Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

If you have time, please would you help with a reasearch project?

105 replies

tenacityflux · 05/01/2010 20:11

Hi,
I'm doing a project as part of my breast feeding peer supporter training, and I would really value a moment of your time.
The information won't go further than my project and you will only be known by your screen name, so please feel free to speak your mind!
Please also be assured that I am not in anyway looking to make a judgment on your answers, I am simply interested in recording your feelings about breast feeding whatever they are.

Please ignore the questions your feel are irrelevant to you, and thank you once again for any thoughts you have time to spare.

With your first or only baby, if you decided not to breast feed, what influenced your decision?

With your first or only baby, if you decided to breast feed but stopped earlier than you would have like,when did you stop and what contributed to that decision?

Did your decision to breast feed or not change if/when you had further babies?

Thank you!

OP posts:
NoahAndTheWhale · 05/01/2010 20:13

Happy to answer

  1. Did breastfeed so N/A

  2. Stopped when I wanted to

  3. Breastfed again, and for a similar amount of time

sunburntats · 05/01/2010 20:18

Well, i bf till my son (my 1st baby) was 7 months old.

It contributed 99.9% to my PND, it was a living torture and i believe that i was a walking corpse becuase of it.

I am trying for number 2. I will definitely try to bf again because despite all of the above, the health benefits for my son are i believe to be evident to this day. he is 6 now.

However, i will not persevere if i feel myself slipping again.

GhoulsAreLoud · 05/01/2010 20:20

  1. Did breastfeed so N/A

  2. Stopped when I wanted to

  3. I am pg and plan to b/f DC2 but similarly to sunburntats found it very hard and I felt that life was a struggle for the 6 months I did it (but was not suffering with PND).

jasperc163 · 05/01/2010 20:22

  1. N/a

  2. Stopped ebf at 4 weeks due to severe reflux which went on for a year and refusal to feed - then expressed for 3 weeks but supply disappeared by 7 weeks.

  3. Planned to bf again and probably even more determined due to problems with DD1. Problem free baby but supply problems (still bf at 9 months but dependent on domperidone)

Galena · 05/01/2010 20:23

I did breastfeed.

I'm still breastfeeding, although trying to cut down simply because I feel I've had enough of it!

DD is our only child (so far!)

(If you want additional info, DD was 12.5 weeks premature, so for the first 9 weeks of her life she was in SCBU and I spent most of my time feeling like a dairy cow hitched up to a milking machine. I guess I had to be really committed! Glad I was able to bf in the end though...)

juuule · 05/01/2010 20:24

1st baby - bf for 3m and stopped before I wanted to because I was returning to work and didn't think I could continue to bf.

2nd - bf for 5m as returned to work when baby 6m old.

3rd - bf for 3m. Again because of returning to work.

4th - 9th bf for between 10m and 16m as had made the decision to sah by then.

mamaduckbone · 05/01/2010 20:27

  1. N/A as did breastfeed.

  2. Stopped when I returned to work as it became difficult to manage and didn't feel I could maintain feeding morning and evening as my supply seemed to have disappeared (ds was 10 months)

  3. Am b/feeding ds2 and had no hesitation in doing so as b/feeding ds1 was a positive experience.

HTH and good luck with your training.

thisisyesterday · 05/01/2010 20:27

1.) n/a

2.) i started mixed feeding around 4.5 months to allow my breasts to recover from horrid thrush and cracks from poor latch. baby refused breast after a week, so we expressed until 6 weeks when i switched to formula.
It turned out he was actually tongue tied, but no-one had spotted it, not the gp, the many midwives who tried to help in hospital, the lady i saw at breastfeeding cafe.
if he'd had it snipped i have no doubt we'd have continued breastfeeding- i am still gutted about it now

3.) no! my second baby was also tongue tied, had it snipped at 3 weeks and was breastfed til he was 16 months when he self-weaned due to my pregnancy with my third baby, who is currently being breastfed (plan on stopping when he is ready)

mowcop · 05/01/2010 20:30

Breastfed for just over 9 months with dd1.
Stopped when wanted to - trying for number dc2 and dd1 had lots of teeth!
Only fed ds1 and dd2 whilst in hospital and for the day or 2 after.
This was due to 1) such a small age gap meant I couldn't juggle everything and 2) dd1 ended up being a comfort feeder, so when I say I fed for 9 months it was a constant thing and put me off a bit for ds1 as I couldn't spend all day sat feeding with having a toddler as well.
Hope this makes sense, my back is buggered playing up today so am taking a small pharmacy worth of pills!

stopcopyingme · 05/01/2010 20:34

1] N/A breastfed

2] stopped at 7 1/2 months because of a lack of support to continue any longer. struggled all the way through but no-one seemed to support feeding passed 6 months GP,HV etc

3] DD2 is breastfed @ nearly 8 months and will be until she decides otherwise (by the looks of things it will be a while)

StealthPolarBear · 05/01/2010 20:36
  1. N/A
  2. N/A
  3. No
I think you'll get polarised views posting in this topic though!
Frog253 · 05/01/2010 20:37

BF baby 1 for 6 months but mix fed from about 3 months. Baby 2 got the same whilst baby 3 (6.5 months now) has only had breast milk. The reasons I stopped earlier than I would have liked for babies 1 and 2 are the following...
1 Ignorance, I didn't know that anybody bf beyond 6 months.
2 Found bf more demanding than I imagined (thought babies went suck, suck burp every 4 hours or so)so introduced a bottle to give me a break.
3 I didn't know anybody who bf beyond 6 weeks so felt a bit odd going to 6 months and wanted to fit in with new mum friends.
4 Babies 1 and 2 hardly slept in the day and took a while to go through the night and thought that formula would help (it didn't).

This time age, experience, Mumsnet, different friends in a new area of the UK who bf for much longer and lack of time have made sticking with bf so much easier.

Yorky · 05/01/2010 20:42

BF DC1 until he was 14months, by which time I was 2months pg with DC2 who was BF until she was 13months by which time I was 4months pg with DC3.
I have been continually PG and/or BF since May 2006 Dh can't remember what life is like with a non-hormonal woman

With DS I wanted to BF and had no problems with latch/cracked nipples/supply so just carried on. By the time I chose to stop he was only on 1 feed a day so it wasn't a wrench

With DD I wanted to continue feeding her longer but after I gave her both sides and she then had 10oz from a bottle I couldn't see who was benefitting as I clearly didn't have enough for her anymore, and her latch was either getting lazier or I was more sensitive as it was uncomfy at least 50% of the time

I plan to BF again in May

olivo · 05/01/2010 20:59

DD1 - ex bf to 4mo, gave one formula at night from then on, as I naively thought she'd sleep better. stopped bf totally at 7mo as i had to return to work and expressing not an option as a teacher. wish i had exl bf to 6mo.
DD2, now nearly 5mo, am still excl bf - resolved this time to go to at least 6 mo excl, but would like to continue longer. have had good support this time and know how much easier it is (for me) to bf .

HTH

JigglyPiggy · 05/01/2010 21:05

  1. Attempted to bf DD

  2. Combination of factors led to DD (now 4yrs) being formula fed from approx 3 wks - little to no milk supply, me being in agony due to thrush with a GP refusing treatment as I should 'get on with it' and DD had reflux. It is only since having DS that I have fully come to terms with what was one of the lowest points in my life. I felt such a failure for not being able to bf and was so upset when DH fed her those first bottles.

  3. DS is 7mths. I really wanted to bf successfully with him when pregnant and despite my first experience was looking forward to it. However, I was in agony again within days with thrush again, plus he was'nt latching properly and although my supply was slightly better this time and I had wonderful support from new GP and MW's I made the decision to switch to ff within the first week. I wanted to enjoy my time with DS as I did'nt with DD, I merely 'survived' my time with her so took control and made my decision before I sunk.

If we were to have another DC I would still want to bf as those first feeds are something I will always treasure

StarlightWonderStarlightBright · 05/01/2010 21:11

'With your first or only baby, if you decided to breast feed but stopped earlier than you would have like,when did you stop and what contributed to that decision?'

Yes. I dropped to 2 feeds a day at 7months because I was desperately ttc and had no periods. They returned but I miscarried and so at 14 months when I fell pg again I stopped bfing because I wanted all of my hormones dedicated to keeping the next baby

'Did your decision to breast feed or not change if/when you had further babies?'

My decision to bf didn't change, but my expectations for the length of time did. I plan to feed dd forever as am not ttcing probably ever again.

NickeeS · 05/01/2010 21:12
  1. I breastfed

2)Daughter is 16 weeks and I am still breast feeding.

  1. Only have one child
weepootle · 05/01/2010 21:18
  1. Stopped at 9 months with dd1, earlier than I would have liked due to a mixture of: people constantly asking me how long I was going to feed her so felt like a freak and the fact that I was soon going back to work.
  1. Still feeding dd2 who's 13 months and no plans to stop for some time.
tinierclanger · 05/01/2010 21:18

  1. I breastfed

  2. Stopped when DS wanted to (14 months) - I would have carried on a bit longer! Although when he was born I didn't anticipate wanting to feed him when he was over 1.

  3. No other children

HalfMumHalfBiscuit · 05/01/2010 21:31

With your first or only baby, if you decided not to breast feed, what influenced your decision?

N/A

With your first or only baby, if you decided to breast feed but stopped earlier than you would have like,when did you stop and what contributed to that decision?

I stopped at 7 months when I went back to work.

Did your decision to breast feed or not change if/when you had further babies?

My decision did not change. I am breast feeding my second baby.

To sunburntats - I had really bad PND with DS which I based on breastfeeding but have not got it this time with DD (and am soooo glad!) so I hope you don't get it next time.

PamShipman · 05/01/2010 21:35

1 - I breastfed, in a fashion...
2 - for 7 days, when it became clear that I wasn't producing milk. Not "not enough" or anything at all, absolutely none. I had resisted this realisation for a week. Excellent support from MWs, lactation specialists etc in hospital (was still in hospital at this time), but very poorly baby, under threat of SCBU, very kindly paed and MW got me to see that my baby needed some food!
3 - Only 1 DC, but I would try again next time.

mawbroon · 05/01/2010 21:38
  1. Health benefits for me and baby, free and it's what they are for!! Since found out that it appeals to my lazy side - could feed and sleep at the same time.
  1. ds (age 4) still feeds and I am waiting for him to self wean....

3.32 weeks pg with ds2. Plan to do the same ie bf exclusively for 6 months and allow him to self wean

Casmama · 05/01/2010 21:40

  1. Currently breastfeeding my 4 month old son and loving it.

  2. Plan to stop at around 6-7 months as he will have had many of the benefits and I am returning to work when he is 9 months old. (I may try to continue morning and night feeds for a little longer if possible.) If not going back to work I would probably bf for as long as he wanted to.

  3. Would absolutely bf any future children as it has been a wonderful bonding experience and I have had very few problems

deepdarkwood · 05/01/2010 21:40
  1. only really onsidered bf - bf seen as the 'normal' way to feed in my family
  2. With first, fed as long as I wanted at the time
  3. Also bf second, although for less time (due to going back to work earlier/less feeds --> supply stopped
yomellamoHelly · 05/01/2010 21:51

Bf first baby. Stopped bang on 6 months. Mixed fed from a week old. Encouraged to by hv "so I could go out in the evening" and because practically everyone said how it would help him sleep (he was a nightmare). Over time number of bottles gradually increased, confidence in bfing reduced and bfing became more of a struggle to keep on with (ds would fuss a lot).

Bf second baby for 17.5 months. A few bottles of formula.

Currently bfing 9 month old. Intend to carry on for quite a while. Has also had a few bottles of formula.

After nr1 much more confidant that I could feed them successfully and didn't believe hype about formula either so never pushed it that much. Just used it when genuinely helpful to me (night out / much-needed sleep).

Swipe left for the next trending thread