Breast Feeding

[Sitech]

Hello all,

If you have any breast feeding questions, please do ask. I breast fed one of my children for quite a few years.... longer in fact than anyone I know!

I breast fed all my children but not for long. The last one I decided to stick at it and it was really great.

The benefits are:

1. You don't have to carry tons of bottles
2. You don't have to warm up bottles
3. Baby doesn't scream for ages whilst you go get bottle and heat it up.
4. Baby is more settled
5. Baby does not get wind
6. Baby does not get colic
7. When baby wakes up in the night, you don't have to leave your bedroom!
8. It's always on tap
9. You don't need to substitute feeds with water
10. You don't need to start solids too early

On the minus side
1. It is harder to leave your baby unless you express ( I didn't leave or feel I needed a break because baby was so calm).
2. Your boobs are huge (ok.. that can be a good thing too!) They will settle down.
3. You milk may leak
4. Baby's poo is more runny (but hey that;s natural).
5. Dad cannot feed baby, but he can sit behind you both and cradle you together.

I cannot think of any more.

Any questions, ask away.

Kind REgards
Kiki
Sitech Creations Ltd.

 

[beanie]

Hi Sitech, can I be nosey and ask what age you breastfed up to. I am hoping to do it for as long as Seren wants it, but I doubt I'll do it past 2.

 

[Sitech]

Age 5 and wasn't too happy about coming off it, but it only too a few days to realise I wasn't giving in and that was that! B still remembers it fondly. I would say to breastfeel until you were no longer happy to do so.

Hope this helps.

Kind Regards
S x

 

[beanie]

Wow that is amazing. Thanks for your answer. My OH was a bit funny about it when I said that I wanted to do it til she was 2, but to be honest after reading the benefits of doing so I am pretty determined. Also I personally don't see the point of taking her off breast milk only to give her cows milk as mine is free. I think 2 years will be enough for me, I am hoping to start TCCing for number 2 around that time and during pregnancy my breasts were very tender and I do not fancy feeding at that time.

 

[Rosieroo]

My OH was the same Beanie, didn't see the benefits of feeding after 1, but I've told him that I plan on continuing to feed Ella if I get pregnant (am hoping my milk doesn't dry up) and may tandem feed for a while if possible

 

[v11kae]

Its great you guys are all breastfeeding but can I point out that breastfed babies can and do get colic.its just more rare and supposedly nnot as bad but II would beg to differ on that to!

Sorry guys!

 

[Sitech]

As you say, there is less chance of colic when you breast feed. The chances are though that a breastfed baby with colic would have worse colic with powdered milk.

Your milk has all the nutrients for your baby, presuming of course you eat well and look after yourself too. You do not need to add anything to your milk, it is at the right temperature all the time and it is always available. There is also the bonding aspect of breast feeding your baby, which makes them feel secure.

Milk from a cow... and dried at that! Why?... unless you are unable to breast feed yourself! Studies show that breastfed babies have a higher immunity, are more intelligent and are less likely to become obese as adults!! A Mother's milk has got to be better for her baby than from a cow. Cow's milk is for calves!

Some men do want their ladies back and often expect them to turn your back on the baby when they, hubby needs you. Some can almost revert to childish tantrums! It is difficult when this happens as you will feel like you have a little baby that really needs you and depends on your and your man..... who is a little jealous. It is important that you put some time aside each week just for the two of you... but don't play or act like Mummy to your man. That's a recipe for disaster.

Back to breast feeding... you actually find that after a long time breast feeding, you don't feel any difference in our breasts. It is almost difficult to tell if you still have milk by feeling them. They go back to being soft although still with milk.

The first few months of breastfeeding can take some getting used and they can get really sore, but if you can get over that period and the soreness does pass, you won't look back. I loved the freedom of not having to mess around with bottles and formula and warming and sterilising equipment and teats and ... what a palava!

Breast is Best!

xxxx

xxxx

 

[Kim]

No offence but there are women on here who have had to give up b/f or couldn't breastfeed and feel bad about it (me included) and reading the above does actually make me feel worse. It's like you're rubbing my nose in it. We are all aware of the benefits of breastfeeding but everyone has their own circumstances.

I don't want to start a big debate on this, I think it's great that you brestfed for so long and found it such a great experience

 

[Sarah&Braydon]

kim i kno whow u feel hun i desperatly wish i still could BF but i had to give up!
but i think its great that the girls who are BF cn

 

[Urchin]

I think perhaps the best place for this would be the "Ask a mum" section, as the ladies in this part of the forum have already made their feeding choices.
The pregnant ladies who might need this info will not be looking in the new parents section.

Hope no-one minds, but I will move this topic.


xxxx

 

[michelle82]

i dont want to start argueing with anyone but the comments on this are harsh like kim says everyones choice is different i was all for breast feeding matthew ( i didnt intend doing it for 6 months) but because of my labour and his size i switched to bottle and it has been the best choice i feel i ever made just because you bottle feed doesnt mean you dont bond and it also gives your oh a chance to bond with baby as well. Matthew is a very happy healthy baby he hasnt had colic and is very connected to us but he is also a very loving baby and will cuddle anyone. But how bottle feeding can make a child obese is beyond me just as weaning before 6 months i was not exclusively BF and was weaned at 3 months on HV advice I am no where near being obese. My opinion is children are obese either due to heredity(sp) or genetic probs or the sheer fact their parents allow them to eat crap!!

If we believe everything that scientists claim then we would all be living in little bubbles not going anywhere near mobile phones or even a computer!

Right rant over but also want to say hats off to you girls for BF its bloody hard work and how the hell you do it when the teeth appear is beyond me!

 

[Tara & Liam]

i want to applaud anyone that can breast feed. i really wanted to but unfortunately i really wasnt comfortable feeding in public places, terrible i know and i couldnt get to grips with expressing. i felt guilty for weeks after stopping, but thankfully liam is thriving.

the intelligence thing is not proven. my 11 year old was bottle fed and at year 3 he was doing maths classes with secondary school children.

 

[budge]

Sitech i breast fed all my daughters too and intend feeding this on ethe same. But my boobs didn't stay huge. After a month or so they resumed their pre pregnancy size (maybe a little fuller) but i wouldn't say they stayed huge for the entirity of the time i breast fed.

id like to add that breast fed babieshave bigger brains too and better skin complexion. Also breast feeding is thought to protects the mother from breast cancer and other cancers! Its an all round good thing to do. Everyone should at least try it.

 

[emilia]

With my first born son, I struggled to bf him and gave up after 2 weeks of sheer agony. I only managed to bf second and third time round.

My son is 12... highly intellegent, exceptional vocabulary and participates in annual math olympiads. He has a holistic and natural approaach to life. He has amazing views on pregnancy and birth and has encouraged me to keep on bf Oscar, in order to ensure that Oscar does not become obese!! Ironic.... my sensible boy is just perfect and absolutely no proof of being a bottlefed reject!

Ours lives are all so different, as is our babies. Breastfeeding has been one of my biggest challenges in life. I fed my daughter for nearly 2 years and plan the same wth Oscar. I love and enjoy it, but I will never discriminate against anyone who gives up bf to bottlefeed. I'll wonder why? but thats where it'll stop.

So, a round of applause for all the breastfeeding mums ...

And a round of applause for all the mums who tried it, but choose happiness over struggling...


There is no right or wrong.... but we should be more pro-active about bringing a child up in a loving and respecting home..... that's where we shape perfect children.

Phew.... what a mouthful!!
Big smiles
Emilia xx

 

[Tara & Liam]

the debate about breast feeding will always go on and on. I think that things are best left here as it is quite controversial. and emilia like your son, my eldest is also very intelligent and years above other children of the same year.

breast feeding is only good for the baby if it is good for the mother feeding her baby.

 

[Rosieroo]

Back to breast feeding... you actually find that after a long time breast feeding, you don't feel any difference in our breasts. It is almost difficult to tell if you still have milk by feeling them. They go back to being soft although still with milk.

Yup mine are soft now. Shame cos I liked having a monster cleavage!!

Even though I bf my dh has bonded with Ella really well and in a strange way it's helped our relationship. He really respects the fact that our little chugger has grown like she has and it's 99.9% down to my boobies. He also respects that I managed to overcome the problems that I encountered at first and carried on with bf, he sees me in a different light (i.e. a stronger person, think watching me in labour also helped!). And it hasn't harmed our relationship either from the point of view that my boobs are Ella's food source, they can still be sexualised (especially now they aren't sore!).

For the women who tried and didn't succeed in breastfeeding - at least you did try! Don't beat yourselves up over it!!

 

[ToriElla]

It's such a hard decision to make. i think breast feeding is wonderful and i miss it and wish i hadn't given up so easily. i tried to restart but eva wasnt happy after a few days on the bottle.

anyways the way i look at it is that the mother needs to be happy for the baby to be happy. if a mother is stressed out the baby might pick up on it.

what i find strange is that some of my friends who have breastfed feed their baby junk when they are weaned and some of my friends who bottle fed feed their baby fruit ang veg and only water later on etc. know what i mean?

i hope that as long as i give eva healthy food she will have all the nutrients and vitamins she needs and i dont think she will miss out on anything and her immune system will be fine.

when i have another baby i want to try and stick it out for longer if i can xx

 

[Freya]

I think that the idea that breast fed babies are less likely to be obese and more likely to be intelligent could be due to the types of women who choose to breastfeed. i am sure more middle class woman and women from higher socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to breast feed and therefore the parents are more likely to be intelligent and healthy eaters themselves (not trying to discriminate here just saying MORE LIKELY!) so it follows that they will have more intelligent and better fed children.

I have bottle fed my daughter she is extremely intelligent (above her age), not obese and not ill. I was bottle fed, I am a size 8 (3 weeks after giving birth) and I have a first class honours degree!!
Like others have said breast is best when best for MUMMY as well as baby if mummy is unhappy the whole family suffers!!!

 

[kellysomer]

quote]Like others have said breast is best when best for MUMMY as well as baby if mummy is unhappy the whole family suffers!!! [/quote]

Well said Freya. I was unable to breastfeed for longer than 8 days as Isla lost over a pound and a half in less than a week, my milk was poor, she was tongue tied and couldnt latch on and as a result i had blisters on both nipples and blood coming out of one nipple. I was in agony and cried every time i fed her.

I did not choose to bottlefeed BUT had to. I bottlefeed for the sake of Isla and have beaten myself up over it no end (se my previous post in the feeding -new mums section) and am still suffering depression as a result of the unfair critisism i have faced and the rubbish in the press about babies who are bottle fed being less intellegent and less healthy. Isla is very advanced for her age (8 weeks) and already holds her bottle of milk, sleeps through the night, smiles and laughs and is just cutting her first tooth.

All i can say to the breastfeeding mums on the forum is welldone!

Nuff said.....

 

[Tara & Liam]

Kelly i do not like you I am so so jealous. Liam is four months old now and still doesnt sleep through. the best that we have had is last night from 11 to 5.30, but i think that that is a one off.

listen hun dont beat yourself up over the not being able to breast feed. sometimes i think that the emphasis makes mummies feel like they are criminal through not being able to breast feed. sure i agree it probably is better for baby but i havent seen any babies looking deprived being fed bottle milk. youve got to think that some women have masectomies and cant breast feed, there are adopted babies and in the worst scenarios, some babies are raised only by their fathers, all on bottle milk.

kelly i am sure you are doing a brilliant job raising Isla. keep doing what you are.