Mums who found BFing easy!

[Larkspur]

I'm not making this thread to boast, but just because there are so many threads here talking/asking questions about struggles with BFing (as you would expect) that it might scare off some pregnant women who are hoping to breastfeed but are not sure if they can do it, or are concerned that it will be too hard.

While I think it's really good to be prepared for any problems that can arise (good support is crucial, of course) I just want seed the idea that equally it might just be really easy and straightforward and that it's not necessarily going to be a huge struggle!

I'll start!

I never questioned that I would breastfeed, in fact, I was so naive that I didn't realise people FF by choice until I joined B&B. It's very very normal in NZ, so we have quite good support here.

My baby latched well right from birth - the midwives seemed concerned that he might have a shallow latch, but I just felt it was fine and he just had a little mouth, and that proved correct. The worst thing I suffered with BFing was a bit of nipple chapping in the first few days, but some lanolin cream cleared that right up.

Since then, it's been smooth sailing. I have a terrible-sleeping baby (well, he's started to improve now) and BFing has made it so much easier to cope with that. Actually, given all the benefits of portability, cost, cleanliness, health, etc, not to mention the amazing bonding, I can't even imagine how hard FF must be.

I have never had a negative look or comment (I am not a shy person and never use a cover or - ha ha - even a bra some of the time!) and my boobs have stayed in good shape. I've never had mastitis or a blocked duct, or any supply issues. Honestly, I cannot think of a single downside to my BFing experience. It IS possible to have problem-free BFing!

Other mums who found BFing easy, please share! (Jeez, I hope this doesn't backfire on me!)

 

[twobecome3]

i found it easy peasy. as soon as she was born and on my chest she was rooting. after they sorted her i gave her the first feed. when they moved us into our room for the night the nurse told me i could feed while laying down - Woohoo! they wouldnt let us cosleep in the hospital so H rocked her when she wasnt feeding. i had sore nipples for the first few days only. i have a tube of nipple goo that barely got used, i used more if it during pregnancy. she latched and fed like a champ from the getgo. for the first 6weeks i spent most my time nursing. we've coslept since day 1 home. shes Sttn all but a handful of times since day 1. i just feed her a few times a night now when she starts rooting and she stays asleep. i LOVE bfing. she gets so excitedto see the boob come out and i love the cuddlefeed. its also great when we're visiting i get to take her to another room and have her to myself for awhile and she'll usually fall asleep there after the feed so it guarantees she gets naps in when we're at relatives. i like to use the nursing rooms when we're at malls because i like the privacy and the quiet time. also she usually needs a diaper change at that point so its easy to do all in the room, have a little break from the action, then continue the shop.

 

[Alexas Mommy]

I never had any struggles with breastfeeding either- I breastfed for 19 months and it was very natural to us!

 

[babicyntaf]

It's been pretty straight forward for me too. She latches well and feeds for a lengthy period. She does prefer one boob to the other but she does feed from both now. There have been a few issues with overactive let down which have led to her being very windy and grizzly but the benefits and the ease of BF have far outweighed the issues with that. I can't imagine the night feeds if I had to get up and make up a bottle etc. I actually like BF and enjoy the time with her in peace and quiet. Like a previous post I have n oprob feeding in public - I just go somewhere discreet - like under a tree (as it was this afternoon!!) I def recommend giving BF a go and trying it from the start.

 

[ispeakinsongs]

Been easy for us also and I was very apprehensive! But she latched on like a pro straight away and never had any pains/issues/problems.

 

[tinytabby]

I found it easy after about 6 weeks. Before that I had a mad oversupply and got mastitis twice. But after that it was fine. Everyone should try for at least 6 weeks. I could've given up about 10 times before that.

 

[tristansmum]

I am not finding it easy but its lovely to read all your positive experiences. Well done ladies

 

[DaisyAnne]

The best advice I heard while pregnant was to take the horror stories and the easy-as-pie stories and expect something in between. That way the expectations aren't too far one way or the other.

It's super easy for us now, despite a really challenging beginning. I would do that all over again, because it's so worth it!!!

 

[Juniperjan]

I've also had a great breastfeeding experience! My LO latched on straightaway and I've never had any issues since. I've had the occasional blocked duct but it wasn't enough to make me give up. I have never had sore/chapped nipples and the lanolin cream that I bought has been used only a handful of times. I never really thought about whether it would be hard or not and as it hasn't proved to be difficult, I really don't understand why people don't just at least give it a go. It is such a great feeling being able to do an amazing thing for my baby.

That said, I do accept that for for a lot of women, it just doesn't work and they should definitely not beat themselves up over the head of it.

 

[SpotlessMind]

I wouldn't say I had an incredibly easy time breastfeeding (though not even close to what some of the moms on here have gone through), but like you, I never considered any other way of feeding my baby so put every ounce of effort I had in from the beginning. Though we tried, Gwen didn't latch right after birth because I was so new and no matter how much research I had done I still had no idea what I was doing. After our skin to skin and her time in the nursery getting bathed/checked up on the nursery nurse came in to show me how to get her latched on. She succeeded straight away. I chose rooming in so none of those nurses could dare give my baby formula, though I suspect someone did during one of her checkups because night #2 she began refusing my breast. After some frustration I learned to drip just a couple drops of formula down my nipple as she was latching and she latched straight away and stopped being so upset, so this is what we did for day #2 and half of night #3 when my milk came in and all resolved. Since she has had some annoyance getting on my left nipple (especially when my breast is quite full), and have slight nipple soreness, but I am LOVING it and I know she is too!

A friend of mine said "I don't know how you do it, I would've given up" when I was dealing with the colostrum issue, but honestly because this is what I truly wanted it never even seemed that bad. Yes I was frustrated and yes I felt bad because my baby was hungry and I couldn't figure out how to feed her, but going into it with a good attitude and some willpower got us through no problem because to me, there was no other choice.

So, I don't know if I qualify as having an easy peasy time, though it sure felt like it to me! Once I heard my baby getting a big swallow with every suck after my milk came in, two and a half days was nothing in comparison to the knowledge that I'll be giving my baby nutrition made especially for her for six months or more. One day she was cluster feeding and I needed a small break so for a single feed my mom gave her warm expressed breastmilk from a syringe, and while she would've been so pleased with this her first couple days home, she hated every minute of it because it wasn't mommy's breast

 

[Gym knickers]

Up until a week ago I found it a lovely, happy experience. I went into it open minded as I know lots of people who ff but as soon as midwife showed me how to put her on a few times she latched herself and we were away!! Never had a days problem with it and was planning on going until she self weaned was hoping at a year but the past week she has ended every feed with screaming and crying, she gets herself into such a state, however, she will take a bottle of expressed milk no problem! I'm guessing its a supply issue now she's 5 months, going to speak to hv on weds. But, before this week it was all good!

 

[bananaz]

Up until a week ago I found it a lovely, happy experience. I went into it open minded as I know lots of people who ff but as soon as midwife showed me how to put her on a few times she latched herself and we were away!! Never had a days problem with it and was planning on going until she self weaned was hoping at a year but the past week she has ended every feed with screaming and crying, she gets herself into such a state, however, she will take a bottle of expressed milk no problem! I'm guessing its a supply issue now she's 5 months, going to speak to hv on weds. But, before this week it was all good!

That actually sounds like it could be a distraction issue rather than a supply issue. Many babies around 4-6 months start screaming and fussing at the breast because they've become more aware of the world and want to be able to look around but can't when they're latched onto the boob. Bottlefeeding isn't such an issue because they can be more upright and see what's going on.

Anyway, I had the same problem with my daughter at that age and it was rough but we survived. Is she still eating at night?

 

[Fortune Cooki]

I'm pretty sure my experience would be easier had I not been on antibiotics during labor for GBS. I've had a yeast infection in my nipples from the get-go and it's been painful because of that. Now after 3.5 weeks, one of my nipples feels so much better and it is really easy to feed LO on that side. My other nipple still hurts like mad though. I keep going though, because I really wouldn't want to deal with bottles and stuff if I can just pull my boobs out whenever.

 

[Gym knickers]

Up until a week ago I found it a lovely, happy experience. I went into it open minded as I know lots of people who ff but as soon as midwife showed me how to put her on a few times she latched herself and we were away!! Never had a days problem with it and was planning on going until she self weaned was hoping at a year but the past week she has ended every feed with screaming and crying, she gets herself into such a state, however, she will take a bottle of expressed milk no problem! I'm guessing its a supply issue now she's 5 months, going to speak to hv on weds. But, before this week it was all good!

That actually sounds like it could be a distraction issue rather than a supply issue. Many babies around 4-6 months start screaming and fussing at the breast because they've become more aware of the world and want to be able to look around but can't when they're latched onto the boob. Bottlefeeding isn't such an issue because they can be more upright and see what's going on.

Anyway, I had the same problem with my daughter at that age and it was rough but we survived. Is she still eating at night?

Thanks Its hit and miss at the moment, she mainly has her last feed at 11pm and can go until 4 or 5, but sometimes she's waking frequently in between. Her first feed of the day is normally the least fraught and then it's all downhill from there! I was thinking it could be a distraction thing as she's such a little noser these days and hates being laid down, she wants to be up looking at the world! What can I do to help her! I really want to keep BFing but its soooo miserable at the moment!

 

[Romanae]

My son's ten weeks and he's breastfed, has been since the get go. I'm in nz too so it's pretty easy to bf anywhere, and if I'm at the mall or something they all have really lovely parents rooms I've not had any problems at all - no chapping, no pain, nothing. The one problem I'm having is that Devon goes to his dads every second weekend and I dont pump as much as I should so my supply drops and then I have to give him a few bottles a day after that weekend til it builds up again :L I tried doing the bottle thing once when I went out as I thought it might be a bit easier, but god, what a mission.. trying to find a microwave etc, ugh not fun. Plus my little man is super fussy and we had to try heaps of bottles - he'll only take Closer to Nature bottles, and we only have one of those right now. And Karicare (the main formula used here) makes him soo constipated! We tried a few and now he's on s26. That seems to work but it was such a mission finding the right formula! Bfing is most definitely easier for us and everyone should give it a try

 

[rmsh1]

I found it very easy too. My baby just knew what to do right from the start, no one showed me anything. She suckled during our first skin-to-skin and she was set from there. I have not had mastitis, and only sore nipples in those first few days (no bleeding though). I did plaster lanolin on in those first few days but have not touched it since

 

[Aimee4311]

Super easy here too! She latched well from birth, and aside from some slight tenderness the first week or so, we've had no problems at all!

 

[bananaz]

Thanks Its hit and miss at the moment, she mainly has her last feed at 11pm and can go until 4 or 5, but sometimes she's waking frequently in between. Her first feed of the day is normally the least fraught and then it's all downhill from there! I was thinking it could be a distraction thing as she's such a little noser these days and hates being laid down, she wants to be up looking at the world! What can I do to help her! I really want to keep BFing but its soooo miserable at the moment!

Yeah I've been there, it was so strange to have a baby that was fighting the boob after so many months of her being latched practically 24/7!

Anyway, here are things that helped me...

• Nursing in a quiet, dark room (white noise can help if you live in a noisy house)
• Movement!! It seems silly but walking or bouncing can really help to get baby to latch and stay latched. If you have a yoga ball that's perfect
• Feed her when she's sleepy, e.g. when she's about to go to sleep or just waking up
• Giving her something to occupy her hands. I used a little stuffed animal but some people have nursing necklaces for this purpose, or they just give them a burp cloth.

There's more info here: https://kellymom.com/parenting/parenting-faq/distractible-baby/

It's a really difficult time but it will pass, I promise! It got better for my LO at 7 months and since then nursing has become so easy.

Sorry to derail your thread, Larkspur!

 

[doggylover]

Another easy time here

Even before getting pregnant breastfeeding was very important to me, no question at all that I would do whatever it took to bf my baby. While pregnant I read everything I could about latching, what to expect, what's 'normal', more about latching! I also researched where my local bf group was and got the number of a LLL group just in case.

When LO arrived she was a natural. Latched on for her first feed and has basically been there ever since! Yes, the first three days were not always pleasant- sore nipples at each feed to the point where I dreaded them, but I knew the pain would just be for a few seconds and I could suck it up to give my LO what's best. I was half human, half lanolin on those first few days! After the third day, pain free

Now, LO feeds very easily, she has a great latch and its amazingly easy to be able to whip the boob out anytime, anywhere.

 

[Gym knickers]

Thanks Its hit and miss at the moment, she mainly has her last feed at 11pm and can go until 4 or 5, but sometimes she's waking frequently in between. Her first feed of the day is normally the least fraught and then it's all downhill from there! I was thinking it could be a distraction thing as she's such a little noser these days and hates being laid down, she wants to be up looking at the world! What can I do to help her! I really want to keep BFing but its soooo miserable at the moment!

Yeah I've been there, it was so strange to have a baby that was fighting the boob after so many months of her being latched practically 24/7!

Anyway, here are things that helped me...

• Nursing in a quiet, dark room (white noise can help if you live in a noisy house)
• Movement!! It seems silly but walking or bouncing can really help to get baby to latch and stay latched. If you have a yoga ball that's perfect
• Feed her when she's sleepy, e.g. when she's about to go to sleep or just waking up
• Giving her something to occupy her hands. I used a little stuffed animal but some people have nursing necklaces for this purpose, or they just give them a burp cloth.

There's more info here: https://kellymom.com/parenting/parenting-faq/distractible-baby/

It's a really difficult time but it will pass, I promise! It got better for my LO at 7 months and since then nursing has become so easy.

Sorry to derail your thread, Larkspur!

Yes sorry! Was going to post my own thread about this but this is great, thanks bananaz! She's always been a great feeder ( she's a little bomper!) so has been a bit of a nasty shock, I did feel about ready to give up, it feels so heartbreaking when she's screaming and fighting. I'm going to try all this. We've had two quite good sessions this morning so fingers crossed. Sorry and thanks again!