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!

How many breastfeeding mums actually give there dd/ds a formula bottle just before bed? - i did this with ds2 and he started to sleep through at 6 weeks old and has done ever since - he is 3 in feb, but i havent done it this time with dd, she has only breastmilk, and she is at almost 11 weeks still getting up about 2-3 times a night! i know she may well have done with formula or not but i was just curious as to how many people do give their lo's just one bottle before bed?

Hunker, the rare feeling of solidarity was empowering

(the lack of banal buggy talk topped it all off)

TBH, I didn't find it made any difference to DS, as he woke up every hour for a feed regardless. I could have shoved a four cousre slap up meal down his cakehole before bed, and he still would have woken with his mouth open looking for "nork" an hour later

LOL!!! sorry i just read your post badger!! LOL!!!

Oh PMSL!!! you lot are soooo funny!!! LOL!! with the slap up meal, my dd is getting like that!

LMAO @ badger!!!!! Yes, talking about baby's bowel movements is hardly stimulating.

I went to a bf mother's group once, and it was full either of bored looking women (me), or women who had the intellectual capacity of a nit.

I never felt islated when I was exclusively bfing, as I had a whole library of DVDs and a packet of biscuits close at hand at all times.

I was determined to 'fill' dd last night before i went to bed as she WAS going to sleep well! She tried in vain to snack and nap - NO i stuffed that boob right back in and insisted she ate! in the end i had sat and fed her for about an hour and a half with her sucking most of the time, it wasnt until she pulled away and her head fell back she had milk coming out of the side of her mouth and no lie she was groaning that i stopped and figured maybe she'd had enough she slept until 5am!!!

Yes, I used to do that. DS got stuffed so full with milk he looked like he was going to pop.

LOL she did! her face was all 'uugggghhhh' looking! it was the groaning that cracked me up, dp thought it was so cute!

We used to laugh at DS, becuse his head used to go all lollopy, and he'd be sleepy.

Bless em' arent they cute! i love the way they just zonk out!

Intergal, you are so right.

So, there we have it, a negative side to socialising when breastfeeding ~ you're a captive audience, at the mercy of any (and more usually every) nappy brained norknpoop (topical) that comes along.

Being a 'lone' breastfeeder is goooood! (Monkeyworld is better )

yeah, lone BF rocks! I prefer to just let it all hang out, lying on the sofa, gazing adoringly at ds........or better still, catching a sneaky 40 winks whilst he chomps.

I have just skimmed over the messages here. My DS is almost 12 weeks and for the past week he has been munching away on my boobs almost constantly. We had a lovely routine, but that just seems to have gone out the window. I am getting really really tired and just don't know what to do next. I wondered if it was because he is a big baby, he weighed 14lb 15oz at 10weeks5days old!! He also suffers from really bad wind.
Does anybody else have the problem I have, DS falls asleep with every single feed he has? TIRED, TIRED, TIRED!!

Hi, I fed my DS until he was 17 months old. We survived the going back to work stage at 7 months and me having an operation at 8 months. He self weaned at 17 months and I was quite devastated but pleased that it had been his choice rather than mine. 6 weeks after he stopped I was delighted to be pregnant with DD. She is 8 months old and was exclusively breastfed till 6 months. With DS I gave a bottle of EBM each evening and he slept brilliantly. I couldn't be bothered to do that this time and DD also sleeps brilliantly - wish I hadn't bothered last time now!! I think that you have a lot more confidence in your ability the second time round and are more laid back about the whole thing. I love breastfeeding and I am trying not to look ahead to a time when I don't do it. DD will be my last baby (hopefully!) and I'll probably only have about a year left of feeding her.
To all those feeding a young baby - it does get easier and the effort you put in now is so worth it in the end.

loopyredangel - I shouldn't worry about the size, he is obviously healthy! my ds was over 15lb at 10 weeks.

DS suffered with wind. I was told that it was because he got to much fore milk which can be hard from them to digest. So I made sure he fed from the side he last fed from and that I didn't swap sides until he had fed for 20-30 mins from one side. (even if that was spread over a few feeds. I expressed the other side if it got engorged). That may be why he is constantly feeding? If you swap sides too quickly, he might not be getting to the hind milk which is more filling. That worked for me. hth

loopyredangel, I agree with what teabags said. It may also be worth bearing in mind that this age is a common age for a growth spurt.

When DD's went through growth spurts, their feeding seemed to be non stop for that week or two. It's their way of upping your milk supply to meet their needs, once he's achieved that you'll probably find that his feeding settles down again.

HTH

$;K$0d lying down to feed is working. Great minds think alike, eh? Something else that might help is nursing beads - supposedly gives the lo something to focus on and twiddle while BF so as to minimise distractions from other sources.. I got a lovely one from here as my ds was not only distractible, but also took to nipping and scratching me, the little monkey .. Might be worth a try and if doesn't work it always looks nice..

Oops, don't know what happened there
Should read Teabags, glad lying down to feed.....

I read that as one long swear-word, tatties!!

Ds has a habit of thumping me in the chest when feeding - it's often his way of telling me his nappy is uncomfortably wet - he will hold onto my finger though most of the time, although I do occasionally get smacked in the chops!

lol Miaou, I don't swear

yes Tatties, I thought you were swearing too!Beads may be worth a go. DS likes to scrunch my boob up with his sharp little nails and ping my bra strap. The things they get away with

Loopyredangel - Sounds like a growth spurt - keep going!!

REALLY REALLY recommend Infacol before each feed. Dd (now 5mths) has never been able to burp without it and turns purple if I miss a dose. She went from waking 3/4 times a night v windy to sleeping thru after the first day of using it - you can get it on prescription or it's about 3 quid.

yes, infacol is great. I used it together with gripe water. GP said it was fine to use both.

P.S. Do any mumsnetters know if this statement is true...?

'The more your baby feeds, the more calories you burn up, the more you can eat!'