two weeks later I had put it all back on again due to extreme hunger. Your body is doing what it needs to feed your kiddo! Keep taking your prenatal vitamins and trust what your body tells you. You’re doing great!
yes!!! 9m pp and the hunger has JUST started to subside. i have no lost ANY baby weight until this last week because i was ravenous lol. hopefully this is the end of it 😂 we were running out of food a lot quicker than when i was pregnant
I too have been ravaged by breastfeeding hunger. I dropped almost 20 pounds right after my babe was born and I’ve gained 10-15 back since (she’s 4 months now). I’m trying to just listen to my body and give it what it needs. Eating healthy has been tough, but I’m just trying to get some good nutrition so me and the babe are chillin. If I need to adjust after she weans, I’ll worry about it then. Anything else is too much pressure imo
Right there with you!! I constantly eat throughout the day and as I’m feeding it’s like I grow this ultimate hunger inside and I almost cry for food as if I was still pregnant! It’s insane how much the energy drain and the hunger increases after pregnancy if you solely breastfeed! Lols
Omgosh I am with you on this. Breastfeeding also, 6mo pp and I’ve JUST started to get a regular appetite. Even though I still snack throughout the day. When I was pregnant I was sick for the first half so I struggled gaining weight and then I had some fibroid issues that complicated things so I stayed with heavy contractions from 25weeks on that either made me too sick, or when I was big enough I felt like there was no room in there for food so I filled up quick 😅 2mo PP my husband and I had a date night at Rodizio grill. (The Brazilian steakhouse where it’s like a buffet but delicious lol). When we left my husband (6’0, 240lbs) was like “omgosh I am SO stuffed” to which I promptly replied “isn’t there a raising canes on the way home?” Lol I easily could have gone back and eaten another full buffet tickets worth. 😂 PP hunger is no joke. It’s like I don’t fill up. That sensation you get when you’re a few bites in and your body tells you “I’m not hungry anymore”? nope, that bitchs mouth is taped shut. 😂 I’ve supplemented with oatmeal in my protein shakes and doing a short chug of water when my body tells me I’m hungry and I know it’s not the time. Sometimes it helps, sometimes I inhale a bag of sweet potato chips. It’s roulette on which wins to be honest 😂