Should I Breastfeed?

[Mummy2B1989]

I am 27 weeks pregnant with my second son, ever since i found out i was pregnant ive been adamant i wanted to breastfeed.

MIL bought me a medela swing breast pump.

I want to give my baby the best possible start but sometimes the thought fills me with dread and anxiety.

What if i need to take ds1 to nursery and baby is feeding?
What if i need to go into town?
Cluster feeding
All night and all day-ers.

Silly i know but with ds1 we bottle fed and you had more freedom.

I know i will save a fortune on powdered milk etc too though.

Basically i need some words of support from you lovely ladies

Especially experiences from day 1 etc and combining breast and expressed?

Thank you!

 

[irish_cob]

But what if you're bottle feeding and you have to take ds1 to nursery?

If you need to go into town then go into town! It's much easier if you're bfing cos you don't need to worry about having enough sterilised bottles/powder/water/premade feed etc, you just go, you won't run out of milk.
Cluster feeding is just a case of accepting it and getting on with it. Formula fed babies may cluster feed too, it's not only bf babies.

I've fed pretty much exclusively from day 1, she had the odd bottle when I was hospitalised when she was 9 weeks old. It's fab because it's not just food, it's comfort, security, bonding etc too. Now at 9 months we mix feed as I've returned to work full time and she's fine with it but she likes her boobs best!

 

[Sarah lo]

The big hurdle to get over is that first 6-8 weeks when it feels like they're feeding constantly. Once that's over you'll find LO will start to go 3 or more hours between feeds and will only take 5-10 minutes to have a feed (about as long as it takes to make up a bottle, get it to temperature and feed them except without all the screaming while you wait for it.

if you can get over the embarrassment of nursing in public it opens up a whole new world of freedom too. Yes, you will still have to take LO everywhere with you but you will be able to get out and about which for me makes a world of difference. And for those times you do want to get out on your own, you can either nip out between feeds, express a bottle or even leave a bottle of formula with them if you like.

the cluster feeding is hard but if you just go with it its really not that bad. Tbh I quite like it when my LO has a growth spurt because it gives me an excuse to be really lazy and spend the whole day curled up on the sofa having lots of baby cuddles and watching telly while DH or MIL runs around with my older one and the dog all day!

another thing I've just thought of is that in a lot of ways you get more freedom with BF. Not just because its quicker but on those days when you get caught up somewhere or you're having such a nice time with friends that you end up staying out all day you don't have to worry that you've just run out of bottles of milk because you have your very own built-in milk taps. I FF my daughter and I was always having to cut my days short because I'd run out of bottles for her.

 

[Mummafrog]

I love love love breastfeeding! And I did through the tiring bit as well. After the first few weeks when baby is setting your milk supply it gives you so much more freedom than formula can. You can just feed whenever and wherever, you don't have to worry about sterilisation or temperature. Feeding in the night is simpler and it also gives you sleepy hormones to help you fall asleep easily again. If you have to rush out the door and baby is feeding it's easy to just pop them off for ten minutes and continue the feed when you get to wherever, rather than waste excess in the bottle and so on.

Also it gives you a way to comfort your little one through anything, all the growth spurts and any pain, for example with the immunisations, my breast is what calmed her down a few seconds after the shot.

Honestly if you stick with it, you get a good latch and feel confident, it's the best and if it's right for you it feels wonderful to share it with your child
Get yourself clued in on how to latch and signs of a good latch etc so you have minimal soreness.

Sending have a nice rest of your pregnancy!

 

[staralfur]

I don't have 2 kids but I imagine there will be plenty of times that your newborn will be feeding and your older child needs something from you and you'll have to work feeding around it, whether that be formula or breastfeeding. It kind of works that way even with your first kid, sometimes you have things that need to be done or you need to be somewhere at a certain time and it conflicts with baby's feeding schedule... it's just a part of life! You'll figure it out.

Once I became comfortable with the idea of nursing in public my life became a million times easier. I started going out places just for the sake of getting out without worrying about her feeds, because I could just feed her wherever I was. I had initially taken expressed bottles with me but I found that to be a hassle more than anything.

Clusterfeeding is exhausting but having a new baby in general is exhausting. I would look into safe co-sleeping for the all-nighters and perhaps a carrier for the daytime clusterfeeds so you can still move around and get things done. How old is your son? He might understand that you need to spend a few days inside not doing much because you have to feed the baby. You could find some fun, independent indoor activities for him.

 

[catty]

I have an 11 month age gap and I am NOWHERE near as tired as I was bottle feeding as I just pull her into bed with me to feed then put her back when done, none of this getting up, getting a bottle, making sure it's right temp. Also in my experiance she doesn't need winded as much and is less likely to spew (I no not the same for every baby) so there's less faff with that too.
I feed her right before we go out and if she gets hungry I try and hold off until I find a place to feed her just as I would if I was bottle feeding, I wouldn't walk the streets giving her a bottle.
I am still not comfortable feeding in places like restaurants so I will take a bottle of expressed milk with me, you can keep it out longer than formula aswell. I barely ever have to use it as I'm not usually out for linger than 2/3 hours at a time.
I honestly am not from am area where bf is high and formula fed my last baby but I find it so so so much easier. It's a reall challenge getting through the first 5 weeks or so but after that it is just so much easier honestly

 

[moomin_troll]

I'm a single mum so had to do everything myself with a 3 year and and a newborn breastfeeding baby.
I was fine. I had no problem feeding when I needed to at home or in public

 

[ready4family]

Breastfeeding is AWESOME! The first 6 weeks are HARD, because of all the growth spurts and breastfeeding, BUT everytime I had to go somewhere, DD would sleep and if she needed to eat, I found a quiet place or nursed her in my car. The bond is absolutely amazing, you burn more calories, giving your baby the best, benefits are ENDLESS! I highly recommend asking to see a lactation consultant in the hospital, every feeding-it helped me a lot. I also have a book called The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding (got if off amazon)-it's a GREAT resource. You CAN do it if you have your mind made up. Your SO will have to step up and help with your other child so you can focus on baby.

 

[luna_19]

Yes you should bf! It's way easier in the long run