PG again with your 4th, 5th, or even 6th child?

[wannabubba#4]

Good Luck Claire -hope you get you BFP this cycle.

Sacha I have never had leaky boobs whilst pregnant -always worried that my milk would be insufficient but managed to feed all my babies successfully xx sorry abot the fried -there is always something! isn't there? xx

xx

 

[tryn4]

LOL! I swear, its the craziest thing. I have a theory, when I had my older kids I wasn't in the best place in life and always had little ones so with each pregnancy I probably went into robo mode. Ignoring a lot of things that you would notice your body going through. Now I have the luxury of paying attention to every little thing. Also I'm 35 now last time I gave birth I was 26!

Sach-that fridge situation would irritate me to no end! Ugh sorry to hear...

Well at least telling you ladies my problems may b catching BUT I do feel better knowing I'm not alone.

The leaking thing. I never leak ever. But then again I don't produce much milk and don't breastfeed. But I always wondered if that's y I dont leak, because I hear women talk about it like its very normal in preg..my boobs are like tumbleweeds in a desert town. Dusty dry LOL

 

[wannabubba#4]

LOL! I swear, its the craziest thing. I have a theory, when I had my older kids I wasn't in the best place in life and always had little ones so with each pregnancy I probably went into robo mode. Ignoring a lot of things that you would notice your body going through. Now I have the luxury of paying attention to every little thing. Also I'm 35 now last time I gave birth I was 26!

Sach-that fridge situation would irritate me to no end! Ugh sorry to hear...

Well at least telling you ladies my problems may b catching BUT I do feel better knowing I'm not alone.

The leaking thing. I never leak ever. But then again I don't produce much milk and don't breastfeed. But I always wondered if that's y I dont leak, because I hear women talk about it like its very normal in preg..my boobs are like tumbleweeds in a desert town. Dusty dry LOL

lmao haha dusty dry haha

 

[allforthegirl]

Donna I too have always worried about my supply, but I have been able to nurse two. But that wasn't until I first had to find out why it was soooo excruciatingly painful the first two times.... Well it is still painful, but at least now I know why I have the pain and can deal with it. Didn't stop me from worrying about it during cluster feeding. when he was crying and crying and crying as I was flopping in the wind. He finally got my milk back up but man 3 months was the worst time for me. I feel proud of myself for making it through though, as I was so hard on myself for not being able to with my first two.

Iesha you ever get told why your milk doesn't come in? I over researched BF while pg with my 3rd and everything I read said it can still be possible. but I also know that certain medical issues can prevent it. Sorry i don't mean to pry, I am a info junkie when it comes to things I research LOL. I love hearing others stories and such. Probably because I had such a hard go of it.

 

[FeistyMom]

Sacha - We had a gross and messy incident when my husband unplugged a cord to plug some computers in, and didn't realize that he'd unplugged the deep freezer. On the plus side, I didn't have to defrost/de-ice it this year. He also cleaned up the whole thing, but I really hate losing freezer food Hope there wasn't too much in there!!

Iesha - I love hearing your experiences, and I agree - it just makes it better to know we aren't alone. I think I'm obsessing more because this is almost certainly the last one, so I am focusing more on the pregnancy itself. Plus, I'm probably becoming a bit more like my mother - she's quite the hypochondriac, to the point that we really can't believe any ailment she claims. So I'm programmed to be super sensitive to aches and pains.

AFM, add me to the sometimes leaky during pregnancy crowd. I BF #1, and in subsequent pregnancies have experienced leaking during 3rd tri. Not usually before that though. I leak like crazy post partum too, although honestly it seems like my supply has decreased with each child - almost certainly due to stress. It is so much easier on the budget though, that I'm definitely going to start BF this time around too

 

[blessedmomma]

I have never had leaking boobs while pregnant. but I also never needed breast pads or anything while bfing cuz they never leaked in between feeding him either. I also couldn't get anything out while pumping so maybe its related? I know I had good supply though cuz I had mastitis and clogged ducts from oversupply and got engorged to the point of having to use cabbage leaves for a week every time he dropped a feed.

 

[tryn4]

Sach- never really looked into it. I must get some because my breasts get full & hurt but I just wear a bra and 2 days it goes away. I was never really comfortable with the idea so I guess I never cared. If stress could cause it to not be as much that could have certainly been y. During the years I was pregnant before I went through massive stresses. But honestly, I'm assuming I could get some out after birth but I feel it would b so painful.

 

[allforthegirl]

Melissa I wonder if you weren't able to pump because it just wasn't the same. You have to be able to relax enough to have a let down. But who knows. That would suck having to resort to cabbage leaves. I always felt my let downs, was told I have over active letdown because DS3 would puke instead of burp. I was always in fear that my other breast would just start spraying everywhere like the other moms I knew to have it. It wasn't as bad with DS4 though, but still could feel every let down.

Iesha well that makes sense. If you are not interested in every BF then there is no real sense. My first two were bottle feed, many are and grow up totally fine. So it is just preference. I hope no one ever makes you feel bad for your decision.

 

[tryn4]

Nahhhh! Oddly enough, only my husband who really wanted me to bf because he read it is best for baby. Of course I agree, but it made me feel so damn bad for not even having the desire to try. So I cried a little, but I explained to him I don't want to stress over it, and I don't produce a lot, and because of that I can't stand to see the baby hungry or to have painful breasts & possible infection. The whole thing just really bothers me & yea its sad I feel that way cuz I KNOW breast is best. Ppl do make u feel at times like less of a mom, and when I got real upset with my husband over it he felt really bad & said he wouldnt force the issue if I don't want to do it. On the flip side I have 4 healthy bottle fed kids so far...so hopefully this one will be too. The other thing was as I mentioned, I was completely alone. I never had the time to bf. My last one was in daycare by 3 months, had to go back to work. I always appreciated if one of my friends could give the baby a bottle while I threw in a load of wash or did some dishes, even tho I gave most feedings. But u know every extra hand helps!

 

[allforthegirl]

What ever decision you make will be a good one cause it is ultimately your decision. you do what you feel right!!

 

[blessedmomma]

sacha- Im not sure why pumping didn't work out for me. I tried diligently for the first 5 months. did every trick online I found plus everything the breastfeeding clinic ladies here suggested. I relaxed, held him while pumping, nursed him on the other side while pumping, used imagery in my head of the milk coming down, etc. literally everything. even bought a better pump. I could feel my let down as well and it was very painful for me. in fact I would feel let down while pumping and nothing would come out so it would leave me painfully engorged. I could get out a little more with hand expressing, but still not much. maybe an ounce if I was at it all day. I had wanted him to take a bottle of expressed milk once a day and that's why I tried so hard. it would, however, stimulate me to make more milk even though none of it came out. after 5 months of it a breastfeeding coach said maybe I was just one of those women that pumping didn't work for. I decided to give it up and never had mastitis again, or any clogged ducts. funny enough, my let down quit being painful around that time as well. it felt like razor blades prior to giving it up. I want this baby to have one bottle a day as well, even though it never worked out with my last. so I am considering trying the pumping for a week or two, otherwise she will get one bottle of formula a day. im not gonna put myself through it again.

 

[wannabubba#4]

Melissa pumping never worked for me either but then it always felt un natural to me, and I always had one or two of the other children walking in and it was awkward feeling for me. So although hubby wanted to be able to give baby a bottle of EBM it only happened about twice lol and I exclusively bfed the remaining time lol

xx

 

[tryn4]

See thats my thing- a) I don't wanna go thru the pain or frustration. B) pumping always really grossed me out & truly feels unnatural to me & then c) being able to have another person give a feeding every so often. So I feel fairly comfortable with my bottle decision. My boobs have actually been quite painful (well moreso in my nipple area) during this pregnancy, and that alone has pissed me off & made me miserable.

 

[allforthegirl]

Melissa oh that sounds very stressful, but wow I admire you for trying for so long. That just sounds like it was so painful, razor blades for a let down? ouch!

Donna interesting I honestly just thought that everyone could just do it. How nieve I must sound.

I love learning all of this. I really do find it fascinating. Thank you!

 

[tryn4]

Very true! Melissa you are a true champ. I just don't have it in me to cope. I'm the chick walking into the mat ward like yea I know I'm not in pain yet but line up that epidural & make sure there's a doggy bag of that stuff for later!

 

[allforthegirl]

Iesha when you put it like that it makes sense why you rather bottle feed. I totally would do the same in your position!!

 

[wannabubba#4]

I LOVE breastfeeding and don't find it painful at all (bar maybe sore nips first few days whilst getting over initial hurdles lol) So I do it....

BUT.... if I was in pain, did not enjoy or it , or was grossed out by it then it would not worry me using formula - whatever makes baby AND mummy happy xxx

 

[Whitesoxfan41]

This will be my 4th time at trying. I've never made it past 3 weeks. I'm hoping for a different experience with my VASTLY different age and different understanding of things. HA! If not, I'll bottle feed again without guilt!

 

[wannabubba#4]

Well I plan to use cloth nappies this time but wont stress out if I cannot get into it, or find disposables just so much easier that I go back to them lol -

Here's some I bought today - so cute lol xx

 

[Mapleroo]

It's great to hear about everyone's BF experiences. I have found that there is a lot of stigma associated with bottle feeding, I have always felt so bad because I had quite hard time of it. It's lovely to read you are all so open to everyone's decision. With my first, he would not latch at all. I had the midwives express me (with their hands!!) into a cup and give it to him that way. I was so embarrassed and quite young. Once home I had a lactation consultant come out and spent the day trying to make my screaming newborn take my boob, to no avail. She ended up storming out of my house saying '' I wouldn't blame you if you bottle fed that difficult baby! ''. My husband ran to the shops and picked up some formula and bottles and my screaming baby became very happy and settled. Later on when his neurological issues became apparent, I was told that latching is quite often a struggle with babies with similar problems. With #2, she latched no problem, but it was a bad latch and within a couple of weeks I was bleeding and in so much pain, I just couldn't continue. By #3 I was determined to get it right! I have no problem with supply, in fact I kind of think I get enough to feed triplets lol. It was great, it only hurt for a couple of days and after that I found I actually quite enjoyed it. That is until we got a yeast infection. We tried for a couple of weeks by treating it but it kept being passed back and forth between us. I did make it to 6 weeks though and I '' learnt'' how to do it and had overall positive experience so that was nice. This time I really hope to be able to do it longer. Hopefully this baby will go easy on me and it will be a trouble free experience for us both! I really wish that whatever decision a mum makes as to her prefence for feeding was looked at more open mindedly (not entirely sure that is even a word!) and quite frankly, as no one else's business out in the world as it is on this thread. Kudos ladies!