to ask what you love about breast feeding?

[macramemiss]

I've been breast feeding for 8 months. It was fucking awful in the beginning and initially I did combined feeding as my son was losing weight (dangerously so). No formula now, but also no judgement towards those who do ff. That's not what this thread is about and I still have my formula in the cupboard, just in case :)

Bf for me is amazing now and I absolutely love it. I love the way my son kneads my boob it's pretty cute, and the way he whimpers when I'm trying to get my bra undone but am not quite going quick enough. It's a pretty distinct noise!

Anyway. I've been experiencing pain which I discovered is from a blocked duct. Very painful and wanted to remind myself of why I love breastfeeding.

Anyone else care to share what they love about breast feeding?

The smile on my son's face when he looks up at me. Sleepy post feed cuddles.

Snuggling up at night, with him curled in like a foetus, attached by the boob and his feet perched just below my boobs.
When he's teething, ill or hurt and sees the boob, the relief in his face that he'll be ok and the immediate stop on crying.
It doesn't matter when I forget to take his water to the park.
It's our thing, he can do everything else with DH, but only I can give him his milk.
He has a risk of asthma and eczema, if I feed him for at least 2 years then whether he's affected or not I'll always know I did my very best according to current research to minimise those illnesses for him.

Smiles, eye contact, connection, ease, health benefits. Being able to eat more. Using my breasts for their intended purpose. I’ve had a lot of unwanted attention from cat callers for my chest throughout my life so it is nice to do something positive with them, they were just a pain in the neck before kids.

No I didn’t get much judgement at all for extended feeding but then you don’t feed in public as much once they start to eat solids properly (around 10m to 1 yr) in my case. My mum used to comment as she refused point blank to breastfeed and would say to DS ‘aren’t you too big for that?’ But it didn’t bother me. What was nice was that often I would be speaking to a mum who would.say a little sheepishly that they were still breastfeeding only to be delighted that I was too! There are more people do it than you think but it just doesn’t come up in conversation. DS naturally weaned with only a little encouragement. From around 2, he only fed at bedtime and if poorly/very tired. I did have to be aware that when over tired say after a day out, he would be very persistent about pulling my top up

8 months here too. His little snuffly sounds through his nose. Not making formula at 3am (he has had 1 bottle a day since about 10 weeks, but never after 8pm!) Settling him when his teeth hurt. His chuckle when he realises he's about to feed. Not carrying water and powder about with me. Buying funky nursing tops from small businesses.

The snuggles. The excitement on their little faces when they know they’re going to have milk. The instant calm. The little happy sighs. When the baby falls off (unlatched) in a milk stupor. When a very hungry baby uses both hands to keep the boob in their mouth. Instantaneous milk (no measuring or sterilising). It’s free. Using it as an excuse to nap with baby in the day lol. I’m proud of myself, too.

I’ve just gone cold turkey on ebf my youngest. I feel very sad, but I’m looking forward to some sleep now. I’ve done every feed and bedtime routine for the past 1.5 years zzzzz

Oh and being a stone lighter than my pre-pregnancy weight despite sooo much cake.

I’ve been bf for over 8 years (different children don’t worry ) but I haven’t had a gap between bf so safe to say I love it, I couldn’t be dealing with formula it just wouldn’t be for me, I love the bonding and surprisingly I love feeding my dd to sleep seeing how happy and content she looks.

@Seriously79 yep. I just decided I was going to stop one day. I went to a weekly bf group and they helped immensely :) best of luck!

My primary motivation is laziness tbh. No buying formula, no cleaning or sterilising, no boiling/cooling/making formula, no packing bottles or predicting how much milk to take with me.

And there's less for me to obsess over. If there's a choice of milk I can worry about choosing the wrong one. If I can see how much milk the baby's drinking I can worry about whether it's too much or too little. Plus there's the stress of being told in Australia to only use hot soapy water to clean, but on Mumsnet everyone sterilises. Too many opportunities for me to obsess!

And always having a hand free to play on my phone is useful too.

It was convenient.
It was free.

Say no more 👍

I loved that it was free, and I didn’t have to pack bottles every time I wanted to leave the house.

When I was feeding a baby if I was struggling to sleep I would get baby out of crib and feed again, those lovely sleep hormones.

As a toddler it fixed everything and I knew that there was always something on tap no matter where we were.

As a newborn, I loved my son’s “milk coma” face after feeding... and his lovely milky smell.

Now at age 2.5, all the funny positions he feeds in (upside down???), and when he gazes into my eyes as he feeds..

I breastfed DD because I wanted to, but I derived no enjoyment out of it. It wasn't a joyful, bonding experience. It was just something I did. She was a very slow feeder, so every feed took an hour and a half. Her latch was fine, she was just slow. And she would cluster feed for hours every night.

It was very difficult at first and I was on the point of giving up several times, but when she ended up in ICU at nine weeks I was determined to stick with it.

I found that there were many advantages:

I lost weight very easily and was back in my prepregnancy jeans when DD was 3 weeks old
No periods
No faffing about with sterilising stuff
No having to go down into the kitchen in the middle of a winter's night to heat a bottle
Milk was always on tap, sterile and at the right temperature
It was free

However, I didn't find it enjoyable as such, any more than I find driving enjoyable. It is just something you do as a means to an end.

I love the convenience of it when we go out and about my changing bag is literally empty..we recently went away for a week and I didn't have to be worried about packing milk or bottles..I love the night feeds when I would just pick him up and feed without leaving bed and I love his smile sometimes he would stop feeding, smile at me and then latch again and carry on..some tough weeks at start we had I was going to stop million of times but the smile always got me going..

My daughter strokes my boob with her hand while she's feeding. It's such a comfort for her.

DD2 is probably my last baby and I'm probably never going to be pregnant again so I'm enjoying still being sort of "stuck together", as it were. Also, the physical closeness with her little warm body and the convenience of not having to worry about sterilisering and whether the bottles are clean enough.

I love that it's my answer to pretty much everything parenting related.... there's not much in my 2yo's life that's not solved by 'milky'! Also that when she's feeling ill I know that she's still hydrated because she's having breast milk. When my 2 were younger it was mainly the fact I didn't have to make a bottle up in the middle of the night, or remember to take formula out with us.

It’s free

I had a horrible time breastfeeding, especially in the beginning. I didn't find it to be some magical bonding experience, even when everything was working- it was a functional neutral feeling thing that needed doing same as changing DC nappy or tidying up toys.

But I love that I achieved something that was so difficult for me, and that my DC had the best possible start in terms of their health.

I love that DC loved it, and how safe, happy and cosy they looked when they were feeding.

I am also a massive greenie and I am glad for environmental reasons not to have needed formula and the associated carbon footprint.

Laziness here too.
Also convenience. Being able to go out all day and not having to worry about how to make up bottles.

The snuggles . I mix fed first time, couldnt bf for near on 2 weeks. Im pregnant again and hoping for this time, hoping i still like it.

Use a warm nappy on your blocked breast, it helps.

I like that it’s a good excuse to retrieve him from any dodgy relatives!
I don’t love breastfeeding if I’m honest. I like it sometimes and I like the extra snuggles it gets me but I also find it quite limiting and we had a lot of struggles along the way. I was determined to do it and I’m proud of myself for sticking at it. No judgement for those who don’t though - I also have formula in my cupboard just in case!
But I wanted to say that I also don’t like my letdown reflex, it makes me nauseous. So you might not be missing much :)