Do any RL people actually BF? Or is it just the imaginary people on MN?

[evenhope]

There were only 2 mums at my baby massage class who weren't bf, but now that DD is 6 months old and I'm starting to try out other baby groups I'm starting to feel like an endangered species

There were 5 other babies at the group I went to on Friday, every single one of them ff. Talk was of how long in advance to make up feeds and storage of milk powder...they may as well have been discussing astrophysics!!

When I had DD1 in 1986 I never came across anyone ff at all. Have things really changed that much in 20 years?

(Or have I not found the right groups- where are you hiding?!!)

[RidgewayLass]

Evenhope, maybe it's just where you are, there probably are variations nationally. What I have found is that when I BF my 3-month-old in public, other mums start doing it too, so I do see quite a lot of it. It's as if they don't want to be the first one. It would be amusing to try: go to the supermarket at a busy time, sit in the cafe, and start feeding, nice and discreetly and nonchalantly. And let us know what happens.

[KristinaM]

i am still bf DS2 who is 20 months and i am real. i dont go to any groups so thats why you havent seen me.but if you look very closely into your monitor you will see i am Bf right now. in fact it is my main excuse for mumsnetting. and for teh bad typing and lack of capitals as i only have one hand

see i am not wasting hours on Mn on idle chat, I am feeding the baby = important stuff

[TheDuchess]

There are about 10 of us in our post-natal group and all are still breast-feeding bar 2. Our babies are coming up to one.

I don't breastfeed in public anymore because he tends not to ask for it, but I would if he wanted it. He is mainly just am and evening now but then I do work full time.

To be honest I don't really know anyone who ff, then our baby group tend to avoid organised baby related things and mainly meet in our houses.

[evenhope]

Must preview... the other mother was bottle feeding... duh

[evenhope]

I saw the HV last week. She seemed v impressed that I was still bf and I thought that was odd. The mother waiting to be seen was bf her small baby (& DH thought she was odd because she didn't laugh when he belched- we did!).

I was going to try another group today but I couldn't face it and now have to wait in for rentokil as we have Indian mealmoths- yuk yuk yuk! First swimming lesson tomorrow!

[whomovedmychocolate]

DD is 11 months and still bfing - I nurse her if she is hungry wherever we are. If people have a problem with it, it's their problem, not mine. But yes it does seem sadly that ff is now the norm

[CaptainCaveman]

In my antenatal class only 2 of us bf'd (20% of us!)
But of my friends that have had children only 2 have chosen not to bf, for their own reasons (hastily adds - am not being judgemental here!)

[Lorayn]

I thought it would be that, I was talking about it with DP last night actually, I kind of did it with DS, I'd put him to bed when I went down, but he always stayed in bed with me from when he woke for his night feed til we got up.

I'll check out that website now, thanks.

[indiasmum]

well i bf all 3 of mine and i think i'm pretty much existing in RL. opposite to you, i rarely see people bottle feeding esp little babies. i agree its less common to see toddlers being bf but then that would tend to be more at home, bedtimes etc ime. depends where you hang out i guess.

[evilreturns]

try asking HVs about local bfing groups - or set up your own! we do have one, and an nct baby group too - at the moment the nct has abou 9 babies between 6 wks and 6 months and only 1 is bf.

[maisym]

sorry lorayn - I meant sleeping with your baby. It helped me to bf and rest at the same time. Check the unicef website for advice on this.

[KristinaM]

sleep in same bed

me and my Dh co-sleep

come to think of it, sleep is all we do ....[sigh]

[Lorayn]

Excuse me for being dumb, it is probably really obvious but what is co-sleep???

[maisym]

I'm also real!!! - bf & co-sleep - a conversation stopper!!

[maxbear]

I am a midwife and when I had my first child about seven of us delivered within 6 months. I was amazed that only 3 of us did it up to 6 months, one did not even try and a couple gave it up in the first month. This time I have fewer midwife friends having babies at the moment but we are all bf. I went to a baby group the other day and out of five of us my ds was the youngest (6mo) and all were bf.

[laura032004]

Not read the whole thread, but probably depends on where you're going. I encountered lots of 'extended' (past 6 months) bfing mums at sing and sign groups and NCT mornings.

[katwith3kittens]

I havent got any RL friends who are BF mind you, they all had their last babies 7 years ago and so have long stopped now ! I was at the coffee shop with the school mums this morning and no-one batted an eye when I started BF my 9 month old. I think it all depends on where you are and who you mix with.

I suppose I am used to being a bit of an oddity ... cloth.. veggie ... organic food etc ... but I am a bit of a Boden, fee paying school, 4x4 driver ... so pretty hard to pidgeon hole really !

[Mossy]

Hi Evenhope, only just saw this!!

Most of the Mums in my Mums & babies group are ff, but apart from feeding, we've lots of other things in common.

Also though early on in ds's life I joined a LLL group and although I don't go there any more I met up with some bf Mums, two of whom I'm still good friends with.

I have also just started doing a course on how to be a Peer Supporter to help other Mums who struggle with bf like I did in the early days. I have met some lovely bf Mums there too!

And I'm in real life!!

[ProfYaffle]

I agree Stitch. I'm fortunate that just about everyone I know in rl bf's, I can't remember seeing anyone ff at the baby groups I go to but then they tend to be a bit middle class and/or hippyish.

My friends back home have had a very different experience, one had a hv express surprise she was still bfing when her baby was 6 weeks old!

[stitch]

i think a lot also dependds on deograpy. socioeconomics etc etc etc.

[Guitargirl]

I am still bf DD at 8.5 months and out of my NCT group, 6 out of 7 of us bf. From my other RL friends who have babies they all bf and most of them until at least 1 year. It is getting a bit more awkward bf in public but only because DD is such a fidget!

[LittleMissLate]

All of my NCT class (7 of us) bf for at least 4 mths - 4 of us are still going at 10 mths. All RL people! Don't generally feed in public myself as dd is very easily distracted and a real wriggler...

[appledumpling]

I'm bf DS who is now 6 months and plan to keep going till he's at least 1yr.

I go to a local NHS-run bf support group where you can whip out your norks and no-one bats an eyelid. At the other group I go to there are 6 of us and I'm the only one breastfeeding. They do seem to think I'm a bit of a lentil weaver, especially as I also use cloth nappies, but I just smile and get on with it.

[Sazisi]

I'm still breastfeeding DD3 at 7.5 months, and I'm starting to feel more embarrassed feeding her in public; for some reason I feel like it's more 'socially acceptable' to bf a tiny newborn. I do really want to keep it up until after the winter though so I'm trying to be brave. I will try to start going to LLL meetings for moral support (sorry have just rabitted on about myself and not been helpful at all )


I'm finding it's exceptional to see people bfing in public.

[Lorayn]

evenhope, when I had DS not ONE of my friends had breast fed!!! They seemed to think I was some hippy earth mother who probably ate daisys!!!