Why I love feeding my baby...

[5goldrings4MONKEYBIRDs]

This thread's for everyone whatever the food: breast, formula, mixed, chocolate, dog, whatever...

But just to acknowledge that feeding's part of the lovely labour of motherhood (and often fatherhood) and it is often a really lovely lovely experience.

So I'm gonna kick off with mine (not known for my brevity I apologise in advance...)

• zigzag eyes: dya know what I mean, when they're feeding and really a bit tired and their eyes half shut while zigzagging about. So cute! Or is it just mine...?

• food flirting! "take a sip, sneak a peek and turn away quick smiling in case mummy/daddy sees you. do it again. and again. do your daft half can't quite work out how to do it yet chuckle and then suck properly for a bit till you start all over again"

• milk drunk smile, with a little dribble just down the chin...

• no-one else can feel like this baby does in my arms, ever. And its gonna be over SO quick and then there's gonna be a baby shaped hole there for the rest of my life so I'm REALLY going to enjoy feeding now I've got over the bleeding nips!

• my body made that! every bit of it! and yours did too, and if you're FF then you're just plumping up the bits you already made!

• it makes him happy. He wants food, I give him food, it's what we do. Then he chats. For hours. Fuck knows what he's saying but I think 'fantastic milk mum' is somewhere in there...

There. Gone all soft an' all. Gotta go do outdoor assault course training or somesuch to toughen up again for the gruelling night feeds... Oh no, I forgot...

• I even love those quiet dark suck suck suck moments just me and him in bed and no-one else... shouldn't own up to that with DH in the room ...snigger

nothing dull about it I don't think, however you choose to feed. My DS used to laugh with his eyes when he was getting a bottle feed, if that makes sense. After 6 weeks of hell with trying to BF him, it was almost like he was saying thank you, this is much easier and less stressful.

Wahey Daisy! Want more FF stuff on this thread < Monkeybird struggles not to sound patronising but...> please go and round em all up and bring em here...?

Susiecutiemincepies - my lo gets in all sorts of positions. Does not bode well for the state of my boobs when i stop feeding!
I love the eye thing too. And a couple of nights ago lo age 18mths pulled of the boob,said mummy - booby - nice. Melted on the spot!!

She just really started biting me I'm quite upset by it as if it carries on, I cant keep feeding her. She is only interested in it at night anyway now. I really dont want to stop feeding her yet, and certainly because she is biting me raw!

Does anyone think she will stop it very quickly???

I just love feeding her so much. I also love the way she is now really excited when she sees her bottles. Its great that she likes both so much. She refused them until about 3 weeks ago.

I have to say though, she's no were near as excited as when she hears my bra strap un clip... she sits sometimes and claps until i bring her closer, and her mouth and tongue are already open before she's half way there. Its so funny.

Sunday morning, she was clapping, at about half 5 in the morning. DH sleepily said, what on earth is all the noise about, and she poked him, tugged his hand and put it on my boob, then pointed madly at it, as if to say, thats what all the fuss is about! However, she very quickly pulled his hand off HER property we laughed so much... made the early waking not so unbearable!

susiecutie that is so incredibly cute!

I love that my little boy will always be my little boy, and as he grows older and more independent we'll still have this connection to one another, whether in RL or in my memories of it.

BTW, DS has been biting me for weeks. He gives me a little nibble when the milk is "gone" and he wants to switch boobs, and sometimes just because he's feeling playful. I've tried a thousand things, but unfortunately he's hooked...it's no too bad, he just gives them a tiny little bite, like he knows not to do it too hard, and he looks at me mischieviously out of the corner of his eye...cheeky little monkey!

She also looks at me out of the corner of her eye as she bites. She does it quite hard. She starts off slowly and not too hard and then it gets harder. I have to take her off. this doesnt even seem to bother her anymore

Maybe it is when the milks stops flowing so much. It is always after she's been sucking for a long time.

perhaps I'll try changing sides to see if she stops. thanks for that

well i find bottlefeeding dull cos i have to sit still and do nothing else. i much preferred breastfeeding so i could carry on with whatever i wanted to do whilst doing it.

just cos you don't find it dull doesn't mean you have to at me!

sorry ...it just seemed an odd thing to say.

I liked the cuddles, well until my DS got too wriggly and wanted to hold he bottle himself.

i just got arm ache!i always used to prop his bottles up so i could get on with things. when you have a baby who takes an hour to feed you get pretty fed up sat there doing nothing. now cuddling him when he's asleep i love.

My DD BFs for an hour at a time sometimes so ikwym about arm ache.

If I try to read over her head she stops and pulls off in a twangy, ouchy fashion when I turn the page, so I usu veg in front of the TV when doing it. I'm enjoying the excuse to be quite lazy this time around though

lol it's always my luck that there's never anything good to watch for an hour when ds is hungry! he was also one of these feed for an hour every 2 hour babies so if i kept sitting down all day i never got anything done or even get out of the house! i dunno. i know i'm weird for not enjoying but i just don't. i think it's cos i miss breastfeeding so much. it just isn't the same.

I used to love that little sigh they gave as they latched off.

Oh I love feeding my baby! Those big soft trusting blue eyes gazing up at me. The way she uses her hands now to hold my boob cupped towards her mouth. The way just occasionally she is so excited that she breaks off feeding to emit a sort of 'Ho!' joyful and triumphant cry. Holding her hand while I feed her. How am I going to handle stopping, she is 6 months old next week.

I think about that all the time daydream. now at nearly a year old, I still cant bear the thought of not feeding her at all. But her choice seems to be t feed less and less from me.

I love the way we hold hands and she clutches and fiddles with my fingers, or tickles me, or pats my boobs. I LVOE her patting me! SO sweet. then the way she pulls away to have a little chat. then goes back on, shoveling handfuls into he mouth.

On that note, i'm off to feed her again!!

I love it that lately DS has started grabbing my boob like it was a piece of food and putting it in his mouth that way. It's so funny. Then he keeps holding on so it can't get away!

i love feeding my baby because i love her cheekysmile when she see the boob lol

I love feeding my baby because he is still so new and each feed gives me a chance to make a new discovery about him while we sit there. I can stroke his soft hair and his little ears or hold his wee hands and kiss the dimples and just be amazed that I have him.