anyone stop bf no.2 because it was easier to ff with a toddler too?

[justkitty]

Hmmm I had to ff ds for a variety of reasons and will have a 19m age gap. I plan to bf but have had lots ofpeople ttell me I may have to swap to ff as it may be unfair on my toddler of baby bfs for ages etc.

Anyone got experience either way?

 

[MumMumMum]

Hmmm I had to ff ds for a variety of reasons and will have a 19m age gap. I plan to bf but have had lots ofpeople ttell me I may have to swap to ff as it may be unfair on my toddler of baby bfs for ages etc.

Anyone got experience either way?

I had to FF dd1 as she just would not bf and was dropping down the chart. She was already prem and low birth weight because of pre-e. Even the 'experts' couldn't get her to feed and the lactation consultant at the hospital was "too busy with other patients to see me".

I tried to bf dd2 but she wanted to feed all the time, kept falling off, would fall asleep and then start crying again when I put her down. I was split and bleeding and every time she latched it hurt like hell and would hurt the whole time she was feeding. I couldn't wait for it to be over. The MWs said it must be me doing it wrong but didn't actually correct anything when I was showing them what she does. All they did was try to ram her head onto me when I couldn't get her mouth open wide enough.

In the end I wasn't spending any time with my toddler and it was killing me. I started combi feeding and then switched to FF.

Turns out dd2 has a tongue tie which could explain all our problems but we'll never know now if it would have solved them for me to carry on.

If you want to try bf then go for it. I'm glad I tried it. I felt guilty whenever I saw someone bf or talking about it but now I'm just angry the 'professionals' don't check for something so simple. I also think dd1 has one and once again, this was never checked or mentioned as a potential issue.

If you do try and have any issues, get tt checked. But at the end of the day you have to do what's best for your family and whatever you are comfortable with.

HTH

 

[Rachel_C]

I didn't FF no 2 but you asked for experience either way so I hope it's ok for me to reply.

I think I would have found it harder to FF my second than to BF her. When you BF, you can put baby across your knees or a cushion/BF pillow etc and once baby is well latched, both of your hands can be free. That leaves both hands for doing sticker books, playing with dolls, untangling various things from your toddler's hair etc. When you FF though, you can lie the baby in the same way but you have to hold the bottle so you're down a hand!

I've fed both of my kids on demand and both fed about as often and for about as long, the first was FF and the second was BF, so I don't think it'll make much difference, apart from only having one hand free when you're FF and having to spend time doing bottles when you could be playing. You can BF in a baby carrier too, which is great when you're out and about with your oldest - no need to stop to sit down when the oldest just wants to be on their way!

 

[Pielette]

My experience is much like Rachel's so again I hope its ok for me to reply.

I ff my first LO, pretty much because I was naive about breastfeeding, didn't understand what was normal and had little support.

This time around I wanted to give breastfeeding a good go. It's gone really well so far so please don't be pessimistic about it working out if you want to bf. I think I've been very lucky though because my toddler is very relaxed and hasn't shown any jealousy or gotten upset about the time spent feeding his brother, and I've had great support from my DH and my mum in the early days. If you can get family members to help you out in the beginning I would really recommend taking some help, just while baby builds up your supply.

My littlest man is just over 3 weeks old and already he is starting to feed for shorter periods of time. Get through the first few weeks and I think it'll be plain sailing!

 

[justkitty]

Oh that's brilliant thanks guys gives me hope x

 

[ProudArmyWife]

My experience was more like mums. With dd1 I tried to breastfeed but had such a hard time latching her and noone ever came to help when I asked for help. I ended up getting extremely overwhelmed when we got home and we switched to formula almost immediately. This time with dd2 wean managed better. She latched okay however I have larger breasts and baby couldn't open her mouth wide enough to get the right latch and when we finally did get the right latch my milk would come out so fast it would gag her and she would let go. She was constantly on my breast feeding and comfort sucking. And while feeding her I had to keep my breast pinched so it wasn't quite as large In her mouth. After a little over two weeks of baby constantly on my boob and not being able to do anything but sit there and feed her we decided it was best for our family to switch to formula. Since switching I have much more free time with my toddler and I'm not so exhausted from being up feeding 24/7.

If you want to breastfeed def give it a go. It's def possible just in my situation it wasn't what was working for our family. To me happy mommy and happy healthy growing baby was all that matters

 

[Angelica]

Proud army wife- these are the thoughts going on in my mind... Im not getting to spend time with 5 yr old dd & am generally shattered & stressed

 

[salander]

I bf my first daughter for 13 months and was hoping to bf my 2nd daughter about the same. There's a 19 month gap between them too. The reality was that baby 2 wanted to snack all morning so I wasn't able to spend anytime with my daughter and it was becoming slightly stressful. I'd always said if I can bf without it affecting my daughter I'll do it but she was defo feeling left out bless her. At 10 weeks I swapped to ff and haven't looked back. The feeds are done for 3/4 hours then I got lots of time to play with my other daughter. Just see how it goes and don't have strong feelings either way just go with the flow xx

 

[Fortune Cooki]

I agree with the hands free benefit of breastfeeding. You can have your baby in a carrier feeding while you move about the house and entertain your toddler.

 

[Emz1982_in_uk]

I FF my first after 2 weeks but have just hit the 1 year mark of ebf my second. My daughter fed ALOT but basically I sat on the floor and played with my son whilst feeding the newborn or got my son to snuggle up on the sofa with me whilst I fed her. I had to learn very quickly how to feed whilst moving or doing things with one hand but it worked. The only thing that changed was my husband had to put our son to bed when he liked me to do it but by six months we were in enough of a routine that I started to do bedtime again.

I was lucky and my husband was at home for the first 3 weeks and I also had family to help out. But it can work and I'm still going strong with my daughter. Good luck with however you choose to feed your baby

 

[MissCurly]

Hmmm I had to ff ds for a variety of reasons and will have a 19m age gap. I plan to bf but have had lots ofpeople ttell me I may have to swap to ff as it may be unfair on my toddler of baby bfs for ages etc.

Anyone got experience either way?

I think it boils down to how determined you are to breastfeed. If you take formula out of the equation, you would continue to bf right?
I managed to also bf my boy, and my daughter is a really needy sort- urgh, and she now wants me to take her to the loo! but more than happy to talk about this so please message away.