thinking about breastfeeding but keep hearing horror stories!

[mamadiva]

I bottle fed ds 6 years ago as didn't know anyone who had bf so was clueless and had only really heard my mums rather sceptical view.

now expecting dc2 and would like to give it a go as one of my best friends has successfully feed 2 children now and speaks about how easy it is but I'm still getting the olds horrors (bf babies scream constantly, babies constantly attached, feeding outdoors, don't know how much their getting, painful bla bla bla) and given that I have to return to work when baby is 6 months what if I can't express put baby won't take a bottle?

Argh so much please tell me your experiences and Howe to combat these issues.

With the not knowing how much LO is drinking: if you have a sicky baby you don't know even with formula. The number of times I'm fed DS and then mopped half a feed off my dress means all I know is my boobs are definitely producing milk. (Note that the HV is unconcerned about this because he;s still young, doesn't appear to be in pain, goes through nappies like they're going out of fashion and is putting on loads of weight. But I say this to reassure that trying to measure input gives no indication as to what they get the chance to digest.)

Pain: its sometimes uncomfortable but less than hair grabbing/finger nails. Mild pain is something you just get.

Sleep: DS started sleeping through at about 5 weeks. Prior to this I was waking up, lifting him out of moses basket, lying him next to me and feeding him like that. If you can get the MW in hospital to show you how this is soo much easier when you are tired. Check the cosleeping guidelines though: we lost the thick heavy duvet for this. You don't need to cosleep all the time, DS was usually in our bed 1-2 hours because we both went to sleep then I'd lift him back (or even better, poke DH and make him get out from the comfy bed) so I had more space again.

Feeding outdoors is fine. Do a couple of "discrete feeding" practise sessions in your own home and then just go for it. At first I tried to dash home/find somewhere private but DS being upset bothered me far more than whatever anyone might think. You may get old ladies saying "how lovely" and a smile from other mums, but everyone is too busy in their own lives to worry about whether a baby is being breastfed or cuddles. Remember that criticisms of breastfeeding are newsworthy because they're rare.

If you're not terribly organised BF is very helpful: its not possible to forget to take milk for your baby when you're still getting used to life together.

Finally its the first feed that is the most beneficial and if it really isn't suiting then you can always change to ff. And expressing isn't compulsary (unless you're counting if you get a blocked duct and need to get it clear with a hot shower).

i was adament i would bf and very laid back about the whole thing. never ever bought any bottles or formula to pack in my hospital bag and to keep at home. in fact i didnt even contemplate ff. i didnt read up on bf as i figured that my body would know what to do, and it did. i ended up with a emcs and still have never had one single problem bf. dont set your self up for problems. most people have very few issues bf.
i bf on demand and it is so easy!!! i just whip them out wherever, whenever now and no one notices! i wear nice pretty bras and once passed the 8 week stage my boobs were pretty much normal size again and rarely leak now.
my dd never screams. never. in fact she rarely even cries. she is so happy and contented and i love the fact you can use the boob for a multitude of problems. to feed, to soothe, to comfort, to ease boredom, to ease pain.
she's 15 weeks now and from day one has fed anywhere from every 30 mins to every 4 hours.
um what else... oh, i use the boob to feed to sleep and she goes down within 5 mins and often sleeps for 5-6 straight. no rocking to sleep, no midnight drives. as soon as she stirs i pop her on and bring her into bed and were both asleep within 10 mins. i am not very organised so love the fact i dont have to bother with bottles.
my dp can also take dd out for 2-3 hours at a time with no expressed milk or bottle as she's happy to go that long without a feed. um, i also eat and drink what i like, dont worry about caffine intake and enjoy a glass of wine most nights.
as you can tell- i think its all pretty amazing. think i posted a similar post to yours before i had dd about all the horror stories and as someone said you only ever read about the problems. no one ever posts about how easy they find b f!!!!

Just wanted to add another positive experience. I think the problem you have highlighted is that people are much more likely to share their horror stories than tell you when they haven't had problems.

I BF DD for 13 months with no issues and it was fantastic. It was mildly painful/uncomfortable for the first few seconds for maybe 1-2 weeks then I barely felt it. Pros and cons have ll been listed by others but for me the main pro was the convenience - like others here, I'm intrinsically lazy and it was definitely the easier option!

Also, my view is that most of the pros of bottle feeding apply to you as the mum rather than the baby (e.g. Not having to do all the feeds, not having to bare your breasts in public, etc.). There are lots of aspects of bringing up children that aren't necessarily what you would choose to be doing (changing nappies, listening to the same nursery rhyme over and over, getting up at 5.30am) but you give your best shot because you put the needs of your child first.

And I second the advice about visiting your local breast feeding drop-in before the baby is born. If nothing else it will help to "normalise" breast feeding and introduce you to some other mums in the same position. Ours runs at the local Children's Centre.

I bottle fed my first two children but am 8 months into BF'ing my 3rd and he has never had formula.I have no intention of stopping anytime soon!

Read up on it as much as you can and go for it...dont buy formula "just incase" and concentrate on getting it established as this is the hardest part.

I am very passionate about breastfeeding now..it is the loveliest thing i have ever done and just wish with all my heart i could say i had done it for my other children.

I actually had a rough time of it (tongue-tie finally diagnosed and fixed at 7 weeks; DD's now 15 weeks), but I am sooo glad I made BF work. As others have said, to me it just seemed the easier option. And just last week we had what would have been a crisis for FF -- car broke down in the middle of nowhere, coming back in the evening after a whole day out, and an already long trip took 6 hours extra! But there was no stress about feeding the baby, as we could BF along the side of the road just as well as anywhere else. I was really glad then I wasn't worrying about clean bottles and having enough formula left (and would you have to warm it??) as the hours went by and we had no idea when the tow-truck would find us.

And even things I was scared of, for example, mastitis sounded horrendous, wasn't so bad. I got that, and cracked nipples, and it just wasn't as terrible as I'd feared. The power of hormones is pretty strong!

Oh, and DD is a quiet baby :)

Madscimum - I had a hard time too (see post higher up) and I agree entirely with your post :) DS is nearly 5 months now and it's so easy - I just hope he doesn't self wean before 1 as I really can't be bothered with anything else now!