did you find breastfeed ing easier or harder second or third time round?

[whiteandyellowiris]

?

Easier and easier!

Second time felt harder. There was a 5 year gap and DD2 was colicky and only soothed by nursing. Add a poor latch on the left side and I was in bits.

Once the colic passed and I sorted out the latch with help from my lovely HV it went very well.

I had another big gap to DS but he fed like a dream from the word go but the MW that delivered him ran our local BF support group so checked his latch before she left (home birth) and came back to see how I was doing a couple of times in the first week. I know I was very lucky

Easier. I am not even bothered about covering up this time which cuts out a load of hassle. And knowing that the early painful days would pass kept me going.

did you feel the milk come in, in subssequent times

i know mine must have come in as my baby is now gaining weight, but i never felt it like i did first time round

first time round i woke up with a soaked top!
so i thought that was normal

Much harder second time round! Number 1 had been such an easy feeder so I was pretty shocked with number 2!N umber 3 though was a pretty easy feeder and my experience helped me to anticipate difficulties and resolve them before they became a problem so it was absolutely fine 3rd time around.

A billion times easier, DD2 knew what to do, DD1 hadn't a clue.

Nothing to do with me, I never succeeded in exclusively BFing DD1.

First time I held DD2 to my breast it just felt totally different. She obviously knew what to do. The second time I heals her there she just fed.

Sooo much easier 2nd time round thank god

For me it was hardest 3rd time around. I think DC3 had a more ferocious suck than DC1 or DC2. Also the afterbirth pains were agony!

Easier second time. DS was a lazy bugger and we ended up back.in hospital at five days as he was so dehydrated they couldn't do his heel prick blood test. Luckily I was able to express and cup feed him and then succeeded with nipple shields for 10 months.

As someone said upthread DD just seemed to kmow what to do. After 2 days of really sore nipples due to a ferocious suck action we've settled into a nice routine and at 11 weeks she's even capable of latching herself on at night whilst I sleep. [Lazy emoticon]

So far (DC2 is 8 wks) its harder second time. Shallow latch leading to cracked nipples, mastitis and now thrush! I feel like this is some sort of evil challenge.

In hindsight, I may have been a bit cocky in the beginning as I bf DC1 and thought I knew it all. I forgot that newborns can be a bit rubbish at latching on and I ignored the signs which led to bust up nipples.

I'm hoping that once we've beaten the thrush it'll be plain sailing again!

Meanwhile.. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger... This too shall pass etc etc

MUCH easier second time round.

DS1 had undiagnosed tongue tie which made it tricky, except he was my first baby, I had no idea that things were not going the way they should.

Freaking hard both times. 2yr gap. I just don't think it is easy. First had colic. Second reflux. And cracked nipples like I've never felt. Toe curling doesn't describe the depth of pain. My toes nearly reached the back of my head

Harder second time, gave up after 2 weeks, but easier 3rd and 4th.

The starting off was lots easier- I fed with total confidence in the delivery suite and dd2 was really good at rooting!!! I still remember her doing it now!!!

BUT then she had and I had mastitis twice (did not have with dd1), plus I had a 17 month old, so snuggle feeds whilst watching box sets were out!!!

And definitely agree that some babies seem to know what to do

Should say she had reflux and I had mastitis twice!!

In some ways it was a lot easier in that I knew what I was doing. It was harder in that I was also trying to entertain a toddler.
I introduced one FF a day 2nd time around but that enabled me to keep going.

No 1: easy, blissful experience from Day 1 to 14 months
No 2: v hard, latch not right and repeated mastitis, soldiered on for 14 months
No 3: latch good, feeding easy but baby ravenous and gets v angry at the breast.

Much harder second time round, DD would rather suck her thumb than latch on, when she did latch on, she was done and dusted in less than 5 mins, an efficient feeder according to HV but left me not knowing if she'd had enough. If she had been my first I would have switched to formula pretty soon but having fed my DS without any problems I had the confidence to carry on.

Easier but then I was still feeding DD1. DD2's latch wasn't so good but there was always plenty of milk flowing thanks to DD1

Much easier second time round. Simply because I felt I knew what to expect.

Not easier or harder just different. B/f twins first time round, premature, had to express as they were tube fed, then constantly feeding, midwives around at every feed though to help me.

2nd time around - I know it sounds silly but I think my boobs had milk memory and produced enough milk for 2 babies again. DD however went for quite long stretches at first between feeds which meant I had too much milk and was not just uncomfortable, it was painful. I was in agony, just sobbed constantly. Got easier later on, I was more confident but a very differentexperience.

Dc1 knew exactly what to do - mouth open like a tiny lion roaring. Dc2 not so good but because I knew it didn't have to hurt from first time, I got help with the latch v quickly and all fine by the time we left hospital.

Definitely easier with dd2 - so much so that she prefers the breast far more and often refuses the bottle. dd1 struggled with latching on at first but would later happily switch from bottle to breast - whichever was more convenient at the time. This was great as I hated feeding in public as she could be a bit fussy sometimes. Dd2 has been a nightmare to find bottles that suited!

Harder with dc2 (fed constantly, preferred one side).
Impossible with dc3 (born without a suck reflex and was tube fed).
It was dead easy with dc1 though. She def knew what to do.