Breast Feeding dc2, not dd?

[lauraloola]

Hi, I want to start trying for dc2 in a few months but have been wondering since dd was born about how to feed.

I am bottle feeding dd and seriously regret it now. I did it because I wanted other people to share in the bonding - Dp, my Mum and sister. I also didnt want to be the only one doing night feeds - I know very selfish.

I cry sometimes when I think I could easily of breast fed her but didnt.

I really want to bf dc2 but am worried that dd will feel left out.

Has anyone else been in this situation? Did you older child know or did you tell them?

Awww

How old is DD?

I didn't BF DS1. Long story, shan't bore you with it.

However I BF DS2 despite crash CS.

DS1 was not totally left out as I tried to keep his routine going with the help of family - Mum took him to Music/toddlers for four or six weeks until I could drive around, and to be honest feeding a baby takes forever which ever way you choose to feed.

So a bit of being left out is unavoidable.

Good luck, and hope to see a PG announcement from you soon.

Thanks, its good to know your ds1 is ok withi it. Dd is 3 months old now. I want a small age gap between her and next and really want to give breast feeding a go next time.

Hello, I mixed fed dd for 3 weeks then ff.
Ds is now 8 weeks exclusively bf.

dd is 2.5 (has a bottle at night/occasionally) and as far as she is concerned, babies get mummies milk. its just fact with her. we have done games where she is the baby and pretends to feed (hasnt asked to really have any). She has had a go feeding ds expressed milk with a bottle the other day when I went out.

We make sure dd has lots of cuddles and share in the excitement (and annoyances) of her new baby brother. she slept with us til v recently which i think reassured her a lot. was heartbreaking seeing her 'sidelined' at first and trying to make sense of it all, but at 8 weeks is really lovely!

She won't feel left out as she won't even realise. When I bf my DD, my DS (just 2 at the time of DD birth) had no clue what I was doing, despite having been bf as well.

You do your best with each baby according to what you know and feel able to do. It would be wonderful for you to experience the bf relationship and your baby will benefit from all the lovely goodies. Your older child will also benefit from seeing a happy mum and a happy bf relationship. It's a great role model for her. Most of us are heavily influenced by our families when it comes to how we feed our own babies. She might be a bit jealous but to be honest she'd be jealous of the baby whatever way you'd feed her/him.

FWIW I think second-timers who decide to have another go at bf despite having ff first time are a)fab and b) tend to have much more success because they know all the other baby stuff - nappies, sleep - so can really relax and concentrate on the bf. Good luck making your baby. If and when you decide to get pg it's worth finding a local group that provide bf information antenatally (try the breastfeeding charities for info). the more info you have before the babe comes along the better.

I didn't really understand how BF worked when I had my DD but thanks to MN I have been feeding DS for nearly 16 months.

I do still feel sad that I didn't know what I was doing with DD but she doesn't remember how she was fed and is hale, hearty and also quite the BF advocate!

Feeding DS has given me the opportunity to educate her and give her a positive attitude towards it. If you can do this, it will hopefully make an impact through the generations. Now how is that doing your DC a disservice?