tell me your positive breast feeding stories

[DuelingFanjo]

Hi there. I am expecting a baby which is due in Dec and have been posting in another thread about people visiting after the birth. One of my main worries is that I really want to breastfeed and am worried about getting the privacy to establish breastfeeding successfully.

I think perhaps that I have read and heard a lot of stories about how hard people have found it to breastfeed and might be expecting it to be awful.

So - I wondered if anyone here could tell me about how successful they were with breastfeeding for the first time? I always imagined that I will have problems with the latch, that when my milk comes in ai will feel awful and that getting the technique right will be something I will have to do in private.

What is it really like?

I have just started to introduce formula after 6 months of EBF (have to go back to work next month ). It is such a faff! All of this washing and sterlising and boiling water, carting bottles and formula around... in comparison, bf is brilliant! Yes, the first few weeks took a bit of getting used to, but it seems like such a long time ago now. Try not to get discouraged in the early days, if you can stick with it for at least 6 weeks it (usually) gets a lot easier.

FWIW, I also thought that I would be shy about feeding in front of others... that went completely out the window. I will bf anywhere and everywhere now. The only thing that matters is that my baby is being cared for.

hth

I was lucky in that I grew up in an environment where breastfeeding is/was the normal way.

This makes a massive difference because when you are getting the physical stuff sorted out - you know that it is all perfectly OK and it removes the pressure to get it right immediately.

2 babies both breastfed, usual issues of sensitive nipples/tiredness/marathon feeds etc, but now DS2 is 3 months(ish) it is really very much the easy option.

Like any skill, it takes practice to get it perfect.

Fortunately for me my mum breast-fed all three of her children so I know I won't get any remarks from her. Not sure about MIL and DH doesn't seem to know. Might get him to ask.

Am seeing that there are a few 'the first few days/weeks were a bit awful' stories creeping in

I just hope I get the time and space to perfect it. I am feeling a lot more confident now about being able to tell people to stay away after an initial visit. Thank you for all the great advice about videos and books

It is hard the first few weeks, but less so if you just accept that the baby needs constant contact/feeding. I think the real stress kicks in when people try to get babies to behave in a completely unnatural manner, i.e only feeding every 3 or 4 hours/stay awake after a feed and so on.

They come with a full set of instincts, they want to be close to skin (preferably with Mum - but Dad is nice too, though he doesn't smell yummy!), they want to feed and suck for comfort as well as food, and they need to sleep when they want to.

DS2 (12 weeks) has just fallen asleep at the breast, he look so content and happy, that it just couldn't possibly be the right thing to try to put him in a cot or whatever.

My mum didn't bf me, and although I wanted to try to feed, I was very doubtful that I could. Esp as I had ELCS, and had read it's more difficult to bf post-section than post-VB.

However.... six months on and she is still ebf, and I love it! Top tips would be don't listen to anyone telling you to feed every 3 or 4 hours or whatever, feed to start with as often as you can. It felt like she was permanently attached to me to start with, but looking back this was what was needed I guess to get the milk established.

Also I went to an NCT breastfeeding workshop(!) when heavily pregnant, and the woman there showed us what to do. With dolls. This sounds ridiculous and awkward. And it really was. But in retrospect it was very useful, as I wouldn't have had a clue what to do otherwise!

Re the MiL, now more than ever you have the right to put you first, esp as regards your baby. I had the same issue with her wanting to 'help round the house', which would have annoyed me no end. My husband told her not to basically.

I had a tricky beginning with BF as my DD wasn't interested in latching or sucking to start with. The hospital gave me nipple shields, which got her onto my breast at least, but otherwise, we had to give her formula to start with.

BUT after a babymoon, lots of perseverance and with the help of a Lactation Aid (SNS) plus lots of advice on MN, www.kellymom.com, and Dr Jack Newman I weaned her off the shields and the bottles and within 6 weeks, she was breastfeeding exclusively - she's now 21 weeks, EBF and growing nicely (and will no longer take a bottle).

The message is, even if you can't get BF established easily, it's still possible to get over problems, especially with the right advice.

I would say, definitely get yourself as clued up as possible before you begin - the websites mentioned above are a great help - and trust yourself - YOU CAN DO IT!

Congrats and good luck!

Duelling, haven't read the whole thread, and there may be other people who have said the same thing..

.. there is a strong chance you could be utterly boring like me. The baby knew what to do, the baby got on with it, there were absolutley no problems at all. I thought that was the usual way tbh, and didn't know that others had such a hard time with it.

I hope you get away scot free like I did. I am convinced I am not the only one who got lucky.

catinthehat - shall we form a group? DF - remember people don't generally post to forums unless their having problems/have questions. There are lots of people with tremendously positive experiences of breastfeeding who simply don't appear because they're getting on with worrying about everything else to do with being a mother...

I had a rotten late preg and birth with DS. But inside 30 mins he'd wriggled up for his first feed and we've never looked back. He's now 21mo and still a very happy feeder - although he's dropped all feeds except for his bedtime feed. I never expected to bf this long, but you know what, no one can give me a good reason to stop. I hope to keep going until he's happy to stop himself.

Yes, in the first few weeks, it's tiring, but having a baby just IS tiring. And I second the advice about having local/national support numbers to hand. When I went back to work I thought I'd have to give up BFing but I got excellent advice and support from the NCT BFing helpline.

Congratulations and good luck!

Yep, like catinthehat and gruffalomama, I have no tales of BFing woe.

Despite my mum making it sound like the worst trial and tribulation a woman can put her body through, DS and I found it so easy that I was worried that I must've been doing it wrong.

I never needed Lansinoh; I never needed the emergency formula, bottles and other crap I had carefully stockpiled; I never needed the BF counsellor.

DS has BF for 18 months and, I think, is now deciding of his own accord that it's time to stop and so I am thinking it must be time to think about ttc DC2

I wish everybody could have the experience that I've had and wish you the best of luck.

Just want to second what's above. I had no probs either. About three days of applying lansinoh (i now am using up the rest by putting it on ds's chin when he's dribbley and teethy to stop it getting sore...waste not want not!) as nips were a bit sensitive, but that's it. Tbh after labour i felt like wonderwoman!

I know that this thread has prob run its course, but I just wanted to say that I am a first time mum and my experience of breastfeeding has been very positive. I have had no problems at all - latch has been good, no engorgement, no pain, no problems with nipples. When DD is having a growth spurt I use lansinoh after every feed to protect my nipples. However, this has just been as a precaution.

Dont be put off if your DC doesnt latch on straight away. It took my DD 4 days to latch on for any longer than 30 seconds. Just keep a it if this happens. My DD was quite drowsy due to the pain releif I had during labour.

Just go for it and be willing to feed, feed, feed in the initial weeks.

I like to get out and about and accepted early on that if it was going to work for me Id have to be willing to feed when I was out. After doing it a couple of times and finding a comfy position I felt more confident...I now feed at any time, anywhere.

You will hear stories where BFing is a nightmare, but it isnt for every women...as so many of these replies show!