Can I ask for some breastfeeding positives please.

[Lola247]

I am due my first baby in 5 weeks and plan to breastfeed. I think I am pretty armed with information and well aware it could be awfully painful/uncomfortable/tiring to begin with. I am doing it purely because I believe it is best thing for my baby but I am dreading it. Are there any other real positives other than the health benefits for my baby? ( that being the most important obviously)! Thanks

goodbeans I completely agree.

Going on holiday with a 3 month old baby was a breeze. I had a tiny newborn in a sling, couple of nappies in my handbag and could stay out all day, even with a baby that was hungry every hour or two.

Easy peasy

You get lovely snuggles and cuddles with you baby/pre-toddler. Great attachment bond. It’s free, no hassle with bottles and formula when out or at night time. Helped me lose all pregnancy weight and was thinner post birth than had been for a while pre birth!
You can still express and try bottles so partner/family can feed baby (I did this very early on so baby was ok with bottle or boob (however DD much preferred boob!)).

I found breastfeeding extremely painful for the first 2-3 weeks. Found it helped to pump as soon as milk came in and to relieve pressure when required. Try and persevere it’s worth it for your baby and you x good luck xx

I found it was totally worth the investment of time and the initial frustration of getting the hang of it. I ended up loving it and finding it very soothing myself. I never ran out of milk, or had to worry about getting up in the night, making sure bottles were clean etc., as other people have said. It is a bit of an alien concept, I suppose, but then so is sex before the hormones kick in!

dont dread it.its not always sore(actually more of a relief usually)close your eyes and count to ten....ok... see when you hit no 2. thats about how quickly it goes.really.enjoy every bit of your baby,however you happen to feed them..as long as you do.x

The first month was hard (still had lots of lovely moments!) but we're now 4 months in and it is easy. I'm so glad I stuck with it.

We had the midwives out everyday for 2 weeks helping us with feeding. Don't be afraid to ask for support! Demand it, actually, and don't be fobbed off. I also watched tons of youtube videos and joined online support groups. Really great when I was struggling.

I find it really soothing! I can be stressed out and so anxious but I sit down and can just relax while I feed DS. I love snuggling him while he feeds. It's so sweet the way he looks up at me and smiles.

It is really convenient. I've fed in all sorts of places! No waiting for kettles or measuring powder and so on. No worries about sterilising things or boiling water etc. When I've expressed milk and had to use a steriliser and clean bottles and things it's such a faff. I exclusively pumped for my first and now I wonder how I managed it!

DS sleeps through now so I do wake up a little bit engorged but it just means I can feed from one boob and pump from the other and build up a little stash of milk.

I have to admit, I do like all the praise we get from DS's doctors etc. for doing it. Is that bad?! I've only ever had positive comments from people when feeding in public too.

Overall, it's just a lovely thing to do and I enjoy it.

For all it's tough at first once established, it's quick and easy. You don't have to faff around preparing feeds and sterilising bottles. Night feeds are so much easier when all you have to do is pick up your baby and off you go.

By all means give it a go but if you're already dreading it please don't let your well being suffer. At the end of the day your baby would rather have a happy mother.

When it works its wonderful. My first dd breastfed easily; don't assume it will be painful or difficult because it may not be! But also don't be disappointed if it is. Many positives but my main one was the fact that a feed was always ready wherever or whenever she wanted it. Oh, the freedom of it was great! Good luck xx

It can be tough, frustrating, confusing and extraordinarily painful in the beginning but oh my goodness it is so beautiful when it's established. You are just so close to your baby and they are so perfectly happy and content and it's all down to you. Those plump, pink little cheeks nestling against you - its magical.

I loved looking at his little face whilst feeding. Plus very easy to do - just whip a boob out :)

It can be very hard, but even if it doesn't work perfectly you can still get a lot of the advantages that other people have mentioned. So don't be discouraged if it doesn't go well at first.

I really struggled in the beginning with low milk supply after a traumatic birth and severe PPH. We started topping up at week 4 due to weight gain being very slow and have continued to do so (she is now nearly 7 months old). Maybe I could have returned to exclusive breastfeeding if I had pumped, etc, but I was already quite strung out by that point and I think I needed the rest. However, with a bit of luck and perseverance, I have managed to keep breastfeeding, despite predictions by midwives etc. I bf on demand during the day, give her a bottle at about 5.45 to make sure she goes to bed fully satisfied, and then bf if she wakes up at night (usually around 10pm and 5.30am). So far, this is working beautifully and means I have the convenience of not having to take formula with me when I am out and about during the day. Also, when she has a cold or is teething, I am able to bf her more often to comfort her.

I can't claim credit for all her knee dimples, but I can feel satisfied at all the times I have comforted her - and feel happy that our compromise solution keeps her chubby and happy.

Really hope you are feeling less worried about it now you've read all these lovely tributes to breastfeeding.... they made me a bit wistful for those days.... I BF my daughter for 9 months; I did find it painful a few times in the early days (likened it to razor blades coming out of my nipples, literally toe curling sensations....) and it did affect my sleep terribly as my daughter fed every 2 or 3 hours for many months.... So I did mixed feeding from about 5 months but she always loved her boobie feeds better. She is now 9 years old and has never had an antibiotic, only really had a handful of coughs/colds over her whole life. I really put it down to breastfeeding and the value added to immunity.

Well done to you OP for getting informed and preparing before the event. I'm sure your motivation will ensure you become successful breastfeeding mama, and probably will be a complete convert by week 4!

All the wonderful positives mentioned above, including the delightful nappies (have you ever smelt a formula fed nappy?).

I had a "boyish figure". I.e. Very small boobs, but after two babies they looked fabulous and still do 40 years later. Happy to go bra less (or topless at the beach). Best of all two strapping healthy sons who had almost no illnesses throughout their childhoods.

I found it hard for first 6-8 weeks both times. But it’s so easy after that, free, you can do it in bed, no faff, amazing for going away etc...plus it puts your baby to sleep.

I breastfed 3 babies and thought by far the biggest advantage was the night feeds. With breastfeeding, the baby wakes up, you grab him, get back into bed, attach baby - everyone's happy in 30 seconds. But with bottle feeding, you have to go down to a cold kitchen & heat up a bottle with a screaming baby on your shoulder - I've never done it, but surely it takes much longer and everyone gets more thoroughly woken up!

And you won't have to faff about sterilising bottles - a massive plus!

I loved breastfeeding and got huge satisfaction from it - don't dread it!

All of what everybody else said, but for me it was this Best way of shutting baby up ever invented.

It wasn’t wrong that we called them my “magic boobs”

I asked Mr Foo for his “best things” he said it was great he didn’t have to do night feeds and I had massive boobs. 😂😂

It's not necessarily tough at first - I never had any trouble. I know some people do, but please don't assume it's going to be difficult. Relax and enjoy your baby.

It’s just lovely snuggling up on the sofa with a baby on your boob! Also, healthier for baby and for you, more convenient, less work with the washing up and sterilising etc, cheaper. Also my boobs ended up bigger as a result. I won’t lie though, it didn’t come easy to me, I had to stick at it and get treatment for thrush in my breast. But it was sooooo worth it in the end. Fed them both myself for over a year.

It decreases your risk of arthritis and some cancers. It is also much easier than ff (assuming that you have no problems) and cheaper too.

convenient, cheaper, lovely bonding time, no cleaning any objects, easy to do anywhere once you get the hang of it. I miss breastfeeding. Would have been a wet nurse in the past!

Yes! There are some health benefits for the baby, but TONS for you. You'll lose weight faster, your chances of getting breast cancer will be reduced. You'll (probably) make slightly healthier choices for yourself while breast feeding. You might not get your period much or at all while you are breast feeding. You'll save some money. It's one less thing to prep or carry around. On top of that, it's just really, really pleasurable. Saying that, the first few weeks can be tough. It's hard to combine with full time work. If you decide it's not for you, don't feel guilty! You and your baby will be just fine. Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

The no faffing is definitely the best thing. I have a friend who really wanted to BF but couldn't with her first (did with subsequent children) and I used to feel so sorry as her DS's cries would echo round a cafe as we all tried to comfort him as she was getting a bottle ready. Especially if the rest of us were sitting there with latched babies and just getting on with it.

Also DD2 really used me as a comfort which, once I'd got used to co-sleeping was so lovely. She's still an epic snuggler now. Made things like plane travel SO much easier. We'd get on, she'd latch and that was us for the whole flight. Brilliant.

I remember dancing up and down the landing as DH was in stitches laughing and changing DD's pooey bum when she was about 4 days old. It was her first non meconium poo and it heralded the fact that there was something substantive going into her from me. I don't think I've ever been so happy

some repetition of others:
it uses over 500 calories a day to make the milk
its free and saves a lot of money
it made me drink less/nothing (good way to get back in shape)
reduces risk of breast and other cancers
It enforces rest. it means 5-6 times a day you are sitting down for an hour a time. i watched the mad men box set, an episode a time! trust me, your body needs it and it means others (husband and family) have to do some of the boring stuff!
its convenient. no getting up to make formula in middle of night and no problems with running out - late night dashes to shops etc
once your boobs get used to it it feels nice. a sort of pulling feeling.
amazing on aeroplanes - feed them at take off and landing, no blocked ears and tears.
it reduces (sometimes stops) menstruation. i didn't have a period for 11 months - fantastic!

of course in some ways its less convenient but for me i feel the benefits far outweighed the downsides.

by the way, less than one percent of uk woman manage to breast feed for 9 months. in Scandinavia about 90 pc make it to 6 months. Our boobs are the same, the reason we struggle is because we don't have enough support from NHS and family (incl family history of BF which normalises it). Also there is evidence that people who say 'i will try to' (rather than I will) are more likely to give up. Positive mindset is important.
The health benefits are underplayed - because some aspects there is not a large enough body of health for govt to make claims on. There really are a lot more than the basics (I worked in govt on infant nutrition)

You can do it! Its painful at the start (a lot) and I cot little lines of blisters across the nipple. pure lanolin (from chemist) is amazing on your nips though.
But if you choose not to don't feel bad. Your child will be fine.

My cousin and I had babies at the same time; I bf and she ff. When they were about 6mo old she was really struggling with broken sleep whilst I thought my baby was more or less sleeping through. She asked how often mine was waking so the next night, every time he woke, I switched on the light and checked the clock. Turned out both babies were waking up the same amount, but when mine woke I lifted him from the cot next to the bed, fed him, put him back, without ever being wide awake myself. Whereas she got up, put on dressing gown and slippers, went down to her kitchen, bright lights switched on, kettle, etc, and her kitchen was cold at 2am, so she got chilly, and her baby cried and it was totally wrecking her sleep.

I amazed to realise that I had thought my baby was more or less sleeping through, when he wasn't. Family members had been telling me how lucky I was to have a good sleeper whilst my cousin had a poor sleeper, but really both babies were the same. It was just that one baby needed bright lights, and a delay to be fed and the other didn't.

My baby is in the nursery and flies right through every cold and cough. She's often ill but hardly ever for very long.

She's 16 months old and I wouldn't even consider stopping until after cold and flu season.

I second whoever said it makes it a lot less stressful when they're ill, as you keep feeding and know they're still getting hydration/nutrition on top of comfort.

Incredible lack of faff, after initial trickiness (and I had a horrendous time the first four weeks with my first and spent a period dairy-free with my third when she had a phase of allergic colitis, which as a vegetarian was great fun). So so convenient.

Makes the afterpains shorter (although they were bloody intense with nos. 2 and 3).

Tandem feeding (with my first two) eliminated any sibling jealousy issues.

All mine have pretty robust immune systems, and while I think the luck of the draw is a big factor, I also believe the bf has helped, and that it helped/helps (still going with no. 3) them recover from stuff more quickly too.

Just a public service announcement in reference to the poster saying it stops your periods - it is NOT a good idea to rely on it as a contraceptive. (It can have this effect under very specific conditions, but it's not guaranteed).