Breastfeeding subsequent babies?

[milkmummy1]

I have been BF for 6 months and currently socialise with other mums, majority of whom FF.
Have had a couple of comments lately that i should make the most of the special bonding i get whilst BF DS as i wont get the time to BF subsequent babies. they have said that they tried to BF subsequent babies but have switched to bottle early on as did not have the time. i have told them that i inted to BF future babies for at least 6 months as it is not fair on DS2/DD2 and have never had any problems BF.
Probably easy to call me naive at this stage but surely FF is more time consuming than BF? I mean i find BF so convinient. i guess the angle they are coming from is that other family members can help with bottle feeding?
just interested to hear what other mummys did. BTW am not planning on having another baby yet, i would just like to BF future babies as i think it is such an amazing thing to be able to do for so many reasons.
Thanks

[sweetkitty]

DD1 was 18 months when DD2 came along, BF DD2 for 14 months no problem at all. DD1 used BFing time for cuddles, books and cbeebies!

[popsycal]

ds1 was 2 and a half when ds2 came along
breast fed ds2 fine,...right into toddler hood (and then some...)

[BocoBeak]

I've bf dd2 for longer than i did dd1 - it was fine, you always just make time to feed your baby don't you.

[milkmummy1]

That is really nice to hear sweetkitty. This is what i was thinking - that you can use it as a special bonding time with your other children - rather than feeling afraid that you will neglect them by BF the new arrival.

[mummypigoink]

pretty much same as sweet kitty in our sty ~ in fact dd1 used to sit and bf her teletubbies while I bf dd2.

i wanted dd2 to all the benefits of bf, and I managed it pretty well. at least with bf you have a spare hand for hugs, books and the remote control which you don't with ff!

[Spidermama]

I've bf-ed all four of mine. I've found that the production gets easier and more efficient which means the newborn doesn't ahve to suck for so long., This is double edged as it means you can't justify sitting around breastfeeding for so long.

I can't understand people who think it's time consuming. With bf-ed babies all you do is walk out of the house when you want to go out. You've got everything with you after all. So simple. So perfect.

[funnypeevesculiar]

dd bf until 9 months - less than ds but that was because I went back to work early - and yes, I found ff more hassle.

Ds used to lie on the sofa next to me bf-ing his koala whilst I fed dd ...

[determination]

Your friends are talking out their Ar**!

I bf dd1 for 25 months she was 2.5 when dd2 arrived and i have been exclusively BFing for 5 months now. Get yourself a Baba Sling.. i have played in the park whilst feeding.. done my shopping.. toilet trained dd1.. easily feed anywhere/everywhere discreetly using my sling. I actually feel like im twitching if i dont have it with me!

[funnypeevesculiar]

lol, x-post mummypigoink!

[evenhope]

DD was 19 months when I had DS1. DS2 was born when DS1 was 2, and DS3 born 2 years later. I bf all 4 of them for 15 months each until they self weaned.

Surely however you feed the subsequent baby takes the same time?

[sweetkitty]

Also helps if you completely toddler proof one room so you can feed in peace knowing that theres nothing the toddler can get at (your in the same room feeding sorry if that wasn't clear), once babies latched on you can forget about them and give the toddler all your attention. I never remember it being a problem. I do remember learning to feed the baby whilst getting juice for DD1 useful skill meals on the go!

[PestoMonster]

I BF'd DD1 until she was 22months old. DD2 arrived when DD1 was 25months old & I subsequently BF'd her until she was 19months (when she self-weaned). Had no problems at all with either DD and didn't use bottles at all (never bothered buying any because I had no intention of ever using 'em!)

Personally I think it's down to attitude of mind. If you want to BF you will, regardless of other people's opinions. I was lucky in that DH had no objections to me BFing. In fact, I think he was relieved, as he didn't have to get up in the night at all.

Yes, it was exhausting. But sooooooo worth it!

[PrettyCandles]

Mix-fed (ie breast and formula) ds1 for 5m
Breastfed dd for 23m
Breastfeeding ds2 now 9m

So IMO they are quite wrong!

Yes, you're more rushed when there are other children, but somehow you just make the time. With dd I found feeds to be the perfect time to sit on the sofa with both children and read to ds.

Certainly ff has the convenience of being able to hand the baby over to someone else, but bf forces you to sit down and take some time off your feet - which it is easy to foregt to do.

[CarGirl]

yes the following one were bf for longer much easier and quicker and you have one hand free for the older child(ren)

[maretta]

I bf ds2 far longer than ds1.
I don't get the FF is more convinient thing either. Getting a bottle would involve removing myself from the sofa.

[alison222]

I BF both my children. It was much easier and quicker to BF no 2 than the first one. Ds got to cuddle and have stories read while I was feeeding DD. It was not problem at all and as others have said you have a spare hand unlike with a bottle.

[mm22bys]

I am in the minority here, sadly...

I bf DS1 till he was 15 months, but especially when he was younger I found that so much of my time was spent feeding him. Even when he was young I was concerned about being able to "devote" a similar amount of time to feeding another child...

DS2 was born when DS1 was 2.5, and I found feeding DS2 so much harder. I really wanted it to work, but it did seem like he was attached to me all the time!

Also, he is a small baby (he's now 8 months old and still in 3 - 6 month clothes) and after much heartache, soul-searching I started combination-feeding when he was 5 months old, and then when he was six months, and I was still exhausted, losing heaps of weight, but he gaining hardly any, I converted to a bottle.

I feel bad that I wasn't able to have with him the beautiful bf relationship that I had with DS1, but now we are both happier.

[Trinityrhino]

dd1 was breastfed till 14 months
dd1 was 5 when we had dd2 so no prob, fed dd2 till she got bored with it at 9 months

dd2 was 19 montyhs when I had gecko
gecko is 6 months now and still exclusively breastfed

obviously depends on the family but I think they are talking crap

[harpsichordcarrier]

dd1 was 2.5 when dd2 came along and still feeding, and I fed them both for a while and I am still bf dd2 (20 months) - and dd1 was a demanding toddler and dd2 and demanding baby!
from my pov, I don't really have other family members around to help anyway, so that isn't a big deal. also, my milk supply was very well established and I was also very good at walking around when feeding (important when potty training ) some people also find a sling helpful to stay mobile, although I didn't need one for that reason.
so no, not a universal rule!

[tribpot]

I know quite a number of people (I hope to be one of them some day) who struggled with bf the first, and switched to ff, but breastfed subsequent babies without any bother. So it can definitely be done!

[maxbear]

Two years two months between mine, I am finding bf much easier and less stressful this time. He is now 4 1/2 months and has fed a lot at times, has not been a problem. He is large for his age and would be worried about it if I had ff. Cannot imagine having done it any other way. Obviously have had occasions when dd has been difficult when feeding but that would have happened if bottlefeeding.