Home Forums Induced Lactation aka Adoptive Breastfeeding Medical Interventions to Induce Lactation/Increase Milk Supply weight gain

This is my first post. I am so glad to have this board! I have been on the dom/bc protocol since Nov. as we were expecting to bring our Ethipian baby home in May. However, now the process is taking longer...go figure..I have 3 boys at home. My 1st 2 are bio's and I nursed them each for a year. I did not brfd. my 3rd son who is Ethiopian...
anyway,,,,since Nov. I have gained 11#...is this normal? I am NOT happy about this but will be ok if someone tells me it is normal!!! Also, is there any use in trying to lose weight at this time?
thanks for your replies!! melanie

It is normal your body is mimicing a pregnancy

Hi Melanie! This is ergent7 from CHS.
Yup it's normal! I gained more than that and have seen some fall off since starting pumping and now nursing. So glad to see you doing this. It's one thing you can do while waiting!

Emily

Hi Emily!! thanks for the reply....glad to see that brfdg is going so well for you despite still needing the supplementer! I hope to be as sucessful as you!!! I don't want to use being on this protocol as an excuse to be eating all the time and gaining weight, but I don't want to beat myself up for it either if it is normal....
melanie

Very normal but frustrating. You definitely have to watch the eating especially the empty stuff. I've never been this heavy except when I was pregnant. I think I've gained 20 lbs and I'm very small framed so this was a HUGE amount. It's frustrating and I had to treat it like I was pregnant and realize it was a sacrifice I was willing to make. Can't wait to hear that you've had success too. It's all sooooo worth it!

Did you also feel sluggish/tired while on the protocol? I am now getting anxious to be off this protocol!! melanie

I don't recall feeling sluggish. I know I was eager to get off of the hormones. But it's good to let your body think it's pregnant as long as you can and pumping is no fun. I started pumping 8 weeks before our son came home and if I had to do it again I would pump 4-6 weeks ahead instead. So hold out as long as you can.

Emily

I felt tired, just like I did when I was pregnant. SO I think that is a good sign.

thanks for the replies. I am getting very depressed and disheartened about this weight gain. Last week I decided to really watch what I eat...I gained another pound....I am going to be on the protocol for probably another 3 months before I start pumping....I just can't stand the thought of another 10+ pounds...especially during summer when you can't hide it as easily! Melanie

I completely understand and share your feelings. My experience has been I gained about 5 lbs during the 3 months of the BCP+Dom protocol -- and worked hard to keep it to just that; I was on weight watchers and had lost around 10 lbs the previous 6 mos, so wanted to keep it off. I thought stopping the BCPs might make it easier to drop a few lbs again, but the opposite happened -- i've now gained another 4-5! I've been pumping for almost 3 weeks now, and I am trying to just focus on the end result of all this, and know that once i have a baby to feed, the fact that i've put on weight won't be a disaster. For now though, it is pretty depressing. I'm always hungry it seems.

-Rita