Questions about booby feeding...

[Steelgoddess]

I just wanted to get something out in the open to clear up prior to me doing it

I really really want to booby feed baby, mainly for that closeness and because i guess I prefer to try things to see how they pan out before writing them off completly...

However, im wondering how i will feel when i actually come to doing it, OH was saying he wouldn't see my boobys in "that" way anymore as their not for him for starters (he's fine with bfeeding). Baby will come first but I don't want him to see me as a machine

I also worry about doing it in public although I can be quite blunt I can also be very sensitive and worried comments from others might put me off.

Is it natural to feel this way? the funny thing is when I see others doing it with their babies i don't feel any way? Just like its normal...

 

[Sherlock]

I won't lie, breastfeeding in the early weeks is bloody hard work. It really is. Even if like me you don't suffer sore or cracked nipples (get that Lansinoh cream now!) it is draining and demanding.

But, if you can get through those weeks then it is completly worth it. I love breastfeeding and seeing LO on there feeding away and knowing I am providing for him. He looks adorable on there and I am always in awe when I see how happy and content he is having had a full feed from my boob. The way he slows down sucking till he is comfort sucking then how he sucks hard, pulls off and gives this gorgeous little sigh and smacks his lips together. He then usually throws his arms out and raises his palms upward and sinks back into the pillow. Adorable. I also love when he remains awake and starts smiling at me between sucking and then pulls off and is all smiley and talking to me.

Once past those weeks being able to BF is so much easier. Baby is not needing to feed constantly and your supply will have settled down. Feeding out and about is simple enough and no fuss with bottles and formula. Just discreet and quiet.

FWIW if I have any concerns about where I happen to need to feed (for example we were in a pub and having lunch the other day and loads of people around and no easy place to feed) I ask the staff if there is anywhere quiet I can go sit. Failing that I try to find somewhere where LO won't be distracted and feeding can be reasonably quick. I've never had a negative comment yet. If I did hear anything I'd ignore it as I don't see the point in even dignifying it with a reply. I don't even think about it really. I just get on and feed. My baby is my priority and I soon got over any niggles about feeding in public. Most people don't even bat an eyelid. Or do the very British thing of averting their eyes

My hubby tells LO that 'they are only on loan' re my boobs and we make jokes about it. I never feel like I am a feeding machine but I do feel that I am not the owner of my own boobs anymore. I am kind of looking forward to having my body back to myself once LO is finished BF'ing.

More than anything I adore seeing my son on my breast looking so content because he is being fed. I am doing this, not some formula from a tin. For me it makes all the tears and tiredness of those early weeks worthwhile.

Uhh did I help any there? Just waffled

I do hope you are able to stick with BF'ing. Don't forget you have support out there. BF counsellors and so on. Hopefully you'll have a decent HV who won't push formula the moment BF'ing gets hard. Be prepared to give it some time to settle. If in the end it really isn't working then you've given your LO a great start with the colostrum in the early days and all the goodness breastmilk provides (plus natural immunity etc).

 

[Squiglet]

Totally normal...

Trust me...once you give birth..and your milk comes in...your OH will NOT see them as milk making machines...you will be groped on a daily basis cos you will resemble a porn star...

As for the comments... you'll get them...I've had them...and yer I'm a really sensitive person too... and its really upset me... but the bond you feel with feeding them is so strong, even if you don't ever feed in public again...you will just hide away and keep doing it, theres a sense of addiction once you get into it as it releases feel good hormones. But you'll be ok hun... only a few people make comments and its very rare.. just read up about bfing before hand so if someoen does say something you can have a jolly good fight... get rid of all that pent up rage from having no sleep

 

[Suzie and Faith]

I was just the same, in fact i wasn't even sure i wanted to breastfeed but the minute she was born i just wanted to feed her and didn't give a damn who was there!

I only fed for a few weeks but in that time i fed in public and in front of a lot of relatives and i wasn't bothered - looking back now i can't see why i was ever bothered! so don't worry!

 

[DebbieM]

I felt the same. I never even wanted to BF when I first got pg but then decided half way through that i wanted to give it a go. I never worried about how Matt would see me but I did worry about feeding in public but now I love it and wouldnt think twice about it

Trust me, once you start and your baby is crying or a feed, you wont care !

 

[kalia]

I exclusively express but I don't consider my breasts in a sexual way because if I even think about it they start leaking
I'll get them back one day
Not that it matters at the moment - we've not had sex since I was 19 weeks pregnant!

 

[maybebaby]

It's natural to feel nervous before breastfeeding, I was worried how I would manage it as it is drummed into you froma young age that breasts are sexual. It really does feel so natural when you come to do it though, expecially when your newborn starts rooting!

 

[ASD123456]

Hi,

I was sure like you that I wanted to give breastfeeding a go. I am so happy I did as I love it now. Those first couple of weeks are very hard but with support from the MW, HV and the girls here you will manage to get through it. The feeling you get when you realise it's you alone making your baby thrive is undesribeable, it just makes you so proud. Also as you mentioned the closeness with you and your LO is so lovely.

I was a bit daunted at the thought of feeing in public but I made this post before going out for the first time, http://www.pregnancyforum.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=85485, and had loads of brilliant advice. In the end it was very easy and no one took any notice at all. In resteraunts/ pubs I tend to choose a table out of the main walk way so that my boobs aren't on show to the world but apart from that I just get them out all be it discretely. Infact I have found feeding in front of OH childless friends and FIL much more nerve wracking.

Good luck with BF, you'll love it

Alex xxx

 

[LisaJ1986]

My OH is freaked out by the milk side of things, but keeping his hands away from my new balloons is a challenge in itself! Lol. Then occasionally has to put his head in between them!!!
The idea of feeding in public terrified me! Really did. Then when the day came that i had no choice i never even thought twice. I was a bit more discreet than when i am at home but she was hungry so i fed her. It'll all become second nature to you soon enough.

 

[Steelgoddess]

Thanks so much for your advice ladies!!

I'll give it a twirl and let you know how I get on, I plan on feeding within the hour of him being born so it will be a neat experience to say the least!!

 

[Urchin]

Remember to come and post and ask for help if you need it Sharne!

BTW how the hell did you get to be 37 weeks! So fast, your baby will be here in no time!!

Who's your text buddy?

 

[Steelgoddess]

Mandspice is my buddy

Gwad knows, and the way i feel right now this baby could be here within a few weeks ugh

 

[Bexie]

Good luck with giving breastfeeding a go steelgoddess

I can't agree enough with Sherlock about buying Lansinoh, it was a godsend for me as my nipples were so sore but this helped so much, I did try other nipple creams but this was the only one that worked for me. DO GO OUT AND BUY SOME LANSINOH, if you haven't already

On the day my DD was born I remember saying to my OH I don't want anyone but him and my mum to see me breastfeed, within days i didn't care who was there, my priority was feeding my daughter when she was hungry. I had a c-section so once I was up and about again (got driven into towm when DD was 2 weeks old or so) I remember feeding my daughter in a cafe and feeling really conscious that some people were looking, but I soon realised that they weren't interested in my breast they were more interested in seeing such a small baby. A reason for anyone to stare. Plus you can be so discreet, quite often you can't even tell a woman is breastfeeding.

I also received a really lovely positive comment once when I was feeding my daughter in a cafe, a woman purposely came up to me and said how fantastic she thought it was that I was breastfeeding my daughter in public and that she thought i was doing a wonderful job. it was a real boost to my confidence.

Good luck honey, if you really want to give it a go, just do your best to persist through the pain, it doesn't really last that long and in fact feeding your little boy will ease the engorgement of your breasts (as will cabbage leaves in your bra!!!, not sexy I know!!!).