What did you wish someone had told you about breastfeeding?

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that at least you get to sit down and good for getting out of the washing up!

That the baby won't necessarily open his mouth wide or turn his head when you brush his nose/lips/cheek/whatever with your nipple, the way the books claim he will...

all the things I discovered with DS2 that I didn't know with DS1....

(i.e. everything )

That sometimes you'll not to anything else all day and that that's totally normal!

leaking - particularly when getting out of the shower

How far your milk can spray if lo 'slips off'!

And don't wear tops that show wet patches....

That you really, really, really need to concentrate on getting a good latch. Ouch.

That not all newborns KNOW how to bf out of instinct

That anything and everything difficult or nasty (including thrush !!) in the first few months would soon fade away and all you have left is your heart bursting with love every time you hold your child to bf him.

That there is nothing in the world like the bond between a bf child and his mother.

leakage when you have sex, that you can do it for longer than 6 months without being wierd and that you can sit there all evening with them latched on and dozy - it's ok to go with the flow not the clock....

That cluster feeding in the evenings is NORMAL!

ditto tatties

now due with my third and I know tha it will happen but my first and 2nd I was still not sure that it was normal

to read kellymom.com and read 'bestfeeding' by renfrew, fisher and arms

that although you may feel fine feeding in public, you may feel slightly less fine when you've squirted the person next to you with you super fast let down

Oh Trinity I wish I could have that time again and not stress about it!

That you may fail miserably to breast feed your first but everything clicks with your second

I wish i'd found MN before giving birth, that if you PCOS you may over supply or not get milk come in :-( and that I'd met the kiwi pharmist who wrote down the names of the drugs and herbal stuff before giving birth instead of when DD was 9 weeks.

That they don't actually space out their feeding, much, for bloody ages, and you should stop worrying that your baby isn't 'normal' for not doing so.

that, when it goes right, it's the best feeling in the world.
about "cluster feeding" i.e. arse stuck to the sofa all evening.
that you can feed anytime and anywhere and no-one cares, really, if you just get on with it.

That it f**king hurts for the first few weeks, but if you can survive it (and if the baby can - I remember digging my nails into ds2 a couple of times), the pain goes after that and it's wonderful!

that Breastfed babies can get colic
that breastfeeding isn't always 'natural' or 'easy'.
that Breastfeeding doesn't mean your weight will come off any quicker.

That I would one day be bfeeding a toddler and wondering how to stop rather than how to get started

Ditto Harpsichordcarrion and Kamikayzed.

Be prepared to be frustrated during the first few days when both you and the baby are learning (and get plenty of nipple cream obviously) but try to stay as calm as possible and with a bit of determination, it'll come (with both of mine I found that sitting upright in a chair and laying them on a pillow on my lap helped to get a good latch). Once it's established you'll forget the early day hassles and you'll plop your boob out anytime, anyplace, anywhere, in any position!

It's the best feeling and the bond between you and your child will be fantastic.

I wan't aware they existed before I found mumsnet, but if you're having real difficulty, I would advise to try speaking to a breastfeeding support counsellor. Or, obviously, if you're not too tired, start a thread on mumsnet with your question/concerns!

That mastistis is very painful and it can happen more than once! On the good side you get to have a rest a read a book.

That co-sleeping and bf-ing lying down is the best way to get sleep with a baby who feeds round the clock.

That you can often cure mastitis naturally without anti-biotics and that anti-biotics can cause breast thrush