For the BF mums, why did you choose to BF, esp if you found it tough at first?

[chetnaz]

I taste everything I give Emma too! I'm just far too curious. DH has tried it too. I would offer it to anyone if they wanted to try it. Not straight from 'the tap' of course, but if someone was super curious I wouldn't mind pumping a little into a cup. It's just milk after all.

Oh I'd love to see someone's face if you did actually offer it straight from the tap!

On a different note, my mum has this habit of popping out her boob and giving it to one of the twins if they are waiting for a feed and crying. She thinks its quite funny and I have to say, it stops them howling straight away, they just use their nan as a dummy. My mum thinks this is perfectly ok as her mum did it to us aparently, but I have to say, I was freaked out by it at first! I don't say anything to her cos I dont want to upset her, but would any of you ladies be against this? She doesnt always do it, only if they are really screaming

 

[cleckner04]

I'd probably freak out. But my mom didn't breastfeed my brother and I so her first reaction to Emma crying is to stand and bounce around real fast. Which I also hated. I don't think I could ever accept someone shoving their boob in Emma's mouth. It just makes me feel weird to even think about it.

 

[chetnaz]

Made me feel weird to see it! lol. I did shried out "MUUUUM" when she first did it, but she just laughed at me and carried on and to be honest I don't want to say anything to upset her cos without her help and support after I had the twins I would have fallen apart, so I just keep quiet and let her get on with it.

 

[samface182]

I taste everything I give Emma too! I'm just far too curious. DH has tried it too. I would offer it to anyone if they wanted to try it. Not straight from 'the tap' of course, but if someone was super curious I wouldn't mind pumping a little into a cup. It's just milk after all.

Oh I'd love to see someone's face if you did actually offer it straight from the tap!

On a different note, my mum has this habit of popping out her boob and giving it to one of the twins if they are waiting for a feed and crying. She thinks its quite funny and I have to say, it stops them howling straight away, they just use their nan as a dummy. My mum thinks this is perfectly ok as her mum did it to us aparently, but I have to say, I was freaked out by it at first! I don't say anything to her cos I dont want to upset her, but would any of you ladies be against this? She doesnt always do it, only if they are really screaming

ohh i'm not sure. i'm kinda stuck on the fence with that one. i think it would freak aiden out more than anything!

it's one of those things that i don't know how i would react until it happened! my mum breastfed me, but she has never gave aiden her booby. as far as i know anyway!

 

[firsttimer83]

The connection I felt with my LO when I was feeding him and the reward of watching him grow and knowing I was giving him the best possible start! xxx

 

[vaileasmama]

i was pretty blase about the whole thing - boob goes in mouth, baby fed.
never thought it would be difficult - seems to me a well kept secret around my way!
but as soon as i started having problems, everyone had a story. 'mine wouldnt latch', 'my milk wasnt enough', 'my baby lost weight', 'mastitis' etc etc
tbh, i am dreading giving it up for the guilt i will feel - am npt sure how i would even go about it... some days its only the guilt that keeps me going!
i dont enjoy the sensation of bf. i enjoy the cuddles, but the feeling of milk letdown, i just dont like.
i would do it again, as someone mentionned before, im also a little bit of a perfectionnist - if im gonna do something, i wanna do it right - and bf in my eyes is "right" for me.
although i do have little daydreams of being able to go out in the day for more than an hour at a time by myself (my lo wont take bottles)...

 

[xUniquex]

Haven't had chance to read the whole thread but wanted to give my reply...

Why did i choose to BF?

Well it wasn't just me who decided.. my OH really wanted me to also!The obvious reasons being the health benefits for both the baby and I.My Mum BF my brothers and it always seemed the way babies are meant to be fed because of that.I never really considered formula,and when we did our research whilst i was pregnant we both decided that formula really wasn't an option for us!

One of the main reasons i wanted to BF was because first of all i didn't think i would ever be able to have children,so when i fell pregnant i knew i wanted to experience BF just in case the pregnancy was a fluke!
The other main reason was because of BF reducing our chances of cancer.. after already battling Ovarian Cancer at 20 I had a different perspective on life and feel that the health benefits (however minimal) are just too good to pass up on!

Did we struggle? Oh yes at the start we did! With DS1 i had traumatic 24 hour induced labour that was 3 weeks early and ended in emergency section,baby on NICU for first two days,awful caregivers,pushy doctors..formula was being shoved at me left right and centre because DS1 was jaundiced,my milk hadn't come in,the docs wanted him on 'X' amount of milk blah blah...fast forward to day 3 and i was hysterical,crying,couldn't get my tired baby to latch or feed,pressure from every angle...oh how i wanted to give up!But OH pushed me through and with a bit of encouragement from a lovely lady on a BF helpline i stuck at it and we turned a corner after spending an hour with a BF counsellor.No problems since that day!

With DS2 i went into labour at 30 weeks,after a very stressful pregnancy where we nearly lost him at 21 weeks due to cervical incompetence,still BF DS1 and only managed to hold on for just over 2 more weeks, he came via emergency section at 32 weeks due to being breech.. stayed on the NICU for 2 weeks before coming home.. initially feeding was easier this time round,just sore,which it never was with DS1 but i thought it may pass?... until he stopped gaining weight at 4 months!!
Cue the many docs/hv's/hps all saying i dont have enough milk!Told i couldn't make enough to feed two (eh?)Told i need to give him baby rice,then had Formula suggested every which way... doct ignored my suggestions of silent reflux and tongue tie over and over until finally i arranged to see a lactation consultant who cut his tongue tie!He's fed like a dream ever since!(his reflux is now being treated too)5 Months in total it took to sort !

Why did we carry on despite knowing formula was there?Well when i did struggle at one point (complete breast refusal) formula never even entered my head,i expressed and we got donor milk from a lovely lady on here (thank you Tuesday!)
To me formula was never going to be the answer to our problems because i knew there was an underlying cause to our issue and yes,it would've been easy to turn to but it's not what we want for our babies.It's so hard to try and explain without offending others but for us Breast Milk just couldn't be touched by Formula..

yes it can be hard work,especially with only 11 months and 2 weeks between babies! but i am willing to do whatever necessary in order to give our babies what we deem best for them.Seeing our sons bond over the breast,watching DS1 reach over and touch DS2's face softly when they were both feeding... those moment are truely breathtaking!

I have seen DS1 grow and bloom from my milk,he is so healthy and strong and I did that and i find it amazing and i want that for all my children..i guess after seeing DS1 do so well on BM i figure 'if it aint broke,don't fix it'

 

[amygwen]

My son was born with a cleft lip and a lot of doctor's told me it would be nearly impossible to breastfeed him. So I planned to pump, I bought an expensive breastpump ready just in case I couldn't breastfeed him. When he was born we found out his cleft lip was not as severe as we expected and he latched on beautifully. I was the most happy person ever. I was so scared my entire pregnancy thinking I wouldn't be able to breastfeed and even though it was a bit of a challenge at first, I kept realizing how much I really wanted to breastfeed my entire pregnancy and how many people doubted it. As Kenneth has gotten older, I've realized that I could switch to formula since he's had breastmilk this entire time, but I don't want to spend the extra money on formula since it's SO expensive. Although when he reaches that one year mark, I will be switching over to cow's milk. I've enjoyed breastfeeding, mainly because I was able to and because my son was able to as well

 

[moomoo]

I chose to BF LO as to me it was the default option of feeding my baby! I honestly didn't even look into bottles or formulas before LO was born..
Didn't have a clue! My mum BF me and my brother til we self weaned at around a year... She did amazing, because at times she didn't even hve the help and support from our dad!

When LO was born he latched well (or so it seemed!) and I was prepared to feed as often as he needed. In the first two weeks he nursed for 19 hours of the day, had no dirty nappies, few wet nappies and lost a lot of weight. We were readmitted to hospital at day 14.

We were put onto a schedule of feed, pump, top up... Every two hours!!! I was shot! It became apparent over time that LO was not stimulating enough milk from me (we now realise this was due to undiagnosed tongue tie!) so I stopped pumping at 4 months and topped him up with formula, because of his reflux it was also easier to just "make up" more milk rather than try and pump again. We carried on until he was 7 months old

I found pumping the hardest thing, as I'd still need to settle LO before pumping and he was the type of baby that wouldn't be put down in the basket or bouncy chair. I also got mastitis a few times from pumping. Oh my god the agony!!!

 

[moomoo]

Oh and I'm definately going to try with our next baby too

 

[Justagirlxx]

I taste everything I give Emma too! I'm just far too curious. DH has tried it too. I would offer it to anyone if they wanted to try it. Not straight from 'the tap' of course, but if someone was super curious I wouldn't mind pumping a little into a cup. It's just milk after all.

Oh I'd love to see someone's face if you did actually offer it straight from the tap!

On a different note, my mum has this habit of popping out her boob and giving it to one of the twins if they are waiting for a feed and crying. She thinks its quite funny and I have to say, it stops them howling straight away, they just use their nan as a dummy. My mum thinks this is perfectly ok as her mum did it to us aparently, but I have to say, I was freaked out by it at first! I don't say anything to her cos I dont want to upset her, but would any of you ladies be against this? She doesnt always do it, only if they are really screaming

I wouldn't be okay with that at all, it seems weird to me that she'd want to. But whatever you are comfortable with is what matters. Could you not maybe give them a dummy or something?

 

[lucy_x]

I had an awful time.
But i love it now

I chose to BF over FF because
a. I could so why not?
b. Its free.
C. Im too lazy to do anything other than BF.. In the short time i had to feed her from a cup i couldnt be bothered with all the faffing.
D.I Almost ended up FF, But i had the most gorgeous picture of her at 3 days old feeding, And i couldnt let that be the only one.
That really was the one thing that kept me going.

I would choose to BF my next children because of the above reasons
and hell it was difficult at the beginning, but im a stronger person for it

 

[sjminimac]

Instead of joining in any ranting or arguments going on il just answer the original post.
I had an awful time.
But i love it now

I chose to BF over FF because
a. I could so why not?
b. Its free.
C. Im too lazy to do anything other than BF.. In the short time i had to feed her from a cup i couldnt be bothered with all the faffing.
D.I Almost ended up FF, But i had the most gorgeous picture of her at 3 days old feeding, And i couldnt let that be the only one.
That really was the one thing that kept me going.

I would choose to BF my next children because of the above reasons
and hell it was difficult at the beginning, but im a stronger person for it

there isn't any ranting or arguing

 

[lucy_x]

Instead of joining in any ranting or arguments going on il just answer the original post.
I had an awful time.
But i love it now

I chose to BF over FF because
a. I could so why not?
b. Its free.
C. Im too lazy to do anything other than BF.. In the short time i had to feed her from a cup i couldnt be bothered with all the faffing.
D.I Almost ended up FF, But i had the most gorgeous picture of her at 3 days old feeding, And i couldnt let that be the only one.
That really was the one thing that kept me going.

I would choose to BF my next children because of the above reasons
and hell it was difficult at the beginning, but im a stronger person for it

there isn't any ranting or arguing

Lol my bad Just assumed there would be because of the topic, Am going back to edit post

Its soo nice to see these reasons aswel everyone
I always love to see peoples choices and reasons

 

[Foogirl]

On a different note, my mum has this habit of popping out her boob and giving it to one of the twins if they are waiting for a feed and crying.

Wrong on so many levels. They would also stop crying if she put a knuckle in their mouth, which is what most grandmas do.

I feel silly but the thought of trying my own breastmilk grosses me out sooo much. But I'm sure I will regret it if I don't try it at all! Just...ewww

I never did either. Just couldn't face it. 20 months on and I don't regret that!

Mine came after 6 weeks some of us are unlucky eh?

Absolutely, and it came with a venegance. It must be hereditary, I myself am a "happy accident" born 12 months after my sister. My mum has always made it clear breastfeeding is NOT a contraceptive

 

[sjminimac]

Instead of joining in any ranting or arguments going on il just answer the original post.
I had an awful time.
But i love it now

I chose to BF over FF because
a. I could so why not?
b. Its free.
C. Im too lazy to do anything other than BF.. In the short time i had to feed her from a cup i couldnt be bothered with all the faffing.
D.I Almost ended up FF, But i had the most gorgeous picture of her at 3 days old feeding, And i couldnt let that be the only one.
That really was the one thing that kept me going.

I would choose to BF my next children because of the above reasons
and hell it was difficult at the beginning, but im a stronger person for it

there isn't any ranting or arguing

Lol my bad Just assumed there would be because of the topic, Am going back to edit post

Its soo nice to see these reasons aswel everyone
I always love to see peoples choices and reasons

Easy assumption to make i suppose x

 

[lanaross]

I was very concerned about her vaccines and the fact that it would do her good if I give her the breast milk immunity - I never really get sick. I was thinking let me get her through the first round of shots and then I'll give up. I had it super tough in the beginning and just kept remembering somebody's advice "give it 40 days" which I did. After two months vaccines I was thinking that 4 months vaccines are so tough and I will just last till 17 weeks and give up. Come 17 weeks my doctor said that she doesn't really need solids since she's sleeping through the nights and gaining way too much weight on breast milk as is (she was on 90 percentile).
Also I was super lazy, but in all honesty I had no clue how much work it is to feed formula - it's insanely tough - washing, sterilizing, cleaning, warming, mixing blah blah blah. If I knew, I would have kept breastfeeding till like college I only lasted till 7 months - apparently my thyroid was completely against my breastfeeding so my supply couldn't keep up.
If I'd ever have another bubs (highly unlikely but still) I'd definitely breastfeed so much longer after knowing the hardest work formula-feeding mommies go through x

 

[xUniquex]

I taste everything I give Emma too! I'm just far too curious. DH has tried it too. I would offer it to anyone if they wanted to try it. Not straight from 'the tap' of course, but if someone was super curious I wouldn't mind pumping a little into a cup. It's just milk after all.

Oh I'd love to see someone's face if you did actually offer it straight from the tap!

On a different note, my mum has this habit of popping out her boob and giving it to one of the twins if they are waiting for a feed and crying. She thinks its quite funny and I have to say, it stops them howling straight away, they just use their nan as a dummy. My mum thinks this is perfectly ok as her mum did it to us aparently, but I have to say, I was freaked out by it at first! I don't say anything to her cos I dont want to upset her, but would any of you ladies be against this? She doesnt always do it, only if they are really screaming

it only seems weird in the western society...i must be the only one who thinks that this comment is fabulous!

 

[florabean1981]

I was undecided n had actually thought I would ff, but I put in my birth plan to ask me again once Harry was born in case I changed my mind. I guess curiosity got the best of me coz I said I'd try it once to see how it felt n haven't looked back since! He's had a few bottles of ff when he was a few months old to help with weight gain when he was still titchy but that's it.
I would defo bf any future children n give it my best go.
I won't lie, it was hard n I very nearly gave up countless times but something always made me keep going n I have no idea what or why???!!!

 

[Seity]

I taste everything I give Emma too! I'm just far too curious. DH has tried it too. I would offer it to anyone if they wanted to try it. Not straight from 'the tap' of course, but if someone was super curious I wouldn't mind pumping a little into a cup. It's just milk after all.

Oh I'd love to see someone's face if you did actually offer it straight from the tap!

On a different note, my mum has this habit of popping out her boob and giving it to one of the twins if they are waiting for a feed and crying. She thinks its quite funny and I have to say, it stops them howling straight away, they just use their nan as a dummy. My mum thinks this is perfectly ok as her mum did it to us aparently, but I have to say, I was freaked out by it at first! I don't say anything to her cos I dont want to upset her, but would any of you ladies be against this? She doesnt always do it, only if they are really screaming

it only seems weird in the western society...i must be the only one who thinks that this comment is fabulous!

I actually had no problem with that either. It seemed like a nice way to calm a baby to me.