What's it like to breastfeed?

[justanotheryoungmother]

I'm currently 32 weeks pregnant with my first, and I'm swaying towards trying breastfeeding, but I don't know anyone who has done it. I was wondering if you have done it, what were your experiences and was it easier to do than bottle feed (if you have experience in both)?

Thank you for any replies

I BF all 3 of mine - the 1st time in honesty was harder than I thought, you get quite sore/tender and tend to wince when baby latches on but it does clear quickly. I was also the 1st in my family to ever do it, my mum and nan were deeply suspicious and every time baby cried/was ill, I got told my milk wasn't good enough for her but oddly enough my dad was so proud of me for it, said how natural it was and he wished my mum had done it too. DH was fab, always on hand to get drinks etc (I got quite thirsty in the early weeks) and when my 3rd finished, I was honestly bereft. It is the one thing you can do for your baby that noone else can, it's an amazing experience and I am so glad I did it. Interestingly my DD has BF all 3 of hers too, because for her it's normal.
On the other hand, if it doesn't work for you, or you don't like it, your baby won't starve to death, there are good alternatives out there and when kids are lined up at school aged 5, no one can tell who was BF and who wasn't! It's all about a healthy happy baby, and healthy happy mum! But I would honestly say try. You've nothing to lose.

I had an awful start but once tongue ties and all that were sorted it got better. Once we were past about 8 weeks it definitely got easier and I think although the constant feeding can be tough at the the start, it definitely ends up easier than bottles once you get past the first bit. Particularly in regards to going out, there's just no forward-planning and equipment required! So much easier at night time too.

Depsite the pain and tears of the first bit, I did it again (much easier experience with my daughter) so it must have been ok!

I breast fed all my children (still happily breast feeding my 5 month old DD) It took a while to get the hang of and DD has bottles in the day with breast milk since her latch got lazy when she has oral thrush. But when she is poorly, teething or generally unhappy I just put her on the boob and she is happy. We also co-sleep sometimes and night feeds are so easy. I love breast feeding my baby especially when she snuggles into me. If in doubt whip em out Is what I say!!

Great - when you get into the groove - which took us a while and we supplemented with formula from weeks 2-6 decreasing to one bottle of formula in evenings by week 6 and breastvthe rest of the time - was great. We still benefitted from the pros of breastfeeding though it was a bit stressy when DS did not gain weight on Brest alone at the start. We got the hang of it though and it was worth it - breast fed to 13.5 months.

Currently bf DS2. Bf DS1 till 18 months. I've been very lucky with it. I've never had any pain or problems and both DC gained weight well.
With DS1 I wasn't prepared for how relentless it would be. The cluster feeding seemed like it would last forever. With DS2 I was more prepared so just watched a few box sets and cuddled him as much as possible.
For me the positives are quick comfort, easy, didn't have to get up at night, free.
The only downside with bottle refusing DS2 is DP couldn't share the feeds.

I weaned by massive baby who was on NNu being NG tube fed on to breastfeeding and fed him for 3weeks. I loved it but my antibiotics had him shitting through the eye of a needle and then he refused to drink it. I swapped on to FF and found it so much harder. I was getting stressed and neurotic about making up feeds, volume of milk then he got reflux and CMPI. Definitely will be breastfeeding with DC2

I've done both bottle & exclusive BF. BF is tough in the beginning but ends up being much more convenient overall. Not to mention cheaper.

I found it really exhausting not being to share night feeds with DH like I did with the bottle. That was the main downside.

Due to my dc's character I've found it harder to stop than I thought it would be. We're still going (albeit less frequently) at 2.5 years.

Overall I have enjoyed it and feel immensely proud of it.

I would say don't feel embarrassed to get support and do join the FB breastfeeding UK page. That got me through the tough times and gave me a much better understanding of what it's all about.
Good luck!

Sometimes if felt lovely - like having and amazing cuddle with my baby. It was free and a good way to get her to sleep. On the other hand it wasn't all roses. It was time consuming,. It was dehydrating. It meant her dad was unable to be as 'involved' early on - which because he was the stay at home parent was a real problem. Expressing milk at work was a total nightmare - I can't imagine anyone has the time and space at work to do that! So lots of of pros and cons and I'd say choose to breast or bottle depending on what works for you and the other things/ppl in your life.

I found it absolutely hideous. I hated it from the very first moment for a huge range of reasons (the thought of it even now makes my toes curl and my stomach churn) and the guilt when I stopped (very quickly) was huge. However I got over this very quickly and found FF a breeze...loved it as did DH. It's not for everyone.

It was great,

1. I lost all the baby weight (4 times) within a couple of months.
2. I could feed anywhere and any time.
3. My milk kept pace with the baby's needs.
4. None of mine has ever had asthma or excema
5. None of them has a weight problem
6. Night feeds were easy (although they did go on all night)
7. I could take my baby back from MIL with "he needs feeding" and she couldn't argue.
8. The experience went beyond the practical. It was very special.

Difficult in the beginning, but so worth sticking with. Definitely easier in the long term (less faff with sterilisers/ prep). DD was 10 weeks prem so I expressed while she was in hospital (11 weeks!) and gradually introduced bf before she came home. Wasn't sure I could do it but so glad I did. Good luck whatever you decide.

It's painful at first as your nipples have never been used to a baby sucking on them 24 hours a day but they do toughen up after a few weeks and by 6 weeks you can start expressing which means you can get your life back a bit as others can feed baby. I only lasted 12 weeks full time (continued doing night feeds until she started weaning and was finally full up!) and the guilt I felt for switching to formula nearly killed me.
If you can do it and it works for you then that's great but if you can't don't beat yourself up about it.

Bottle feeding isn't a faff. You just have to be a bit organised, and night feeds weren't a problem at all. Sterilising bottles is easy.

sparkling I totally agree. I have never understood those who say FF is a faff. I found it so easy. In the time it would take to: get top up, get boob out, get baby ready, get baby latched, position and wrestle with baby..re latch...blah blah blah,....

I had a bottle in her mouth in a fraction of that time!

I loved it. Although I am at a point where I want to stop and my daughter won't let me.

If you end up FF that is absolutely fine and there's lots to enjoy there too. My first child was BF at first but moved to FF when I returned to work. He was fine.

However, when BF works it is really lovely. It releases loads of hormones too that can make you feel drugged up (er, in a nice way! Or often in a woozy way).

Bfing is tougher at first, I remember being hugely jealous of the woman in the bed next to me in the post-natal ward who just opened up a little carton, dumped the contents in a bottle and started to feed her contented newborn while I was desperately trying to latch on a squirming, screaming ball of rage onto my ravaged nipples.

It got easier very quickly though, and I'm glad I did it. In fact I bf DC1 for 8 months and DC2 for 2 years, it is easier 2nd time round because you have more confidence and when people come out with daft things like 'is that baby feeding AGAIN, you probably don't have any milk now as it dries up after 3 months you know' you can just roll you eyes and ignore them instead of worrying that they're right.

I remember being absolutely horrified when we spoke about the technicalities of breastfeeding at my NCT class before the birth of my first daughter. Nobody was more surprised than me that I ended up breastfeeding her for two years and have now been feeding my second daughter for six months. I feel very lucky that I was able to do this and it is the most amazing thing! The early days can be tough but if it is possible for you to stick with it the benefits are too many to mention. Good luck

you just get comfy, get snacks and a boxset and be lazy while they're stuck to you. Much easier than chasing a demented toddler.

This

Still doing it at 16 months lovely and cozy way to spend time with your little one.

It's worth giving it a go but if for whatever reason you don't, don't feel or be made to feel bad about it

My twins were born 14 weeks early and spent 16 weeks in NICU. I expressed for 12 weeks before starting to breastfeed them both.
I was lucky in that I had 24/7 access to breastfeeding support because the girls were in hospital.
They never had formula at all, and had bottle feeds at night whilst in hospital, but have never had a bottle since coming out of NICU.

The girls are now 11 months old and I'm still breastfeeding. I love it. It's so easy and free and convenient, especially with 2 babies.
Out and about? Whip a boob out! Cranky/teething/poorly babies? Whip a boob out! Stuck somewhere without baby food/snacks? Whip a boob out!

I did have DMER when I expressed, and I occasionally get it now. That's the feeling of dread/sickness you get on let down. Now I know what it is, I can manage it/ignore it.

I hated it - made my skin crawl. Tried to perseverance through it but it really negatively affected my bonding with my daughter, felt like I hated her when I was feeding her. It's a thing, it's called nursing aversion.

If I had the choice between giving a baby a boob feed and sawing a toe off I'd seriously consider loosing a toe!

Like others have said it's really hard at first. I don't feel like I ever really properly cracked it! I breastfed my first for 6 months but partially mixed feeding.
Number 2, mixed feeding from earlier on and stopped breastfeeding at 3 months as he was so sleepy and I could never get comfortable feeding him for some reason, plus I didn't have great advice and also didn't have as much time to devote to it due to having the first one around.
I did feel like i had a love/hate relationship with bf'ing to be honest.
Definitely try it and see how you get on. If you can make it work it will be great and cheap!!
Don't beat yourself up if you find it's not for you or you can't do it for long.

I'm feeding my dd at the minute and during let down I get an amazing rush of love and warmth, like a sudden high. Didn't notice it with ds, but he fed all the time. I've never found it painful, but it was difficult to get it established the first few weeks. Then it's quick and easy and snuggly.

I must admit that I feel a bit jealous of bottle feeding friends having nights out while their mum has the baby over night. I don't leave dd for more than an hour! But I also know this is only a short stage.

Definitely give it a go. I breastfed my first but only for 4 months as I had PND and needed modern antidepressants which you can't take whilst BFing. It's much less hassle than making up endless bottles of formula and fannying around in the night trying to warm them up while your baby is screaming!
Oddly enough, BFing didn't work out with my second. He just couldn't latch on properly and it was unbearable agony. Like being stabbed in the boob then pouring vinegar on! I gave up after a week and didn't beat myself up about it.
Definitely give it a go- but stay open minded

LumelaMme Yeah, new UNICEF training states absolutely no touching of 'boob to baby' at all. There are loads of other ways you could've been helped though. Glad
You got the help you needed when you needed it x

Oh I loved it. I breastfed for four years in total, two years for each child, and those wonderful sleepy feeds... being able to soothe any pain or nightmare or get them to nap... loved it. I'm done with having kids now but breastfeeding was such a wonderful part of my parenting journey. I had a horrendous time getting BF established with my first child - every BF problem you can think of I had, apart from tongue tie - but after 6 weeks we got there and all went fine. No problems at all second time round. Really really persevere if you possibly can, find out about local support and keep using it. Make friends with other BF mums who get it, drink tea together and soak up the oxytocin.