All breasfeeders or have breast fed in the past in here please

[cherylanne]

1. How long are you planning on bf'ing for? / If not anymore when did you stop and what reasons did you have for choosing that specific time?
Grace was 1 yr when we stopped breast feeding, she more or less came off it herself.
2. How much did your baby weigh at birth, and did you have latching probs? My lil man does, not sure if it was because he was born small at 5lbs 9oz, but he is now 10lbs 7oz and he still has problems latching on without me doing all the work everytime.
Grace was 5lb 4oz and she did have difficulty latching for the first 7 - 10 days. After that she was ok at the latch but needed to be helped on for about 8 weeks or so.
3. Do you give your lo the bottle at all? Either formula or expressed breast milk?
Tried a bottle of expressed, but she was awful at the bottle. She did sip it from a cup a couple of times.
4. Have you ever been at the point where you have nearly given in breast feeding? And if so and you carried on what motivation did you use?
At first it was very difficult because of her latch, but i was determined to breastfeed her and i just kept going
5. Everyone keeps telling me it will get easier... does it? when? lol
Oh yeah!! After the first couple of months he should be able to support his own head more and get on the breast better. I also found Grace fed for longer periods so only needed feeding every 4 hours.
6. How do you cope with only you being able to feed your lo when your tired and emotional? As if formula fed I'm guessing you can take a nap while someone else feeds for you
Try to nap when baby does, even if you don't sleep just relax and rest.

 

[clairebear]

1. How long are you planning on bf'ing for? / If not anymore when did you stop and what reasons did you have for choosing that specific time?

around 6months to a year

2. How much did your baby weigh at birth, and did you have latching probs?

jack weighed 7lb2 1/2oz at birth by 8 days after he weighed 7lb11oz he know weighs 12lb plus we were lucky i never had any lactching problems and is ale to latch on himself now

3. Do you give your lo the bottle at all? Either formula or expressed breast milk?

nope jack only likes mummy he wont take a bottle


4. Have you ever been at the point where you have nearly given in breast feeding? And if so and you carried on what motivation did you use?

that first week was hard healing from the csection trying to holdhim with really sore stitches trying to find a comfortable position luckily he lactched good otherwise it would have been so hard.

5. Everyone keeps telling me it will get easier... does it? when? lol

yes it does i was one of thelucky ones who only got slightly chapped nipples the first few days. i since have had no probs and it does get easier

6. How do you cope with only you being able to feed your lo when your tired and emotional? u just do i sometimes take jack to bed and we lay down and i feed him. i love the fact that he needs me and sometimes it is hard when ur knackered but i love the bound so much xx

 

[Hevz]

1. How long are you planning on bf'ing for? / If not anymore when did you stop and what reasons did you have for choosing that specific time?

I breastfed Lauren for 12 months, Abi for 15 months and Toby for 9 and a bit months. I stopped feeding both the girls as I felt the time was right for me to give up as I knew "I'd" find it hard to let go after that.
I only stopped feeding Toby last week....I'm pregnant and was experiencing pain and cramping each time I fed him and have a history of miscarriage and prem-labour so made the really hard decision to stop breastfeeding. I really wasn't ready but would never forgive myself if something happened to this baby
I plan to feed this baby (last one) for at least a year....that's the target I always give myself but don't be too strict, as long as what is right for you at the time


2. How much did your baby weigh at birth, and did you have latching probs? My lil man does, not sure if it was because he was born small at 5lbs 9oz, but he is now 10lbs 7oz and he still has problems latching on without me doing all the work everytime.

Wow you're little fella sounds like he's doing fantastic, it takes time to learn....you and him, doesn't sound like he's having too much bother though as he's put on so much weight.

Mine were all fairly small except Toby who was 7lbs 13oz and only 36wks lol. They have all put weight on really fast at 1st and then at a slower pace but that's normal with breastfed babies anyway.

3. Do you give your lo the bottle at all? Either formula or expressed breast milk?

Both Lauren and Toby had expressed milk in a bottle from about 3 months old, Abi never really took to it and I couldn't be bothered anyway. None of them had any formula milk till they were about 7months old and they were quite happy to take it too....much to my disappointment

4. Have you ever been at the point where you have nearly given in breast feeding? And if so and you carried on what motivation did you use?

I got tonsillitis when Lauren was about 4 weeks old....OMG, I had no idea it could make you so poorly. I couldn't even stand and had to crawl to the toilet....the worst feeling I've ever had but I persisted even though we had a couple of cartons of ready made formula in the cupboard just in case. I was soooooooooooooooo proud of myself for not caving in

5. Everyone keeps telling me it will get easier... does it? when? lol

It varies babe.....but I promise you, stick with it and it really does get easier

6. How do you cope with only you being able to feed your lo when your tired and emotional? As if formula fed I'm guessing you can take a nap while someone else feeds for you

I just used to take advantage of the situation at every opportunity and sit there feeding with my feet up, drink and phones close by, and a sneaky treat like a bar of choccy etc and read a magazine over babies head

Sometimes if I was really knackered, I'd feed lay down in bed....that way you can almost go to sleep while baby sleeps. I never could actually fall into a deep sleep while feeding but almost unconcious was good enough for me





Good luck chick, hope this helps

 

[cherylanne]

oh i missed out one question aswell..

does anyone feed in public? if so how do u manage it? x

I used to feed in public whenever Grace wanted the breast. I always had a shawl (sp?) with me so i'd drape it over so no one could see. Nobody looks though and most think your just giving baby a cuddle

 

[Hevz]

Oops....me too.

I thought I'd never feed in front of anyone but when it comes to it, you can't go hiding away. I just used to pull my t-shirt all the way to baby's nose and have muslin slung over my shoulder in case baby pulled away suddenly or choked (as I seem to have fast flow teats). I was never embarrassed about breastfeeding but would have been mortified if someone did see my nips out in public...maybe coz it would have been so obvious as my boobs are huge(38L).

I always took advantage of nice feeding rooms in the shopping centre etc but not the ones provided by asda etc as the chair is usually in the baby change room next to the minging, stinking nappy bin.

I sometimes used a changing room etc, not coz I was embarrassed but coz it was quieter.

 

[Ragirl]

1. How long are you planning on bf'ing for? / If not anymore when did you stop and what reasons did you have for choosing that specific time?

With my first, he weaned himself at 14 months. I had hoped to go longer, but he was done. I plan to allow this one to self wean as well and if she hasn't around 2 years, then I will probably encourage it at that point, but not force the issue.

2. How much did your baby weigh at birth, and did you have latching probs? My first was 8'13" and no latching probs at all- it was like he had a boob magnet in his mouth- if my nipple got within 6 inches of his mouth he'd latch right on. This one- not such a natural. I generally have to do the work to get her to latch, and she pulls off and on alot (she was 8'14").

3. Do you give your lo the bottle at all? Either formula or expressed breast milk? We started the bottle at 4 weeks with my first (I returned to work at 6 weeks) and plan to start it at 6 weeks with this one (I return at 10 weeks). I NEVER give the bottle, though, to try and reduce nipple confusion. And we use expressed milk, not formula.

4. Have you ever been at the point where you have nearly given in breast feeding? And if so and you carried on what motivation did you use? MANY times But knowing how good it is for baby and me (selfishly, the fact it helps me lose weight and prevent cancer are HUGE motivators) usually keeps me going. Not to mention just how easy, even if sometimes painful, it is keeps me going. And when I think about stopping, and not having that bond, it really makes me sad so I couldn't do it even if I wanted.

5. Everyone keeps telling me it will get easier... does it? when? It does- trust me. Usually around 6-ish weeks, so you are getting there. But it won't happen overnight. With my first I just realized one day (not sure when, maybe 3 months) just how easy it had gotten and how easy it had been for several weeks. So easy I never even gave it much thought anymore- I could be doing many other tasks and feed him at the same time. We are defintely not there yet with my daughter

6. How do you cope with only you being able to feed your lo when your tired and emotional? I lay down to feed her and nap with her. Also, as a psychologist, I know that bfing is even more important when I am emotional as it helps prevent postpartum depression. My approach when feeling tired, overwhelmed, and emotional is to take her to bed, feed her, let us both fall asleep, and let my hubby take care of everything else. Since he can't feed her, I figure he can do the other stuff. And I don't do this all the time, but just when I really, really need a break!

Thanks x

Hang in there