100% breastfeeders - please come and say hello - feeling a little isolated here!

[Miaou]

I'm the only bfeeder in RL in my group of friends, and it seems that much of my postnatal group on here is mixed feeding. I've now reached the point where the tiredness is getting to me and I have reached a low ebb. Many people (out of kindness) have suggested I should begin weaning or introduce a bottle, which I am really not ready to do. Fortunately dh backs me all the way but I would like to chat to other 100% breastfeeders (past or present), just to reassure me that I'm not my own!

Just come and say hello and maybe we can offer each other a boost if/when we are feeling down!

my dd currently uncovers my boob when feeding!she hates my 'trying to be discreet' technique,and if i carry on trying to cover up,she just screams!also if i'm feeding and she hears a noise or someone says something,she turns her head and takes my nipple with her!!!its a 'clench your teeth and smile' moment!!! can also be v.embarressing if someone is sat opposite talking to you!!

Not had chance to read whole thread but I am a 100% breastfeeder (sounds like a confession )and also quite new to mumsnet.

DD is 11 weeks old tomorrow and I have had the odd wobble- see other threads re expressing- but plan to carry on for as long as poss. Ds now aged 3 was only BF for 3 weeks and that was mixed feeding, so glad it's going better this time.

IKWYM three little babies, "Hi, my name is Miaou and I'm a 100% breastfeeder"

Thank you all for your posts, this thread is such a boost when I am feeling down. Highlander, thank you so much for your offer of the breast pump. I'm kind of dithering on whether to take you up on it atm! Part of me thinks I ought to have another go and therefore leave him with other people, and part of me knows that I can't bear to let him out of my sight and the breastfeeding is a reason not to be away from him for long! Dh is always encouraging me to leave him for short periods (eg to go to church, visit the school etc) but I get very stressed about it. Perhaps I should take you up on it...

Stephanie, good on you for reporting the horrible nurse - good grief! I'm glad you got such a positive response back too. The mixed messages that we are receiving from society really don't help do they? Breast is best - but only if you do it where no one else can see and don't even think of doing it beyond three months....

Just saying hello, not read the whole thread
DS was 100% breastfed til 8 mths and is now mixed fed at 9 mths

Sorry to be thick but what does RL stand for?

Real Life - that which you do when you aren't mumsnetting

just taken my dd to the doctor for her flu jab (she has cystic fibrosis) and told gp that dd is still breastfeeding.she couldnt praise breastfeeding enough,saying mums should be encouraged more to feed for longer.my dd is 15 months old,and ive been wanting to stop (but feel guilty because dd is ill and i know that breast milk is better than any other milk for her as its easier for her to digest).my gp has given me a boost,and said that dd will probably wean herself off.has anyone else let their baby wean themselves off?is this normal to feel so guilty about giving up?

Hello everyone! this is such a good thread - have been reading some of the messages so far, its good to see im not on my own with some of the problems i have been experiencing - im the only one of my group of friends that is breast feeding most have only 'tried' it briefly and the rest never bothered at all, so im the odd one out! we all took our lo's to a wacky warehouse place the other day, and the amount of women there who had such a look of shock and disaproval when i bfed my dd! i suppose i might accept it from people occasionally, but i find it strange coming from other mothers of young children! After a while i started to feel like i was the only person in the world who was breastfeeding but then i come on here and im not the odd one out after all

Hiya stephanie21! my ds2 weaned himself off at about 6 months, i wanted to feed him alot longer but he was having none of it and flat out refused to take my milk! i still felt very sad and guilty about it even though it was his decision, so i suppose you have those feelings either way - its kind of an end of an era isnt it when you stop breastfeeding, no matter how old they are, breastfeeding is an 'extra' closeness that i dont feel your ever ready to loose!

hi helenemjay,it is reassuring isnt it,coming in here and seeing that other people experience the same things as you!none of my friends bf,and one of my friends almost breaks her neck trying to turn head when im feeding!!its stupid when you think that years ago every baby was breastfed!there never used to be formula milk.i found it often goes from one extreme to the other,you sometimes get people totally disgusted with you,and times when people just stare and make YOU feel awkward!!there should be more awareness,after all,its the most natural thing in the world.

Stephanie21- dd self-weaned at 13 months. One night had a bedtime feed and the next evening - just wasn't interested. Had really mixed feelings. Happy that she did what she wanted and that I hadn't forced the issue. Sad that it was the end of an era.

Miaou, have emailed you. Can you CAT or email me your address, as have managed to lose it (again).

i think thats why im feeling so guilty,i feel as if im forcing her to stop.i think i need to make a definate decision though,to stop or let her decide when she wants to stop.dont fancy leaving it too long,dont think sticking nipple through school gate is very acceptable!!!

Lol!! - would be abit chilly too stephanie21, how long would you be happy to bfeed for? I met one of my sisters friends the other day and her ds had just weaned himself off breastfeeding and he had just turned 3! - she was lovely and it worked well for her, but im really really not sure if i could bfeed a 3 year old! She said he just decided he didnt want to anymore, he said no more mummy im a big boy now! she said she was quite sad about it for a while but he had to stop at some point!

Im sorry if i sound really stupid, but how do you breastfeed older babies? i mean little babies kind of just 'tuck in' when you hold them, what do bigger babies do, do they just kind of have a cuddle? - sorry i sound like a right old nutbag! i just got curious!

what do u mean by older babies? dd3 is 9months old and we just have a cuddle, its sweet actually as she looks at me more, when younger she used to eep her eyes closed lol.

Aww! yes dd only glances at me occasionally - then shuts her eyes! i mean kids that are about 18 months or 2 years i dont know of anyone apart from my sisters friend who bfed longer than about a year, but when i met her i couldnt help looking at this child who was HUGE for his age - he looked about 5! how did that work then? i couldnt imagine my 3 year old still being breastfed - not that i have anything against it at all! it just seems so strange to me!

my dd is 15 months but is only small.shes in size 9-12 months clothes.we just cuddle and she pulls up my top when she wants a feed (can be embaressing when your out and about!!)i think that if shes still feeding after xmas,i'll try cutting her feeds down.i give her bottles of cows milk and ive tried her on just about every formula on the market.but all she does is mess with it and i end up thinking shes going to de-hydrate or something,so i get my boobs out for her!i dont think i could feed a 3 year old though.think of all them teeth!!!

Lol! i know! - teeth brrrr i know if i had fed my ds2 long enough he would have bitten me for sure! - he's a bugger!

But you don't breastfeed a three-year-old - well, you do, but you don't suddenly have a three-year-old Oh, I know what I mean!

Hunker, I know what you mean. Yes it would be weird to suddenly start BF your 3yr old if you have never done it or haven't done it for a long time. But if you have always done it then it's still just your baby isn't it? In much the same way as when you see them every day you don't notice them growing..

My dd2 is 9 weeks old and exclusively breastfed. With dd1 I gave into pressure to give her formula somewhere around the 4-5 month mark. All my RL postnatal group had and their babies slept throughout the night and my dd1 didn't. The formula did nothing excpet deplete our bank balance a little

DD1 slept through the night around 5-6 months and she has been a wonderful sleeper ever since - whereas my friends who had good sleepers initially have had more sleep problems with their toddlers.

Well done for doing what you want to do and for coming here to gain the appropriate support. I fully understand your need for support.

hello Miaou,
well done for giving you LO such a great start in life.
Im still feeding my 22mth old, in fact typing this one handed!! while she has a 'snack'. Never thought I wopuld be feeding for so long. I am just too lazy to stop!

re feeding older ones, I guess you just adapt I tend to use my legs to support her rather than my arms (If you see what I mean) Also she is on the small side so that helps, but so am I so I guess that evens it up!!!!

Ignore well meaning but unhelpful advice and do what you and LO want to do.

Good luck

Beatie - had exactly the same experience with dd - terrible sleeper until 10 months. Then brill. All those with early good sleepers had problems later on - by which time lack of sleep was more of a shock.

Well i plan on breastfeeding dd until she wants to stop! - so i may find out what its like to feed an older baby! im having a bugger of a job with blocked ducts though, it always seems to be my right side and its hurting like hell today! have tried concentrating on her latch but that seems to be ok, im scoffing ibuprofens like there smarties latley! im obviously doing something wrong with it being the same side all the time - its the side she least likes too - hmmmm...... maybe she's sabotaging that boob