Was breast feeding a second baby easier than the first?

[kenandbarbie]

Ie did it come more easily second time around?

[ny20005]

Yes but mostly as I knew what I was doing which is a big part

Different child & wasn't without issues but different to first child

[PotteringAlong]

Yes. The third was easier again.

[StacksOfBoxes]

Yes, it was much easier. I knew what to do and where to find support. Also, I was much better at ignoring all the weirdness from people who didn't support my decision to breastfeed.

[Justmuddlingalong]

Definitely for me. I had more support from midwives straight after the birth as I explained that I'd struggled 1st time around.

[KeithLeMonde]

Loads loads easier for me. Not really sure why but it just worked whereas first time round it was really tough.

[Jeippinghmip]

Yes, definitely.

[kenandbarbie]

That's good to hear, I bottle fed one, breast fed another which I did find easy, pregnant now after a bit of a gap (5 years) so was wondering what it might be like.

[Scienceforthewin]

I ended up in the most awful mess with my second baby. I asked the midwife for help. She asked if I'd breastfed my first (yes, 2 years) then told me I didn't need help!! I later asked a second midwife who took a look and asked (in horror) if the baby was getting any milk or just blood (also really not helpful!). It all worked out in the end and I fed for another 3 years, but I'm a bit of an advert for poor care from midwives don't let my experience put you off though, I don't regret it

[KarrisWhiteOak]

Easier but still a bit hard. I knew what I was doing but new baby had to figure out his end still.

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

So much easier for me, but then the first one was tongue tied

[Chocolatedeficitdisorder]

I settled into Bf easily with my DS. He was a fast-growing, hungry boy who slept and fed well. Two years later with DD I expected it all to be easy, but it wasn't. She was a delicate girl with a tiny appetite who refused to latch on properly despite me getting lots of support - the midwives had to admit defeat.

I had mastitis repeatedly and I was feeding her every two hours night and day. I started mixed feeding by 12 weeks and gave up bf shortly afterwards. She drank only formula (refused solids) until she was 8 months old, and never took more than a 3oz bottle in all that time.

They're all different. My DC are both at Uni now and are both tall, slim and healthy.

[AdorableMisfit]

No, not for me. But then I had an easy time breastfeeding my first, so was totally shocked when my 2nd came along and feeding didn't work out. He had a tongue tie which the NHS missed, I went private when he was 12 weeks but sadly saw no real improvement after having it snipped. I gave up breastfeeding at 18 weeks after having blocked milk ducts literally every other day and getting mastitis for the 4th time, and he wasn't gaining weight.

[Shixtyshixpershent]

The second time round was harder to begin with (8 year age gap). But in part this was because I exclusively used shields with my eldest and was determined to do it without them this time.
I found I’d forgotten a lot about positioning and latching and it was a lot more painful in the beginning this time, obviously the shields prevented a lot of that with my eldest. However, we’ve now gotten to four months and it’s going amazingly, whereas I’d given up at this point with my eldest.

[stargirl1701]

Yes because I understood the need for a supportive peer group of breastfeeding mothers and where to find expert help.

[villainousbroodmare]

Definitely easier. I have twins now, so my hectic oversupply issue which was the problem with DS1 was a positive this time.

[LaurieMarlow]

Yes.

I knew what I was doing. Nipples toughened up more quickly. No tongue tie. No anxieties about public feeding. Infinitely easier

[icclemunchy]

Yes, in part because I knew to seek skilled advice rather than the poor advice I got from my hv the first time round. The advice I took from her ended my bf within a week! (I was exclusively pumping and she told me at day 10 I should only pump twice a day!)

[Tinty]

Yes, but first time I had a big hungry boy who fed every couple of hours for about an hour (first few months). Fed him until 19 months.

Second time I had a very sleepy tiny girl who fed for 10 mins every 4 hours, I couldn't believe that this was it. But she fed and kept growing very slowly and steadily. I fed her until she was 14 months.

So I think it was the different babies rather than first or second, and maybe second time around my body produced the milk more efficiently.

[rogueantimatter]

Yes. First one had mixed feeding for the first week then ebf for 5 weeks then mixed feeding. Failure to put on weight at 5 weeks triggered top up formula feeds.




Second was ebf for four months. They were both bf for 13 months.

Tbh, for the first twelve weeks or so it was pretty difficult with both of them. But the knowledge and skills I learned from the first one definitely helped with the second. I suspect the second one had an undiagnosed slight tongue tie tbh

[rogueantimatter]

Congratulations on your pregnancy btw.

[LadyDuplo]

4 year gap and second much much easier. Both c sections.

First, my ds, struggled to latch and stay latched. Had to use Shields for first 8 weeks. But, once established fed him no issues for nearly
2 years. Few bouts of blocked ducts.

Second, my Dd, was a teeny tiny 4lb 15oz she latched on (boob bigger than her head) and away she went. I also had to express so I knew exactly
How much she was having due to her weight but she could directly feed too from day one. One bout of blocked ducts.

Think my Dd was far more of a survivor and had far more of a feeding instinct about her than my
Ds, but I think my boobs also knew what they were doing second time around. I was also more relaxed too,

[SoyDora]

It wasn’t for me, my second resulted in a stay in intensive care with sepsis as a result of mastitis!

[AlphaJuno]

Yes. Had no issues with second baby. The first wouldn't feed to start off with, I got sore nipples, thrush, mastitis. Fed both of them for a year though. They were only 2 years apart.

The third (who I am currently bfing 5 months in) had a lot of the same problems the fist did, apart from she would suck from the word go. Had worse thrush this time. Was surprised as I thought I had it down after the second being easy. That was 10 years ago though, so maybe I had forgotten and had to learn again 🤷🏼‍♀️

[mostdays]

Yes. Ds2 was latched on and feeding before the cord had been cut. I had oversupply and overactive letdown (as I did with ds1 before him and ds3 after him) and it still didn't phase him or cause much of an issue whilst we got it sorted. Afterpains were definitely a lot worse but that only lasts a few days. Nothing like the crying, bleeding nipples, exhaustion and panic that was learning to feed ds1.

[Nutkins24]

For me it has been much easier.