Talk to me about breastfeeding! Does it get easier?!

[RWK29]

😭😭 I’m about a week in and I’m struggling. Midwife isn’t much help at all. Just tells me “it’s natural, you and baby will figure it out” 🙄

Yes it does. It’s BRUTAL for weeks when your milk is pink from blood and chunks of nipple can be picked off, but give it time - in a few more weeks you’ll both be pros and it will be so much easier 😊

Breastfeeding is the hardest thing I’ve ever done but I promise it does get easier - typing while BF my four month old! Have you got nipple cream? Lansinoh is good, slather it on - I used after every feed so it “sunk in” before the next one, as it used to make him slide off! Good luck

Contact your health visitor, or look up videos and online classes with a breastfeeding nurse. I struggled with my daughter and ended up expressing instead, but a lot of stuff I’ve read this time says that if it’s painful it’s more likely to do with the latch or position not being quite right

Oh, also there are a lot of UK breastfeeding Facebook groups that are super helpful for specific issues, have a look on there for tips/to ask queries.

Oh yes it becomes so much easier but it takes a few weeks. Just make sure your latch is ok, I don’t think mine was at the start. Lansinoh is fab for sore nipples.
Once it becomes easier it’s great, I did it for nearly a year.

You're through the worst of it OP! It gets MUCH better and quite quickly, even if it doesn't feel quick at the time. So get some help to make sure your latch is good though.

Our local health board had a breastfeeding support service we can call any time day or night which was a godsend. Might be worth checking out if you have that but I’m sure your midwife would’ve signposted you there if you did.

Yes it does get easier. I had two very different experiences with my children. Baby 1 was not good. Got off to a terrible start and never really recovered. Baby lost weight and so had to supplement a lot and just led to us never really getting fully established. Switched to bottles 100% by 10 weeks old. Baby 2 however, whole different experience. Much more relaxed, fed on demand, made sure while in hospital to get midwife to check feeding again and again. Yes it was sore and painful (winningly so) for a few weeks while latching but after lots of nipple cream and wincing we turned a corner. I'd say if you're still in week one you have a little while to go. Try to get to 3 weeks and then if you can push to 5/6 weeks you will start to turn the corner. In the meantime get as much advice as possible, be prepared for lots of sitting down and catch up on tv and don't forget the nipple cream!

*wincingly

Yes it does get easier I promise, but you need proper BFing support if you're finding it tough. Midwives are often shockingly badly trained in BFing issues, and even in what normal BFing looks like.

Speak to this lot, they're brilliant:

National Breastfeeding Helpline:

0300 100 0212

"Independent, confidential, mother-centred, non-judgmental breastfeeding support and information"

"Open 9.30am – 9.30pm every single day of the year"

Live online support also available via our web chat service

"All calls are answered by highly trained volunteers, who are also mums who have breastfed."

"All volunteers are trained and supported by the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers and The Breastfeeding Network."

From this page:
www.nationalbreastfeedinghelpline.org.uk/

Yes it really does!! Hard to imagine at the start but it does. Lansinoh and lots of rest with baby.

It's tough, but it got a bit easier for me at 3 weeks and then a good bit easier at 6 weeks. I did it for a year and enjoyed it so it can get better! But don't feel bad either if it's not for you as main thing for you and baby is that you're happy.

Yes it does. Allow nips to dry off fully before you put them back. Keep on top of the ibuprofen and paracetamol. Seek support from breastfeeding groups locally if you've got any. You can employ an IBCLC and they can be really useful. There are also groups on Facebook.

My sympathies, the first bit when breastfeeding isn't working well is a specific sort of misery that I wouldn't wish on anyone. My first took six weeks before i was fully there and comfortable. My second took a week and a half.

If you've got any specific questions, fire away.

Are you finding something in particular hard going or is it just in general?
It is hard when your knackered and sore and it takes so long to feed in the beginning. But then there is definitely a turning point when it works, no pain or overthinking and trying to get yourselves in the correct position and for me it was fantastic. I hated stopping tbh.
However I echo what has already been said, if it's too much of a struggle then don't beat yourself up if you don't continue with it.

First 6 weeks are the hardest, it gets much easier after that. Weeks 1-3 are brutal.

Feeding lying down is the thing to master.

Have you looked for your local support group? There are no face to face meetings due to Covid but ours are always online and will do video calls. They are usually on Facebook

Yes it gets so much easier! But do get help if you are struggling, an experienced breastfeeding expert can make such a difference in helping you figure things out. I have been doing la leche league meetings via zoom whilst breastfeeding in lockdown and have got some great support.

Breastfeeding does get easier providing you have the correct latch. It shouldn't be painful so if it is, keep getting midwives to check latch. Go online to youtube videos on correct latch and comfy postions.

Thanks everyone 😓 it’s not so much the pain - although, don’t get me wrong, it IS painful. I have cracked bleeding nipples and I’m going through Lansinoh like nothing on this earth. Baby is putting on weight so I know he’s getting what he needs which is the most important thing but he wants to feed CONSTANTLY! I’m talking at least 20-30 minutes every hour all night 😳 a bit less frequent during the day - roughly 30 minutes every 1.5-2 hours. He also refuses point blank to be put down to sleep on his back. He just screams 😓 he’ll only sleep being held or lying on someone’s chest. So the longest I’ve slept in a week is about 25 minutes 😔

I’m sure he has some kind of gas issue because he’s constantly passing loads of wind from his bum and doing lots of very dirty nappies. He’s also curling his knees up to his belly whenever he is put on his back which I believe can be a sign of being really gassy?? Midwife just tells me he’s putting on weight so he’s fine 🙄

I should say also, it’s only painful on one side and I know that’s because his latch wasn’t right on that side for the first few days and he managed to blister and crack the nipple. The other side is absolutely fine. Its just the sheer amount of feeding 😓

Yep, that's what it feels like - as though they are never off the nipple. Is your baby only a week old? It's all about constant feeding and building up a good supply. I know it's hard, and painful, and exhausting, but you are doing something unique and amazing. My advice is just accept it - know that it's completely normal, it's doing him the world of good.
Xx

Sorry haven’t read whole thread but how is his latch? Do you feel like he is properly on and has a good mouthful of breast not just nipple? Does he make clicking sounds or leak milk at all. Are your nipples squashed after feeds. Any of these things may indicate tongue tie which would cause a lot of wind and frequent feeding (as no proper latch). It’s hard to get it diagnosed as GPs and most midwives don’t know how. Ideally you need a trained BF counsellor or lactation consultant to look.

@SingingSands Yeah only a week old. In my head I know we’ll get there eventually but my gosh it is exhausting 😓 DH is desperate to just express and bottle feed or formula feed him but I just feel like we haven’t given it enough of a shot yet!

It's early days and yes its normal for them to bob off and on all night. I co slept with mine in the end so they could graze while I rested. The toe curling pain does pass too as the latch improves. The first 7-10 days are the toughest, hang in there, it's about to improve.

Just to offer a different perspective - it never got easier for me. I battled my way to 8 weeks ebf, then expressed from weeks 8 - 11, before gradually moving to formula. For me it was a survival decision, my MH was falling apart and it was bottle feed or go onto antidepressants (which could leach into my milk anyway). Baby never really got the hang of it and had colic (much better now) and reflux (still an issue). I wasn’t being a good mum, bf was making her scream and I was angry and upset. I never went out for fear of her needing a feed (which massively contributed to my poor mh). It was largely a supply issue combined with awkward boobs (she would only feed properly with a whole boob out and it was on/off which doesn’t lend itself to public feeds!)

I don’t doubt that an in person lactation consult might have helped but we were mid pandemic and I was having a hard enough time as it was.

I’m determined to bf next time but for me and this baby it didn’t work out. I really struggled with the decision to ff but actually? We’re so much more bonded and happy now I’m not sobbing every feed. And I gave it a damn good go getting her breast milk almost exclusively to 12 weeks.

Do keep going as I know it does get easier (even for us there was an improvement around the six week mark) but if you do wind up ff, don’t hate yourself for it. Said from a woman currently enjoying a post formula snuggle with her 13 week old dd

Do you burp after feeds? I know there's a myth that bf babies don't need burping but they do!! You sound like you're doing fab. My baby wouldn't sleep alone either. I ended up Co sleeping but with her in the crook of my arm lying down it's the only way I could get any sleep. She will now sleep in her cot at 4 months so it does get better!! It's sooo hard right now but persevere and it will be so much easier than bottle feeding (ime after bottle feeding my son!)