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Infant feeding

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

ive been reading the 'contented little baby book' by gina ford and is it me but.........

142 replies

jayjaybaby · 20/04/2006 20:10

hi im considering breast feeding and the woman seems to know whats she's on about but im confused about a few things
does she mean establish her routines whilst in the hospital
will i not succeed if i dont have an electric expressor
when she says tart with five minutes at each breast to start with does she mean literally just feed for ten minutes
any advice from you who have tried and suceeded or failed with method i'd love to hear from you as ireally want to everything i can to breast feed
thanksGrin

OP posts:
marthamoo · 20/04/2006 20:20

Can't MN just have a rule that we don't mention her at all? I don't see why she should get any kind of positive publicity when she's made it quite clear that she (and her lawyers) won't tolerate bad?

And that's it - I will say no more about her. Just makes me see red Angry

lockets · 20/04/2006 20:21

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

jayjaybaby · 20/04/2006 20:21

ive also read all the miriam stoppard books the nhs preganancy books and an nct book on pregnancy book can you recommend any specific bf books to broaden my horizons then was given it by a friend who said she followed it for a bit then baby decided to do the opposite lol
didnt realise it was such a hot potato Blush sorry Blush

OP posts:
harpsichordcarrier · 20/04/2006 20:21

jayjaybaby we are all a bit constrained in what we can say here Smile
plenty of people bf very successfully without following Gina Ford
If you really want to establish successful bf I would personally ask for advice on here - I am currently studying towards teaching in this area and I have read much more useful advice on here than I have ever read in any book

georginarf · 20/04/2006 20:21

ExpatinScotland is right. For breastfeeding advice, you can't beat and NCT BF counsellor or La Leche League. Some hospitals run drop in BF clinics with NCT bods as well - I know mine did and it was great.

Do not get stressed if the baby seems to be permanently attached to you for days on end. It's totally normal!

FastasleepInTheHellPit · 20/04/2006 20:22

Whoops sorry, having a stressy evening and went trigger happy with the keyboard then before reading...apologies to the poor wee newbie! xxx

Welcome jayjaybaby hope you have fun on MN, don't worry bout me I'm a nutcase

expatinscotland · 20/04/2006 20:22

it's NOT your fault, jayjay. you'll find some excellent support on this site, too. there are some very experienced expressers, breastfeeders and mixed feeders.

so welcome aboard!

jayjaybaby · 20/04/2006 20:23

all i can say is oh my god Blush

OP posts:
LIZS · 20/04/2006 20:23

Beware - this topic should carry a health warning as it could become the subject of much heated debate and raise your stress levels and blood pressure!

GF's CLB is designed to be taken literally but her theories (she has no children of her own) are not always compatible with current thinking regarding establishing and continuing breastfeeding. Have you attended any antenatal classes focussing on breastfeeding yet such as NCT, La Leche league particularly one where you could talk to a new mum ? You may well be better off finding a local Breastfeeding counsellor and support network who could offer personal and practical advice both before and after the baby arrives.

georginarf · 20/04/2006 20:23

oh and you don't need an electric expressor to succeed. Spend your money on chocs and DVDs for you to watch as you're feeding Smile

harpsichordcarrier · 20/04/2006 20:24

I agree with georginarf Smile
and I ain't no expert but I have bf for three years non stop through a pregnancy and now tandem feeding two very healthy children
well one has chickenpox but I can hardly be blamed for that now can I

Caligula · 20/04/2006 20:25

I don't know of a single acknowledged breastfeeding expert who recommends timing a feed as you described in your original post JJB.

There may of course, be one. Someone else may know of one.

I'd also recommend that you talk to the NCT and also, a book I found great was called Bestfeeding. Will try and find a link for you

wilbur · 20/04/2006 20:25

jayjaybaby - I will try to answer your questions (without getting anyone into trouble) as I used Gina Ford's books with all three of mine and found them helpful. I never followed them to the letter as I felt that they were too strict for me but as I say, they were helpful. I don't think you need even think of starting her routines in the first few weeks (I started at about 5 weeks which is also when I started expressing), I know the book says from 2 weeks, but it is a very rare baby that would be interested in that. In the very early days, yes, a feed could only be about ten minutes long, newborns are tiny and sleep often and eat often and it takes a while for them to be able to take the breast for longer. I always found that her lengths of time for feeding were too long, if anything, and that my babies were happy and satisfied after shorter times. Once they were past the first few weeks, if they did fall asleep on the breast very quickly after starting a feed, I would wake them up and try to get them to have a little more so that they were fuller.

You don't need an electric pump, you don't NEED a pump at all, but they are useful if you are going to want to go out every now and then, or hand an evening feed over to your dh/dp.

Above all, do what you are comfortable with. Enjoy your baby and don't feel guilty about anything. If you find useful information in a book, great, if you find your instincts to be better, then that's great too. Good luck!

marthamoo · 20/04/2006 20:26

jayjay, my advice would be...stop reading all these parenting and childbirth type books and read some good novels instead as you won't get chance once the baby arrives Grin I think breast-feeding is something that - if you need support with it - is best done with hands on type help from a supportive midwife/breast-feeding counsellor/LaLeche league/NCT after the baby is born.

jayjaybaby · 20/04/2006 20:26

my dh says the choc and dvd sounds good i dont think he realises they are for me
does haveing massive boobs make things harder as im already a 36l im scared im gonna smother the babyBlush

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 20/04/2006 20:27

breast size makes NO difference to successful breastfeeding. women of any size can breastfeed.

Caligula · 20/04/2006 20:28

Everyone I knew always recommended the Avent pump to me - that's a manual and it's about £25 (or it was then)

beansprout · 20/04/2006 20:29

A friend of mine has a J cup and is successfully feeding at the moment Smile

WigWamBam · 20/04/2006 20:29

I preferred to take my advice from someone who has actually breastfed, and I found that good advice was available from La Leche League or the NCT. The NCT have a number of publications about breastfeeding, leaflets as well as books, and I found them most useful.

At first it's hard to get a "routine" for breastfeeding started - just feed when the baby seems to want to. Which can be every ten minutes to start with! But feeding on demand is one of the things that gets your supply moving, so imo starting with any routine from the beginning is counterproductive.

You don't need an electric pump. You can manage to breastfeed perfectly well without expressing at all, if you choose to. GF recommends expressing and giving the expressed milk at a particular time, but if you are breastfeeding it's usually easier just to offer the breast instead rather than faffing around with bottles. Giving an expressed feed, particularly in the early days, may interfere with your milk production as well. You may find you want to express later on, in case you want to leave the baby with someone else to feed, but you will probably want to get breast-feeding well established first.

I don't know what GF means when she suggests five minutes at each breast to start with, but the usual advice (and what worked for me) was to feed from each side for as long as my dd wanted to, and then offer the other side - she usually didn't want it. Feeds were shorter to begin with, when I was only producing colostrum, but once the milk came in and I got better at feeding, dd wanted to feed for longer. Once feeding is established, if you only offer five minutes at each side you will probably only be giving foremilk rather than the more calorific hindmilk, which won't be enough to satisfy your baby.

With regard to breast size, I was a 48K when I was feeding, and I managed it for 2 years without suffocating my baby! It really makes no difference at all.

jayjaybaby · 20/04/2006 20:30

thank you all for your very honest opinions which is why i love mn its so balanced i wish they were a real live group of people that i could actually have a coffee with every week i lost my job in november and than got pregnant and i find being at home quite isolating

ooh sorry about that pg hormones then but really thank you

OP posts:
Tipex · 20/04/2006 20:31

This reply has been deleted

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Hattie05 · 20/04/2006 20:36

Trust your maternal instincts. It may be impossible to imagine it now, but believe me when your baby comes along, you'll just know that when he/she cries it is time to feed and that is that. Please don't stress yourself about routines at such a young age (the baby i mean not you Grin).
Go with the flow and you'll have a far more enjoyable experience with your newborn.

Caligula · 20/04/2006 20:38

Here's that book - \link{http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1587611953/026-7688450-5075656#product-details\book link}

They've got it listed on e-bay as well. I don't know what I ever did with my copy.

sfxmum · 20/04/2006 20:42

re breast size, you might want to look into several feeding positions, it worked for me. i found the 'normal way' (baby across your front) a bit difficult. but its not the same for all of course, i am sure you will find what works best for you and your baby.
i found nct and kellymom very helpful
best of luck

threebob · 20/04/2006 20:46

Your baby will feed a lot, it's normal and it can take some getting used to - but if you are prepared to have a baby attached all of day 2, then when it happens at least you know you are normal.

If you feed your baby when the baby wants feeding you will not need a breast pump at all.

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