Why does everyone say after 6 weeks it gets 'better' for breastfeeding?

[getstuffed]

Hi all,

First time bf-er, 3 weeks in (ds born 21 sept, ff daughter, now 5 yrs) and the feeding is going ok but I can see in the near future, me not being quite so ok.

I keep hearing that after 6 weeks it get 'better', can anyone tell me how?
Do they feed lees often? (we are on 2-3 hrs at mo) Do they get quicker? (45 mins about average for us) Will I suddenly develop the urge to bf in public? (spineless wimp I know).

Grateful for advice!

It does get quicker, but I think part of that is you start to get more back from them.

They started to smile and giggle and grin at you whilst you feed them, it does get shorter (my DS only feeds for 5-10 minutes at a time).

It doesn't necessarily mean they go for longer without food, I still feed every 2-3 hour in the day but I get 4-5 hours straight at night.

As for breastfeeding in public, its about what you feel comfortable with, I dont feel comfortable so I don't do it.

Plus at 6 weeks you can probably get away with the odd bottle of expressed milk if you wanted a bit of a break...

What is concerning you about the bf, getstuffed? Bf outside home does get easier as you become more confident...but the pattern you describe is pretty standard I would say for babies breastfed or formula fed, at this age...certainly not off the scale for either. Typically, older babies feed more quickly as the weeks and months go by, but there may still be occasions when they take their time :)

I think that if you are still BFing at 6 weeks (only about 20% of people make it that far), then you will probably have got into a good routine that works for you. Your nipples should be less painful, you'll have got the hang of expressing (if you want/can), baby's tummy will be growing so frequency might drop a little, latching issues will be better etc. etc. I'm not saying that there's a big change at 6 weeks, just that a lot of little factors start coming together to make you feel like you are coping better.

Also, babies start smiling at about 6 weeks - and you can forgive them an awful lot when they smile up at you.

Think my issue is I am terrified to go anywhere, even to drop off and pick up dd from school.

Thanks for all the words of wisdom ppl x

..sorry, and also, have tried an expressed bottle (i know it's a bit naughty) but he won't take it and that panics me as well.

Well, if you really can't feed (cos you are doing the school run) it's not the end of the world - nothing bad will happen to a baby who has to wait for a little while, especially if you can find other ways of comforting them (dummy, using a sling etc.)

You'll also become familiar with places that have reasonable feeding facilities in your area - so you can plan your shopping trips etc. better.

I used to go to Bluewater a lot - not because it's very close, but because I knew I was 'safe' once I got there as there are plenty of facilities, and the John Lewis staff would carry my lunch to the table for me .

Let down stops hurting and you become immune to idiots making comments about how 'formula is much easier you know'.

And they smile and become less feeding machines, more babies at six weeks or there abouts.

I think it starts out with your baby's stomach being the size of a walnut, which by six weeks grows to the size of their fist.

I think having 6 weeks as a magic cut-off point can be a little counter-productive. At 5-6 weeks DS was feeding all the time or at least it fed that way -- he'd have huge long feeds, pop off for a bit, grab a 20-minute catnap, then wake up ans want to be fed again, and I was exhausted and felt I must be doing something wrong. At around 8 weeks (so behind the "oh, it gets better at 6 weeks" schedule) he started to space out his feeds a little more and to get the hang of napping for more than 20 minutes at a time, and my life became a whole lot easier. It was a bit later than that that his feeds also began to become shorter.

I found that around 6 weeks I started to meet other mums with babies the same age, and that's the thing that helped me with bfing out and about. Seeing someone else do it, sitting with them, it felt like much less of an issue.

Sounds as if you have some worries, getstuffed - the words you use like 'panic' and 'terrified' make it more likely you are going through a real dip in confidence, and going to a bf support group might give you a boost.

There may be one in your area. Don't be shy!

Let-down stops hurting, nipples become less painful (airing them helped me too!), feeds get shorter and less often. I remember thinking I would never do anything else but bf, at first it felt like we were feeding round the clock, like others on here. I thought I would never leave the house again - now I wish DS (6 months) would slow down when he feeds, so we could chill on the sofa for a while!

I don't feel comfortable bf is public, if I do I find somewhere as discreet as possible, or feeding rooms in dept stores have been a godsend to me. Have met other mums there too.

How do you mean in the future you may not be okay with it? It does get easier and it becomes second nature.

Thanks so much ladies, I can now see my confidence is on the floor and there maybe bigger issues here but you have all given me hope and that's enough for now

Do they feed lees often? (we are on 2-3 hrs at mo) for me no, never got less often

Do they get quicker? (45 mins about average for us) for me yes, all three DC got more efficient

Will I suddenly develop the urge to bf in public? (spineless wimp I know). i didn't have the "urge", just i didn't want to be stuck in and i was comfortable with it.

Grateful for advice!

It does depend entirely on the child DD fed for up to an hour all the time it seemed till she was at least one. But DS by six weeks was actually feeding for five minutes or less and not all that often. Ironically he was the bigger of the two.

In terms of BF in public - mostly people don't notice because they are too concerned with themselves to give you a second look.

whomoved - I love your "mostly people don't notice because they are too concerned with themselves to give you a second look" line.

This is something I have realised with age maturity, and it applies to everything from your haircut to matching socks. You are spot on that most people are too caught up in worrying about the impression they are making to worry about the impression I am making.

By about 6 weeks I found latching ds on was much easier - rather than it being a bit of an awkward two handed job and very indiscreet in public I could more or less just stick a nipple in his mouth.

This made public feeding much easier, as I could cradle him with one arm and pull up my top with the other hand and there was no messing around positioning him and trying to get him to open his mouth etc.

Also at 6 weeks I started scheduling feeds (I know this isn't for everyone though) I do feed my ds if he's hungry sooner than scheduled, but he rarely is. I feed him every 2.5ish hours, and so I can now plan not to be anywhere very inconvenient when he's going to need a feed.

Mine fed frequently still at 6 weeks(I feed lots in the day for more sleep at night)but were getting more efficient, though this can still take a bit longer than 6 weeks, maybe up to 12 weeks.

I had ds, my third, in a chilly feb when dd1 had just started school, it was quite a walk to school and back and I wasn't going to be feeding in the open air. So I stuffed him on before I went and then into the pram and he normally lasted.

IIRC, DS got quicker.

BF in public....the urge comes with practice.

I remember when DS was a week old and we went to a pub. I sat outside and really far away from everyone with my back turned, wrestling with a very stupidly designed mothercare BFing top, worrying that someone would see me.

Somehow I got from that to feeding DS whilst he was sitting in the shopping trolley at Tesco.

I think just forcing myself to do it and realising no one was actually looking helped a lot. I can only remember someone looking oddly once, and I believe it was an older gentleman who couldn't figure out what I was doing. Any comments I got were positive. I never got to use my 'Do you eat your dinner in the toilet line?' at all.

Anyway, you're not a wimp. Start small, go for the feeding room in Mothercare or Boots and work up to a secluded corner at a coffee shop.

On public feeding - I decided that a fussing or crying baby would draw more attention than me just quietly feeding.

If there are any breastfeeding support groups near you then that would be a really good place to "practice" breastfeeding while out, as good for socialising. Plus if you meet some other nice bf mums you could arrange to meet up for a coffee somewhere else - sometimes just having someone else with you helps with bf in public the first couple of times.

"as well as good for socialising", obv.