breastfeeding blues.........

[bubblepop]

right this might cause a storm. but to all you breastfeeding mums please answer this honestly.....did you feel like your usual self when you were breastfeeding?

i breastfed all of my four children, 2 exclusively and 2 combine fed. i can honestly say that although i enjoyed it, i did'nt really feel back to my old self until i gave it up completely, and my periods returned. i was very hormonal when i was feeding and it was a bit like having permanent pmt, i was very slightly depressed. is it just me??

No, i feel fine. Am still b/feeding my DS at 11 months and im enjoying NOT having had an af for over 21 months.

My AF has always been painful and preceded by PMT so i will be b/feeding as long as poss.

Somewhere in between. I was either pg, bf or both for 3 1/2 yrs and when I stopped bf DD2 I was very glard to get my body back to myself!

Am hoping to bf longer this time (ds is 4 weeks) and enjoy no af.

Somewhere in between. I was either pg, bf or both for 3 1/2 yrs and when I stopped bf DD2 I was very glard to get my body back to myself!

Am hoping to bf longer this time (ds is 4 weeks) and enjoy no af.

no I didn't. Which is why I didn't breastfeed for very long, well one of the reasons.

Well I loved it and was sad when it ended...
BF is a very hormonal process adn we all react differently.

Am still b/feeding DS who is 9 months & still enjoy it. Am very much enjoying no periods!! However, I do feel very tired often & wonder if that is due to the feeding.

I get very hungry / greedy when I bf so I will be glad to stop from that point of view. I like the snuggles though so I am going to feed for at least two years again.

I've only got one atm, but I do feel a bit more together now than I did a few months ago. Ds is 16mo and we've cut down to one bf, ds having previously been a nork-monster.

But I've no idea if that's more to do with looking after him as a toddler rather than as a baby, or with me getting more into the SAHM groove, rather than anything to do with bfing.

Hormonal changes do seem to make me a bit depressed though, so maybe it was the bfing. Will have to do it again to see if it's the same next time .

well I love it. I get loads of time to sit and mumsnet - albeit one handed. I have had very few hormonal skin break outs. I am tired but I don't blame bf for that
yes i feel like my usual self - but better

I love it too. I was extremely tired at first but I think that is a baby generally rather than bf. I didn't get on very well with expressing and things got much easier when I stopped that.

The only big difference since DD stopped being exclusively bf is that I have got my libido back . can honestly say that I didn't feel like sex very much when i was completely bf as my body seemed busy elsewhere. When she started solids at 6 months, I cut down the bf a bit and got AF back when she was 9 months old. Things got back to normal a bit then (sorry if TMI).

Hope you feel better soon.

I always feel my old self when bf-ing (although I wouldn't normally gt my breasts out in the window of Starbucks so maybe I do feel different) However, my periods returned whilst bf-ing so I@m rather jealous of those of you for whom they stayesd away.

I feel like I have permanent pmt - funny you mention it

Snap bubblepop.
Both times.

Pregnancy and breastfeeding seem to suit me hormonally very well. I have suffered from depression on and off all my life and feel 100 times better since having dp.

me too Franny
never felt (or looked) so well. My skin has cleared up. My libido has increased and my capacity for ahem pleasure too.....

Well I can't compete with that. I just feel less miserable than usual :)