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

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

Infant feeding

Has anyone read the book 'What to Expect When You're Breastfeeding...And What If You Can't?'

39 replies

Dragonhart · 26/04/2007 20:37

Is it any good? Want to buy my dsis a book as she is preg and as I had afew problems at the start with bf thought a book like this would be really good.

If it is not, any other recomendations would be gratefully received!

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Bethbe · 30/04/2007 23:57

What helped me the most wasn't books, but that a friend was 6 months ahead of me and let me stare at her breastfeeding. She even showed me what she was doing a couple of times. Was really prepared when it was my turn as it wasn't so wierd to me!

suis · 30/04/2007 23:44

Breast shaping is just what you describe. Someone explained it to me as making your breast more like a sandwich than a melon, and therefore much easier to fit in LO's mouth when you are big breasted. (being sure that you keep the sandwich sort of horizontal to the mouth IYSWIM). It helped us a lot as DS was just not getting on far enough. Squeezing my breast top and bottom(very gently so as not to block any ducts) made it a far better shape to fit in his mouth and get the nipple back a bit than just letting him try and get a latch on to a nearly smooth football of a breast.

Dragonhart · 30/04/2007 19:48

Suis, can you tell me what 'breast shaping is'? I have always used the nipple to nose method but when I was having problems with feeding ds1, the bf councillor I saw told me to squeese my boob slightly so that it was easier to get it into his mouth (I have quite large boobs and nipples!) Helped me loads and made a real difference.

Totally agree about the hurting no matter what, but I just want to give her something to reasure her that the problems she might have are totally normal and that it is not all loving gazes into your baby's eyes from the start. So that if she has those problems then, she knows that she can do something about it.

Even though I found the baby whisperer book helpful as I was totally clueless when it came to looking after a baby, I did ignore alot of what she said like about a dummy and about introducing a bottle early (always found expressing more hassle than it was worth anyway!). I would however swear by her bed time routine!!

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Porcupine · 30/04/2007 08:39

in fact re books id say save your moeny

suis · 30/04/2007 00:47

I read an abridged version of this from off the front of a magazine. I have to say I found it helpful and refreshing. It does go against some of the things my health visitor tells me, but I have tried things both ways and chosen what worked for my and my DS.

FOr example, I do use "nipple to nose" as that seems to help, but I have also used breast shaping as I have quite large breasts and it really seemed to make a difference esp. when we were getting bfing established, even though the HV told me not to do it.

Before DS was born I also liked this book because I was nervous that bfing might not work out for me and I felt that it was less judgmental than other things I read because it accepted that things might not be easy and might not work out however hard you tried. In the event we had a lot of trouble getting bfing established and had to topup bottle feed for while (on the advice and insistence of the paedeatrician and bfing advisor) and I found the information and ideas in this book to be very helpful in this circumstance. Other books on bfing didn't seem to want to consider that mixed feeding might be necessary or that there was any route back from formula once it had been started. DS is now fully breastfed, but that took perseverance.

Twinklemegan · 29/04/2007 22:09

I saw that and was pretty tbh. I think the book is very good and I really do wish I'd had it at the beginning.

AitchTwoOh · 29/04/2007 22:07

ms byam-cook appeared on a channel five documentary as a 'friend of swmnbn' and i think she may have written a foreword or somesuch in a certain book. i therefore view eveything she produces with deep suspicion.

Twinklemegan · 29/04/2007 22:03

Yes, I don't think any book will stop it being bloody painful.

Porcupine · 29/04/2007 20:59

i had best feeding
mad eno difference
still farking hiurt

Twinklemegan · 29/04/2007 20:59

No there's really very little in there about bottle-feeding - just enough to be useful, no more.

Muminfife · 29/04/2007 20:27

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Laurenypops · 29/04/2007 20:25

I found the book quite helpful, but she also has a dvd and this was invaluable. I was given very lttle help with establishing breast feeding, and feel without watching this dvd I might not have managed it. Watching someone breast feed is so much more understandable than reading how to.

tiktok · 29/04/2007 20:08

Hmmm...which book do I like? I think the perfect and comprehensive one has yet to be written

I have got 'issues' with CBC's book, and the Baby Whisperer, but I know a lot of people like them.

Marina · 29/04/2007 19:57

I think Bestfeeding is a great book, dragonhart.
Clare Byam-Cook is SWMNBN's breastfeeding advisor. So I agree with all of JaneAustenAllegro's caveats about her methodology.

Dragonhart · 29/04/2007 19:47

Tiktok, am I right in saying that you know quite a lot about bf? I have noticed that when people have problems with bf they tend to mention you. Would you not recomend this book then? If not what would you recomend instead? I found that the baby whisperer book was really helpful, but I know that not everyone agrees with routines for bf. DS1 settled into a routine by himself very quickly but dd2 was a bit slower as she was smaller. Fed on demand for longer with her. (Having said that I obviously still feed her when she is hungry, no matter what the time!)

Smittals, I have to say that I like the idea of non judgmental advice. There is such a lot of guilt associated with bf/or not. Mind you it was the guilt that got me through the pain at the start with ds1, so I suppose it is not all that bad! After one terrible night where I just couldnt bring myself to latch him on, I would have given up but for the help of a brilliant bf councillor in our area. As it was I bf for nearly 8 months. I suppose that the best advice I can give her is to keep the number of her bf councillor near the phone!

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tiktok · 29/04/2007 16:27

Nose to nipple is certainly not bollocks - it is one way of helping ensure the nipple goes into the top of the mouth rather than the centre. The way it is disparaged in this book is very misleading - you don't offer nose to nipple when the baby's mouth is wide open, for instance, and you don't poke the nipple at the nose.

Smittals · 29/04/2007 10:31

Know I've arrived a bit late on this thread but just wanted to say that I was hating every minute of breastfeeding when I first started due to it being so painful and awkward, but found this book really comforting and full of good advice. I've recommended it to a couple of pregnant friends! I also like the fact that it gives full non-judgemental advice on bottle feeding so doesn't contribute to the guilt load if your sis ends up going this way. The advice on formula top ups is to do with working out whether your boobs are supplying enough, IF you're concerned, then it gives advice on how to build up milk supply. Seemed very reasonable as I was rereading it this morning - and I've been BF for 5mths now! Also shows that the BF advice on latch & positioning from the government is bolloks - 'nose to nipple' my a*se!!!

Dragonhart · 27/04/2007 20:28

oh and thanks whomovedmychoc, would def have taken you up if it hd been for me, but want to get her a spanking new one for her spanking new baby!

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Dragonhart · 27/04/2007 20:27

Right, now I want to get her 3 books! Will have to drag my ass down to the book shop and look at them all I suppose!

Thanks for all the advice. Very helpful. xxx

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EllieKthePA · 27/04/2007 10:40

it has been read and highly recommended by many of the 'Due in April' thread

whomovedmychocolate · 27/04/2007 10:36

Dragonheart - no I found it invaluable. Was about to give up when I read it, am still breastfeeding now, six months later. I just like to recycle

amijee · 27/04/2007 09:32

it's good for background info but some of it made me feel like i was abnormal - like it was saying they shouldn't feed more than 3 hrly by a certain age and my ds was always a 2 hrly feeder.

So for a reference, yes. For reassurance - no.

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terramum · 26/04/2007 22:59

If its an LLL book I wouldnt worry about outdated weaning advice tbh as they have been advising "middle of the first year" for 50 years

Twinklemegan · 26/04/2007 22:56

I don't think it's one of the What To Expect series. I had the What To Expect pregnancy one (agree they're quite US orientated) and this breastfeeding book bears no relation to it in any way. It's just a coincidence of titles.

Someone from Mumsnet recommended it to me when I was having real problems. Unfortunately it came all too late, but I wish I'd had it from the beginning.

Dragonhart · 26/04/2007 22:39

Was it that bad?

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