So much more relaxed second time round

[wifey29]

I really struggled with BFing DS. My nipples were horribly damaged, I had mastitis three times in as many weeks and after some awful advice from a midwife at the hospital, pumped round the clock to build up a stash. I hated every second of it and found it very stressful.

I was devastated though when we stopped just shy of three weeks and was determined to BF any other children we might have.

Now that DS2 has arrived I am BFing again and wow, what a difference. It helps that he naturally has a great latch and although sore, so far I have no damage. I feel way more relaxed about everything and DS is handling me feeding constantly better than I ever thought he would. I feel like this is the experience I missed out on last time.

No real point to this thread, I just had to get it out there

 

[babycrazy1706]

I didn't do very well with Elijah

I hope I can do better if there is a next time

Well done you. Xx

 

[caitlyn2009]

This gives me soo much hope. I was depressed for weeks when breastfeeding didn't work out with my daughter. I can only hope breastfeeding this baby goes much smoother.

 

[Sarah lo]

Aww that's a nice story

My story is very similar. With DD I didn't bother to educate myself before she was born so I ended up making one mistake after another. I couldn't understand why she was wanting to feed all day every day and instead of telling me it was normal, the midwives gave me formula to top her up with. She had CMPI so the formula gave her a bad tummy, then the colic started, and on top of that the fussed at every single feed -latch on, pull off, cry again and again. Because of the formula top ups, my supply diminished until finally by 4 months I was only BF at night. The tummy troubles continued and she was out on special formula for CMPI. The HV said I had to stop BF to give the special formula a chance to work (instead of telling me I could just eliminate dairy from my diet. So that was it. my BF journey with DD was spent being extremely stressed out and depressed until I eventually admitted defeat.

This time I was in two minds to even try BF after all the anguish it caused last time. My lovely midwife talked me round though and I promised her I would try for the first few days but if anything went wrong I'd switch him straight to formula. I didn't buy anything for BF, and stocked up on bottles and formula instead.

Well it turns out my little boy is a natural boobie monster. He latched on in the delivery room and fed non stop all night long. This time I knew the constant feeding was normal so I let him do his thing, and co-slept with him so he can feed as much as he wants in the night. He's content most of the time and the only problem we've encountered is his tongue tie which will be corrected soon, luckily it doesn't affect his feeding too much, just my sore nipples which I can live with

 

[leigh5tom]

I lasted 3 weeks with my daughter before stopping. I hated it so much! My story is very similar to the OPs, DD didn't latch well, I was given no advice on how to improve it, I had horrendously sore & damaged nipples, and ended up with mastitis twice. I couldn't bear to feed to I didn't. I pumped until my supply went completely. But by 4 weeks she was 100% formula.
I wanted to fb this baby but I was hesitant. I educated myself and knew it wasn't going to be easy. My son had a tongue tie too, so despite constant nursing he just couldn't get enough milk off. He finally went back to birth weight just after he was 3 weeks old and touch wood it's been 'smooth sailing' ever since. He's now 3 months old. I knew that the pain would improve and feeds would become less frequent. I just grinned and bared it this time because I knew it was all normal and I'm really glad I did! Xx

 

[Pielette]

It's lovely to see how many people make it work second time around.

My eldest was on formula by week three - baby boy number two and I are still going strong at nearly 11 months

 

[1stTimeOct.12]

I just have to agree with the original poster. Second time around is so much easier! I'm not nearly as sore and it's so much more relaxing instead of a struggle. Good luck to all you ladies!

 

[wifey29]

Aw, so glad I started this thread, it's lovely to hear that so many of you had better experiences second time round and to offer hope to those hoping for a better second time .

 

[WDWJess]

These are such encouraging posts. I had issues with bf DS and he was completely on formula by 3 weeks. I'm so determined to make it work this time and it's great to hear all your success stories so thank you x

 

[Leliana]

Ladies, thank you so much for sharing these posts!! I had a terrible experience BFing my DD - it ended at 3 weeks and it took me a long time to get over the feelings of guilt and sadness. I am absolutely determined to feed this second baby for as long as I can. Knowing that it is possible gives me sooooo much hope.

Thank you!

 

[leigh5tom]

It definitely is possible I promise you! I thought I wasn't able to breastfeed, I actually believed I physically couldn't. Then I researched it and read threads in here and really learnt alot about it, and therefore when DS was born I knew that the difficulties which I may face are totally normal and that there is no reason to stop. I went to breastfeeding support groups too which were really helpful. Xxx

 

[Leliana]

Leigh, your experience with your daughter is so much like mine - I could have written your post. I went into it so blind and thought it would be easy and natural. I had a HUGE wake up call and it made the first few weeks of her life very traumatic. This time I am determined to read as many things as I can to give myself the best chance. I already have the times of our local breastfeeding support group and intend to actually go to it! I will take it one day at a time but my goal is to feed this baby for longer than I managed with DD

Thanks once again to all of you. I will be stalking your posts here!

 

[leigh5tom]

My first goal was 6 weeks. It seemed totally unachievable at first (we had a rocky start) but I just kept feeding and eventually got there.y next goal was 10 weeks, then 3 months. I always said if never feed longer than 3 months bit here I am, not quite sure how to stop even if I wanted to lol! Xx

 

[hakunamatata]

Second time around definitely easier for me too

 

[hakunamatata]

We'll be cheering you on Leliana!

 

[cncem]

Congrats!! Your story gives me hope. I intend to bf this one no matter what, I'll try and try and not give up. I tried bfing with my first two, but neither would latch and I gave up trying, I wish I would have hung in there. With both I ended up exclusively pumping and feeding them breastmilk from a bottle. I was so busy with pumping and all that entails I feel like I missed bonding time with my babies. I had more of a bond with the pump. It was so time consuming and such a pain in the rear. My son would latch if I used a nipple shield, so I had to clean it and steralize in between feeds every few hours and eventually went to exclusively pumping like with my daughter. Best of luck and keep it up!

 

[Odd Socks]

It didn't work for us first time round. Second time round wS the easiest thing ever. We're still going strong & she's 2.5

 

[Leids]

Even though I continued nursing my first I found it excruciating and really stressful in the beginning. I remember crying every night and wanting to quit so bad.

This time around I'm so relaxed. I know what I'm doing and what to expect so it's been completely stress free. It helps that baby has an amazing big latch and I've had no pain!