For BF Moms

[maldives]

For how long do you intend to BF ur LO??
It's my first and i am exhausted bfing..I think i could go for 3 months only..is this enough??i need encouragement ...do things get easier later..the reason i am saying this coz now he constantly need me..but if i bottle feed later..i could have some relative to look after him and have some time off...if u know what i mean..plzz give me ur suggestions and experiences..

 

[Becky]

You'll be surprised but if you get to 3 months then you'll be happy to carry on because by then you'll be finding it so easy and convenient that you won't want to go down the bottle route - its so much work in comparison!!

You're in the middle of the hardest two weeks in breastfeeding terms, from week 3 things do start to get better.

I think if you set yourself a goal of 3 months and then review how you feel you'll have done great!

Then you can make your mind up based on how things are then, not on how you think they'll be.

 

[lfc_sarah]

Im going to try as long as i can..

 

[badgergirl]

I'm hoping to exclusively BF for 6 months, plus as much as he wants until 9 months, when I go back to work. After that I'd like to do one breast feed a day until he's a year, but not sure whether or not it'll work out like that.

I felt really run down and exhausted by BF until about week 6 - now, nearly at week 8, I feel like it's finally coming naturally.

 

[Xena]

I'm working on getting to 12 months

 

[happy-chick]

Your doing great and stick at it cos it will get alot easier. The first weeks are definately the hardest then it just becomes second nature, there are always obsticles to get over and tougher periods but its well worth it. I intended on feeding until 6 weeks and in a few weeks will have been feeding for 6months Good luck.

 

[maldives]

Thanks all...I feel a bit encouraged now..and hope i'll carry on for as long as possible...
OMG i seem terrible ..i have been posting topics in the wrong places since giving birth sorry

 

[LisaJ1986]

I HATED the idea of BF. But she latched instantly. About 2 weeks in i was so tired i was so ready to give up. But i stuck it out and now i love it. Yeah it bothers me that i can't go anywhere and do anything without her, especially when the OH goes out drinking, but i love the fact we're like best friends. I was gutted when she didn't give her first smile to me, but she now saves me the best ones. We have a brilliant bond and i like to think it's down to BF.
So i'm hoping to at least do it for 6 months, then express til she's had enough of it.

 

[zebrastripes]

I'm hoping to BF until around 18 months...or when she self weans basically (along as it's not tooo late) I don't care about the various cons that come with breastfeeding- as midna says it is such a wonderful thing to do for your child that I don't see why i should cut it short when i've been lucky enough to be able to BF fairly easily from word go...this is a hard patch you're in now, but it WILL ease up...and when it does, and you're really reaping the rewards of BF, you won't want to give up

 

[floppit]

I want to do the whole 6 months and beyond!!

It gets better and better for me, I love it and so does Freya. But quite aside from how much we both enjoy it, it's also bloody handy - no bottles to make up in a night, nothing except a spare nappy etc to take with us when we go out (V. important for me 'cos I baby wear), no bottles to clean each day, no dilemas over which formula to buy and no waste.

Hang on in there!

 

[heles7]

stick with it honey, ive gone from dreading feeding time in the first two weeks to absolutely enjoying it thoroughly and being totally gutted at the doctors advice to go on the bottle! Thankfully it hasn't been necessary.

 

[DebbieM]

My aim is to get to 6 months and then to introduce solids if he is ready. Then to continue with some breast feeds until he no longer wants them.

At 1 week I was in the same position and thought I would never make it or even want to make it to 3 months.

Now I can't imagine giving up!

You'll get there xxxx

 

[muppetmummy]

I will keep going as long as I can (though not more than age 2!)
I love breastfeeding, its so easy and convenient now.
I bottle fed James from a week old, it is much harder having to wash and sterilise bottles, and find someway to keep the milk cool and then heat it up when out.
Id be gutted if I had to move to formula.
In a few weeks time you can always express if you want to share feeds

 

[kellysomer]

I agree wholeheartedly with Debbie, my thought and plans are exactly the same.

Hated the thought of it initially but now i wouldnt give up, i love the first feed of the day lying down in bed, all snuggled up together, and we ALWAYS fall asleep as he finishes feeding. Its wonderful then we wake again still all cuddled up. I love it.

 

[Squiglet]

as long as lil miss needs me... I'd like to at least get to 18months

What you need to remember is that babies aren't born walking. But everything is in place for them to learn, and the are given the walking instinct... but it can take a long time for them to learn... its the same as bfing... your LO has the instincts, but he is still learning and so are you... and you can't expect for you to learn such a complicated skill in 2 weeks... but by the time your LO is around 6/8 weeks old it will be second nature and you will love it...

So many people regret giving up bfing in the first few weeks because its hard yet eventually it becomes so much easier than faffing about with bottles... Just hang in there you are doing brilliantly besides, if woman are strong enough to go through the pain of pregnancy, labour and birth because of the love for their child... bfing in comparison is a walk in the park imo.

 

[loz]

I want to exclusively BF until 5 1/2 months when I go back to work part-time and then BF some of the time along with weaning and probably some formula, juice etc. I have loads of allergies, so I wanted to try and prevent that in Emms by BF as long as possible practically.

The 1st few weeks are the hardest - stick at it girl!

 

[Sherlock]

The first few weeks are tough going for many but they soon pass.

I plan to BF for 6 months at least. Then start on solids slowly as baby needs certain things that breast milk on its own cannot provide (baby is born with a store of iron that lasts about 6 months). They then need to get this from other foods.

A few other reasons why I'll wean at 6 months and introduce food but I shall also BF and gradually reduce boob milk until LO is totally off it, hopefully by a year old.

 

[KJ]

I'd like to get to a year.

I breastfed exclusively until Ash was 6 months old. I then dropped some feeds gradually and replaced them with bottles, because I had to go back to work when he was 9 months old and wanted him to be able to take formula at nursery.

So from 6 months to 9 months I've got down to 2 breasfeeds a day (morning and evening), and one bottlefeed midafternoon.

I'm a bit sad though, because this last week we decided to swap his evening feed for formula aswell. Because I was teaching one evening and DH gave Ash some expressed breastmilk before bed. He took to it so well that we thought we'd try some formula the next night. We've now done 3 nights and he's been brill. Taken his bottles wiithout a fuss nd slept through till 7.30am!

So I've only got one breastfeed with my baby boy left
But I cherish it, I love our little time we get together. I know that he doesn't really need my milk any more, he's such a good eater. But you do kind of get addicted.

I wanted to stop by the time he was 1 because I didn't want a walking baby running up to me and pulling down my top! But that's just a personal thing with me.

We've also got quite a few functions this summer where he'll have to be put to bed by my parents. So he needs to be taking a bottle easily.

Breastfeeding is hard in the beginning, but you won't believe how easy and second nature it gets if you hang in there.

K.xxx

 

[flowergirl]

I would love to continue breast feeding until Kathryn is a year old although I reckon it will just be the last drink of the day before bed by then. I'm planning to exclusively breast feed until she's 5 months and then take my cues from her re weaning.

 

[Geordie&Bairn]

Im going to try to get to 12 months
I dont find it exhausting Collier needs a feed ever 2 hours its more time contraining for doing other things in the time slots in between. But at night he sleeps really well so i get a good nights rest i only have to feed him once at 4am then again a 7am
I love the bonding sensation and knowing hes getting the best start in life from my milk (and its cheaper then formula )

Yes i have had to give him a top up only once a day NOT EVERY DAY THOUGH as he was hungrier then by boobs where producing
( i made loads but he wanted more) but thats not as bad now and ive managed to get to 5 days with out having to use a single formula thats my little acheivement im proud of my boobs 8)

Collier loves being on the boob