Not after a fight - just want to know some honest things about breastfeeding

[Moomin]

Some questions for successful and not-so-successful breastfeeders (I fall into 2nd category with dd1 and am 8m pg now) :
How long did it take you to 'get the hang of it'?
How much or little did you persevere if it was hard?
How much/little did it feel like an extension of pregnancy - I guess what I mean by this is how much did it restrict you? [Please don't jump on me for that one; I'd like honest answers about how it affected your day-to-day life/routine(s)]
How enjoyable was it (if at all) and when did it become enjoyable?
Thanks in advance for anyone replying

ok i don't think i ever really got the hang of it, although it did get easier after about 8 weeks-ish

it was very, very hard and i persevered for about 4 months (there are many threads on here by me!)

it didn't restrict me at all, other than i couldn't make dp do any night feeds!!!

straight away with all three

was hard with no1 cos i had pnd. stuck it out for three months then gave up. got mastitis with ds2 and stopped straight away cos it was so painful (except for one good morning feed a day which we did for about 11 months). was very sad. wasnt hard with ds3, stopped exclusive feeding at 4 months, he decided he had enough at 11 months

didnt feel restricted at all, but then i never minded them having the odd bottle of formula if i wanted a night out. also made me much freer to go out because i didnt have to get the bottles ready before we could go, all you have to remember is a nappy and the baby. warming bottles if you go somewhere without cafes is a nightmare aswell

cannot describe how enjoyable it was, dont really think thats the right word. utterly amazing, completely natural, warm, smug feeling. was lovely and highly recommend it. even tho it is odd at first, its still amazing

Guess i was lucky. DD got the hang of it straight away and it didn't restrict me at all.

I think, that feeding on demand, helped dd to be a contented baby, no freak out cries whilst i tried to make bottles up etc. Breastfeeding helped me to rest! so i made the most of daytime tv in the early days and put my feet up.
Loved the fact i didn't have to pack bottles etc when going out. Just needed me, dd and a nappy or two.
Oh and she was never sicky and i hear bf babies are less likely to be sicky/windy so thats a bonus!

it took me a couple of weeks with both of mine to get the hang of it, & there was pain for longer. with ds i got thrush which was agony, & my milk didn't come in for 5 days with dd. i did feel like i was persevering, but it was so so worth it (dd is 9 weeks now). we're not big on routines, so that hasn't made any difference, & i agree that demand feeding does seem to lead to a mostly contented baby. dd is quite sicky though. i do enjoy it, & enjoy knowing i'm doing the best thing for my baby.

Babies got hang of it straight away, tho' ds was a little sleepy;
Persevered with all three when nipples hurt -- worse with dd1 cos I didn't know that the important thing is to vary position so the same bit doesn't get hammered each time;
Felt a little like extension of preg with ds who was the cuddliest. I used to feed him lying on my side and he'd kick against me the way he had while I was pg. Lovely. Didn't restrict me otherwise, much less hassle than farting around with bottles imo;
Liked it right from the beginning with each, tho' had to grit my teeth through a few days of pain each time. But worth it. It became easier with the first one a few weeks in, once I'd got the hang and knew it was working. With others, fine from outset.

good luck!

Not that long - although each baby had a different approach
First few days with no 2 were hard as he had a different latch
I think it made me far freer and is less restricting than bottles really.
I have always really enjoyed it and it is an incredibly special gift to give to your chidren if you can.

Message deleted

My experience was different with each cild:

DS (1st baby) was a doddle. Fed staight after birth. Always easy. Fed anywhere anytime. Slept through (not counting a 10pm feed)from 2 months old. Really enjoyable BUT I stopped when I went back to work (cos combination of flu & not expressing enough meant supply dipped and I didn't know techniques to get it back)and he was about 4.5 months old.

DD (born New Year just gone) was great up until 13 weeks when she got seriously interested in the world and couldn't be bothered feeding for more than a few minutes and got upset when I tried to encourage longer feeds. We worked through it and she's still partly b/f now at 8 months but I can't honestly say it's been the enjoyable experience that it was with ds. Having said that, I'm still glad I've b/f and would do same again.

Good luck whatever you decide. Personally I would say it's worth persevering past the first few weeks. This time round I got loads of help & support from La Leche League, our Health Visitor and Mumsnet! You might not need any, but help is there if you want it.

Message withdrawn

1. about 3 weeks I think, helped by dd who got the hang pretty fast.

2 Perservered through very painful engorged breasts and a few bouts of mastitis. and biting. and growth spurts when dd finished all the breast milk, and it took a day to catch up. and dd wanting to suck all night at first. 3 It was far, far easier than being a slave to bottles and sterilisers. (others might find the bottles easier.) 4. It was very enjoyable when it wasnt painful (ie most of the time)

Forgot to say - about being restricted - feeding on demand meant no restriction at all (assuming you don't mind where you feed - I don't give a monkeys) but when dd was at her most distractable I could only feed her where it was quiet & dark & preferably when she was sleepy so that was a bit restricting. Having said that I think she'd have been the same on bottles.

Also:
I can't prove it's the breast feeding but dd's only been ill once (a cold that lasted 2 days), I haven't been ill since she was born & I'm losing weight more easily than I ever have before (yay!!)

It took over 8 weeks to get the hang of it; dd couldn't latch properly, we both had thrush and I had mastitis, it was painful and extremely hard at first, but I was determined that if I could do it then I would, and I dug my heels in. It nearly drove me up the wall, but I'm a stubborn bugger when I want to be, and I persevered.

It was hell on legs to start with, but with perseverence and a good bfc we finally got the hang of it after a couple of months, and it was suddenly one of the easiest things I've ever done - stick her on, relax and let her feed. I don't think I'd say it was enjoyable, it was a function just like any other, although dd enjoyed it. I fed for two years, so once we got over the initial horrors, it can't have been that bad!

The only way it restricted me was because I couldn't feed away from the home easily - short arms and very large boobs meant it was hard to do it discreetly. I became an expert at feeding in the car though, so it wasn't too bad, and in the early days I didn't feel like being too far away from home anyway.

Feeding every two hours is bound to impact on your life, but it was for such a short period of time that it didn't bother me. And dd soon found her own routine so I knew when I was likely to have to feed her and could plan quite easily around it.

1. About 1 month with DS1

2. About 1 month before it 'clicked' - although nearly quit at 3 weeks - except DS1 refused the bottle and just screamed louder leaving me with no option but to stick him back on the breast LOL 3. Not much at all during the day, I learned to do everything one handed, and walk feeding too! Night times was hard, but then he was a DREADFUL sleeper to go with it. 4. Loved it after about 2 months.

However, on the downside, I didn't lose any weight while bfing and DS1 wasn't exactly the healthies baby around - with chest infections almost every month!

ds got hang of it straightaway. i was very lucky.

i could never get the hang of expressing. so it was pretty restrictive until i started giving ds a bottle last thing....suddenly going out became a possiblity, and also dh could do a feed...i did that at 4 months.

i carried on mixed feeding (all breastfeeding apart from one bottle a day) until ds was 10 months. it worked really well for me.

i stopped feeding as ds was down to one morning feed and nothing much during the day (was eating loads of solids by then) and bottle at night.

i also stopped as i hoped that terrible headaches i'd been plagued with since i had had ds would stop (they were obviously hormone related as they happened every time i had a period)...they didn't.

i started my periods exactly four weeks after giving birth and have been regular ever since so no let up there despite bfeeding.

it is sort of an extension of pregnancy in the sense that you've got milk in your boobs...they thing i hated the most was wearing a sleep bra and nursing pads.....was so so relieved and liberated when stopped having to do that.

but i did love feeding ds...it felt natural and good and i enjoyed it (but obviously not at 4am in the first few weeks).

hope some of this helps
x

With ds1, it took about 4 weeks to get the hang of it but I ended up feeding for 9 months.

With ds2 (4 months), it was really easy. It rarely restricts me. Are you worried about bfeeding in public? The main thing I did differently was to nurse a little and often from birth whereas I only fed ds1 when he cried. I will be very sad when stop bfeeding ds2 as we're unlikely to have any more children. good luck!

Message withdrawn

With DD never felt I got the hang of it. Persevered, very unhappily, with it till she was 4 mths, mastitis etc, then started mix-feeding, at which point I felt a great sense of relief and began to not mind it so much. Kept 2 feeds going till 7 mths by which point it was fine.
With DS I found first 5 wks unspeakably hard/painful, and despite calling in help from midwife, BFCs (and Mumsnet, esp Mears) etc, got so low I decided to mix-feed from then, managed half and half until he turned 7 mths a few weeks ago, and am now only doing one feed a day first thing. Again, cutting out a few breastfeeds made a big difference to my morale: around that point, I started to not hate it.
But I'm a rubbish breastfeeder and have always found it hard to feed 'out'. I find formula feeding far easier. That's how rubbish a breastfeeder I am.

oh and DS2 was bottlefed from 5 days old - although he didn't really get anything from me for those first 5 days anyhow.

For me first 2-3 weeks were quite painful and I felt it really sapped me energy - once past 4 weeks was relatively straightforward (although very tiring as you have to be the one feeding at night). I was committed to doing it though and did really enjoy the bonding part - had I been less sure I can see I would have been tempted to give up. Also first time round I was in hospital for 5 day with someone helping me to latch on every time for first few days - without this would not have got the hang of it. My advice give it your best shot but dont beat yourself up if it doesnt work out. Good luck

1. Ages - 'got the hang of it' in terms of not being excrutiatingly painful within a few weeks but every so often would have another nightmare feed and never got the hang of feeding without doing all the new mum latching on stuff.

2. LOTS. Dh has asthma and eczema so I was determined. Many times I was weeping at the idea of another feed. Had mastitis, cracked nipples, the works. Used kamillosan, breastmilk, nipple shields, occasional bottles of formula - each one helped just a little and got me through the next feed.

3. Not at all. Didn't find it restrictive - the opposite. Didn't have to worry about making up bottles, storing bottles, washing bottles, taking bottles out with us, blah blah blah. You can breastfeed anywhere and everywhere whenever baby wants. And it's a great excuse for snuggling up on the sofa with a good book, cup of tea, the phone and the remote control.

4. It was enjoyable long-term - not those first couple of nightmare weeks but used to love snuggling up with ds. Was quite sad when it stopped (at 7 mos as going back to work).

I bottle fed my ds and thought I would try bf my dd as I had regreted not trying to bf my ds, however when dd was born and she bf straight away it was fantastic, the feeling was well I can't even derscribe it, it just felt so natural. I had a bit of pain for the 1st two weeks but by 4weeks we were well on our way that was until I took a womb infection and I had to be put on strong antibiotics and dd took thrush and passed it on to me, which was absolutely painful, so between my womb infection and having thrush I reluctantly gave up bf. After 2weeks when my infection cleared I tried to feed her again but by this time she wasn't interested she just wanted a bottle of milk. For me the best thing I felt was breast feeding but at the same time when I compare the time I spent feeding my ds to the time with dd the breastfeeding does take up a lot more time, which sometimes is draining. Ds would have a bottle of milk in the early days every 4hrs but with dd I was feeding every 2hrs but this did increase and I'm sure if I carried on bf the hours between feeding would have got better! But really if you do want to compare them on the time scale and daily routine then it does take up quite a bit of time sterilising and making up the bottles, as does bf so in reality there is a balance there!

occasional bottles of formula = when I was about to crack, weeping, etc. etc. dh would give ds a bottle at the next feed to give me time to heal a bit so I could deal with the next one. Never two bottles in a row or more than one a day. By the time he was about six weeks down we settled down on one bottle a day + demand feeding rest of the time. I used to feed the first time ds woke in the night, then dh would do second shift with a bottle. Never got the hang of expressing. So I guess that counts as mixed feeding? Still feels like breastfeeding to me as that's what I was doing up to ten times a day!

Thanks for all of these honest replies. I think I do have a few issues with the whole bf thing and I'm also paranoid that I'll get jumped on if I'm absolutely honest about my feelings/fears, but here goes....
With dd I was determined to bf. I started leaking heavily at 6m pg and just assumed I'd be a 'natural' (LOL remembering all the assumptions you have about your first born!)
I had placenta praevia and spend the last 6 wks of my pg in hospital which was AWFUL. It was not an easy pregnancy anyway (also had SPD) and I felt very upset a lot of the time about being stuck away from dh and being out of control of my own life. Had dd by elec section at 37.5 wks, which was a very positive experience, but dd just would not feed; she didn't seem to have the sucking reflex. We spent the first 2 days of her life trying all sorts - elec and hand pumps; breatfeeding counsellors; nipple shields, etc. I managed to express a wee bit to keep her going but it wasn't enough. She went yellow and was hungry as hell. The midwives said that they would help me all I wanted to start her feeding but I'd need to stay in hosp for as long as it took. Well, this about finished me off and I said no more! We gave her a bottle of formula and she took to it right away; we bought all the equipment we needed on the way home from hospital and we never looked back.
Dh was able to help with all the feeds, I expressed as much as I could (a pitiful amount but it made me feel a bit better!)and mixed it with formula. She slept through from 6 wks and was a very happy, healthy, contented baby. The bottles didn't bother us at all, just became part of our routine and she thrived. I got over my initial guilt and had no more problems with it all.

I had kind of planned doing the same with this baby now - putting her on the breast in hospital and then introducing bottles soon after. I've had another hard pregnancy (not meaning to whinge but I've found it rough going) - very bad sickness for first 4 months, SPD again and now looks like another placenta that will not move, so I am preparing myself for another stay in hospital, although not as long as last time hopefully.

I don't like being physically restrained by the pregnancy and I'm scared bf will be like that.
I want dh to have as much opportunity to feed and bond with this one as much as he did with dd1.
I'm a real coward with pain and hate the idea of blistered/cracked/bleeding nipples, mastitis, thrush and the like.
shhhhh - I want a drink!
I want to wear normal clothes and not feel like a moo cow with leaky boobs and breast pads.

And yet I feel soo guilty about thinking like this, esp after reading all the bottle/breast stuff on the threads the week before last. It makes me feel like a selfish old bitch

sorry this has been so long. Needed to get it off my..... well, you know!

am still working on getting the hang 4 months on
it has been most dreadfully hard at times, but couldn't bear to give up in case it did get easier
lovely not to have bottles or sterilising, but do tend to have positioning probs away from cushions and still feeding every 2 hours so yes, is restrictive. ikea is a great place to feed!
got much easier around 3 months, still lacking confidence but so very glad we persevered