Breastfeeding and losing with the band...

I just had post op baby # 2 almost 4 weeks ago (which is our 3rd and last child). I'm exclusively breastfeeding and would like to continue until he's at least 3 months.

With my first post-op baby, I was only able to nurse for maybe 9 weeks. I can't pinpoint exactly why, but my milk supply dropped and as soon as I supplemented, my supply basically disappeared. My thyroid went kaput around the same time that I started getting fills...which both coincide with my milk drying up. Also, post op baby # 2 was a teeny thing at birth...6lbs even. I gained about 22lbs. So I'm not exactly sure what caused my milk supply to go away.

I worried to death about her for the longest time, convinced that either I didn't eat enough to make her bigger or that there was something wrong with her. So this time around I dropped my band down to 3cc (10cc band, sweet spot ~7.5cc). I intentionally allowed myself to gain more this time and ended up gaining 50lbs. My boy was 8lbs 12ozs. Mission accomplished lol. (and baby # 2 is now 2 years old and still very petite, but I now believe that this is just going to be her stature forever - even preemies eventually catch up with kids their age)

I have 25 lbs to go to reach my pre-baby weight (which is still about 35lbs above my goal weight). I pulled out all my prebaby clothes today. Talk about motivatin!!! (and in case you're wondering, I only had 25 lbs to go about a week after I had him, never having tried to lose weight)

But how do I attempt weight loss without losing my milk supply??? From what I understand, the amount you eat doesn't necessarily effect your milk so long as you aren't drastically cutting calories and drink lots of water. But I can't help but wonder if my fills and calorie cutting contributed to why my milk dried up with my first post-op baby.

BTW My experience with my first child is moot because I never tried to lose weight when I was nursing. I was able to go for 7 months before I decided to stop.

I know when I was nursing what I ate didn't seem to make any difference at all in my supply. Hydrating helped, but only a little. I think it's one of those "what will be, will be" situations and it's likely that age and other things play a bigger role. I would focus on staying hydrated and take advantage of the calorie deficit that breastfeeding gives you!

I BF'd my twins for 7 months, just stopped last month. They were exclusively BF'd for 4 months, at that point I started supplementing a bottle a day of formula. My band was emptied during my pregnancy because the fact it was twins, they wanted to be sure I was eating enough. And I did for sure! I gained about 62 lbs. and have lost all but 3. The boys are 7 1/2 months. I didn't have my first fill till they were 3 months because my body was shedding a lot of baby weight on it's own, so I didn't feel like I needed it. I think with BF'ing the most important thing is water, even more so than calorie intake. I would wait until at least 3 months post-partum before you get a fill, especially if you want to EBF for 3 months. Then just work your way back slowly. You can delay your weight loss for a few months, but if your supply were to go down, it's very hard to get it back up.

Congrats on the baby and Good luck!

I BF all 3 of mine and it seemed to help flatten my stomach.   I loved to take my little ones on a daily walk in the stroller.