Breastfeeding Opinions

[Jims_Girl]

Hello!!
I have some rather strong views on breast-feeding so this really isn't meant to offend!
I breast fed my first for just over a year... I lost all my pregnancy weight within weeks, never had a bad night with her and never had to bother with the fuss of sterilising.... By baby Was as healthy as can be.....
The first few weeks are tough - cracked nipples, which hurt so badly when I fed, leaky books, the pain when my breast cramped when I heard my baby cry - but it was so worth it.... It's something that nobody else can do for my baby but me.....
Every woman produces enough milk.... Babies should be fed on demand, this helps your milk to come in (which can take days) and it helps settle your breast into producing the amount your baby needs - the more you feed, the more you produce... For the first few weeks I felt that all I was doing was feeding all day - but this does settle......
I don't understand when women say they didn't have enough milk.... If your baby needs feeding, then feed and your body will provide.... The perseverance really does pay off!
And it's free!!

 

[Jims_Girl]

...forgot to metion - it's ok for baby to lose a few ounces when first born... As long as the weight starts increasing again......
Can't wait for breast feeding again... It brings a closeness that just can't be explained

 

[Jims_Girl]

Forgot to mention also - my baby never suffered with wind/colic because breast fed babies don't take in big gulps of air when they feed.... Happier baby
The benefits are endless!!

 

[TigerLady]

How long did it take for your milk to come in? It's normal for it to take 3-5 days... delayed would mean 5 or more days, but that still doesn't mean you can't BF. BF babies will lose 10-15% of their birth weight before they start gaining again. I've seen as much as 20%. As long as they were born term, they are meant to do that and can handle it. It doesn't mean they are starving.

If you have true hormonal problems that make it difficult to BF, then you shouldn't feel guilty and should just do the best you can. That might be the case with PCOS -- my friend has that and she was unable to BF. There is no reason to feel guilty about that. That's what formula should be for.

However, maybe your case is just one of needing to understand a TRUE BF experience better? All BF moms have hungry babies in the early days. Constant feeding after birth is what brings your milk in. Then there are growth spurts where they feed all the time. For the first few months you feel like your baby is constantly attached to you and sometimes only get a break of 20 minutes before a new feed starts. That's normal. It doesn't mean you don't have enough milk or the baby is starving.



As for me -- I've BF both my kids (neither ever had a drop of formula). Otter is 24 months and still BF at bedtime. He was a very frequent nurser until he was 8 months old. DK reverse cycles which means she is nowhere near STTN at nearly 1 year old. However, I wouldn't change my BF experience for anything. It has been wonderful! Such a gift to both me and my children. I've had my fair share of trials, but it has been worth every single one.

 

[MLS]

I had the opposite problem. My son was born 6 weeks early, and so he couldnt nurse. He didnt even know how to suck yet, so they fed him through a feeding tube. I pumped for him, just like the lactation consultant told me to. So every few hours I was pumping both sides for 15 min with a high quality pump. My milk came in while we were still in the hospital, and within a few days I was pumping 5-6 ounces a side. There were a few times that I wasnt paying attention, and overfilled the bottle. That was embarrasing. But since my son was in the NICU, I wasnt home, so anything I pumped had to go to the NICU freezer. When we left, I had that thing completely full. No lies. So anyway, he was eating about an ounce at a feeding, and I was producing 12 ounces. Much more than he needed. So when we went home, and I tried to make the switch to nursing, he obviously couldnt empty them. I just continued to pump for 15 minutes every 3 hours, even through the night because otherwise it hurt sooooo badly. It got infected a bunch of times because there was just tooooo much milk being made. So when he was 6 months old and very much a chunk, we switched to formula. He did fine with the switch.

Im worried that with this baby, the same thing will happen. I want to nurse from the beginning this time so HOPEFULLY I wont over produce again. I am hoping that if I start off nursing that my body will just produce what the baby needs. I hope!!

Did you see a lactation consultant? Maybe they could offer you some advice for this baby!!

 

[lizzieredrup]

I didn't breastfeed my oldest son as I was young and had no support what so ever! I got a bad case of mastits and that was the end of that journey!

With my 2nd I read up about breastfeeding as much as could during pregnancy and was very determined to carry it through and I did I breastfed him for 15 months, then I breastfed my 3rd LO for 18 months and now im still breastfeeding my 13 month old!

I honestly couldn't imagine doing it any other way now but I am very much not that type of person who looks down on people who choose not to breastfeed, it is a very personal choice and what ever feels right for you is great Bottle feeding saved my life back with my 1st and he his a very healthy 7 year old!

 

[aliss]

Jims Girl it is unfortunately not true that ALL women have enough milk, there are some fantastic women on here who have persevered breastfeeding long past 1+ year but still require supplementation/combo feeding.

Yes, I agree that the vast majority of women who thought "I have no milk" really don't understand how long it can take for their milk to come in (or they start to combo feed without doing it right and reduce their supply), but there are a rare few who do have medical issues with supply.

Me, I had to combo feed after my boy had severe acid reflux and vomited all my pumped milk (he could not be fed on the breast due to a birth injury), and all I can say is that every woman should really try to BF! At least try! Bottle feeding is easier in the beginning, yes, but as time goes on, you are dealing with a pain in the behind with the cost, the preparation, sterilization, difficulty when out & about, I remember trying to prepare bottles on a plane and getting jealous of the woman nursing across the aisle! The sleep hormones are beautiful, you can't beat it! And that's just the mommy benefits, I think we all know the baby benefits.

My next baby will be born by C-section to prevent the birth injury that happened with my first... I cannot wait to breastfeed exclusively!

 

[glitterbug]

I don't believe anyone should feel pressured into anything. It should be your decision and yours alone. If you want to use formula, use it.

My choice to breastfeed was the fact I felt it was just the natural thing to do. My son was born, he was put on my chest and I fed him, so that's how we continued!I had issues which could have made me give up. It was painful because he had a tongue tie which meant he started off taking almost an hour to feed per boob and was constantly hungry. But my stubborn nature made me persevere thinking it would get easier and it did.

If you plan to express, please don't be disheartened if you don't get much. It takes time and a lot of perseverence to build your supply up for pumping and can take up to a month or more to get a decent amount out. If you plan to do it a lot, I would recommend an electric pump and a double one if your budget can stretch to it. Simply because the manual ones make your hands ache like heck and doing it by hand is okay but my milk would just dribble down my boob and never go where I wanted it to!!

I would like to add, that although she was breastfed for over a month, my sister (who is now 18) was formula fed and is a straight A student hoping to qualify for a place in med school so the idea of breastfed babies being more intelligent etc isn't necessarily true!

I do, however, feel very bad if I know that someone gave up breastfeeding through lack of support or information about the workings of it all and then felt bad about it. I'm no expert by any means but have come to pick up some useful tips on my journey so I felt it only fair to stick my nose in here to offer a bit of encouragement!!

I would never want someone to feel bad because I breast fed and they didn't, it's not my style. Each to their own and all that. But I do like to support and help those who need a hand with it should they ask. x

 

[fernie3]

my milk comes in I *think* around day 4 or 5 but its hard to tell because of the sheer number of feeds etc i never had any leakage etc until a couple of weeks old. For the first few weeks i pretty much never put the baby down, give them free access to feeds and this seems to settle into a natural pattern of once per hour.I love the natural feel of this and have never had soreness or problems.

Google biological nursing - here is a little website i have seen
https://www.biologicalnurturing.com/video/bn3clip.html

also an interesting article here which struck home with me
https://www.naturalchild.org/guest/ruth_kamnitzer.html

most women can breastfeed and most women will produce enough milk if their bodies are given the right cues there are some who cannot for medical reasons but this is in reality a very small percentage.

good luck!

 

[Jims_Girl]

....sorry perhaps I should have phrased "majority of women" naturally there are exceptions - which has been said is why alternative feeding is available.... I do believe that many women have been let down by their health care professional by lack of education - which is why I feel many women 'give up' or turn to other feeding methods.....
It is a personal choice - but I think to make choices people should be armed with all the information....

 

[aliss]

....sorry perhaps I should have phrased "majority of women" naturally there are exceptions - which has been said is why alternative feeding is available.... I do believe that many women have been let down by their health care professional by lack of education - which is why I feel many women 'give up' or turn to other feeding methods.....
It is a personal choice - but I think to make choices people should be armed with all the information....

True, and I also believe that women ourselves and society have let down other women. In other societies, it's the mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, neighbours that help a woman, they bring her food & water, they help her by doing chores, assist with all forms of breastfeeding help.

In Africa you do not call a lactation consultant at a hospital and they come over... your mom and other female relatives are there with you right from the start and help you every step along the way. So very very few women in our society have such a wonderful support network.

I had my OH (a man!) and a silly cell phone number written on a piece of paper as "help" at 3am with a screaming baby with a bunch of formula coupons on the kitchen table. It's no wonder women these days lack education and support. Failure is encouraged from the start.

 

[littleANDlost]

I'm going to try to but I won’t be devastated if it doesn't happen, plus I'd like my O/H to be able to get the same bond as I do and he may not be able to get that if I BF. It's already been said but I think it all depends on the baby and mother and whatever feels best at the time. I know both mums who have and haven’t breastfeed and all have healthy happy babies.

 

[_jellybean_]

Hello!!
I have some rather strong views on breast-feeding so this really isn't meant to offend!
I breast fed my first for just over a year... I lost all my pregnancy weight within weeks, never had a bad night with her and never had to bother with the fuss of sterilising.... By baby Was as healthy as can be.....
The first few weeks are tough - cracked nipples, which hurt so badly when I fed, leaky books, the pain when my breast cramped when I heard my baby cry - but it was so worth it.... It's something that nobody else can do for my baby but me.....
Every woman produces enough milk.... Babies should be fed on demand, this helps your milk to come in (which can take days) and it helps settle your breast into producing the amount your baby needs - the more you feed, the more you produce... For the first few weeks I felt that all I was doing was feeding all day - but this does settle......
I don't understand when women say they didn't have enough milk.... If your baby needs feeding, then feed and your body will provide.... The perseverance really does pay off!
And it's free!!

I just want to let you know that it's not true that "all women will have enough milk." I already know that medically I WILL NOT, 100%, no chance be able to breast feed. It's not because of anything I have done, but it does make me feel like crap as a woman. So, please know that not all women are medically, physically able to breast feed. This also is not meant to offend.

 

[Jims_Girl]

Really sorry to read your situation jellybean - I have already corrected my terminology in a later post in that it should read 'majority if women'.... There are always medical exceptions......

Aliss I completely agree with you - from my own personal experiences! I was 20 but determined - I was constantly having looks/comments thrust upon me from women in my own family telling me to "stick a bottle in her mouth and give yourself a rest"..... Made me feel as though I was being a bad mum for a while......

 

[glitterbug]

Aww Jellybean i'm sorry to hear that. The poster did just post to say that she meant the majority, not all women.

If you know from the off that you definitely can't breastfeed, it does put you in slightly nicer position in that you actually know!! A lot of women struggle away second guessing their decisions only to end up feeling a failure at the end. So although it's not nice for you knowing you can't, there is a teeny tiny positive to be taken from it.

Lots of love x