Any positive BF stories ?

[flowerchop]

Any positive breastfeeding stories. Latched easily etc?

Yup, baby one: latched first time had few problems BF for a year- I did have one bout of mastitis.

twins: latched first time, BF until they were ready to stop.

Bf all 3 and had no issues with any of them ( just luck I guess). I am a Paeds nurse so had quite a bit of knowledge around latching etc to be fair!

Yep.

My second latched perfectly at 45 mins old. She didn’t loose any weight at all. She was born big and just kept getting bigger.

She always fed beautifully, wouldn’t take a bottle but tbh I never needed her too. She set herself into a routine by 3ish months. From 8 weeks she was sleeping 10pm to 5am most nights.

She self weaned as well. Super easy.

My first required a bit more support to get to combi feeding. A lot of his issues were down it his cows milk allergy and puking up the formula I kept being told to give him. Even then, he fed until 13 months and did well.

You don’t hear many positive stories though, mostly because you get jumped on for ‘bragging’ or something similar. Happens with positive births too.

I found it fine. Tiring and a little sore for the first month or so, then no problem, DC1 fed for 20 months. With DC2 I didn't even have the dificult start, it was fine from day 1 and fed for 2.5 years.

I had a pretty straightforward BFing journey and fed till he was almost 4. It wasn't always plain sailing but I credit the relative ease with which I got though those crazy first few weeks to the fact I did a tonne load of research before hand - so when I hit the bumps I knew it was normal and had at least an idea of what might help.

Oh and he has a tongue tie and it never caused any issues.

both of mine latched immediately
never had any pain
never had any mastitis
never had any growth issues - DS 97th centile DD 75th
both slept through the night from about 10 weeks
neither had issues of being too clingy with only me
Used a hakka a bit for a bit of a freezer supply but it was never really needed
DS self weaned at around 18mo no issues
DD is slowly tailing off at a similar age is down to one feed a day
DS bit me once at 10 mo then never again DD hasn't bitten me yet
boobs look very similar to pre pregnancy, don't feel like BF has "ruined" them as it were

agree with PP you don't hear many positive stories as you don't want to be seen as a bragger

Oh yes! I remember reading that baby’s were sometimes too tired to root for milk just after they are born. Definitely not my little milk piglets who latched immediately and were very happy and contented feeders for 4 years and 3 years respectively.

I had been prepared for it being difficult and there were occasional setbacks but I think having read about things going wrong and filled with hormones I was way to paranoid and on the look out for it (my periods came back at 3 months the first time so I panicked that my milk couldn’t be good enough despite having a very happy healthy baby; I paid £100 to a lactation consultant who insisted my baby had tongue tie when I think it was just I had a bit of over production so sometimes she couldn’t keep up). Everyone in my friendship group fed for at least the first year and although my NCT group were are very open bunch (kegels, prolapses, etc were all openly discussed I don’t think anyone had any issues either.

All that said I loved breast feeding and so did my DDs - it really was much more than feeding for us. La Leche League and the Kellymom blog are both v good if you have questions.

Dd2 was an absolute boob monster who would latch and drain a full breast in under ten minutes, I can still picture her little milk drunk face as she rolled off with a very self satisfied look.

Loved feeding both of mine, but dd2 was an absolute dream to feed.

Thank you so much everyone !! Yes it really seems like all I see is people having problems. Of course no clue what situation I'll be in but it's really nice to know there are plenty of people with good stories too - really eases the anxiety of list of things to worry about after birth.

Yes, both of mine fed easily - and for years - BUT:

It hurts to start with. Babies have small mouths and need to open wide. Practise this lots. If they latch on incorrectly, latch them off and encourage big wide open mouth.

It’s important to feed often for the first few days/weeks. If baby is awake, they should be feeding first and foremost - no 3 hour spaces between feeds.

Babies feed at night when prolactin is highest to boost supply. Let them feed at night - get a Next2Me (or whatever latest version is!).

Get a sling and practise feeding in it.

No routine, go with the flow. Boxsets aplenty - do nothing, just feed.

Even though I encountered problems at the start of BF, I still absolutely loved it and would consider it a very positive experience. I FF my first and found the inconvenience (and cost!) of it worse than any problems BF. I'm currently pregnant with my third and I'll be breastfeeding again even though I know I will encounter the same problems (old injury on my boob left scar tissue which leaves me very susceptible to clogged ducts and mastitis).

I joined a Mum run breastfeeding group pretty early on, surrounding yourself with experienced mums was a fantastic help.

Yep. Still hurt like a Chinese burn / new shoes (because that’s the reality in the early days). But much easier than first time around (blistered and bleeding).

Mine was relatively easy. I found it painful to start with but found the breast pump less painful so I'd express, give her that, then offer the breast when I felt up to it. Most people will tell you not to do that but it got me through the first week or so and then it was really easy!
She never lost any weight and it made settling at night so much easier for both of us.

When I was pregnant and I said I wanted to breastfeed there was a lot of "don't be disappointed if you can't"
It was pure hearted advice from lots of loved ones but it made me quite anxious!
However my girl came out rooting and her first go on the boob was two hours long! She can't have been feeding that whole time but she was straight to practising!
I worried about my latch because my boobs are rather large but everyone said her latch was perfect so I was pleased!
I had sore nipples for two weeks or so but lathered them in nipple cream and we're still going strong 9 months later 🥹
However if you do encounter problems there is tons of support out there if you need it!
All the best OP! ❤️

My first was a bit of a rocky start but breastfed her for 2 1/2 years so feel like that's a positive. Second latched perfectly from birth. Slightly sore for first week but has been a breeze!