How long did you breastfeed your baby for?

[DancingDelli]

Just as the title says really!

I plan on weaning and continuing to breastfeed until I go back to work when baby is 9 months old. Would really like to carry on a bit longer though

That sounded hugely negative- I’m sure you will feed without problems!! But as someone who found BF hard and it contributed to PND I just want to reassure you. If you can do it easily fantastic and do it as long as you feel comfortable.

It is perfectly possible to bf and work :)

I went back to work at 9 months and bf til 18- dc wouldn't take a bottle. Nursery would just give a yoghurt or cheese snack at “milk” time along with milk in a cup, which was never drunk :).

I’d feed am and pm, and occasionally in the night.

Kellymom has some great resources as american mums get very little mat leave so if they want to bf it requires some inventiveness.

2 years, and I went back to work FT when he was 4.5 months old. Pumping made a nice break in the day tbh, even though loads of people told me I wouldn't be able to EBF, or keep Bfing when I went back to work, and then when I went back to travelling for work

About 12 weeks combination feeding. We had a tricky start so my supply didn’t quite keep up, I would hope to do it for longer with my second.

The support groups you mention either cost money or are no good for the first week or so of breastfeeding. I struggled with bf DC1 to begin with and there were people to help but they seemed to have very little training and would contradict each other. It was immensely stressful.

@DemolitionBarbie I had exactly the same experience. In the end the problem was solved by DS having his tongue tie clipped, he didn’t latch at all until then - but that didn’t happen until he was 9 days old.

I've never been to a breastfeeding support group that cost money. Some had a donation box for tea.

I agree combo feeding should be welcomed at bf groups. It's very much all or nothing which is hugely unhelpful. I sort of see some of the argument against, which basically that you're dealing with a bottle feeding culture and therefore allowing any of the cultural myths room to be present and potentially spread etc is counter productive. The idea is there is a need to create a "safe space" where breastfeeding is the norm and the only option, in order to fight that. But in the process it shuts out women who are mixed feeding. I'm not sure what the answer is to that. Different formats of support group perhaps.

In the first week ideally you'd still be under midwife care and this ought to be better because midwives do at least have done breastfeeding training. I know in reality it's often not always the case though. Poor advice or just somebody who's too overworked and doesn't have the time to spend.

Dc1: 2.5 years. Went back to work pt when lo was 5.5 months.

Dc2: 5 years. Went back to work pt when lo was 8 months.

I didn't.

It was totally the right thing for us . Our DC are teens now and fab in every way.

Our local BF supporters group includes combi feeding. It’s also free, and with the pandemic they are doing zoom sessions.

@RidingMyBike

Really? I'm a type 1 diabetic and was induced, and if anything had oversupply. I guess I was the exception. This would sort of fit with my grandma's view that women struggle more with bfing now due to obesity- she thinks breasts with more fatty tissue don't make milk as well, but who knows if there is any truth in that!

I'm sorry I do find what you just told me about the 6yo to be a little horrific. I really hope their school friends dont know

Whilst I do know one woman still BFing a 6yo as often as you'd BF a newborn, it's far more common to only BF once or twice a day, especially after returning to work.
That was our experience too. DS was BFing a couple of times a day at 2.5yo, less than daily from 3yo, about once a week when he weaned at 5yo.

That's good if some do include combo feeding :) It has been a long time since I've been to a group to be fair as I was out of the UK with DC2 and I didn't feel I needed the support enough to try and juggle it in my second language.

9 days for DS1 and 15 months for DS2

Just over 2 years. I aimed to breastfeed until 2 and decided I'd had enough at that point. I stopped gradually after DS's second birthday.

I went back to work (part-time) when DS was 8 months. I continued to breastfeed mornings, evenings and during my days with DS. I expressed milk when I first went back but didn't have to do it for too long. My supply adjusted.

7mths, 12 mths, 14 mths.

@Wolfgirrl apparently it can go either way with diabetes - under supply or over supply. It would be good to be warned in advance though and prepared for it!

6yo who still BFs like a newborn is home ed so doesn't have any school friends to know about it!