Breastfeeding Experiences?

[pinkymum]

Hi ladies,
I'm getting ahead of myself here but could some of you tell me your breastfeeding experiences please? I really want to try but don't know anyone that's been able to do it successfully. Some people have said that there was no routine to it and they could hardly leave the house. Think that worries me and also not being able to see how much baby is getting.
Would love to hear what others experiences are?


Thanks

 

[flexilexi394]

I will be watching this space - I'm feeling the same, no one seems to stick with it and I really wan to and I'd really like to know why and what to do to make it successful x

 

[karenandbump]

Hey ladies.

I breastfed Harrison for seven and a half months (reducing feeds and replacing with formula for the last couple of months. I found it difficult to get started cos I got mastitis but 2 weeks in it was a doddle. By 6 weeks I expressed milk into bottles for him which meant it was easier to be out and about in places where I wasn't comfortable feeding.

Routine wise, Harrison rarely went 4 hours between feeds which my friends babies did but I still got out and about loads and thought it was an amazing thing to be able to do for my little one

does that help?
xx

 

[amyjayne77]

I love bf and wouldn't have it any other way now. With poppy i found it so painful and gave up after about 3 weeks. With nell I. Was determined to give it a proper go so I just fed through the pain, used lansinoh cream and after a few weeks it was so nice. No sterilising, no bottles and easy night feeds. With Oscar it never hurt at all. I think it only hurts when the attachment is wrong which I thick was my prob first time round. For the first few weeks it feels like you will neverleave the house. But you get into a routine where you feed, go somewhere in the car and baby sleeps the whole time. I find it hard to express for some reason, but it's a fab idea to be a ble to take bottles out with you. Best of both worlds.

Feeding in public is something I would not have contemplated 1st time round as i was too self conscious and shy. But once you get used to ityou can do it so discreetly nobody can tell. I honestly went from not wanting to so it at all, to feeding him as and when he wants wherever we might be.

Sorry for the waffle!

 

[pinkymum]

Thanks ladies,
Yeah that defo helps! Did that help you Lexi? Its good to read some success stories!

x

 

[kellylou]

I was worrying about this too as hubby really wants to be able to feed so am hoping once the routine is established then I can express so he can feed, I just worry my mmilk wont come in!

 

[megsmeadow]

We had problems at the start, my LO wasn't latching on as he was so frenzied so we went with formula as he was becoming dehydrated. When he was about 3-4 weeks old I decided to try and latch him on as he still nuzzles. Well, low and behold he latched and stayed on til I had no milk left. Granted my supply was significantly reduced but from then we started doing a night time feed together which was just so special! Not an entire success story but it was for us. Oh and I expressed as much as I could in the first few weeks to keep the supply and give him what I could.

 

[Archiesmummy]

I had problems with my first and had to stop 2 days later but im determind with this one. My best mate breastfed for 6 months so i have all the help and support i need from her.
I cant wait to be able go out somewhere and not have to worry about finding a microwave to warm a bottle up and to be honest i dont think i will mind flopping my baps out lol its for my baby not anyone else hehe x

 

[flexilexi394]

That's really helped me believe I can do it to be honest, I really do want to as well, so I'm defo going to give it my absolute 100% and just seek advice if I need it!! Thanks ladies xx

 

[mumofmany]

i only fed my 1st for the first feed he was just too little to suckle and he had to have special teats, then my 2nd i only fed for 2 weeks i hated it, i wouldn't do it infront of anyone and went and hid when it was feeding time and i just didn't like the feeling, then i had my 3rd prem and he was getting someone elses breast milk in SCBU so thought hold on he should have mine so midwives helped me express, then helped me breast feed him when he was ready i desperately wanted to feed him because i hadn't bonded with him and he didn't feel like my baby so i knew that was one way that could help as i would never breast feed someone elses baby and it did really help, i only fed him for 7 weeks till he was due, then my 4th i wanted to giver her the same as i had given my son so i again fed her for 7 weeks my milk then ran out but only because my 3rd was only 12 months old 10 months proper age and i was doing too much. she is the only one it ever hurt with none of the others ever hurt I had cracked nipples that first week and she didn't latch on properly on that side and thats why i used to hold her other way round on that side in the end head to left and body to the right when feeding from right boob and she latched on properly then and after a few days my boon was better and i could hold her the proper way again. then my 5th was a doddle he just knew exactly what to do like the others and i fed him and i actually loved it this time it was so easy especially as I had other children that i had to do things for and i am just far too lazy to add other jobs on top like washing and sterilizing bottles and getting up in the night no thanks just grab baby from moses basket beside bed and feed and i even managed to doze off and leave my boob out and he could help himself and i got my sleep and was able to have energy for kids. I used to express and put in a botle when going out, me and friends go to lunch every wednesday in the pub so i knewi definately wouldn't feed in there and it was fine, only once did i have a problem and that was only cause i didn't have enough expressed so offered him powdered milk which he wouldn't take, luckily enough i had learned to do it discreetly where noone could even see so I did it that way but whilst i was latching him on we set all the menu's in a row so no one could see i never quite mastered to be able to get baby on without flashing my boob.
my main advise is dont give up too easily if painful at the beginning if you think you will regret it and if you feel you just cant do it and give up dont punish yourself my youngest is no different to my eldest and dont let anyone bully you into carrying on because a happy mum is the best mum a baby can have

 

[NatEvz]

Ive decided to breast feed but at the moment im not really feeling that confident in doing so :-S but im gonna give it a good go, and im hoping to express so hubby can join in too and i can take bottles out with me!Thanks for your views ladies xxx

 

[Kiwi]

Like others have said, I think you just have to do what works for you. There a lot of pressure on women to breastfeed these days and it is very much a personal choice. I have been lucky in that latching on came very naturally to my little one and I have found breastfeeding to be far more convenient than the few times I have given lucy a bottle as I don't have to faff about preparing formula (especially in the middle of the night!). That said, a number of my friends have their babies on formula and both babies and mums are a lot happier for it - especially as formula feed babies are much more likely to sleep through the night earlier on.

If you do want to bf my only advice would be to take advantage of the all the advice available in the early days and get the latch right - most problems seem to stem from that. Oh, and it's really key to establish and maintain your supply early on - so don't combination feed too early (or if you do need to try and express the missed feed).

If you're self-conscious feeding in public there are some great breastfeeding scarves/aprons out there which are really stylish and discreet (I use the bebe au lait aprons which you can get at john lewis).

Hope this helps x

 

[bearsmummy]

I managed to give liv a couple of feeds off my boobs. But the midwife I had after I had liv was shite and dent show me how to do it properly. She just kept getting frustrated and in the end expressed milk for her for about 10 weeks x


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[AugustMum]

I breastfed very easily and my milk came in quickly which meant Paige hardly lost any weight at the beginning but she had colic (I didnt know at the time) and was using me as a dummy and staying on my boob for 6-7 hours at a time which was beyond painful I soon resented her wanted to be fed so I decided to use formula (I cant even describe how awful I felt around this time). BUT it went fabulously before that and if I had another I would feed again but offer a dummy as well. Its a fabulous feeling and deffinatly easier than sterilising! I went out and breast fed and didnt feel wierd at all, I just used a muslin cloth for my own modesty

 

[flexilexi394]

Thanks a lot ladies! I really do like the idea of expressing. I think for the first 2 weeks I will try and only breast feed, then after that add in an expressed bottle in the middle of the day then up that to 2 and just breast feed in the night, at least I have the freedom to go out and just have bottles to sort during the days when I might want to go out for the day. As the weather is going to be cold and I'm goin to be at the stables (so out doors) it makes sense to express so I don't have to get them out in the freezing cold! X

 

[Tasha89]

I've breastfed Evie for 9 weeks so far and loving it! I cant imagine what it'd be like to have to sterilise everything!
I got quite sore to start and it takes a while to get better but you've just got to carry on My only advice is not to underestimate the need to make sure that baby is well attached when feeding as that's how you get so sore and how cracks start to form. Lansinoh cream is a lifesaver too! £9.99 a tube but you can get it on prescription too x

 

[LittleL]

As the weather is going to be cold and I'm goin to be at the stables (so out doors) it makes sense to express so I don't have to get them out in the freezing cold! X

i had to laugh Lexi, when i read what you wrote about getting them out in the freezing cold, the first thing that came into my head was frozen milk and then i thought of them milk flavoured ice lollies!!?! dont worry im abit strange!!

Im sort of on the fence with bf - i am definitely going to give it a go but im not 100% sure if i will keep it up... Im determinded to make sure for the first week or two that i bf and then see how me and baby gets on and then take it from there. I have read pros and cons to breastfeeding so thats why im alittle unsure. My midwife always asks me every appointment whether im going to bf and my honest answer is i dont know until baby is born but as i said above, i won't rule it out completely and will give it a go and see how i get on.

My local birthing centre offers breastfeeding courses so im considering popping along to one of these and seeing if i can get a better view, however i have a funny feeling that it might be very biased and they will almost 'force' you into bf and going on and on about the benefits and how good bf is etc etc :-s

laura x