breastfeeding

Meandmytoddler · Mar 29, 2011 4:59PM

hi ladies, me and the hubster attended a class on feeding earlier today. ive been unsure about breastfeding however after the class we both are veering towards it. Just wondered if theres anyone else or even still deciding.

Thanks

xxx

wonderwoman40 · Mar 25, 2011 1:49PM

Im bottle feeding doll, so cant help, sorry. x

mehubandbub · Mar 25, 2011 1:58PM

I am planning on breastfeeding, but I know it is not always possible and can not always work, so I am not going to put the pressure on myself.

What did they say to convince you?

spuddy · Mar 25, 2011 4:23PM

I breastfed my DD and hope to do it again this time but like mehubandbub said, somtimes it just doesnt work, so just planning on going with the flow.

Meandmytoddler · Mar 25, 2011 4:34PM

thanks for the replies

Im def not putting pressure on myself but have said I will give it ago and if its not for us then its not for us but I want to have a go

My main concerns initially were the demands of breastfeeding and also public breastfeeding, however MW explained earlier that you can express and keep milk in the fridge for 5 days and that you can also freeze breast milk, there is also the fact that its free and it just sounded good for the baby - although I suppose thats the point of the session

xxxx

beaniesmum-46199 · Mar 25, 2011 4:38PM

Hiya I'm planning on breast feeding this time, really wanted to last time but my little man was too poorly to latch on & then needed high calorie formula to put weight on. I was gutted & was given quite a bit of guilt by the midwifes at first but luckily the nurses on his ward were extremely supportive so I soon got over it.

Am fully intending on going for it this time but am keeping a go with the flow attitude aswell (if that makes sense). You have to do what feels right for your baby & also for you!!

mehubandbub · Mar 25, 2011 4:58PM

Beanies mum - that is awful that the midwifes made you feel guilty. - I'm sure they get paid by the number of people they get to breastfeed - they way they go on the pressure they put on some.

The feeding in public bothered me to, but I will always have blanket in babies bag to hide under and would hide away.

Jo x

sabbath_cat_and_kitten · Mar 25, 2011 5:20PM

Lols yes I'm with mehubandbub, don't pressure yourself and if it works it works

I never particularly wanted to breastfeed, I was always worried about getting nipples like bullets lols! But I think that's what some women get who breastfeed for YEARS and I'm gonna give it a go for the crucial months and see how it goes.

mrs-stb · Mar 25, 2011 5:50PM

Hi, sorry, gatecrashing from homepage. I breastfeed my 7 month old so can I just give you some advice? As much as they may want to help you, you may find that the midwives don't have time to help after your little one is born and unfortunately I think the lack of support is why alot of women have to give up and use formula. My friend ended up doing this and was bitterly disappointed so I 'educated' myself as much as I could when I was pregnant in case I didn't have anyone to help. Good job I did as the midwife god love her tried to show me how to feed in about 10 seconds by roughly grabbing a handful of boob and shoving it down poor DD's throat! Basically I read as much info as possible and if you google theres loads of instructional videos you can watch so you know how to latch baby on etc. It really helped me no end and luckily me and my DD took to it really easily and have had no problems - I'm sure thats partly because I felt confident after all the research.

Good luck with it, there's no feeling in the world like snuggling up that first night with your baby close to you x

lucyah · Mar 26, 2011 10:09AM

im all for breastfeeding, did it for 9months with dd1 and will be doing it again this time round. it never crossed my mind that i wouldnt be able to do it, it was just the norm for me!

as for public feeding, yes, at first its a little daunting. i used to practice the latch on in front of the mirror, then you will actually see that no1 can see anything as babies head is in the way of anything anyway! to be fair though, once id got the hang of it i would feed anywhere! i have memories of me flopping the boobs out in the window of a cafe

i NEVER got any funny looks. if anything, people would smile in admiration that a "young mum" was quite happy to do what she had to do for her baby!

the pros seriously outweigh the cons. no getting up in the night to bother with bottles/water/forumla/sterlising. i find alot of mums who bottlefeed obsess about how many ounces their baby is having, where i just had to get dd weighed to see she was getting enough- and yeah, as sherbert said, its so amazing knowing you've done that all by yourself!

when bubs is here get yourself over to the breastfeeding forum. ill be there and the girls over there are brilliant

jojo149 · Mar 26, 2011 10:16AM

Hi Hun so glad to hear ur thinking of bfing. Best thing I ever did. I noticed that u put u r worried about the demand part of the feeding, just want 2 put ur mind at ease a little if I can. The first 6 weeks r the hardest, it may seem like baby is feeding all the time. Just try to remember it doesn't last like this forever, it is literally about 6 weeks (sometimes less!) plus ur main job for those 6 weeks is to feed that baby, everything else can wait. I promise it is so worth it. Also if u think about the amount of time u spend feeding ur baby vs preparing bottles, cleaning bottles, steralising bottles, heating milk up (esp in the middle of the night) demand feeding doesn't take up much time! However as it is only something mummy can do it might seem like ur doing it alot.

Just some extra info u may or may not know about bfing which I think is interesting;

the hormone your body releases to make u sleep also goes into your milk and so breastfed babies tend to go to sleep easier than ff babies. U don't hav 2 wake up fully when feeding at night, put baby right next to your side of the bed when they wake sit up pick them up feed them put them bk, u will fall 2 sleep alot quicker 2.

Once u hav fed baby b4 bed it's daddys turn! (best bit of info I was given!!) feed baby in just their nappy, once they fall asleep take them off change the nappy dress them and feed them again. Once they fall asleep this time they may b sleepy enough to just go in their cot and sleep if not giv them to daddy. Baby will not fall asleep on u as u smell of milk, daddy doesn't. Plus u can put ur head down and sleep while daddy is doing this bit. Also remember daddy is there, sounds obvious but sometimes easy 2 forget and think u hav 2 do everything urself. This is not tru all u hav 2 do is feed that baby every1 else can do everything else. If u want any more info/tips feel free 2 ask me Hun I am a qualified breastfeeding peer supporter xxx

emmabon · Mar 26, 2011 11:18AM

I really want to breastfeed! Have bought formula just incase but hoping it can go in the bin!

Emma.xx

Moominmummy · Mar 26, 2011 12:10PM

I am hoping to breastfeed this time. With my son it also didn't occur to me that I would have any problems and I did do a lot of research beforehand including about biological nurturing etc. However right from the word go we had problems. I got a lot of support, 2-3 breastfeeding workshops a week and a private breastfeeding counsellor but after just over 2 months I was still blistering and bleeding after every feed and finally found out he had Tongue tie. This is

Not in any way intended to scare anyone just to warn about Tongue tie as I really felt let

Down that nobody checked for this sooner as

We may have been able to sort it out. This time I will make sure they check for it immediately!

Meandmytoddler · Mar 26, 2011 8:16PM

thanks for the replies! quite looking forward to trying it now! jojo thsnks for the advice - are you on fb? i dont get on here as much as i would like due to it playing up but would love to know i can contact you for advice / support! by all means tell me to bugger off lol xxx

Picklesx · Mar 27, 2011 3:18PM

I'm planning to breastfeed but am going into it with an open mind. I breastfed Theo and Lily so I know how hard it can be which is why I'm not going to put any pressure on myself! If I do it, even for a couple of weeks, then great but if not I'm not going to beat myself up about it. When I stopped feeding Lily I was so hard on myself, I don't want to feel like that again.

xx

jojo149 · Mar 28, 2011 4:18AM

Hi Hun yes I'm on fb my name is joanne chalk and it's a pic of a blonde me (I'm now brunette!) and oh. Any1 feel free 2 add me and ask bfing questions xxx

mazie83 · Mar 28, 2011 6:09AM

im planning to try again, i didnt manage it last 2 times

both diff reasons but im not gonna give up, the boys both at least got the colostrum into them, i think with ds2 it was more a case of mw being so busy i didnt even ask for help :roll: so this time i will make myself be more forward as im sure they would of made the time...i didnt go onto a ward just left for home straight from delivery suite so i didnt want to take away from the ladies that were then going thru labour etc (silly i know)

tbh im so looking forward to the satifaction of doing it but on the other hand my boys are very fit & healthy neither of them have ever sufferd with any of the things they say formula fed babies are prone too!!

so 100% try it & if it turns out not to be for you .... well at least you'll know!! the only thing they cant replicate in formula is the colostrum which comes before the milk so your baby will of had the best start possible

xx

babypusher · Mar 28, 2011 6:54AM

Hi I will be breastfeeding this time, I did my last son and I lost my weight really well, and when I was feeding baby I could feel it pulling my tummy in, so it really is good for getting mummy back into shape as well as all the benifits for bubba x

jojo149 · Mar 28, 2011 10:43AM

Hate 2 disagree maizie but formula is not replicated breast milk, you are right in saying that colostrum is unique and that it can't be copied. But the same is also true for actual breast milk. Scientists will never be able to reproduce breast milk for a number of reasons, 1 it differs from woman to woman the milk I make is specific to my baby as your milk would be specific to your baby. 2 the flavour of breast milk changes constantly, this depends on whether it is fore milk or hind milk and what mummy has eaten previously. ie if you eat a curry your milk will taste faintly of curry the next day, this is why breast fed babies tend to wean easier. Formula tastes the same day in day out. 3 there are nutrients in breast milk that cannot be manufactured.

After all formula is milk that was originally made for calves not human babies. Cows are able to digest tough things like grass and hay whereas humans cannot. However formula is the only alternative to human breastmilk and babies do get nutrients to grow from it. Just remember, there is a reason as to why formula has "not intended to replace breast milk" printed on it and also they cannot advertise formula for under 6 months of age.

Just wanted to add I lost 3 stone purely down to breastfeeding!!

mazie83 · Mar 28, 2011 12:11PM

ahh jojo i didnt quite mean it like that, i honestly do realise the vast benefits of breastmilk, its just that after ds1 i got severe pnd down to the fact i couldnt breastfeed (i had nothing for 3 days & then after 2days of colostrum there was no milk) and the fact id given him that was about all that pulled me thru hence why i'll be trying again this time (there was a diff matter with ds2)

i just hate the thought of anyone going thru what i did when i have two perfectly healthy boys that ended up...not entirly by choice... formula fed babies

i hate that i couldnt breastfeed before & couldnt give them all the benefits you've described, especialy as all ive known from mum & the mil & even my sister-in-laws mum (we all grew up on the same farm

) is breastfeeding...between the 3mothers there was 20 children & they were all breastfed so literally ive been surrounded by it always..... ok that sounds a bit odd, they all fed thier own children, its just one of them has 11 children )

what i meant when i said replicate....which i should of just said before... was no matter what you eat drink etc your baby will alwasy have the needed vitamins, and will gorw into a strong & healthy child i realise where formula is concernd it doesnt include any kind of thirst quencher so they need water aswell

i am 100% on board with breastfeeding.... just not the pnd that can be caused from beating yourself up if you cant/dont mangae to do it

i didnt mean to cause any offence xxx

Picklesx · Mar 28, 2011 1:11PM

Completley agree with you Mazie. Some women manage it with no problems and enjoy it, but some of us find it a real struggle and because the pressure on new mums to breastfeed is so immense these days we end up feeling like a failure when really all that matters is that your baby is thriving and loved, whether their forumla fed or breastfed doesn't come into it. I believe that it can be a massive contribution to developing PND.

Everyone knows breast is best, we all know we were given boobies to feed our babies but that doesn't mean its easy and it certainly doesn't make you a bad parent if you choose to give your baby forumla. A happy mummy means a happy baby.

xx

breastfeeding

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