Support thread for bf 6-12 months

[Hulla]

We've passed the ebf stage but we're not quite extended bf-ers. Any other "inbetweeners" want to join me in a general support thread?

We can chat about anything - bf & weaning, night feeds, going back to work, coping with pressure to stop, biting when feeding (ouch!, whether to stop, whether to carry on...anything.

Pull up a comfy chair and lets support each other. Chocolate biscuit anyone?

dycey - it's all supply and demand, so if he is demanding from just one breast then it will supply the right amount for him. Bf is very clever!

Re nursing bras - you can ditch them as early as you want! Wires aren't a problem (you can actually get underwired nursing bras). I am only still in nursing bras because it's easier to get access to feed during the day. If when I manage to stop feeding during the day I will go back to normal underwired bras. Nearly 4 years of nursing bras is enough for anyone!

dycey, my twins have their 'own' breast so one breast provides enough milk for one baby - as cantsleep says, supply and demand sorts it out. I have heard of this from two of my friends actually - that one breast doesn't produce as much, or dries up earlier than than other, but in their cases they topped up with formula. If he is thriving and you can manage with one, go for it and don't worry about it.

Hello, can I join? DD is 7 months and exclusively bf (I mean exclusively, as I am rubbish at expressing, so she doesn't even get ebm). This despite her having exclusively had ebm for the first 2 weeks of her life due to a complication at birth and her being in intensive care.

Have considered introducing some formula a few times mainly due to tiredness (especially with toddler to contend with too), although now he's at nursery in mornings and DD has a nap, so I get a bit of time to myself (should be getting food prepared for later, but ho hum...) Would be a right palaver to give her formula though because a) she detests a bottle and b) I would need to get hypoallergenic formula on prescription, as she seems to be intolerant to dairy and eggs (hence I have cut both out from my diet since she was 3 weeks old).

Had intended to give up bfing at 9 months (am going back to work at 10 months and would actually really like to be able to eat some nice foods at Christmas without worrying about them affecting DD through my milk - is that too selfish?! ), but as it draws closer, I'm not sure I actually see myself giving up by then....

Am loving the highs and lows, so mine are, starting with highs:

1. DD latching on brilliantly (just like her brother) within 30 mins of birth, before they whisked her up to SCBU.
2. DD taking so well to bfing once I was allowed to bf her again (i.e. once the nasogastric tube came out)
3. The fact that I have managed to exclusive bf her for 6 months and she has thrived on it (DS had bad reflux and was put on formula top ups at 9 weeks due to losing weight and was fully ff by 5 months) - it feels brilliant

Lows:

1. The lack of sleep and feeling like a bad Mummy to DS due to being so tired.
2. The fact that she still wakes at least 2x a night, often 3x.

Also, am very delighted for DH, but her exclusivity to me has changed since she started on solids and she'd rather get solids from DH.

Right, think that's long enough for a first post

Staines - your boob fixes everything comment is spot on - it is fab isn't it!

naddsss, every time he bit me (which started to happen just before he got teeth when he regularly gummed me a lot very painfully), I said 'no' firmly and took him off the breast, sitting him up a bit. He often had a puzzled look on his face, but I reckon after about 10 times he got the message.

Just thought of another BF high - the happy realisation that I didn't actually give a stuff about BF in public and will happily wap one out anywhere (am a bit more covery-uppy in front of my dad and FIL though).

Lots of cross over between this thread and the nightmare sleepers thread - hmmm...

dycey if it's any reassurance, since going back to work I feed dd2 before her breakfast and then when I get home from work, before bed and various times in the night, then on a non-work day she gets a few extras (mid morning, mid afternoon), and my supply just seems to go with it! I've not had any problems.
Well I decided to give myself a break from my hideously unsuccessful attempt at sleep training and just go with the flow for a while (had severe PND after dd1 so I know when I need to be kind to myself this time round...!) - worked well for a few days, just offering the boob whenever she wakes, going straight beck to sleep, but last night she wouldn't even settle after a feed . She stop crying while I fed her, then start again as soon as I put her down . So we ended up leaving her for 5 or 10 mins each time because I had no options - didn't want to be held, didn't want patting, didn't want more milk...no idea why she wakes up so much and so unhappy - perhaps teeth might finally be on their way?
sospan I 'm quite happy to whip out my wangers anywhere now too! In fact last week I was out with my friend and her 4mth old. Her dd got hungry do went to an outside cafe and she BF her. Afterwards a lady came up to us and said to my friend "I think it's wonderful what you're doing - keep it up", and I wanted to say "I BF too! It's just my baby isn't hungry right now!" and get mine out to prove it!

Hello! Can I join please? DD is nearly 11 months (hi trace and kiwi!) and feeding 4-5 times a day - breakfast, before her morning and afternoon naps, bedtime and sometimes a lunchtime one. She does usually sleep all night but I think that's because she absolutely adores her food - another BLWer - and stacks in the dinner.

I'm going back to work 2 days a week in a month and hope to be able to get away with just morning and evening feeds - am hoping she won't start wanting lots of night feeds at that point. I've tried expressing but hardly get anything out any more, so am there every bedtime with only a couple of exceptions. She's had one formula feed when I wasn't there at bedtime, and I felt really weird about it but am now realising it's fine if needed.

Good things about bfing for me are still the massive convenience of it. The fact it means I get to have a lovely cuddle with her several times a day, and her cheery face in the morning when she comes into bed for her breakfast. Knowing that it helps calm her down when she's upset/tired/in pain.

hi JJ. LOVE your peekaboo picture on your profile
I know this isn't reassuring but I think P's night wakings did go up when I went back to work, and my HV said it's normal because they are apart from you in the day so they want to make up for it at night to get their 'mummy quota'! I know that doesn't fill you with hope about the months ahead, but it's kind of nice to know it's a normal and recognised phase.
And I never did do my BF highs and lows, so here goes:

Lows - mastitis
Feeling weird feeding in front of FIL - strangers are fine!
being the only one to get up in the night for 10 months now...!
not having the choice to leave her for a few hours if I wanted to (although I wouldn't have wanted to!)
mastitis again
Now - starting to feel pressure to stop, as though she's too old to 'still' be BF.

Highs - saving lots of pennies
no hassle with making up feeds/ having to remember or work out how many bottles to take everywhere I go
the way she pummels my boob with her little hands while she feeds
how she settles and does a big happy sigh when she's been upset and I give her my boob!
discovering Lanisoh!
the snorty gulpy noise when she's starving and starts to feed!

Hi JJ! Ever think we ought to start a December, BLW, BF club?? Clearly of like mind

I've just realised I never did my highs and lows either, Trace

Lows

• Trying to get DD to feed when she was born and was in SCBU with kidney failure and too sleepy to feed, while pumping manically to get lots of milk
• Seven weeks of excruciating thrush
• Two bouts of mastitis
• Not ever being apart from her for more than about 2 hours in 10 months

Highs

• The first time she latched on and fed properly after five days of hand expressing and machine expressing so she'd take it from a bottle and hysteria (me, not her). I cried. A lot.
• Her twiddling my nipples like she's trying to work out how to turn the milk up makes me laugh
• The fact that she's never had any formula, I've never bought it and wouldn't know what to do with it anyway: that's got to have saved a lot of money

Hi everyone,

Some of your highs and lows have made me laugh/cry. Kiwi - love the idea of your DD twiddling to turn your milk on

To all who are in the 'back to work' club - I've been back for 3 weeks now and am persisting with the expressing. I am lucky as I have separate office although do get lots of people coming in to see me at random times which can be interesting if I'm pumping. I don't express anything like as much as I would feed on a 'home' day though but so far it doesn't seem to have caused any supply problems. The biggest problem is just the time it takes.

DrCosy - yikes to visitors mid pump! When you say not much, is it enough to give to your DC as a feed, or is it just to keep the supply going?

Thanks traceface - I will give it a go. My Mum can give him a bottle for comfort while I am at work and i will bf when I am home. That makes me happy to think of that!

Am wondering about getting my Mum to bring him up to work at lunch and after the kids leave (3.30) for extra feeds - or will it unsettle him to see me for a moment and then have to go again?

Wish I could be a SAHM... Really do...

My highs and lows:

highs -
he has loved it from the word go
comfort sucking
cuddly feeds
giving up the dummy and him feeding in a leisurely way again
feeds now as he examines my face, jumper, bra strap etc...

lows -
mastitis week 1 - the pain of gummy down on inflamed breast - ouch
worrying he wasn't getting enough (fed on one side only for a few months)
the dummy he used for sleep making feeds a bit business like!
Parents in law constantly asking when I am going to give him a bottle

Hi all, going to join you if you don't mind, DS is 11mo and I have no idea how i would stop bf him as he feeds like crazy day and night!

We tried PUPD at night but it was disasterous, ending in him hysterically vomitting everywhere and me hysterically crying everywhere! So we are back to night feeds a-plenty although the last couple of nights it's only been twice...

I have been asked by my MIL if I've 'knocked this bf on the head yet' and my own family are starting to be bemused as well but luckily there are lots of mums with older babies bf round here, which is lovely.

Lows:

Horrible, terrible thrush that didn't go properly til DS was 6months old. It was hell on earth and thank god for MN as I would have topped myself!

Loving everyone's highs and lows!

dycey I am another one who is back at work and finding the boobs are adapting. We're on about 4 feeds a day on my home days, and 2 feeds a day on my (two) work days. I've been back since early Sept and no longer express at work - I did it to relieve engorgement rather than to keep him on BM. I sometimes have to express in the evening at home, but that's not such a problem.

Have also ditched the nursing bras! Have been wearing an underwired number today. I keep looking down and thinking 'what are those?' It reminds me of the Jordan Days when BB was about a week old and my milk first came in!!

I have a tip for getting babies to sleep through the night....I bought a pair of pyjamas that say 'I love sleep' (I loved the irony as he was waking around 1am and 5am for feeds at that point). BB slept for about 10 hours that night without waking, and has done it most nights since then. Bizarre.

Hi JumpJockey - it varies. Often I manage to pump enough for DD to have the next day but sometimes not. Haven't had to use formula yet though as I built up a bit of a stock of bm in the freezer. And DD does seem to be cutting down on the milk a bit now we are doing BLW. I think she also feeds less when I'm not around. So we may be able to muddle through, we will see.

I do try and lock my door when expressing but don't always remember! And yesterday when I thought I had all bases covered on the privacy front a workman appeared outside my window - I'm up on the second floor so don't bother to shut blinds but hadn't realised there's scaffolding up as building work is going on. Not sure who was more surprised, him or me

Drcosytiger!
I need new pyjamas!
So of you ditching the nursing bras - i have been pregnant or bfeeding constantly since June 06 DH pointed out to me the other day, and hopefully that won't change until May+months more feeding again

I'm another who can't rate highly enough the Anita underwired nursing bras. Not a real bra but still a vast improvement on the hammock like nursing bras I was previously wearing. I look like I've gained a stone on the days it is in the wash!

Public expressing - yes that is far too familiar - I've had to help DH out at festivals and things and often have to express in the van. Have been caught in the act by many security guards! I also had to express in the changing room on his stand (he sells clothing) once - a customer got an unexpected eyefull.

DS never had formula at all until 7mo, and until the last week or so had only had about 5 bottles in 3 months. I was really proud of that, especially of the money we saved, but now he is well established on solids I'm not really so fussed about formula, it's just another foodstuff now to me I guess. I find if I leave him he hardly wants milk, he'll happily go 6-7 hours on food alone and if I leave ebm he doesn't find it satisfying, I wonder if I am only ever expressing foremilk, although it always looks pretty fatty when it separated in the fridge.

I need new pyjamas too - that sounds like a heavenly way to more sleep Cara!

Hi all,
Been absent for a while as went back to work last week so things a bit hectic. But thought I'd add my reassurance about people going back and worried about milk supply etc as mine seems to have adapted fine; I feed DS 3 times a day on my work days (morning, evening, and nighttime) and 5 times on my days off and supply seems to have coped all right (at least, DS isn't screaming for more!). Also no problems with engorgement, I was quite surprised as the gap between feeds is 12 hours on a work day.
Hope everyone else gets on OK.

Wow yorky that is amazing, how far apart were your LOs born?

bunny I find mine can go 12 hours on work days now without engorgment. I have also managed to build my supply up again following the 2 weeks of almost full time work. He's back on 4/5 feeds a day now. Starting to wonder whether he will ever wean himself off it! He is 10 months and has had little else but BM today....

reassuring to hear that supply adapts to going back to work, I'm back in December. Need to think about buying a decent bra, think that I can treat myself. Tho not looking forward to more night wakings so dd can get her 'mummy quota'. Wonder if a cardboard cutout of me might fool her....

The extra feeding at night only lasted a couple of weeks for us.

Hi everyone! Teething is the issue of the moment here. DD likes to scrape my nipple on her new top tooth by pulling it with her fingers (good to see her pincer grip developing well!).

I'm so impressed with you all. I have just read back a lot of this thread (catch up because I've been away a while):

:Working & bf, expressing in public at work/for babies in scbu, persisting the early days, tandem feeding, feeding twins.

I had a bad tear with dd and found it very difficult to get bf started, really uncomfortable to sit on my injuries and I had the baby blues for about 3 months (I didn't realise not all new mums cried every day for 3 months! ). I was under lots of pressure to share the feeding and give up but something in me just made me want to ebf.

So another question. How many of you expected to still be bf past 6 months ? I thought stopping at 6 months was just what you did. I didn't realise anyone fed past 6 months except for strange women in documentaries feeding 8 year olds (so I used to think ). I was amazingly naive for a 30-something woman. I guess thats why I feel self conscious feeding dd in public now - I feel like people think I'm weird.