Are you planning to breastfeed?

[Hit Girl]

I totally planned on breastfeeding - went to all the classes, read all the books, examined all the brochures and listened to everyone who said I need to get the baby on there ASAP and they'll latch - no problems. I had to pump for almost half a year, meanwhile trying absolutely everything to get my baby to latch - several LCs, shields, different positions, saw a few different paediatric surgeons. It just never happened. I wish I had gone into it knowing that it doesn't happen for everyone. No one ever told me that. This time I have such a different mindset. I know it works out for most people and that's great - but when it doesn't it can make you feel really bad about yourself (to say the very least) especially when everyone said there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to do it.

I should add, full-time pumping was very, very hard and not a lovely experience at all.

 

[icegurl470]

I breastfed my first for a year and absolutely loved it. I was also working full time and going to school part time. It's hard but possible. I bf exclusively for 6mo and tbh I didnt plan on continuing after that, but after I started her on solids she kept getting constipated and the best thing for that was breastmilk, so I continued for the full year. I planned on cutting out the pumping during the day and nursing in the morning and at night after 1yr but I got pregnant again and it caused me to dry up for some reason.

After bf was established I started immediately pumping and freezing in pouches for work (around 6 weeks). I also started giving her a bottle around 8 weeks so she would be ready for the care provider. After I started work I would nurse in the morning send her to daycare with 10-12oz of bmilk and nurse her at night. While at work I would pump 2-3 times (around every 2.5hrs) and send her to daycare the next morning with what I pumped. Employers are requird to allow woman to pumo now. They're supposed to provide a place other than a bathroom but I always did it in the bathroom. If I was short I would take a pouch from my frozen storage. On Friday I would freeze what I pumped and pull the oldest pouches from my frozen storage and thaw overnight for Monday so I was also cycling through my frozen stuff. Trying out my breast pump was what caused me to go into labor, so if you're overdue and trying to get things started it might be a good idea to have one ahead of time.

My nips were sore for a couple weeks while my body adjusted. The hospital will provide a nipple cream or something. Make sure to let them "air out" after you nurse and completely dry before you apply the cream so your not locking in moisture. Also when my milk came in my breast were very engorged and painful for a couple days. After that it was wonderful. I found it very convenient to have the best possible nutrition for baby strapped to my chest at all times no washing bottles or mixing formula required. Even though I knew I was fully entitled, I too did not feel comfortable nursing in public. Whenever we were out and about and she needed to nurse I would nurse her in my car lol, amy not be that easy with two little ones though. Many health benefits not just for baby but also for you. I did get mastitis once and had to go on antibiotics then baby got thrush and it spread to my nips and we passed it back and forth for awhile. It was a nightmare, but I think I brought it on by infrequent pumping at work, so I wont be making the same mistake this time. It's important that you nurse on demand for a good while to regulate your supply and stick to a pumping schedule that corresponds. Going long periods of time without pumping or nursing and cutting pumping short before your breast are completely empty will cause issues. As someone else has said make sure to do your research or take classes. It's a lot to take in but once you establish a good routine, it gets easier. If it doesn't work out don't beat yourself up about it, but it's definitely worth putting in your best effort.

 

[CountryBride]

I absolutely intend on breastfeeding. I have read so much about its benefits. I am terrified that something will go wrong though, and I won't be able to.

 

[meg_bellamy]

I desperately want to breastfeed, I don't want the added expense, time and inconvenience of formula feeding. I have had a breast augmentation though so that may affect things.

My sister had problems breastfeeding her first but with alot of help from lactation consultants she had it sorted within a month or so and continued feeding for a year. My mum breastfed 6 kids for 2 1/2 yrs each. In Africa something like 96% of women breastfeed out of necessity so I don't really see how biologically we are any different. I understand that I will probably have a different view when it comes to my turn though and I understand feeling devastated and like a failure if it doesn't work out - I would 100% feel the same way

 

[Mrs_Bump]

Please don't fear it not working. I want to breastfeed but I absolutely refuse to feel like a failure if I don't this time. My child would of died without formula so he was given it. Unfortunately he got used to the bottles he had to have and it made breastfeeding harder. I also have dyspraxia and no nipple sensation. My son and I have a wonderfully close bond. I did baby wearing and loads of cuddles and I can't imagine us having a better bond. The only thing that threatened it was me judging myself when my milk dried up at 3 months.

 

[bathbabe]

I didnt even attempt to breastfeed my son due to personal circumstances but I'll give it a bash this time, not gunna get myself worked up if it doesnt work out tho. X

 

[BethK]

I planned on BF last time but my milk didn't come in, at all! I tried and tried and in the end DD was taken into hospital with malnutrition and they put her straight on formula.

This time i'm not going to plan to BF, I'll give it a go but i refuse to be forced into it by the MW's. I'll probably FF straight away.

 

[Bumblebee2408]

I am going to try to BF but will never say I am deffo feeding myself again.

This is because when my son was born the first few days were a massive struggle he just couldn't latch properly we later found her had a really bad tongue tie so he wasn't getting enough milk everytime I tried to feed him. He got Soooo frustrated and I became incredibly sore and he couldn't be seen for two weeks to have it cut


So in the end I ebf him until his tongue was sorted then he refused no matter how much we tried to get him to BF again he got to frustrated.

I am hoping things are different this time I was Soooo gutted I couldn't manage to keep feeding him as I loved it :-D

 

[geordiemoo]

I was determined to bf my dd, went to the class, read books - refused to even buy bottles or formula as a back up as I was so convinced I could do it. Midwives in the hospital said the latch was fine before I left so I had no reason to anticipate problems, I was prepared to feed on demand and tried to. DD would sleep most of the day and then feed every 20 minutes for the entire night, I told my midwife and HV that it didn't seem right but they said it was. I also mentioned clicking sound when feeding which I found out afterwards is a sign things aren't right but still no help offered. DD lost a lot of weight and we were sent to and from GP and eventually hospital - all said no problems. I finally flipped after 2 and a half weeks and switched to formula, I felt like a total failure at the time but looking back now realise it was the best thing for us all.

It works for some, it doesn't for others, I'm not sure what to do this time. I felt defeated last time but it was traumatic for us all and not sure I want the same start - especially with already having 1 child. I will this time look up a breastfeeding group before birth just in case as my friend who has successfully bf'd 2 children said hers was invaluable. Good luck to anyone giving it a go!

 

[2have4kids]

Like birth it's prob best to be flexible with these things. Don't be too rigid with anything and go in expecting anything to happen. It's when we set these expectations of perfection that things don't go right. And ask for help, I've heard horror stories about bf-ing but nothing's going to discourage me from trying. I owe it to baby & myself. They said I'd never get pregnant naturally and with all the things I tried I hit the lotto, just try...our bodies can perform miracles when we try!

 

[o0oCharlieo0o]

I tried with all 3 of my babies to breast feed, i lasted 3 days with my first, everytime he latched it hurt and it hurt the whole time he was feeding, my nipples cracked and bled and scabbed over, only one breast even made anything the other was useless, then with my second baby i tried again i lasted a day and a half, he fed and the latch was never right it hurt he kept stopping and starting and screaming the whole time, again only one breast produced anything and i stopped i couldn't cope with it and i found out when he was 2 that he was tongue tied, with my third i didnt even last a whole day, i think i was prepared to give up straight away, seems here you get no help, huffy midwives who have no time to show you how to get them to latch right, and the after pains with my third were agony, everytime she sucked,i felt like iw as going to give birth again omg! I would sit rigid stiff in pain as she fed, and again the latch probably wasnt right because it hurt so bad to feed her, i dont know if i made anything in both breasts with her because i didnt try long enough to find out, i decided i could cope better if i FF and happy mummy means happy baby, dont beat yourself up if you cant breast feed, some people cant, but hopefully you have a lot more help than i did, i omly ever got tutted at and baby plonked on my boob, never shown what to do, so i never asked for help again. I will try again but i wont beat myself up about it if i dont continue because as long as my baby is fed im happy and so are they, id love to be able to breast feed but if i dont i dont

 

[kaye]

Thanks for all your replies.
I am deffo going in open minded and if I need to switch to formula that is fine too. Guess time will tell if it works for me. X

 

[Willow82]

I totally planned on breastfeeding - went to all the classes, read all the books, examined all the brochures and listened to everyone who said I need to get the baby on there ASAP and they'll latch - no problems. I had to pump for almost half a year, meanwhile trying absolutely everything to get my baby to latch - several LCs, shields, different positions, saw a few different paediatric surgeons. It just never happened. I wish I had gone into it knowing that it doesn't happen for everyone. No one ever told me that. This time I have such a different mindset. I know it works out for most people and that's great - but when it doesn't it can make you feel really bad about yourself (to say the very least) especially when everyone said there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to do it.

I should add, full-time pumping was very, very hard and not a lovely experience at all.

I had no doubt whatsoever that I would breastfeed. I read the literature, went to the antenatal classes. I thought it might be difficult at first but with a bit of persistence I would do it. How wrong I was. I was completely unprepared for what went wrong and felt that I failed my baby. This time I hope to succeed but there is no way I'm expressing beyond the hospital. I only did it for 3 months but it felt like a lifetime.

 

[LilianA]

With my first I didn't know that it would hurt at first, I did no research about breastfeeding I just thought it would come naturally, but the pain was crazy and my nipples were bleeding and a part of it fell off!!! so i started pumping and giving in a bottle for a few weeks and when the pain was gone I tried to breastfeed my son but he had gotten so used to bottle he refused.. and after 4 months of pumping my supply was drying up so we switched to formula.
with my second and third I knew what to expect and was very determined to succeed and I did! both fed till about a year and it was absolutely amazing! the pain was still there for the first few weeks but not as bad a my first because I knew that the latch had to be perfect every time.
one thing that I wish I could go back and change is the guilt I felt when my first didn't go the way I planned. It got me so down and depressed!!