Jokerette's BFing journey ("Breastfeeding Kenny" - 19 months)

[Jellybaby100]

We introduced the bottle at 3w 5d.....have never had any probs with nipple confusion.

We gave 4oz of formula at 3w 6d as I was in agony with a cracked nipple and mastitis.... She slept 7 hours but she has always been a good sleeper. I called my HV to tell her I was on the verge of quitting and she told me to express off my right boob to let it recover and feed off the left.... It's been a breath of fresh air.

I don't give formula very often just when she needs a top up and there is nothing in the fridge.

It also works well when we're out and about, I don't like BF in public- as I said, I am not a BF ninja!

Ok I might be messing with my supply (but the weight gain disproves that!) and what I am doing may be frowned upon, but it works. Sadly I have found that there is not much middle ground re BF.... I am doing my own thing!

Good luck!

 

[punk_pig]

What about expressing enough for her late night feed which might be around 10pm or so? That way you could feed her at 7pm then go to bed and you wouldn't need to get up until 1am or so giving you quite a rest... I found this works quite well.

We did this! But only after about week 5 as she was cluster feeding well in to the early hours prior to that. It was amazing how quickly I had to start nagging OH to take over for one feed though...why do the get bored of it so quick...and why do they think that being bored of it means they get to not do it? Errrr I found cluster feeding pretty damn boring tbh as well as stressful and painful!

 

[Jokerette]

I wanted to give an update now that a few weeks have passed. I posted the original thread when LO was 10 days old... Now he is 33 days old. I am still breast feeding and it got so much easier. I am soooo glad I stuck with it.

I'd say around 2 1/2 weeks is when we start to turn the corner... LO started latching better, I tried to heal my nipples as much as possible with various ointments, letting them air dry, and also only doing one breast per feeding. At around 3 weeks old we really got the hang of it. At 3.5 weeks I started pumping in the evening and DH did a midnight bottle. I slept through that feeding. I was a little worried about my milk supply, and I woke up slightly engorged when I did this, but for me the extra sleep was priceless. We are not doing the midnight bottle every night, but we do do it sometimes. I still pump once or twice a day so DH can give a bottle and so I can start freezing milk. Anyone out there who wants to give up.... The first couple weeks are the hardest. Stick with it.

Looking back I realized I was suffering from PPD, probably also brought on by lack of sleep. I saw a counselor and told her everything. I told her how I sometimes thought I couldn't handle it all. I told her how sometimes I even worried I made made the wrong choice becoming a mom. I was just so tired I couldnt think straight. My family saw how much I was struggling and they were able to help. Sometimes someone would come over for just a few hours during the day to hold him so I could nap uninterrupted. I kept breastfeeding because I knew it was the best thing for my son, and I knew it would actually release hormones that would help combat the PPD.

My mother in law told me not to make any quick decisions about quitting. She recommended that decide every Sunday if I am going to breastfeeding the next week. THen no matter what happens I stick it out until the following Sunday where I make the decision for the next week. Giving myself small goals like this has helped me so much. My new goal is 6 months and if I hit that I will set a new bigger goal!!

 

[Eala]

Thank you for your update. I find it so encouraging to read stories like yours

 

[Eleanor ace]

So glad things have improved for you!

 

[Jokerette]

Just an update... my son is now almost 4 months old.

He is still exclusively breastfed and I am SO PROUD. He's growing so well and nursing him has becoming a wonderful bonding experience. It is sooo convenient because I don't have to warm up bottles and I can feed him anywhere. At one point my milk supply dropped off a little bit due to my first period, and we had to dip into the supply of frozen milk, but its back up again and I am now adding lots of milk to the freezer supply in addition to nursing DS.

DS is getting a little distractable at the breast and sometimes I nurse him a quiet room if he can't focus. But its still going really well!

 

[Casey3]

SO glad that things are better! It's threads like this that give new BFers hope

 

[Jokerette]

That's what I was thinking! I used to read these threads and it helped me stick with it

 

[Geegees]

Thank you for this... I'm struggling! Even had tears this morning.. I never usually cry!!

I will keep going!

 

[Jokerette]

Thank you for this... I'm struggling! Even had tears this morning.. I never usually cry!!

I will keep going!

i do hope you are able to keep going. It is so hard and it can be painful at first, But i can honestly tell you it does not hurt at all anymore and i really love the bonding. This is coming from someone who resented the feeling of being so tied down. It can be hard in the middle of the night, sometimes i wish DH could feed him, but hang in there, it gets easier

 

[Chellxx]

well done to you hun, i gave up at 4 weeks after a terrible week and an emotional day and its the worst thing i could of done. When this lo is born i am going to use your trick of a week at a time and see if that helps me as i really want to stick at it this time.

 

[eden smith]

thanks for the update, i read your original post and ahve only just spotted your update. Great to hear things have turned a corner x

 

[Jokerette]

I just became a BreastFeeding Champion here on BnB So excited!

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/sublime_envy/BFing%20Blinkies/circlebfwb1.gif https://i392.photobucket.com/albums/pp2/SigShowBlinkies/Breastfeeding%20Blinkies/Andie-23.gif

 

[Jokerette]

Last week my son had Hand Foot & Mouth disease that made it very painful for him to feed. He pushed away and screamed when it was time to eat. but he was soooo hungry Poor little guy. We pushed through it and managed to exclusively breastfeed anyway! Even though his mouth was sore he liked his pacifier still, so i would have him suck his pacifier then quickly take it out and switch it for my breast. After a few tries I was able to get him to latch on even though the sores in his mouth were very painful for him.

I'm very proud of me and Kenny for pushing through it and continueing to EBF

 

[summer rain]

Ouch I hear about this hand, foot and mouth disease a lot so glad none of my LOs have had it so far, sounds really painful. Well done to you and Kenny xx

 

[frisbeemama12]

You are definitely an inspiration!

 

[hanelei]

Amazing to read your story, so glad it worked out for you! Poor LO with the hand, foot and mouth, really hoping we don't pick that one up

 

[Jokerette]

Kenny is 7 months old and he is still Exclusively Breast Fed (plus solids)!!!!!!!! I can not believe we made it this far!!! I am back to work and pumping twice per day to supply breastmilk for him at daycare. So far its going really well

 

[tu123]

Great update today

 

[CeeDee]

Yeah! It's good to see that things get better.