Breastfeeding - when did it get easier?

[Blondeinlondon]

Hello all

Was there a magic time at which breastfeeding suddenly got easier for you?
DS is 3 weeks old tomorrow and I am finding it tough going. Also not at all happy with the idea of feeding in public as I cannot see how I will manage it without getting my whole boob out

[dinny]

Berolina, you are doing a brilliant job. Just keep putting ds to the breast - as he gets bigger and better at feeding he'll get more and more milk direct. I had similar probs with my prem dd and stupidly stopped trying to get her to latch and just expressed. Stopped whe she was 5 weeks and bitterly regret it. You are doing fine - some great advice here, especially about going to your bfing clinic for help. That's the best place. Take care, Dinny

[Prettybird]

Also had a badly jaundiced sleepy baby who needed two (or three?) days under lights. Had loads of support at the hospital getting him latched on, but he did have a big initial weight drop. Fortunately he was large baby to start with. Was given some EBM in hospital from a cup.

He didn't gain wieght for ages, so I was advised by the breast feeding advisor at the hosptial (where I was still attedning a b/f support group) to feed him two hourly and to wake him to do so. Eventually (after two weeks) they loaned be an electric expressor and for a while every second feed was expressed - but he never seemed to suffer from nipple confusion. I did have to learn a particular way of "posting " my boob into his mouth, to get him to ltach on (he was a lazy wee tyke who learnt to pretend to suck in order to stop the hassle of tickled feet, clod water on cotton wools stroking cheeks, soles of feet, cold water being dripped into ears... to keep him awake and alert enough to feed)

I did know someone in the group who ended up feeding her ds for 6 months through nipple shileds as that was the only way that he would latch on.

Interestingly, the bf counsellor said it was almost always boys who were so awkward!

For the record, eventually I stopped bothering weighing ds, who was happy, healthy and alert and I went on to feed him for a full year. I kept the epxressing going (with a Ameda hand pump) as I was going back to work when ds was 4 months old and it was useful to keep ds used to bottles of EBM and build up a supply in the freezer.

He is now a happy, healthy and alert 4.5 year old! Somewhere about average I think - but that's only by looking at him compared to others. I know he weights 2 stone 12.5 pounds, but haven't converted that to kilos to put into his red book. Really can't be bothered

[berolina]

Just resurrecting this thread. As a 1st time mum struggling with a very-difficult-to-latch-on 13-day-old the answers here are very comforting for me . See my thread (will bf work out?) for the full story - basically ds small and jaundiced (phototherapy), given formula (out of a bottle ) in hospital, now at home and on a mixture of very small amounts of direct breastmilk, EBM and formula. Going by the EBM and my tendency to drip supply is OK, if not huge. When (and it's a big when) he latches on everything is perfect, no pain etc., he just takes ages to get tiny amounts or quickly gives up again. I've been given some great advice on my thread but I've a question: did those of you who struggled to get going due to latch-on problems or similar (as opposed to pain) supplement with bottles (EBM or formula), and did you find there was nipple confusion? How did you get round this? TIA!

[suedonim]

Haven't read all the replies so sorry if I'm repeating stuff! I found it took 4-6wks to settle into bfing. As regards bf in public, perhaps you could make a special trip to try it out? Go somewhere you know has a nice room and just take your time, without trying to combine it with a supermarket shop or anything that would put pressure on you, timewise. Good luck.

[ionesmum]

blonde, just skim-read this and I see you are large like me. I had problems but then the nct helpline advisor told me that tummy-to-tummy doesn't work if you are big boobed (esp if your nips point downwards!), you have to lean baby back to a 45 degree angle, maybe using a pillow for support. Worked like a charm for me. HTHx

[aloha]

Go back to the breastfeeding clinic asap - it is AMAZING what a difference a tiny tweak in your technique can make - I know! It really, really can help even if you feel sure you are doing everything right. YOu can walk out of there with pain free feeding.
It does get easier. Also, just having a three week old baby (esp a first, I think) IS exhausting, no matter how you feed - and you are getting over a birth too. I am not sure breastfeeding is exhausting in itself. And yes, it does get easier. I think by six weeks you just feel much better, and remember, your baby is learning to do this too.
Get some rest, eat well, and

[mamadadawahwah]

Yes, they say if you can make it to 6-8 weeks you will have it hooked. In my case, i had so much milk, i just couldnt handle it anymore and gave up at 8 weeks. Most of the milk "spilled out" between feeds and baby didnt get much. Weird.

[chipmonkey]

Sorry, pull, not pill!!

[chipmonkey]

I find a teeshirt combined with a shirt is best combo, you pill the tee shirt up and latch baby on and tee-shirt covers the top of your boob, baby covers your belly (v. important for me cos of stretchmark/jellybelly combination!!) and shirt covers you from the side, so only someone who was TRYING to look would know what you are doing. It does get easier. i found that when they were taking a little more at each feed they would sleep more between feeds. That took about 6 weeks with ds1 and ds2. My own ds3 is beginning to get better. Don't give up! Messing about with sterilisers, bottle warmers, formula etc isn't any easier!

[Fennel]

First week was ok with dd1, weeks 1-6 were hell. really painful. it was ok after that - at 6 weeks the pain went (or my nipples got tougher).

[LoneVoiceinWilderness]

sorry - forgot to mention that ponchos are brilliant for wearing when breastfeeding in public!!

[LoneVoiceinWilderness]

as for breastfeeding in public, I found to my surprise that I didn't give amonkeys what people thought - I find that very little, if anything, is visible to others if you wear a loose top and pull it up - don't do it with button-front shirts etc because they're more revealing. Baby hides your stomach, and your nipple, and only half your breast needs to be exposed.
A lot of people didn't even realise I was feeding a lot of the time

[LoneVoiceinWilderness]

my experience is similar to spagblog - had cracked nipples for the lst 2 months, and in the end managed to heal them by drying boobs with hairdryer and keeping them as dry as possible./Now, my son is almost 8 months old and I don't want to give up either!

But i was totally unprepared for how hard it would be in the beginning. No-one can really know how it is unless they've tried it, but I'm proud of myself for persevering.
I was lucky, though(i work from home) and have to say I've never tried expressing, didn't have the bottle (excuse the pun...

[kookool]

Blondeinlondon - I forgot to add - I don't know if mentioned already - but I used Lansinoh (have I spelt it right ?) ointment right from day one that DS was born. It is amasing and will relieve the soreness. I got very sore, not from a bad latch, but from the CONSTANT every hour feeds in the eraly weeks and during growth spurts (usually at 3 and 6 weeks and again at 3 and 6 months). Lansinoh saved me. It's in a purple tube and you can buy it in Boots or Mothercare for about £10. Worth every penny ! You don't even need to rub or wash it off before feeds as it's a totally natural product and will not harm baby

[kookool]

I have never been comfortable BF in front anyone except my DH and my DS is now nearly 9 months old ! Afterall he and DS are the only ones who see my boobs on a regular basis ! I don't even feel comfortable feeding DS in front of my own mother, because she hasn't seen me naked or semi-naked since I was a small child.

But I am very self-conscious about my body, so don't let this put you off. DS is now nearly 9 months old and is so distractable and nosey, that unless I take him where he usually has his mummy milk (on a doublebed in his bedroom), he won't drink properly !

I found it quite easy feeding DS when out and about shopping even when he was around 6 weeks old and I was going out on a regular basis. I usually fed him in a nappy changing room in shopping centres or big dept stores, etc. The other favourite place is the back of my car ! I won't feed in public because I don't like people staring.

I know that many BF mothers will disagree with my attitude of "hiding", but as I say I feel very self-conscious about my body, but at least I have never had to stay at home all day just because I BF.

Your baby is too young to do this now and should be put the breast as often as possible, but later when he is bigger you can always express milk and feed him out of a bottle in public or feed him just before you go out so that you won't need to feed the couple of hours that you are out.

So please don't be put off BF for the silly attitude of the public. You are doing what is best for your baby's health.

[Beansmum]

It will get better, I think it was around 3-4 weeks for me when I stopped dreading feeding ds. up until then it was quite painful and there was no way I could do it discretely. I did feed him in public from 2 weeks, because I had to or I would go crazy stuck at home, but I wasn't comfortable with it. Now ds is 9 months and I love feeding him and feed him in very public places quite happily. At first I would always wear a cardi so that anything not covered by ds's head would be covered by the side of the cardi, but I'm not so worried about it now and I don't think I've ever exposed myself too badly!

[Prettybird]

It also took me about 6-8 weeks to get it sorted. Ds was very difficult to get latched on and it used to take me ages.

I have to admit that when I was out and about, I didn't necessarily take the same care in getting him latched (I would have been "exposed" for ages ), but took the view that the odd feed that wasn't optimal would be OK.

Gradually I worked out techniques that made it easier to get him on and actually sucking (he was very good at pretending). Everyone learns their own techniques that are right for that baby - mine was that I had to squeeze my bood sort of flat, into a horizontal recatangle shape and "post" it into his mouth. He was not very good at opening his mouth - which was a whole other struggle!

But it does get better! I went on to feed for 13 months.

[spagblog]

2 months of hell
Wanted to give up every day for the first two weeks, 6 week growth spurt almost tipped me over the edge.
DS is 10 months now and I don't want to give up.
It does get easier, but you have to take each day as it comes. DS has tongue tie and couldn't achieve a good latch on. I remember having to bite down on a muslin (glad I spelt that right) to get over the first few moments of each feed.

[tiktok]

kama - though a lot of mums are thirstier when they breastfeed, they don't actually have to make a point of drinking water at every feed as a routine....and you don't need to be worried about protein or calcium, either. Nature sorts out good milk, whatever your diet

[Blondeinlondon]

Thanks everyone
I'm getting very sore nips off and on and just feeling exhausted
I went to the bf clinic but despite it being a drop-in no-appt place they were already full and turning people away 15 mins after they opened
I may try to go again but other than attempting to stuff more of my huge breasts (34J) in his tiny mouth I'm not sure what they'll suggest

[Eulalia]

3 weeks is known for being a bad time and a lot of women give up around then. Yes it definately gets easier. Soon baby learns what s/he is doing so latches on better and gets bigger so can suck more effectively. If you've come this far then you'll be fine. Just remember to keep feeding as much as poss to keep your supply going. Another 2/3 weeks and you should be fine.

[pixiefish]

It does get better- took me about 6-8 weeks for it to get easier- in the meantime I had 3 lots of mastitis, cracked nipples, all sorts really. Plus I was a bit worried about bfing in public. Went to m local bfing group and saw how others did it. Just lift your top and put baby on. This also becomes easier. If you're shy in the beginning (as I was) then I always made sure that i took her to boots or mothercare to feed her- they've got the rooms there. Or i fed her a lot in the car. Keep at it. Well done you