Nipple leaks? « Back to Group Discussions

[chocolatechip]

Okay. We talk about everything on here, right?  Is anyone else having occasional nipple discharge at this point? I know this happens with breast milk once you're breastfeeding, and my understanding was that you could also end up with "leaks" close to the baby coming. But this seems awfully early! It's not very much, only a few drops or so I think, and not frequently. And I think it happens more often at night. But a couple times it has happened during the day, and suddenly I realize that those few drops were enough to soak right through my bra AND leave a little stain on the front of my shirt. Sigh.

I know I can get nursing pads or something, though the idea annoys me since it's so very irregular. Mostly I'm just curious if my body's doing a weird thing, or if anyone else has this going on. 

[firespiritmelody]

I don't usually start leaking until much later in pregnancy, but I have a girl friend that would start around 4 months and had so much that she had to wear breast pads from 6 months on. We're all just wired differently, but I don't think you have anything to worry about.

[cabbitdancer]

I haven't started actively leaking, but I have one nipple that will express some days just when I touch it, and it's been doing that for a while. It totally weirds me out, because I never expected things to start quite this early. XD

[writermama12]

I wish mine would!!! I've been dry nursing DS2 for over two months and I am sooo ready for him to get something out of it and easy my heebie-geebies. He has nursed for 2.5 hours today (feverish). 

[Chapsie]

With my first pregnancy, my nipples leaked colostrum starting at only 16 weeks!   My daughter was about 20 weeks... and with this pregnancy, I'm 24 weeks and haven't had any leaking at all yet.  Leaking is a good sign that your body is preparing for lactation-- but even if there is no leaking, as long as there are breast changes (nipples and areola darken in color and enlarge, breast growth/soreness, etc.) that is a good sign that things are preparing for feeding baby!!!  Both leaking and not leaking are considered "normal."   :)

If you use breastpads for the leaking, make sure to change them often and preferably use cloth, breathable pads (no plastic backed pads).  

[babytoes]

If I squeeze than I can get some colostrum, but no leaking yet (and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't start until after baby). With all 3 of my other pregnancies I never really leaked until about a week before birth or after birth, but I know our bodies remember, and so it would not surprise me in the least if it started pouring out tomorrow! My sister, who had 4 LO's, never leaked while pregnant until #4, and then she had to wear breast pads from about 7 months on.  

[cocoanib]

Originally Posted by writermama12 

I wish mine would!!! I've been dry nursing DS2 for over two months and I am sooo ready for him to get something out of it and easy my heebie-geebies. He has nursed for 2.5 hours today (feverish). 

I've got nothing. Breasts are as dry as the desert :)

Babygirl still nurses about once per day, but for only a couple minutes. That's all I can take of the dry nursing on sore nips and breasts.

When pregnant with babygirl, I didn't have any leakage either until after she was born.

[babytoes]

Originally Posted by cocoanib 

I've got nothing. Breasts are as dry as the desert :)

Babygirl still nurses about once per day, but for only a couple minutes. That's all I can take of the dry nursing on sore nips and breasts.

Oh. My. God. I don't know how you do it! You and writermama take the gold medal in nursing! 

[SamSarah]

I've been getting little bits of  a thickish white discharge that i find in the cracks (not a pleasant sentence to write) for a while now, but not actual liquid that soaks through clothes.

[chocolatechip]

Thank you, everybody!!! I guess this is another thing that I shouldn't be surprised has a wide variety of experiences. I really just had no idea it could start this early (or way earlier, apparently!). Until today, I'd only known it was happening by noticing the spots on my shirts (often my pajamas, fortunately). Then today, for the first time, I actually got tiny drops when I tried squeezing. Crazy.

Chapsie - thanks for pointing out that there are plastic-backed nursing pads that I should avoid. I'll definitely keep an eye out, if I decide this is getting regular enough that I want to do something about it. :)

writermama and cocoanib - I didn't even know dry-nursing was something that people did! Do you do it because it's really comforting to the kid?

I learn SO much here. Thank you again, everyone. 

[firespiritmelody]

Originally Posted by SamSarah 

I've been getting little bits of  a thickish white discharge that i find in the cracks (not a pleasant sentence to write) for a while now, but not actual liquid that soaks through clothes.

That's the stage I'm at right now too. I find that rubbing a bit of lanolin on after showers prevents them from drying out too much and is more comfortable.

[buko]

None for me so far-- of course, I'm a first-timer, so maybe that makes a difference?

Does pretty much everyone have some discharge at SOME point before birth?

[scruffy too]

None for me so far, either, but you ladies did have me inspecting my nips pretty intensely!  I think the texture has changed completely though - kinda spongy instead of smooth skin (like it has been for the last 31 years...)

[chocolatechip]

buko - I'm a first-timer too, and that doesn't seem to have mattered for me! It sounds like it ends up happening to most women by at least shortly before birth. It's certainly common enough that it was one of the entries in the "symptom guide" part of my Mayo Clinic pregnancy book, but then it really only talked about it happening in the final weeks.

scruffy - my nipples are suddenly getting way more inspection than they used to, because of this.  I think lying down actually makes a big difference - the most common time I notice I've leaked through my shirt is in the morning when I wake up. Last night I laid down to go to sleep and felt like my nipples were tingling a little bit, so I checked, and managed to get several drops out! But I haven't had any leaks during the day recently...

[cocoanib]

Originally Posted by babytoes 

Oh. My. God. I don't know how you do it! You and writermama take the gold medal in nursing! 

The things we do for our children!

Originally Posted by chocolatechip 

Thank you, everybody!!! I guess this is another thing that I shouldn't be surprised has a wide variety of experiences. I really just had no idea it could start this early (or way earlier, apparently!). Until today, I'd only known it was happening by noticing the spots on my shirts (often my pajamas, fortunately). Then today, for the first time, I actually got tiny drops when I tried squeezing. Crazy.

Chapsie - thanks for pointing out that there are plastic-backed nursing pads that I should avoid. I'll definitely keep an eye out, if I decide this is getting regular enough that I want to do something about it. :)

writermama and cocoanib - I didn't even know dry-nursing was something that people did! Do you do it because it's really comforting to the kid?

I learn SO much here. Thank you again, everyone. 

Yes, it's totally comfort nursing and I think she keeps checking to see if milk has come back.

After she nurses a couple minutes, she will unlatch and say "I feel better now".

I can only take a couple minutes once per day. She was on her own way to weaning when I got pregnant and then ramped up nursing for some reason after we conceived. I gently have worked with her on night weaning and now day weaning, because of the pain and the fact that I have no more milk. She's been good about it, but isn't wanting to give up that one nursing session each day :)

We'll see how things go when my colustrum and then milk comes in and the new baby is here.

[cabbitdancer]

Hahaha. When my nipples started leaking in my first pregnancy, I was both flummoxed, and incredibly amused--the things they DON'T tell you about pregnancy!! I never expected it to start as early as it did, and it started even earlier this time around and it was still a surprise...

[LDoulaSteph]

Originally Posted by buko 

None for me so far-- of course, I'm a first-timer, so maybe that makes a difference?

Does pretty much everyone have some discharge at SOME point before birth?

I never had any leakage with my first. I tried to get some out but never did. My milk came in on day 3. This pregnancy I'm getting some leakage now at 24 weeks but DD (2 yo) isn't nursing anymore, she stopped a few months ago :)