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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

Things you wish you'd known when you started breastfeeding

99 replies

gastrognome · 15/03/2011 16:53

Just found out that you can stop the flow of milk by pressing hard on the nipple.

Very handy during the early days when baby pops on and off or struggles to latch and let down is quite strong! It's like a magic "Off" button - just wish I'd known this trick when feeding my first daughter, who was BF till she was 2. Would have saved me from a lot of damp clothing!

Also wish I'd known that feeding lying down is a lifesaver. And that most "breastfeeding" tops are rubbish!

Anybody have any other gems they would care to share?

OP posts:
susiey · 16/03/2011 10:36

it is not simple or easy and does hurt!
but ( and its a big one!) its worth the perseverance as once its established

it is is simple, its is easy and doesn't hurt anymore!

Also if you want or need your baby to take a bottle ( I always have) then at 6 weeks is too late for many babies and from then on you must offer one regualarly to keep them in the habit,so many of my friends were not told this by midwives/ hv and meant they worried about leaving their breastfed babies.

Also it is possible to mixed feed as long as breast feeding is established it seems that women are told its a one or other decision and opt for formula and it really isn't the case.

MyNameIsInigoMontoya · 16/03/2011 10:43

That you can have (big) problems due to oversupply in the early days, not just undersupply! DS used to scream his head off when he tried to feed, think he just couldn't handle the flow...

That SOME Mothercare branches have lovely feeding rooms with glider chairs and water coolers (sadly not all!).

greentig3r · 16/03/2011 11:41

That it can hurt.

That it can cause anal fissures. Which really hurt. Blush

apples82 · 16/03/2011 11:42

What are anal fissures? Blush

SlightlyB0nkers · 16/03/2011 11:46

That a sling would give me back use of both arms and keep baby happy at the same time.

Not to wear a watch. Babies can't read the time and just go by what they feel. It's irrelevant what time the midwife told me to go by.

That DH will bond just fine without having to feed her bottles.

That I don't Have to express. That baby doesn't Have to take bottles.

That most people are so absorbed in their own lives, that they won't notice me feeding babs.

RitaMorgan · 16/03/2011 11:47

How on earth can it cause anal fissures?

Original poster
gastrognome · 16/03/2011 11:53

Yes naively I didn't realise it could hurt either, even if you/baby are doing everything right!

OP posts:
sungirltan · 16/03/2011 11:59

slightlybonkers - yes i agree re the bonding. dh used to go marching off with dd in a sling on his front and she'd happily sleep a few hours like that when she was little. he'd take her to a coffee shop to meet his pals and she's sleep right through that plus he got major coos from any passing woman he he

kellieb7 · 16/03/2011 12:14

I am sat here (baby latched on as usual) wishing that I had found this website earlier. I am bf my 10 week old little girl and spent the first few weeks really stressing as she feeds very often, however reading through some of these discussions has helped me to understand that in fact this is completly normal. I now relish in the fact that I can catch up on some reading whilst my little one continues to thrive!! I also had so many people telling me various things such as "she feeds too often" or "she needs more routine" however I now let them carry on and continue doing what I am doing, this can however be really tough when your a first time mum.

kellieb7 · 16/03/2011 12:20

Also allowing her to sleep with me completely saved me, this caused a huge family argument but I know that I do everything possible to make her safe. I know there are people who really disagree with this (I was one of them) but I believe you have to do whatever works for you and your baby!

greentig3r · 16/03/2011 23:21

RitaMorgan- hormones thin the skin in that area. Not uncommon. Glad I'm BFing but would have saved me a lot of discomfort if someone had warned me to poo with care...!

BetamaxBandit · 16/03/2011 23:33

The most important thing I wish I was told is what susiey said about bottles.

If you ever want your LO to take a bottle, or if you're going back to work at ANY point in the babies 1st year and leaving your baby in someone else's care then you need to introduce a bottle earlier than 6 weeks and then give them a regular bottle (every day).

I know there are babies who happily accept a bottle at 6 weeks plus+ or will drink out of a sippy cup at 6 months etc. But there's also a chance that your baby may completely refuse and that leads to a lot of worry and anguish...for you and the baby.

bronze · 16/03/2011 23:37

That getting them to stop can be as difficult as getting them to start

Joolyjoolyjoo · 16/03/2011 23:43

I second (or third?) the fact that it hurts- like hell- for the first 2 weeks. I had excruciating let downs and pain, and everything I read and all the hcp's I spoke to assured me I must be "doing it wrong" as it only hurts if they are not latched on right. This made me feel worse- not only was it painful, but now I had to worry that I was somehow getting it wrong! Finally a friend who bf her 2 told me that yes, it hurts, but gets better! That alone gave me the confidence to carry on.

And it hurt just the same with the second one!

WelliesAndPyjamas · 16/03/2011 23:54

That you don't have to stop bfing because the world tells you that you must, that it's ok to trust your instincts and your LO's needs and feed for however many months/years as it takes.

That it can hurt like hell but that you must be stubborn and keep at it as it's so worth it and lovely.

That IME the bf baby doesn't get constipated, even on solids.

That a lot more people bf past the first year than you ever know... They just keep it quiet Grin

aviatrix · 17/03/2011 00:22

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

mappandlucia · 17/03/2011 00:38

Co-sleeping saved my sanity.

Wish I'd known that milk squirts out of several places at once & that it will shoot up in fountains when you're in the bath, that breast pads would become such a huge part of my life and that I'd cover everything/everyone in front of me in milk if I wasn't careful.

JarethTheGoblinKing · 17/03/2011 00:48

I wish Splog's blog was still available (she is/was an MNer, I think)
It had an amazing post about breastfeeding. About how painful it is when you start, that birth is painful but sometimes isn't a patch on the cripping pain of breastfeeding. About how it feels like little rats are chewing your nipple, and when you've just composed yourself, the little rats will want to chew again. About how some of her friends have necrotic tissue from breastfeeding, and how that can be normal! About how she fed on the train, in restaurants, answering the door and in front of family without them noticing.

She finished the post with a note about her little one, who was about a year old, taking a drink of cows milk from a cup. and... "I think it's time for another baby now!

brightcopperkettles · 17/03/2011 02:37

That when anyone says to you 'Are you feeding that child AGAIN' that it's perfectly acceptable to flip them the bird and then get on with what you need to do.

tiktok · 17/03/2011 12:15

Necrotic tissue from breastfeeding is never normal. Dear God.

It is also not normal to equate breastfeeding to rats nibbling at your nipples.

Soreness and damage are common in breastfeeding, but they are never normal.

JiltedJohnsJulie · 17/03/2011 12:21

Equating bfing to rats nibbling is just bonkers. How can having your lovely LO gazing up at you while they bf be anything like an attack by wild vermin?

CrystalQueen · 17/03/2011 12:27

That you might have to wake your baby up to feed them. Feeding on demand only works if they are demanding and not zonked from jaundice. I want to gatecrash antenatal classes and shout that at people.

JarethTheGoblinKing · 17/03/2011 12:55

sorry tiktok, I was just (miss?)quoting the blog. It's what BFing felt like to me, and I wish I'd read it beforehand.

Jilted - what it felt like to me :(

crikeybadger · 17/03/2011 13:38

OK, so it's not the nicest mental picture of rats chewing your nipples JJJ, but Jareth was saying that's how it felt to her. I don't think you should dismiss her feelings so easily.

JiltedJohnsJulie · 17/03/2011 14:03

So sorry that is how it felt to you Jareth, I thought you had just been quoting from the blog. Its just such a horrible mental picture.

Hope you had some good support to get you through it.