Breast Milk - Henderson,NV

I have small breasts - but for one of my pregnancies my breast felt like they had rocks in them in my first trimester - into the early part of the second. I had to sleep with a bra - that had never happened before in my life. My milk didn't come in until baby was a few days old and even though I'm small breasted I had more than enough milk for both babies to have almost exclusively breast milk for their first year. (My always starving son did have formula from time to time.)

At 6 weeks you're probably just having a hormonal spike causing the swelling. Pregnancies are different with each baby - don't understand why but they are!

Usually your milk does not come in until you give birth. There is colostrum that comes in before the milk. The actual birth triggers your body to make changes for milk to start.

What is happening now is hormones changing in your body and causing your breasts to grow. Just find some bras that will expand with you during the pregnancy.

the other S.

Some women do, but for most women it kicks in a few hours after the baby is born. In case this might help your frame of reference, before I ever got pregnant my bra size was 34A. During the first trimester & second I wore a 36B. By the third trimester I went up to a 36D. When my baby was a month old, I wore a 38DD. After a few months I leveled out to about a 36C. After I weaned I went back to a 34B. Almost exactly the same pattern with my second baby. This is the time to invest in a nice stretchy maternity bra.

Like other responses, you will not actually produce milk until close to delivery (TMI: I started "leaking" about a month before I went into labor). However, enlarged (and tender) breasts are one of the earliest signs of pregnancy. It's all just a part of your body getting ready. Also, surges in the various hormones cause lots of breast changes (just google it!).

Were you able to successfully breastfeed #1? I'd say if bf is what you want to do, give it your best shot! But, if it truly doesn't work for you (or baby), don't beat yourself up! And, I read a really good quote that said "Never Quit on a Bad Day." I considered myself truly lucky to have successfully bf my dd for a full year (lots of pumping the last few months)! I never had to buy formula!

As for the bra, try maternity/nursing bras that have more "flex" in the material and no underwire! I'm a fairly big cup size and do not look forward to "bursting at the seams" when the girls get big! Good luck mama!

It's not milk that's making your breasts larger. It's hormones. You will probably get tenderness too. As you get farther along, the extra blood supply in your body will make you bigger as well, and by the end of your pregnancy, your breasts might be huge.

Don't lose hope that this baby will be different. Some babies just have a hard time latching on. Other babies are champs.

About your question regarding milk and how soon it comes. The first milk is really colostrum. You don't want to encourage your breasts by messing around with them because stimulating your nipples can cause contractions.

you shouldn't start lactating until the baby is born.

http://www.newhealthguide.org/When-Do-You-Start-Producing...

Talk to your OB/GYN about your discomfort and if you are producing milk at this point, leakage, etc.

Right now it's hormones. Nothing but hormones. That's it.

You might start leaking at some point, likely around 4-6 months, but it won't be much and it's called colostrum. You won't produce any milk until a day or two after you deliver your baby and s/he has been taking in the colostrum.

I didn't produce milk until 72 hours after both babies were born. For the first 3 days, it was only colostrum. And I never had any leaking in advance of childbirth.

Your bra size during pregnancy is due to hormonal changes and not your milk coming in.

If you want to breastfeed this time, I suggest that you ask for a consultation with a lactation consultant as soon as you give birth, while you are still in the hospital. That person may be able to help you work out any latch issues (if there are any) right away so that you don't have long-term supply concerns.

Good luck!