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Infant feeding

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

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Original poster

Is there a secret to succesful breastfeeding???

92 replies

Helenemjay · 13/12/2005 21:24

You hear so many stories of how and why breastfeeding failed or never worked out for so many people, what about the when its a great succes and baby is fed for months/years how can some people manage that and others cant?

OP posts:

merrycompo · 13/12/2005 21:24

latching

expatinscotland · 13/12/2005 21:25

determination, i guess. i just take it day by day. i know i have to express in march b/c i have to go back to work in april. i'm already expressing now, so it's a matter of her taking the bottle.

but i see everyday as a blessing b/c i didn't get to bf dd1 except for the first day of her life.

spruceylucy5 · 13/12/2005 21:26

I think it's different for everyone. For me it was persistence and learning to relax.

merrycompo · 13/12/2005 21:26

(wow Expat congrats on getting the hang of expressing this early!!)

FlameRobin · 13/12/2005 21:28

One day at a time is about the best advice I heard... never plan to feed until at least x weeks... plan to feed for today - let tomorrow happen tomorrow, and eventually you realise that you've been at it so long, it would be odd to stop.

MIstletAOU · 13/12/2005 21:28

Stick with it whilst your nipples toughen up - breastfeeding in the first month bears no resemblance to breastfeeding in subsequent months. It does get easier.

A supportive partner is worth their weight in gold. I swear that having my dh rubbing my back at 4am and telling me what a brilliant job I was doing whilst I was b/fing the baby and sobbing cos it hurt so much, was what I really needed. (Totally crap sentence but you get what I mean)

Know where to go for help if/when you need it.

NotQuiteCockney · 13/12/2005 21:28

There are a bunch of things that make a real difference:

getting baby to boob asap after birth
having good support, including someone to check latch asap after birth
cosleeping, so baby feeds a lot in the night

SantaClausFrau · 13/12/2005 21:29

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

moondog · 13/12/2005 21:29

expat...are you managing to express already???
Are the pumps ok or are you hand expressing??

Wow!!

My answer would be patience,determination,support fromyour nearest and dearest and an understanding that for a few weeks it has to be your main (nay only) priority.

Blondeinlondon · 13/12/2005 21:31

Secret is small tough nipples and a baby whose mouth gets bigger real quick!

but seriously luck, support, determination etc all play a part

GemgleBells · 13/12/2005 21:33

Lack of information.

I've been really surprised byt he amount of questions I've asked midwifes/Hv's and the wishy washy answers I've recieved. Only to find out solid answers through other sorces later on. If people don't have the proper info then they feel like they're doing something wrong and give up.

I also think that on demand feeding is also to blame. I thought than whenever she tried to suckle she was hungry. I was feeding her all - and I do mean ALL - the time. It's only now I've learnt babies like to suck for 20hours out of every 24, not feed. But because of the instruction I got in hospital I believed she was always hungry and my milk wasn't filling her up. If I'd been told that by the midwifes I'd still be exclusivly breastfeeding.

AChristmasCarolinamoon · 13/12/2005 21:34

some newborns find latching on a lot easier than others.

Some people are really keen on being able to leave the baby with other people, and if you are bfing that means a lot of expressing, which is a hassle. Giving formula for those feeds can mess up your supply and generally be the beginning of the end of bfing.

Apart from that, I think a lot is down to how much support you get from friends and family.

hunkermunker · 13/12/2005 21:35

Sobbing in a stubborn fashion got me through the tough bits at the beginning. Reading about it helped - and knowing it was very possible it might not be the blissful baby nestled in crook of arm experience it's portrayed as.

I felt I was crap at everything else that being a mum entailed (often still do) and this was one thing I could and would get right, dammit!

And believing that breast is best helped me - I did and do believe that - it was best for me and my baby, that is.

blueshoes · 13/12/2005 21:35

dd was a gentle and ardent feeder (aka the snacker). What worked for me (all 17 months of it) was to go with the flow and throw book-led schedules out the window.

moondog · 13/12/2005 21:37

Yes,if people understood that the (initial) constant sucking means that the baby is stimulating milk supply NOT that she isn't getting enough,we would have a lot more successful b/feeders in the UK.

MaryP0p1 · 13/12/2005 21:37

I don't know about a secret but I think for me it worked (10 months each baby). I would say to other Mums to be

Relax, don't worry its not the end of the world if it doesn't work first time or you use formulae and bottles.

Latching is important. Its important because if the baby latches on incorrectly it becomes very sore and uncomfortable and not the special time between you and your baby.

Get support, hopefully you have friedns and relatives helping you and looking after you.

Eat regularly

Breastfeeding is a very strange and unique experience and feels a bit odd to start with. Take each day a day at a time. With my first I hated it to start with. I continue for the first day, then time the milk came though, then for the first week, then for the first three weeks and then I didn't want to lose that time and continued with mixed feeding (had to go back to work) for 10 months.

Use your HV/midwife to support you and advise you. Also your local le leche group, NCT should also help. Sometimes the hospital run breastfeeding classses.

Good luck

hunkermunker · 13/12/2005 21:40

Oh, and the one thing that helped me above all was a decision I took early on...that if I wanted to give up in the middle of the night, I promised myself I'd wait till morning and see if I still felt the same. I never did.

Having no formula or bottles in the house is proven to mean you're more likely to be successful at bfeeding too.

tuppenceworth · 13/12/2005 21:42

For me it was persevering and learning to relax and enjoy it. The first three weeks were agony as my nipples felt like they were being rubbed with a cheesegrater but after that got better I just got on with feeding and bonding.

One of the most relaxing things I did when I was breastfeeding was ds and I would have a warm bath in the afternoon and we'd lie on the double bed wrapped in a fleece (ds wearing only a nappy) and we had total skin to skin contact and he'd feed and we'd both fall asleep very contentedly. I really, really recommend it!

I think one big part is just to relax!

RacersTheRedNosedReindeer · 13/12/2005 21:42

Agreed on all of this. Definately helped having DH rub my back and tell me how well I was doing! However, I did set myself a target (3m, changed to 4m, then 6m, then err not sure) but this helped me as I was determined to meet my own targets - though having said that I also knew very well that every day was of benefit.

In addition, I didn't buy any formula for fear of resorting to it too quickly.

Oh I had something else but I've got distracted. Will post if I think of it.

blueshoes · 13/12/2005 21:43

Gemglebells, just read your post. Agree that health professionals know squat about bf-ing. Even my lactation consultant was suspect. Bf-ing is so much more than being a human bottle.

ISawFrannyandZooeyKissingSanta · 13/12/2005 21:44

Eating vast amounts of cake.

Well it worked for me.

expatinscotland · 13/12/2005 21:44

compo,
thanks to mears, i started doing it before roisin came, just hand express into syringe.

last night tried for real - left nip blisterd and milk is IN. wow! im a moo cow.

had lots of leaks before roisin born so have good supply.

pump is working fine! think might invest in lactaline. milk is frozen till it's time for her to have bottle before i go back to work.

i am still only able to get her latched w/her under my arm. made SUCH a difference!

so does co-sleep.

and patience. she nurse about 1 hour at time.

my parents are here next week so i am letting house go to hell.

have brill DH, too, cuz dd1 (2.5) is having sleep disturbances due to new baby adjustment.

hunkermunker · 13/12/2005 21:45

Trying different holds helped me too - I fed in the cross cradle hold (holding boob baby's feeding on) for about three months - was bloody uncomfy for my back, but was the only way I could latch him on - his head was smaller than my boob (and he had a BIG Head!) and getting his newborn wobbly head and my boob all cradled in one arm in perfect feeding unison just wasn't gonna happen! Needed guidance, shall we say?

morningpaper · 13/12/2005 21:45

Peer support

Perserverance

Not screaming when your newborn throws up half your nipple.

hunkermunker · 13/12/2005 21:46

EPIS am SO glad that things are working out for you - brilliant on the expressing front and stockpiling for return to work! Hope DS is settled soon - glad you have support x x x

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