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Breast or Bottle??

Hi Ladies,

I have every intention of trying to breastfeed when baby is born, however I am a bit worried about how much hard work this will be and was wondering if anyone had any tips/suggestions?
I have been reading Tizzie Hall's 'save our sleep' which has some routines for breast & bottle feeding and it seems rather scary!!! I have watched the dvd given to me by the midwife which was useful and I hope to attend a breastfeeding group in early July!

xx

Replies

  • I did find breastfeeding hard in may ways but also much easier in others. If you do manage it you never need to worry about not having enough formula with you if you are out or find a way of warming it. The one thing that really helped me was going to a local breastfeeding group when my little one was a few weeks old, this was good to find I wasn't the only one having problems and more than anything I met some fantastic friends who I am still in contact with now. Good luck x

  • I think having a realistic attitude from the outset to bf will be key to success. It sounds like you know it may not be easy, it may take some work on your part. some babies struggle and need time to learn the art of bf, while others take to it from birth. (my two were complete opposites!)

    Personally, if it is tough going, getting help/info/advice or visiting a bf group is the way to go, not suffering in silence or giving up.

    in my experience, i couldnt not at least try. Its convenient, no faff and amazing to give your baby the best start in life. I cant comment on formula feeding, as this quite scares me, i'm not sure i understand how to do it!

  • I tried breast feeding and during my 3 days in hospital had every midwife and breast feeding support person help. In the end we managed it but I did find it difficult and when I got home and my milk came in I found it impossible to get her to latch on and was left upset with a screaming and starving baby!!! She lost a lot of weight and we decided to start bottle feeding on day 5 and I also expressed for the first month though I could never get more than a few ounces. It is really hard and if you at least try and don't keep it up then the baby will benefit from the colostrum and the antibodies, I'd keep an open mind but don't feel too pressurised or guilty of you do go down a combo or full bottle route. I think bottle feeding is easier in ways as its not all down to you at night and you can do it anywhere. However there's also the cost of around ??10 per week for formula, plus buying bottles and equipment. All of the sterilising is a faff too.
  • I found it really difficult as my boy struggled to latch on properly. We had loads of help in hospital, and after we left (but we were in 8 days so that helped). I got really sore on one side as he just did not like that side, and ended up expressing off that side and just feeding off one side until it healed a bit.

    At 4 weeks something clicked, and we've not looked back! It's wonderful, so easy, cheap and i love the closeness.

    Bear in mind that at the beginning your baby will feed very frequently, especially in the evenings when they cluster feed. This was a shock to me as i was feeding for ages and he was still hungry, but that's normal! Attend a class if you can, but don't always believe everything they say, the one i went to i was told breastfed babies don't suffer from wind, but Ryan really did!

    Good luck!

  • Thanks ladies, I will book myself into a bf group meeting before and probably after if I need help! I am happy to consider a mix but really like the idea of not having to worry about sterilising bottles and stuff! Fingers crossed image xx

  • I agree it is tough for the first few weeks but you just need to remember its something you both need to learn to do and the longer you stick at it the easier it will become!  My DD had a terrible latch and would feed for an hour every other hour for the 1st few weeks but we eventually figured it out and I fed her until 21 months! I will definately be breast feeding again this time.

  • Wow 21 months!!! Go you - I am hoping to last maybe 6 months image xx

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