Breastfeeding

[Throwaway_panther]

Hi Atomic,

I just saw you say in the main page chat that the effects of breastfeeding after weaning may linger and still sway pink. Can you or anyone elaborate on this?

I've been feeling in a very bad GD place lately, feeling doomed to never get my boy(s), and seeing that makes me feel like I'll be waiting ages before I can even try to sway for a boy (since I'm not due with my daughter until the beginning of June).

[Babygirlquest]

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[ksmom]

I got pregnant with DS2 when DS1 was only 12 months old and was still nursing every day. One of my mommy friends got pregnant with her second little boy when her DS1 was a baby and nursing quite often so it's totally possible to get boys while breastfeeding!

[yoyo]

my friend has 11 months between her boys. was exclusively breastfeeding... but ate like a horse!

[Beau82]

I really feel like breastfeeding sways blue just bc of a typical breastfeeding diet. One of my boys was conceived while breastfeeding and another only a few weeks after weaning. I was always hungry so was constantly snacking, had zero caffeine bc I didn't want baby's sleeping to be affected, high nutrients and loads of water to keep my supply up. Because of all the snacking, it was a high calorie diet too.
I believe the idea is that it contributes to lower maternal condition plus the lack of sleep when nursing all night. I can see how it would sway pink for those who don't keep up their calories. But I was always hungry. And breastfeeding for a full year (or longer) was really important to me so I made sure to eat healthily enough.

[XXforhubby]

I think it totally depends on diet. I'm currently breastfeeding my 4.5mo old and swaying pink. I eat the upper limit of calories, but I stick to the protein and fat amounts. I adopt the 80/20 rule- 80% healthy foods and 20% sweets or empty calories.

I totally see how this can go either way for pink or blue. I think the diet and exercise matters most while nursing. Constantly snacking and moderate exercise will put someone on the blue end, while sticking to 2-3 meals with no snacking (60g fat and 60g protein) and doing cardio will put someone on the pink end. You don't have to avoid healthy foods to sway pink- it's about sticking to fat/protein totals while not snacking that is important for pink. All my GFs who have all girls eat quite healthy they just don't snack and do lots of cardio. They all breastfed until 20+ months.


DS1, DS2, & DS3One last pink sway 2016

[jenren]

I agree I think it only will sway if you are also doing the diet. I got pregnant with boys twice while ebf.

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[Throwaway_panther]

Thanks guys! My husband is one of 4 (3 boys -- all Irish twins -- and then their last, a girl), and I know his mom got pregnant with his younger two brothers all while breastfeeding or exclusively breastfeeding.

I just get nervous, since the same sex siblings close together is another stress, since in my anecdotal observations, Irish twins tend to be the same sex, and I'm desperate for a boy after this girl. Still nervous that there's some sort of undiscovered link that results in this...

But then again, maybe because my diet and lifestyle were SO LE before, being HE for breastfeeding can only help me go blue?

[atomic sagebrush]

It's because it is not a switch that is y/n. It's a biological process that takes time before your body returns to its hormonal "normal". That's all. Please don't overthink this.

I got a boy when breastfeeding too and also with a close spacing. It's just one thing that may help a little.

[atomic sagebrush]

I got one of my boys while breastfeeding round the clock with another son. And that was with swaying pink too! The number of Irish twins that are actually opposite genders despite mother breastfeeding makes me think this can only sway pink slightly!

Not singling out this post in particular but just addressing several of the posts above.

You CANNOT look at people you know either breastfeeding or Irish twins and take anything away from that. The reason why is because these are not random sample groups. The vast majority of people do not breastfeed that long to start out with and those of us who do attempt to TTC when nursing are very much in the minority. We also tend to be a little more "crunchy" than the average person and it is not a random sample whatsoever.

Additionally, people who can get successfully pregnant while EBF, just regular BF, and/or with very close child spacing are again, not the norm. These people are very likely in better health overall, higher in fertility, and are probably eating more than the average new mom because many times people's cycles will be very wacky and unable to conceive until later on even without breastfeeding. Just that they are able to be ovulating and get and stay pregnant at all means they are in a different place than the norm, who are not able to. I have a blue swayer right now who never nursed her baby at all and she's still at 6 months postpartum and hasn't had a cycle yet. This is the NORM in most cultures and throughout human history and that is why breastfeeding can often be used as a reliable birth control method for many people. It is also very likely that many of the Irish twins (not all but many) are in moms who bottlefeed from birth and they too are often a different sample group than let's say a lady who is still nursing at 3 years old. not only socioeconomic and diet factors come into play, but also because a lack of nursing may make the body believe that the baby did not survive.

If someone starts off 80% likely to conceive one gender and ends up 60% likely to conceive that gender, it is still a HUGE sway even though overall they are still more likely to conceive a certain gender than the average.