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Infant feeding

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

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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:

tiktok · 17/03/2011 14:07

Not denying this is how it felt to whoever it was - sorry if this was you, Jareth, and indeed if it was the blogger you were quoting :( :(

But it's absolutely not something to 'wish to know' beforehand....in fact, the opposite is the case: 'if it feels like rodents are chewing your nipples, then this is not normal and you should disbelieve anyone who says it is'.

And as for nipples becoming necrotic....not normal.

SilverSky · 17/03/2011 15:12

That you will have a mad raging thirst and be peckish in the
night!

JarethTheGoblinKing · 17/03/2011 15:39

No, you're right. I think if I'd known that this was possible, and had happened to other people though, I don't know.. it might have helped more instead of me feeling useless.

Obviously necrosis is not normal, sorry I obviously misquoted that (and sorry to splog, wherever you are, in case you're reading this)

Anyway, I shall pootle off with my miseries and leave the thread to get back on track

JiltedJohnsJulie · 17/03/2011 16:59

Jareth, you are right of course, knowing that what you were experiencing wasn't normal but had happened could have helped you with your feelings. Hope those useless feelings have gone now, I'm sure that you did everything you possibly could have done at the time.

As for necrosis, I'm so glad I didn't know that one before starting bfing or I may never have given it a try. Yuck.

Sorry too for getting the thread off track.

As you were

YoSugar · 17/03/2011 17:00

How hard it would be to get them OFF!!!

JiltedJohnsJulie · 17/03/2011 17:04

at YoSugar. DS latched on during skin to skin and pretty much decided he wanted to stay there as long as possible, all day and night!

YoSugar · 17/03/2011 17:08

DD2 is nearly two and stillgets excited when she sees them. I mean REALLY excited. I don't think she will ever be weaned [hmmm]

JiltedJohnsJulie · 17/03/2011 17:09

DD is 3.6, hasn't bf since 2.8 and still gets excited when she sees them too

YoSugar · 17/03/2011 17:18

DP is nearly 40 and still gets excited when he sees them....but I digress....

JiltedJohnsJulie · 17/03/2011 17:22

Unfortunately I don't get the same reaction from DH but to be fair he would probably need a magnifying glass to find them.

MrsGubbins · 17/03/2011 18:16

that one day the baby will pop off mid-feed just to smile at you and your heart will melt... I cried a river the first time she did that and DH looked at me aghast, now he's given her a feed and he was also wiping away a tear or two, soppy sod!

datadrivenmama · 17/03/2011 19:13

That a poorly baby really can be too sleepy to bf, but a few tube feeds of expressed milk later, he can be suckin like a pro.

I was absolutely distraught at the thought of DS taking milk any way but direct from the breast, but it all worked out to normal feeding in the end.

(Luckily this won't affect most mums and babies!)

Albrecht · 17/03/2011 22:03

If you are feeding the baby to sleep (which is fine and natural and lovely and not something to worry about) and the little blighter wakes a little and roots as you are sneaking away, try gently pressing their mouth closed, pushing up under their chin. Sometimes it is enough to send them back to sleep.

Meglet · 17/03/2011 22:05

that it's rather boring .

FrozenNorthPole · 17/03/2011 22:12

... that I'd be utterly dreading the day that it stops, two and a half years and an extra baby later

... that it's the ultimate way to reconnect after a day at work with a cuddle (and to let go all the stresses of the day)

... that so many people would consider it their business to tell me I should stop

... that it was a topic about whose biology, psychology, demograpy and politics I would one day lecture about with passion

orangeone · 17/03/2011 22:20

That when it hurts in the early days and you are dreading when they want a feed and for how long they want to feed, that very soon it will be so lovely you will be dreading the day they want to stop and wishing they didn't just eat and run! I miss those 'drunk on mummys milk faces'.

That you can eat cake every day and still lose weight.

That mumsnet, iplayer and DVD box sets are a must for evening cluster feeds.

That you shouldn't listen to pretty much every HV or worry about centile lines and weekly weighings if the outward signs of thriving Are present (happy baby and wet nappies etc). DD could drop if she'd had a large poo before a weighing.

5DollarShake · 18/03/2011 06:30

Tat it can be very difficult to get established, but once it is established, it's a revelation.

That, on the other hand, it can be so easy to get established, when you're a second-time arounder!

That putting your baby to your boob as soon as humanly possible after the birth can be the difference between an easy or difficult establishment of breastfeeding.

Agree with SilverSky - that the thirst and hunger are like nothing on earth!!

To ignore all the people who question you demand feeding in the early days and who go on about your greedy baby.

That you actually need the hide of a rhino, and an questioningly supreme faith in your boobs to successfully breastfeed, since there is so much misinformation out there, much of which undermines breastfeeding.

Tortoiseonthehalfshell · 18/03/2011 06:57

Necrotic tissue? Anal fissures? Dear lord.

SilverSky · 18/03/2011 19:04

To also check out the Breastfeeding Network online for advice wrt treating thrush. Turns out GPs now feck all about it. Let alone how to treat it. .

gloyw · 18/03/2011 20:39

I wish I'd known that cluster feeding was normal, and that your baby might well fuss on the breast during these times, fall asleep for a moment, then wake up apparently just as hungry as they were two hours beforehand.

And that doesn't mean you don't have enough milk, or that there's something wrong with it/you/the baby.

That it can be very demanding to start with, and that feeling hemmed in and very frustrated by it doesn't make a mother a monster, but someone who's having to adjust to a huge change in their life.

That it gets so much easier if you can get past 6 weeks. And then three months. And then six months.

marzipananimal · 18/03/2011 21:06

about biological nurturing and letting baby self attach after the birth

Muser · 19/03/2011 11:47

That you may not lose weight doing it. I haven't lost a thing. Clearly you can eat too much cake!

That the fluttery bit at the end of a feed which I thought was comfort sucking was in fact the hind milk coming through, so don't take the baby off.

I did know about cluster feeding and frequent feeding but I didn't really understand what that meant.

That the doll you practice positioning on is no practice at all, given it does not have 8 flailing arms and a head that in its excitement will turn in every direction but the one you need.

That the moment when your baby comes off your boob with a grunt of contentment and rests its head on your boob and falls asleep is one of the best moments you'll ever experience.

balroymum · 19/03/2011 22:25

That those T shirt style nursing bras are rubbish if you've got small boobies as they're too bulky and get in the way!

That although it can be really painful at first it gets so much better so quickly (they're all right when they say this as annoying as it is at the time!)

That it's called 'breast' feeding for a reason - not nipple feeding. Wish I'd seen someone doing it, then I would have understood what this meant!

That a Primark vest under a Primark top is the best homemade nursing top (vest down, top up!)

And most importantly...that what started as a huge palava (husband and I counting down painful 60 second let down, millions of precisely arranged cushions, sitting in a room on my own, muslin square tucked around boobs like a bib to prevent soaking and liberal applications of lanisoh before and after every feed) is now a 15 minute job that can be done any time, any place - even in front of my Dad! So much more convenient than bottles!

AllSheepareWhite · 19/03/2011 22:46

That it can be a little painful when the milk comes in at the beginning of a feed.

Always to have a pint of water at the ready.

That it gets easier with time.

That it is a great opportunity to catch up on all those books you bought but haven't read.

That breastfed babies don't have to poo everyday.

That you can read when they are about to bite (when teeth appear) and get your little finger in quick before they clamp on like a pitbull!

That they go through phases even as a toddler.

That you can breastfeed even when they have a full set of teeth without them biting.

That it always soothes a sick child and is far better than dioralyte at replacing essential minerals (during vomiting/diarrhoea episodes of tummy bugs), plus they think it is much tastier too :)

That they tend to regress after being sick and want it more.

That it is the best feeling in the world to know that you are giving your baby/toddler exactly what they need.

Yika · 20/03/2011 20:06

Agree with CrystalQueen - that it's not enough to decide to 'feed on demand' - you must make sure you feed them enough or you'll never establish supply and they won't thrive.

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