Did you find breastfeeding a breeze?

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My sister is due her first baby in August and we were talking about breastfeeding. I'm currently feeding my second baby, it's gone much better than with my first but it's definitely still a struggle. Cracked/sore nipples from the cluster feeding which is toe curling for the first 10 seconds or so of feeding, good latch thankfully, pain of milk coming in etc, it's not the easiest thing to establish especially when cluster feeding is involved or you get engorged.

I think what I'm going through is fairly common and I (maybe naively) thought this was how everyone's breastfeeding journey began and it's tough for everyone initially and eventually gets better. My sister asked if it's the same for everybody and whether she'll need to mentally prepare herself (and stock up on nipple cream) so I thought I'd ask.. is there anyone here who just cracked it straight off the bat? Did it make a difference if it was your first baby or you'd done it before? Has anyone found it genuinely easy straight away?

Yes I’ve breastfeed 4 children and never found it hard at all.

I had the odd red nipple but nothing that actually hurt much with my first. Used lanolin I think it was called.

I'd have said I found it easy both times.

So you didn't have the pain of milk coming in, or sore nipples etc for the first few weeks?

The way the midwife was talking it seemed to be the norm for a bit of pain initially and then settles down.

Was a bit tricky to get established but probably only the first week and then have found it surprisingly straightforward still going 1 year on. Encourage her to find her local breastfeeding cafe/group and pop along even before she has the baby & after. There is support out there

My experience was just like yours. So not easy but got easier. I also read lots and lots about it in advance so I know what to expect and that helped me loads.
With my second baby it got easier much quicker.
I personally found the ease of it worth it in the early stages and was happy to sit on the sofa feeding for weeks! With my second I needed to do more (had a toddler) so I found it harder to fit it in, luckily he was a good feeder and not gorging for hours like my first. But maybe he just had to do it that way as he knew he'd only get 5 mins each side?!

I’m only on day 12 so far BUT I’m so surprised at how well it’s going. It was never my intention to breastfeed after a day or so of colostrum, because all I had heard were horror stories about painful nipples/cluster feeding hell/no sleep at night. I haven’t personally experienced any of this yet (of course there is still time).

Yes, I found it easy with both DCs. I stocked up on Lansinoh and breast pads with DC1 and I never really used them (I'm using up the nipple cream as an overnight hand cream). Never had cracked nappies or engorging. I didn't go to breastfeeding support sessions, just watched a few YouTube videos and followed the instructions and DCs seemed to know what to do. Breastfed both until age 3.5 years.

Nope. I absolutely loathed it. Caused a massive hormone crash every time they latched. Would be sat there in floods of tears. Dc1 was good at it. Dc2 had an awful latch which didn't help. Nipple shields made a huge difference. If I were to have a third, I'd buy shields and nipple cream just in case.

Found it difficult on both. Did a breastfeeding course before my first. Nothing prepared me for the pain I experienced but he was tongue tie. Instant relief when released but reattached & didn't get the same relief the second time. Infected nipples and a lot of pain the first few weeks but settled down then & fed til 6 months.

Second was also tongue tied(& reattached 🤪), but maybe I was more prepared or his tt wasn't as bad, but it definitely wasn't as painful. And a breeze after a few weeks. Fed him til 14 months.

Better to know to expect some pain, and then happy days if she doesn't!

No, everything that could go wrong did. Mastisis, tongue ties, bleeding. I gave up in the end. Looking back I didn't really know what to expect and with more support probably could have persevered but it felt impossible at the time.

Honestly yes, it was a breeze for me with my three babies, apart from a short period of engorgement (approx 24 hours of enormous concrete boobs). I was lucky to have no nipple soreness or supply issues.

I do remember pretty much all the the other NCT mums having problems of varying degrees though, so I think i really was quite lucky.

Dc1, great latch from early on, occasional cracked nipple at first, pain for first two weeks but after that was fine (except seemed to leak alot). Fed till self weened at 20 months. Wasn't able to express though.
Dt both had good latch, no cracked nipples Fed for 13 months (my choice to stop as it was exhausting). Had mastitis alot (which was like having flu) especially when they naturally reduced feeds. Expressed daily and had a good supply. Pain for first two weeks.

I guess you could say we ‘cracked it’ straight away. After I came around from my C-section to a screaming baby, DH placed her onto my breast and she took to BF straight away… well a little bit of teething as sometimes she’d forget to open her mouth but we figured it out.

HOWEVER, the only person who did prepare me for BF was my mum. She told me it wouldn’t be easy, and would hurt and it’s not the easy option. She was the only one who prepared me to solider through the first few weeks. While DD took to BF like to duck to water (she was three weeks late which does help) once my milk came through it HURT for the first 10 seconds or so. Really fucking hurt. I used to count while biting on my finger but the pain stopped maybe three weeks in. My nipples would get sore and the only thing what would help would be elpson salts in a hot bath- but I think that’s because DD was cluster feeding/not enough milk/waiting for my supply to go up.

I write this as my DD (6 months) is feeding now. It’s honestly so easy now, even with teeth (she did learn quickly that biting= no milk). I would 100% trying to make BF work as I’ve found it so much easier than having to faff about with bottles/having to get out of bed in the middle of the night to prepare a bottle 😅

I also read somewhere that if you plan to BF don’t take in any formula to hospital. If you have formula to hand you’ll end up using it. I didn’t, and when the midwife said to DH that he’d have to give DD a bottle as I was still in recovery he seriously advocated on my behalf.

Very pleased so many seem to have a much easier time!

On paper everything worked and it went very smoothly with both DCs but mentally/ emotionally it was very difficult. I was lucky to get very good and conscientious advice from a hcp early on which was immensely important for managing my own expectations. The whole experience had it's ups and downs but I'm proud of myself, my body and what I could do for my children and have no regrets. I've finished bf my youngest and last dc in the last few months when we were both ready and have no happy or sad feelings about it, it was the right time.

The experience made me realize that what one woman finds difficult or even impossible another woman might not. A lot of anecdotes I hear now about women who can't breastfeed I honestly put down to lack of support and information which is really sad imo.

I will say though that if a woman makes a decision not to breastfeed then that is 100% their decision and they should not feel the need to provide an explanation to anyone. It's better if we feel able to say "I don't want to" rather than "I couldn't" so that it isn't made out to be an impossible task.

I had a hard difficult start, it hurt so much for weeks but everyone said that was normal. It was excruciating. Eventually spoke to a BF counsellor and she diagnosed a missed tongue tie - this was around 7 weeks...
Had it snipped a week later and the same day it improved, and everything got so so much better.
BFed her until she was 19 months.

With my second one it was easier but not a breeze, still had cracked nipples.
BFed him until after he was 2 and had to break the pattern as I reckon I'd done enough by then. 😴

Despite the challenges I am still happy I managed to crack it, grateful I had support from HV, DH and friends and family.

Totally easy both times right from day one. I could have fed twins easily. The breastfeeding was the only bit that was easy though.....

With first DD, was well supported to get a good latch, was painful for about 10 seconds then fine. After about 4 weeks I realised the pain had gone and all went smoothly. I was rubbish at expressing but she never took a bottle anyway. Had mastitis a couple of times but got through it. Second DD was a section at 37 weeks so felt different at first. Still was a bit nippy when latching but that wore off quickly. Realised I could express with a pump on one breast whilst feeding from the other breast. Let down was strong. She did take a bottle so when she was a older her dad could feed her. Have lansinoh to hand and ask for help!

No I had an awful time. It didn’t get any easier either. I persevered for just over 6m and every feed was awful. It nearly broke me. I had so much help and support though, I can’t complain about that, it really was excellent. They were the ones who gently tried to tell me that it was ok to stop!

1st baby - fine, sucked like a demon even with a tongue tie, fed til about a year.

2nd baby - couldn't latch, pain, infection, expressed milk

3rd - reflux and no milk

4th - didn't bother

I consider myself as having had an easy time, but I did fine it sore in the beginning both times, with cracked nipples that hurt at the start of each feed. Pretty much all of my friends felt the same. Once we were past the first few weeks it was easy peasey.

I was very lucky and found it easy, no problems at all.

Yes, I was expecting pain and problems, but he latched straight away, never any pain or swelling problems. I breast fed till 2.4 years and when I stopped I also had no problems at all. It was honestly a nice experience for me. I know I am very lucky

I had a little bit of pain at first as the tissue behind my nipples stretched and a couple of blebs/blocked ducts, but overall it was vastly easier than I'd expected. DS took to it instantly and fed well past 2. I had one boob that was much more productive than the other, so they looked like Laurel and Hardy for the first year or so, but overall it was an incredibly rewarding experience and I'm really glad I did it.

I found it easy with baby number 2, the midwives told me about silver cups and I got them straightaway and they helped so much with the pain.
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