Easier 2nd time around?

[AC1987]

Unsure why but I find it SO much easier bfing the 2nd time around... unsure if it is because I am spoiled with a good baby at the moment or if I'm more experienced with bfing... but she has gained back her birth weight in just 3 days
I'm exclusively bfing this time around, I am saying no to formula as I found last time it killed my supply. But so far I am making more milk than last time so I can even pump for just one bottle feed at night so i can get some sleep.

Anyone else find it much easier 2nd time around?

 

[brandonsgirl]

We have had our problems.. mastitus/blocked ducts/thrush/cracked and bleeding nipples etc.. but we used nipple shields and got better and now are Able to feed with no nipple shields and no pain and im loving it.
With my son, I got mastitus and was told by the dr I had to stop feeding. I knew no different then so gave it up was totally gutted. I am so proud of myself and lo to have pushed thru all the barriers this time around and are still going strong.

 

[Emz1982_in_uk]

I also had problems this time round but actually the same ones I had first time. The difference this time was that I was so much more educated about BF and what to expect. Nearly 20 months and going strong, not used a drop of formula. With my first we used formula from 2 weeks and then it was a slippery slope to stopping.

Well done for keeping at it. Hardest thing I've ever done x

 

[kmr1763]

Me! I had a lot of difficulties with DS and for the first few weeks I was stressed out all the time. But dd has been a breeze. Great latch from the start, very efficient eater, feeds take half the time. And then my confidence level was way high because I felt experienced. Love being a STM! So much less stressful!

 

[Rachel_C]

About a million times easier second time round. I think it's a combination of knowing more about BF (and what I did wrong the first time) and also knowing so much more about babies. With my first, I had NO idea that it's completely normal for a baby to want to feed every 15 minutes at first, wasn't sure what hunger cues looked like etc.

 

[AC1987]

Yea I think that was the same with me, I didn't know newborns needed to eat so frequently, and then when I would think I wasn't producing enough..
This time I know cluster feeding means my milk supply is getting built up.

 

[Lady_Bee]

Me! Both my babies were born with tongue ties and lip ties, which affected their nursing efficiency but I didn't know to do breast compressions etc. to help my first until we were 3 weeks in and my supply had already really suffered. I think I had unrelated supply issues on top of that which made things very hard. We managed to combi feed for 4 months.

This time I'm more experienced in nursing a baby with tongue tie, so we've been a step ahead from the start! We're doing fine so far, so I am cautiously optimistic that ebf might just work out this time.

 

[Here_we_go]

I had an easier time of it with my son than my daughter. My son took to it naturally and I had no pain or soreness at all. My daughter had a very shallow latch and it took her about 3 weeks to get the hang of it My poor, poor nipples in the meantime though In comparison, breastfeeding my son was SUPER easy while I had to work at it with my daughter and grit my teeth through the pain of blistered, cracked and bleeding nips

I had more confidence the second time around. I wasn't worried about how long she fed, how often, how much she was getting, etc. like I was the first time. The nurses weren't supportive at all with breastfeeding with my son so I suppose I am very lucky I didn't have troubles.

Congrats on your new bundle!