Breast feeding

[sarahkatiexxx]

Hi. I'm new to NMs and im also very new to all things mother hood. I 100% want to breast feed and I'm willing to push myself to do it. I just want some true real stories about what to expect! The good bad and the ugly! I have googled it but I want some real insight to what to expect!? Also pros and cons and whether it is worth or not in your opinions. TIA 🥰

Breastfed all three of mine. I’ve had unique issues with each one. The first few weeks is relentless, every couple of hours, day and night.
a midwife once told me breastfeeding at first is like wearing new shoes. It will feel a bit tender for the first few days but it shouldn’t hurt after a couple of weeks.
Don’t be afraid to use nipple guards when breastfeeding if it gets painful and get help
with the latch ASAP, it’s really important.
also nipple cream with cling film over the nipple after a fed really helped with the painful early phrase for me.
My story wasn’t all plane sailing (thrush, cracked nipples) but I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve found it to be a very bonding experience. Plus it means I don’t need to faff around with bottles and formula.
im still breastfeeding a lot more frequently than a bottle fed baby I know who is the same age. And two of my kiddos slept through the night quite early.

I have BF three DC. They were different experiences.DC1 took to it like a duck to water and fed very efficiently every four hours until they self weaned just before they were a year old.
DC2 was a very fussy and inefficient feeder and very hard to keep going until about 7 months by which time they were drinking well from beakers, eating three meals a day and my supply stopped.
DC3 was a bit fussier at first than DC1 but turned out also to be efficient within a few weeks but kept on feeding until they were nearly 4. By the way, DC2 slept through from about 7 months but the others never did even when they had stopped BF. DC1 continued to wake 4 hourly until they were old enough not to come in to us.
My experience with DC2 was hard and my DH would say I should have stopped exclusively BF earlier as it was very disruptive to our sleep and baby didn't thrive until they were eating normal food.My experience with the others was that BF is easy, cheap and convenient and that you always have a magical and instant way of comforting your child.
I never resented being tied to my babies, the time is so short overall .

My little girl latched almost instantly, very easy to establish feeding, not painful, no complications. She had a mild lip tie but it didn't interfere with feeding. Self weaned at 11 months.

2nd due in 5 weeks, fingers crossed she is easy too.

Loved feeding, loved the bond, the ease, and it's free!

As a bonus - while the whole house had noravirus over Christmas, she was the only one that didn't. HV suggested it was due to me not touching teats/bottles etc.

Still feeding my 12 month old. We had quite a tricky start with breastfeeding. He couldn't latch despite a lot of support from midwives. And couldn't sustain a latch when we did manage. I had harvested colostrum while pregnant and we used this.

He did lose too much of his birth weight and had jaundice but we avoided admission with top ups of expressed milk. I did 'triple feeding' which is where you try baby at the breast, feed a bottle and then pump. It was absolutely exhausting but a short time in the grand scheme of things. I never had to use formula.

Our latching difficulties were caused by a tongue tie and we had this cut at one week old. At about week 3 we were able to stop top ups and we just fed and fed and fed. The cluster feeding is intense! But I found leaning into it and just watching tv and eating biscuits helpful. Ignore people with no experience of bf saying it isn't normal or they are hungry and your milk is not enough. Go by nappy output and weight gain.

We have had a few blips (biting - ouch!) but overall have loved breastfeeding and still do. It's so special and has been really helpful for us in times of illness.

Congratulations! It's great you are thinking ahead :) it is 'natural' but you are both still learning so view every feed as practising.

Breastfed all 3 children. It's shit for 6 weeks then it's amazing. You ARE producing enough milk they just have to cluster feed in the early stages to build your milk up. You ARE doing the best for your child, fed is not best, fed is essential, breastfed is best. Sore nipples if they have a good latch don't last longer than a week so push through. Stay hydrated, drink almost double the water you're used to. Don't express if you don't have to it messes with the supply and you can become engorged, then that could lead to mastitis.

First 6 weeks was hell for me, severe tongue tie, colic and silent reflux all made it just an awful experience. And would comfort feed for hours and hours and hours. Then 6 weeks hit and it just clicked and we're still going strong now...20mo! I love breastfeeding and can't express how much you have to just push through if it's tough. I've had the same answer from most mothers...the first six weeks is just horrendous but after that it's bliss!

I breastfed my first for 12 months (she's now 4) and hope to do the same with baby number 2.

My mother didn't breastfeed us and none of my siblings, cousins etc breastfed their babies so I was very much the odd one it in the family but it was something I really wanted to do.

It was during covid so no classes or anything and I had a section at just over 37 weeks so my milk hadn't come in when she was born. That first night trying to squeeze the tiniest bits of colostrum from my nipples was horrendous. My child was starving and screaming, I got zero help from anyone at the hospital, no guidance or advice whatsoever.

Sent home the next day still just relying on what I'd researched online myself. Baby dropped 12% weight to 5lbs 4oz and I was told she'd have to be admitted if she didn't start feeding. The health visitor was the first person who actually tried to help me! Even my mother and family were telling me just to formula feed!

As it happened, for 2 weeks I did end up having to top up with the little actimel ready made bottles to get her weight up while my breast milk came in. I was exhausted, sore but also more determined than I have ever been about anything.

3-4 weeks in and it felt like the most natural thing in the world. I loved it. Also loved just feeding on tap, no sterilising bottles or faffing about.
I did express some but hated it as felt like I was a cow being milked - and lots of effort for very little.
I'm hoping for better luck with that this time as I'll be returning to work earlier.

All in all, not easy at all but oh so rewarding

It can really vary depending on you, your baby, the type of social support you have (e.g. attitudes towards bf of the people around you). Breastfeeding mums need lots of support.

I'd recommend going along to a breastfeeding support group to get some info and hear experiences - they often support expectant parents from pregnancy and help to dispel myths.

For me, it was insanely hard work at the beginning, and, to be fair, at many other points in between. But I'm proud that I managed to overcome hurdles, with help of a bf support group and YouTube 😂. I breastfed my child until they were 3.5 years old - something I had never ever imagined doing. But it made it soooo easy to get them to sleep as an active toddler. I am confident that it supported their health, in terms of helping to build the immune system etc.

BUT if I had my time again, I may have also regularly introduced a bottle of formula, as I found being 'tethered' to the baby for so long to be very very difficult. But I didn't have much practical support in place, so maybe with more support I would have felt differently.

Good luck to you whatever you choose 😊

I've breastfed both of mine up until around age 3. I agree with a lot of the advice for getting through the first 6-8 weeks. Try and read up on what is normal behaviour for breastfed babies e.g. cluster feeding, night waking. Lucy Webber is a great person to follow on Facebook, she's a IBCLC (international board certified lactation consultant), she also has a brilliant book called the fourth trimester. I'd also look up your local La Leche league group and maybe go to a group before the baby comes. I found the La Leche League book "sweet sleep" absolutely invaluable for helping me navigate the relationship between sleep and breastfeeding.

It is definitely worth it, it's been an invaluable tool for me to support my children nutritionally but also in supporting their immune systems, emotions and helping with sleep. You have to be prepared to be available full time for the first 6-10 months, especially in the evenings and overnight. The best thing your partner can do is ensure you're well fed, hydrated and that he takes the reins in the evenings so you can settle in for feeds etc.
I tried pumping but couldn't get much out at all - it's no indication of supply and neither is number or length of feeds. they can have a long feed and then want another 10 mins later. You just have to trust in your baby's instincts.
It's unusual to not produce enough milk, a low supply is often due to a poor latch. At first, baby will take tiny amounts, little and often and might seem upset or fussy- that's them stimulating your milk supply. Their stomachs start the size of a cherry so they really won't take much at all. Just keep offering and they'll take what they need.
It's honestly such a special time but also hard as society does put a lot of pressure on mums and there isn't a huge amount of knowledge out there on what a normal breastfeeding relationship looks like.