To ask for positive breastfeeding stories?

[Tallpinetrees]

I'm currently pregnant with my first and obviously keen to get as much information as possible to be prepared. I've been asked if I'm going to give breastfeeding a try, and I hope so!

A couple of people have told me their birth "horror" stories, which were quite scary, but I really enjoyed reading Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Childbirth and all the stories of women confidently and quietly (or not so quietly!) giving birth.

AIBU to ask for some encouraging and inspiring stories about breastfeeding?

*sore. Sorry for all of the typos

It is perfectly normal not to have much of any milk for the first 3 days-you will have colostrum though, which is all the baby needs. Don't be panicked into thinking something's wrong. Just keep putting baby to breast as much as possible

It is perfectly normal for a baby to lose weight in the first week or so- don't be panicked by this either.

If you and the baby are both well, there is no need to express. It's just something else to worry about, and nothing stimulates supply like a. Any suckling. Once your supply is established, then start building up a stock of frozen milk so you can go out without a backward glance.

Once you're home, your job is resting, recovering, feeding the. Any

Fed all 3 babies easily two self weaned at 16 months and the other had to be tubefed as is disabled.He could feed but he used up too much rnergy feeding so needed the tube!
First 4 weeks are a pain but once you've got it sorted....it's sorted!

Two things saved feeding for me.

1. Dummies. My babies just wanted to suck and my nipples couldn’t take it.

1. Nipple shields. I have no idea why these aren’t more widely used. They were fantastic and I ended up using them for a few months.

In the end I fed both dc for about 8months.

NB I was a midwife and some people will get sore nipples with all the great positioning in the world.

My first baby, a girl, took 5 days before she could latch on properly & it broke my heart knowing that she was hungry but at least she got some colostrum. My second baby, a boy, suckled immediately & had no problems feeding. Breast is best, the colostrum contains antibodies, the milk is sterile & it is perfect for baby. I can never understand why mothers who claim they want the best for their baby give them formula. WTF? Nature's way is best.

Oops, sorry. Once you're home, your job is resting, recovering feeding the baby and watching box sets. Oh, and receiving the accolades of an admiring public. Everything else is someone else's job. Nothing to do with you at all.

I was completely shell shocked after giving birth and apart from 10 seconds of holding dd, didn't hold her again for over 2 hours so missed the all important skin to skin. I then bf her. I ebf for just over a year.

My nipples were quite sore for the first week, I used nipple shields on day 6 for one day, but I never got to the bleeding stage - Lanisoh is your friend.

I had mastitis at 6 weeks but, because I had done a tonne of research before having dd, I recognised the symptoms immediately and was on antibiotics a few hours later and fine the next day.

I never had any issues bf in public. Had two comments both of which were positive. But, I never felt ashamed/embarrassed to do so and have a resting bitch face which probably helps . Buy some muslins/breastfeeding friendly outfits if you think you'll be self conscious.

My best advice is to research as much as possible. Learn what is normal in relation to cluster feeding, tongue tie and what pp said above about the first few days with colostrum. It is quite relentless in the early days but becomes so much easier and convenient.

Does your NHS Trust offer a bf workshop? If so, go and take your OH if they are allowed. My DP really helped in the early days with latching and positioning and just generally doing everything for me (making all meals, tidying, holding dd so I could quickly shower - these made a huge difference in being able to spend time feeding).

YouTube has lots of videos showing latching/positioning (I'm pregnant again so am rewatching these).

Kellymom is a good website.

My first baby would latch on but not suck for the first 3 days. I did not have any help but I figured it out from books. Hired a breast pump, that really helped. We got there in the end with no formula and I breastfed him for 2.5 years. Second baby latched on fine from birth but had a strange latch that caused an open wound on the nipple that took six weeks to heal. I needed a lactation consultant to figure that one out. It turned out the wound was infected with thrush, with no visible symptoms. Once treated it cleared up. I kept breast feeding through the whole thing, even though it was painful. I am very happy I did, because I went on to breast feed for 3 years and lost 3 stone. I rate breastfeeding my children as one of my proudest achievements.

I’ve fed all three of mine with few problems. It’s a skill that you both need to learn, but once you’ve cracked it you’ll be fine. Having realistic expectations is important. It’s normal to have a baby that cries and feeds on and off for hours in the evening. Two of mine have done it and it’s hard, but it doesn’t last for long. Good luck, it has so many lovely benefits for you both it’s worth the initial hassle.

I’ve bf 3 babies and always found it easy. The first few days with my 1st were the hardest as it was a little painful, but not so bad that I struggled to bf. I didn’t know about growth spurts and comfort feeding so would worry a lot that my supply was low.

You will spend hours constantly feeding, expect it and make allowances for it and it should be ok! Without sounded harsh, advice from people who have bottle-fed, whilst from the right place, is often misguided as totally different!!! My ex’s mum used to go in and on for hours about what terrible wind my ds had, when in fact he wanted to comfort bf! I learnt for my 2nd and 3rd!!

If you are struggling, look out for tongue ties (can be hidden) or cmpa as both fairly common. Also I’ve never ever had a negative experience of bf in public (still bf my 17mo in public). You will hear ‘horror stories’ but most people aren’t bothered/don’t even notice!

Good luck

I’m currently BFing number 2 who is 4 weeks on Tuesday. Fed my first for 12 months and would have gone longer but a dose of HFAM saw him refuse the breast and that was the end of our journey. I always said I’d let him tell me when we were done and so he did.
Much different experience this time around. My second has had tongue tie and had I not known how it was ‘supposed’ to be I’d have given up as it was excruciatingly painful and I ended up with bleeding cracked nipples and a lot of tears. Now her tongue tie has been dealt with it’s better every day and other than struggling with tiredness some nights I’m enjoying it all over again. We can also now side feed now her mouth is big enough for my massive boobs so it’s much easier.
Couple of recommendations I haven’t seen: read the womanly art of breastfeeding.
A haakaa manual pump. I’d always sworn by my Mandela and did well with my little boy but this is a game changer! I just pop it on while I feed and hey presto! It’s FAB

I had a positive experience. I breastfed my dd till she was about 15 months old.
MW helped latch her on straight after birth and away we went. I never had any pain or problems. The only problem I did have was a bout of mastitis when I was weaning her.
I didn’t have a fixed idea of how I was going to feed her and went into it with an open mind. I was also lucky to have a great local breastfeeding group.
The hardest thing I found was the cluster feeding and the nights. I wasn’t very good at expressing!

Another positive here! Breastfed Twins for a year, I loved it. The first few weeks are the hardest, it’s really normal for them to want to feed very regularly and for longer periods of time. They’re helping you get your supply up while their stomachs grow, you are making enough so trust your baby and your body to do what they both do best. They’re a great team! I breastfed both in public and never had anyone say anything to me, got a few looks but I genuinely couldn’t give a shit. I expressed on occasion too so very handy to have some in the freezer for little days away to do your own thing, bonus! Honestly, it was a lovely experience and I kind of miss it. Good luck and enjoy your little one once they’re here.

Sorry I just read that back and realised I didn’t really go into how positive it is.
I love breastfeeding. The bond and the peace I feel when doing it is just lovely.
I’m really glad I persevered with it this time around and I’m remembering just how lovely it is

I assumed I'd breastfeed & I did. Best advice in the beginning was lots of skin to skin - both strip off & snuggle down & instinct seems to kick in for both of you.

Don't panic when there are growth spurts, baby feeds all the time and it feels like your breasts are empty balloons - the feeding stimulates milk production, so there can be a wee time lag - I suspect this is when some people start panicking that they aren't making enough milk, add in a supplementary bottle and then it is a self fulfilling prophecy.

Believe in yourself and your baby, I never had any doubts at all that I would be able to feed my children and just ignored any carping from the sidelines - you and your baby know best.

Still breastfeeding my 16 month old despite multiple allergies. Had enough milk to supply my daughter and donate to the local milk bank. Was a little sore at first for the first couple of seconds of each feed but that soon eased off. My daughter had a little jaundice but that went within a couple of days, and she didn't actually lose any of her birth weight. Took a little while to get the hang of different positions, but now I can stroll around the shops with a 16 month attached and no one notices what we are doing unless my daughter unlatches to give a random stranger a smile

Fed all my 4 without any probs found it a bit painful to begin with. Just expect bf to be a full time job for the first few months and you will be fine. I think a lot of people stop as it's never explained how time consuming it is. The demand on you can be huge. Eat and rest and feed and by six months it's easy so easy .

Firstly congratulations.
I have been breastfeeding for 3.5 years now (first baby for just over 2 years and second is now 15 months and still going). I tandem fed for 3 months.

Maybe I got lucky, maybe it was because I was very informed about breastfeeding, but I have found it to be such a beautiful experience. My first baby latched on almost immediately and was a natural. Perfect latch, no pain for me at all and she gained weight well. Things werent quite as easy the second time as I was adjusting to feeding both, but again my baby took to it like a pro. I have fou d breastfeeding to be a wofearful cure-all. Tired, hungry, thirsty, needing comfort, teething pain... breastfeeding helped it all. In busy times, it was an enforced moment of calm and rest for the 2 of us together.

I'm a huge believer in connecting with your instincts but also on educating yourself e.g. on how to bring them to the breast in a way that promotes good latch. I would often jump in bed with no top, go skin to skin with bubba and let her do her thing. If it felt at all uncomfortable I would relatch her. But I barely had any pain and never had cracked nipples or any of that. Experiment with positions and dont worry too much about how it looks, rather how it feels.

Good luck.

Breastfeeding is a joy when it works, do lots of research so you know what to expect. Join a local group for breastfeeding support. Go along to the support group before baby is born to get to know them in case you need their urgent help after the birth. Staff in hospital may not be skilled/available or have time to help you as much as you need.
Make sure the staff where you give birth know you want to breastfeed and that, if you are unlucky and baby has to go to SCBU/NICU for any reason, you still want to breastfeed. Ask for advice on how to manage this if it happens, maybe you will need to express?
Once it's established you just go with the flow, so to speak, it's great. Don't need any bottles/sterilising equipment etc etc. No need to express once established unless you need to go back to work and can't feed at work.

I bf'd both mine for 12m. Was amazing, hard, rewarding, free, no sterilizing, painful at first but gets easier quickly despite tongue tie with my first.

Get lots of help - from midwives to health visitor, dp/dh, grandparents etc. Don't be afraid to say you're struggling - prep them beforehand to keep your spirits up!

Don't be consumed by it though. It's amazing but sometimes it just doesn't click for mum or baby. Fed is best.

Oh, and Lanisoh is fucking expensive for a little tube but my god it is worth every penny - go buy some today

I breast-fed DS until he self-weaned about 12 months (unusual - not sure if my going back to work caused it.) Currently pregnant with no2 and feel so much more positive about bfeeding again this time!

The first few weeks are tough and it can be sore but eventually it was so easy and I loved being able to settle him so quickly. Tired=feed, poorly=feed, overwhelmed=feed etc etc.

My advice would be to look up local support to you now, it can be hard to find and very useful to have some numbers on hand in the early days! Your midwives might know of/run some peer support groups. Ask the MW at the birth and after for as much help as possible in the first couple of hours and days. I thought we'd "got it" and then the latch changed when my milk came in so I needed someone to show me how to do it again.

Good luck OP! (For what it's worth I had a very positive labour and birth experience too; ignore the horror stories and stay positive.)

Here's mine:

DS was born after a very long labour. He didn't latch on straight away but we had some skin to skin time in recovery while they stitched me up.

Next we went onto the ward and both slept for about 6 hours! I woke up in a panic thinking oh no I was supposed to feed him by now - tried putting him to the breast but had no idea what I was doing and had forgotten everything I'd learned from the breastfeeding classes/books/websites I'd studied so carefully and could not decipher the NCT leaflet I'd brought at all in my haze.

So I asked a midwife for help. She saw how tired I was and tucked him in beside me in the bed. Showed me how to bring his body very close to mine and much lower than you would expect (to make him tilt his head up, this helps them get a good deep latch).

He latched on and fed fine. We did lots more feeding and dozing in hospital and then were discharged the same day.

When I got home, I found I couldn't get him to latch when I was sat up, only lying down, which was a bit inconvenient. His arm would also get in the way when he was trying to latch. On day 2 a midwife came out to see me and said don't worry about being able to sit up yet, so I concentrated on the lying down feeds. I would get pain for about the first 15 seconds, which is normal - I used to count down to 10 sucks and it would fade away.

I decided to co-sleep from birth using a bedside cot as a backup. This worked really well for us, I didn't find night feeds were disturbing and he didn't actually drop at all from his birth weight. I probably could have moved him out quite easily at about a year but for unrelated reasons decided to carry on. He moved to his own bed in his own room at 2.5 years instead with minimal issues.

Within a few days I found that I could latch him sitting up as well, at first only with the help of a rocking chair, later on just on my own. And from then on no issues really - I think I had a blocked duct at one point which I was able to clear by massaging it and resting, luckily.

I found it so convenient and easy to do wherever I was without having to think about getting bottles ready or hygiene or timing or temperature. He actually ended up feeding until he stopped by himself at four years old! I probably would have found that a bit strange before I started but I had only planned to feed until a year, and by the end it was quite occasional and low key.

No pain at all with either of them. DD2 latched like a pro before her cord was cut and piled the weight on perfectly. We had a few more problems with Dd1- she had undiagnosed IUGR and was tiny- we cup fed for 5 days while she worked out what to do. After that she went great guns until 2.5 when I was pregnant. Despite some challenges getting going it was never painful at all.

You do have to give yourself over to it for a bit.

As they have got older I never found it restrictive- I travel for work and they were both fine with breaks of up to a week.

Find out where your local milk spot is and you may have to be assertive if you have any issues. In retrospect I would.have got on much better with Dd1 if I had discharged us both and focused on it at home in a more relaxed environment but I wasn't clear what support I could get at home.

DD2 was a home birth so avoided any of that!

DS1 fed great from the off, although MW weighed him wrong and sent me back into hospital with him I learned to ignore well-meaning advice and ask Mumsnet/Kellymom when I wasn't sure. He fed until nearly 3 (would have fed longer but I couldn't conceive DS2 while BF).

DS2 had put on weight at 5 days, fed brilliantly. I got mastitis at 3 months and had to go on IV antibiotics but they let me get them through outpatients each morning for a few days so that I could keep feeding him. He's still feeding at 26 months.

My best advice is to take to your bed for a week after birth and just feed, co-sleep and ignore ignorant advice about 'he shouldn't be feeding again so soon'. Good luck!

DD is 6 weeks and she is our first, it's been fine. Took about a week to get into our stride as she had a tongue tie and it didn't get sorted until day 5.

We get out of the house loads and I've never had any issues feeding her in public I've found life just carries on around us.

My advice would be make sure you know what support is offered in your area and don't be afraid to use it. (Don't judge the level of support by what you get in hospital, grin and bear the hospital stay, community midwife, health visitor and breastfeeding support workers are amazing, hospital is for patching you up and getting you on your way)

Get a pump, if your breasts get engorged (as mine did when my milk came in) it can be hard for them to latch so expressing a bit off gets your nipples back

Get some emergency premixed formula, it's very hot and they will be thirsty, I've needed to give her formula a couple of times as my supply just hasn't kept up with her thirst in the early days. It has made no difference at all to how she feeds from the breast.

One boob might be easier than the other but you need to keep going with both or the 'other' boob can get painful from not being used

Try loads of positions, we built a fort from pillows and I fed her in the rugby ball hold for the first couple of weeks until we got established then tried a load of others to find one that's more workable.