Positive breastfeeding experiences

[kiki22]

Ds2 due in Aug I'm hoping to bf this time after failing with DS in the first few hours resorting to a bottle and happily ff from then on but i keep hearing stories of bleeding nipples agony and feeding round the clock it's really putting me off. I'm mostly wanting to bf because it's free in all honesty i do want to give the health benefits too but we got on just fine ff never felt guilty or found it inconvenient so I don't have a huge drive for it and I know I won't feel like a failure if I can't.

The problem really is that after loving ff I'm worried bf is going to be a nightmare and I'll give up too easily, can anyone tell me success stories how handy/easy they found it? I don't think I can handle weeks doing nothing but sitting feeding.

Failed to feed my first child, had a c section with him and he point blank refused to latch, ever.
Second baby latched right after birth. Fed her for 18 months and loved it. Not a single problem, quick feeds, very content baby, no pain or mastitis. Baby was big, healthy and happy :)

Thank you again. My best friend bf for 16 months after an awful start with her baby not latching she cracked it in a few days so she has offered to come help luckily we are close enough for boobs not to be an issue 😀. It really helps to hear about people enjoying it I think like everything you tend to hear about the problems much more than success stories.

Yes to best friend, mine came to the hospital and was right up in there with pillows and advice!

I stopped breastfeeding my first after a month in order to heal after surgery for mastitis.
Having had no idea whether I would be able to breastfeed after that, I actually found I could and bfd my second until 8 months.
I would just suggest doing what works for you at the time, please don't beat yourself up, and remember - you really can't tell which adults were breastfed and which bottle fed - so in the UK with clean water either option is equally safe and healthy for the baby.

I'm just coming to the end of my bf journey with my 13mo so this thread has given me the chance to reminisce! I've found it generally very straightforward and far easier than ff.

I went back to work at 6mo so she ff during the day from that age, so I have experience of the whole lugging bottles around, making up feeds and waiting to cool down etc - bf is just so much easier. I would not have fancied doing that during the night! Plus as pp have said, it's an amazing way to calm a fractious child. I hope it works out for you.

Me and my DS got on with it from the word go with a little advice from MW about him sucking on his bottom lip and with the help of Landoish (sp) until my nipples toughened up.

We worked it out together but deffo needed those two things and support from DH and DSis.

Everyone is different so be kind to yourself about it. Also make sure your towels are tumble dried lol.

DS is 6 months old and we're still going strong. It was hard to begin with, not painful but hard work as he fed so much. Then we went through a painful phase - I decided to try block feeding to deal with an overactive let down, and ended up making myself quite engorged, and as a result latching on was painful for a while. But, with support from the local children's centre and the infant feeding board, we got through that. I'm really glad I persevered as I do find it very easy now, my body has totally adjusted and DS latches on easily every time.

It's worth it, if you can get through the initial slog!

I think that there is a lot that we forget. I remembered that the first few weeks were hard, but didn't remember how tough until I spoke to my best friend this week who had her baby on Sunday. It bought back a lot of memories, but I was able to tell her that it is all completely normal, and to stick with it as it should get better. DD would clusterfeed during growth spurts and particularly before my milk came in. This did space out and get easier.

I started pregnancy thinking 'yes, I'll breast feed' by the end of it I was convinced I wouldn't be able to. Almost everything I heard, read or learnt at the bf workshops and ante natal classes, prepared me for failure.

I do consider myself lucky that it's been a breeze. Ds, big baby, born by cs, did the crawl across my chest and latched himself on. Within 30 minutes of birth. He stayed there for about three months......

I had some pain on latching for a couple of weeks. The hardest part was the sheer relentlessness of it. I struggled with being confined to the sofa as he wanted to feed a lot. And my husband was shit, which didn't help.

Ds is 11 months and we're still at it which I didn't expect.

Posted too soon. It's been amazing. So easy, no prep, no bottles. No bother if I am out and about.

That's good to know it seems there are so many problems and barriers talked about its quite off putting especially if like me you found ff easy and convenient I do kind of think why would I put myself through all that!

Hi Dc1 didn't get the hang of Bf quickly. Dc2 did. At 24 hours post partum I went to the hairdressers.
If you are busy out and about with dc1 and you are bf, you can grab a snack for dc1 & yourself, no need to pack a bottle for dc2. So if a play date for dc1 takes longer than expected no stress.
You may find you have a spare arm bf vs ff & useful if you have another dc...

Apply lanolin nipple cream before and after every feed. It's not harmful for your baby at all. I did this and didn't experience any discomfort. Ask the midwives for help getting the latch right and go to breastfeeding support groups. The first few days are tough while you get the hang of it but after that it's great.

Breastfeeding at the beginning and at the end when ds was biting was one of the hardest things I've ever done. However it was also one of the most amazing. I'm so glad I did it, wish I could have carried on longer but the biting was out of control and was stressing both of us out. I cried for days when I stopped.

Best advice I can give is take it one feed at a time. Don't think too far ahead.