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breastfeeding

Im ony my second pregnancy and my husband has mentioned that he would like if I tried breastfeeding the new baby. His mum breast fed all of his siblings and he thinks its better than formula. I know its my decision at the end of it, but I am going round to the idea iof maybe giving it a go.

I didnt do it at all with my first child. I was only 21 and I felt too much pressure from the hospital to do it so I decided not to as I didnt feel like I could do it. Formula milk is so expensive though!

I personally dont think that 'breast is best' as it depends on your own opinion. Neither me nor my 5 brothers and sisters were breastfed and we turned out fine, but I just think from a cost effective way that it may be better even if I do it initially. It sounds silly but during the credit crunch its helpful if you can save money!

Anyway, Im quite nervous about doing it and I dont know why. I am also worried about my baby relying on me too much so that im always the one to feed him/her. I want my husband to take a part too.

does anyone have advice??

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Replies

  • Hi,
    I tried to breast feed my daughter and after a bad experience in hospital i could not do it.
    When i first got pregnant i really wanted to try it again but as its got closer i find myself panicking about it again and all the bad feelings i had last time.
    so i have decided to express and bottle feed then aleast she is still getting the milk but my hubby and daughter can help feed too.
    hope this helps emma 29+2 xxxxxxxxx
  • thats great, I think I may express so my husband is happy and I am too! we have a 7 year old daughter and I guess she can help with feeding too.

    does it hurt though?? lol

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  • I think you can only give it a go! But breastfeeding isn't for everyone and nobody should feel a failiure if it doesn't work out.
    I am determined to give it a good go, but I have no problems putting my hands up after a couple / few weeks if its not happening for me and my baby.
    I also don't believe breast is best - my sister and I were bottle fed and we are perfectly fine too. We weren't sickly children either. In fact my Mum commented that my sister's two kids were more sickly than us and my sister breastfed her kids!!!
    Good luck whatever you decide but don't be pressurised by anyone.

    Julie xxx
    30w today!
  • hi there congratulations on your pregnancy and just wanted to say i hope breastfeeding works out for you.I have found it a wonderfull experience and so much less hassle than sterilizing etc with bottles.As for the "breast is best" policy it can be easily misinterrperutated (sp?) i think what is meant is that breast milk is made just for your baby and has all baby will need,no chemicals,can be filling or thirst quenching depending on what baby needs.I think professionals like to rave about percentages and what your baby is less likely to get that people get the wrong end of the stick sometimes.My daughter has been exclusively bf and is still feeding from me and she has bad eczema which bf is supposed to reduce her getting but i do wonder if shed of had formula would it have been worse?what matters the most is that mum and baby are both happy so i wish you luck in however you decide to feed your lo xxxx
  • Hi

    If you can gice it a go. It is such a fantastic bonding experience. I was lucky and found it quite easy even though my son was in scbu for the first few days of his life. I did stop at around 5 months but only cos my son had his first 4 teeth by then and woulld grate them against my nipple.

    Forget about any health benefits but the money you save is huge (although I always kept a couple of ready made cartons int he cupboard in case). Its also great at night when you just pop them on, you dont have to get up, make/warm the bottle etc.

    as for oh, I would express and oh would give me a lie in in the morning and feed lo. Also its great to express if your going somewhere and your not sure if you'll find somewhere suitable to breast feed.

    RAch

    30+6
  • I agree with Rachel that it's a lovely bonding experience. If it works for you, it's also incredibly convenient - no bottle sterilising & lugging tons of equipment about, etc.

    The biggie for me though is the health benefits for baba. I'm afraid I have to disagree with some of the girlies above though, as except in extreme cases, it's just a scientific fact that breast is best. Formula might provide all the right nutrients but it can't provide the antibodies breast milk can.

    I am in no way judging anyone who formula feeds, I'd like to add - just stating an empirical fact.
  • hello, just a quick note to say if you ask your midwife for the number of a breastfeeding group or peer supporter they will be able to give you advice without preaching to you! they'll also beable to give reasurance about isssues such as feeding in publis and getting your partner involved. all the breastfeeding peer supporters are just normalk mums who breastfed their babies and have had some training to help women who want to feed their children. good luck! its a great experience if you can get settled with it and as you say, you do save so much money!
  • im a breastfeeding peer supporter myself xxx
  • I'm really not liking the idea of breastfeeding, although I feel it would be better for the baby if I did. Ive heard alot about the bonding experience of breast feeding, but would much rather express feed rather than actually breastfeed, is this possible?
  • Hi, Melanie85, yes it is possible, that is what I've been doing for 6.5 months now as BF didn't work for us. It's a lot of hard work but so rewarding to know that you are still giving your baby the best possible start. I'm a great believer than breast is best, but it's not for everyone and no-one should be forced to do anything they don't want to. Some people do have problems with milk supply when expressing, but this is easily remedied using herbal supplements, I have had to do this twice now but it soon picks up again. I also have a freezer more than 1/2 full of expressed milk so when I give up I can continue to give her breastmilk for as long as possible. It requires a lot of dedication and sticking to a regular schedule of expressing, I did it every time she fed plus still got up in the night even when she was sleeping through.

    I would always say give it a go to anyone, just a few days or a week or two can make all the difference to your baby's start in life.

    Corinna x
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