sorry for the stupid question .....

[daisydoo]

As I say, sorry if this is a silly question, it's something I just can't get my head round. Baby due any day now and much as I would love to breastfeed, I can't see how it can happen. I've got such teeny boobs that haven't really grown thru pregnancy (my nipples are just a tiny bit bigger but still very small). Now I'm worried about a few things. If I let baby go to my breast as soon as it is born the midwifes will laugh when they see me try to BF with such non existent breasts like I think I'm silly for ever imagining they could feed a baby. Also, if your milk doesnt come in for a few days (as my mum keeps telling me) what on earth feeds the baby until then cos mine aren't leaking or anything so I assme theres nothing there so I will have one very hungry baby.
hmmmm sorry if that long Ive been worrying about this right thru my pregnancy so if anyone has any pearls of wisdom I would be soooo grateful thank u xxxxx

 

[lisac25]

it dosent matter what size your boobs are, the milk ducts are deep behind them and that what makes the milk, the midwives would never laugh at you, everyone comes in different shapes and sizes,
and yes it does take a few days for your milk to come in properly, but before then your body produces colustrum, magical stuff, for bubs, gives them lots of antibodies etc etc. and baby is born with enough fat to do them for a while aswell lol
p.s i didnt leak at all with both my girls, untill my milk had come in after a few days

 

[polaris]

Well done on making the decision to breastfeed, don't worry it doesn't matter what size your boobs are, they will be able to make enough for your LO. Size is not important and the midwives will have seen all different shapes and sizes so they should be able to reassure you rather than laugh at you! It;s not a silly question at all, it's completely natural to have worries but please try to just have faith in your body that you can do it.

The one piece of advice I would give you is that I think EVERYONE regardless of shape, size, etc, worries that they do not have enough milk for the baby in the early days. This is because the baby actually boosts your supply by sucking, so in the first three weeks or so it really feels like the baby is eating all the time and never satisfied. I had been told the first two weeks were the hardest but to be honest the third week was just as bad and since then it has gradually got easier. So just remember that it is completely normal to feel like you don't have enough milk, that baby is sucking and sucking and only getting a dribble, and that baby constantly seems hungry and frustrated. The most important thing is not to be tempted to substitute with formula (unless there are medical reasons why you need to do so of course, i.e. if you are advised to do so by your doctor) because baby needs to suck and suck to boost your supply. But the first few weeks are HARD. I didn't know how hard they would be but I'm so glad now that we stuck with it. My baby is 6 weeks and I really feel like we have turned a corner and I'm starting to actually enjoy breast feeding.

 

[becstar]

What people have said is right... it is hard especially for the first few days as baby wants to suck constantly... baby won't get 'milk' at first, just colostrum, but the baby's tummy is the size of a marble so it really doesn't need a big bottle of formula or anything, just the colostrum it gets. Baby sucks non stop to try to get your milk supply established and bring your milk in, but also I think for comfort - the poor thing has been inside you for 40 weeks and is scared of this new world and wants to be close to mummy all the time. For me, that makes sense and it was hard at first, very hard, but I couldn't give her a bottle and leave her alone, it just wasn't in me.

Look into feeding laying down and safe co-sleeping for the early days, as you can be so tired and scared of dropping baby - this can really help as you can doze together.

Good luck!

PS I have teeny boobs and my sister has AAs and my mum As, and we've all breastfed successfully - my mum did it 6 times!

 

[daisydoo]

thank you for your replies ladies has made me feel much better I'll def give it a go and perservere!

One other question - how do you get around breastfeeding and all the visitors wanting to see your baby in the early days? My FIL lives quite far from us so when baby is born he will be coming straight away to see it - now there is no way I'll BF in front of him (a) cos he's a bit pervy and (b) i think its something ill want to go away and do on my own with baby as i get to grips with it. now if he has come all the way to see grandchild i cant be sat in another room all the time with my baby as they suckle for ages at first don't they?

thanks again for all your help

 

[lisac25]

at first i was quite shy about feeding in front of other people even my familly but i just made sure i told them this so they understood how i felt, and they were very understanding, to start with i would either go upstairs to feed her or becuase i had said i was shy they would purposly go into the kitchen for a cup of tea or somehting. but honestly after a while you get used to it, and i dont mind feeding in front of anyone now, it just takes a while to build your confidence up, remember you and baby are both learning a new skill, and it is soooooooo worth it in the end x

 

[polaris]

thank you for your replies ladies has made me feel much better I'll def give it a go and perservere!

One other question - how do you get around breastfeeding and all the visitors wanting to see your baby in the early days? My FIL lives quite far from us so when baby is born he will be coming straight away to see it - now there is no way I'll BF in front of him (a) cos he's a bit pervy and (b) i think its something ill want to go away and do on my own with baby as i get to grips with it. now if he has come all the way to see grandchild i cant be sat in another room all the time with my baby as they suckle for ages at first don't they?

thanks again for all your help

At first I wouldn't feed in front of anyone, not even my mum, I just brought baby upstairs when he wanted to be fed. No one passed any comments about this. Even though they do feed a lot, they do sleep a lot too, so visitors will be able to see baby when he/she is sleeping. Now at this stage I would be confident that I can feed him quite discreetly so I would just feed him in front of people or in public with no difficulty, but I definitely wouldn't have done it in the early days. At first you and LO are both learning how to feed efficiently so you are better off doing it in private in my opinion where you can give it your full concentration. In the end it is your choice what you feel comfortable with and your visitors will just have to respect that.

 

[cleckner04]

I feed with a receiving blanket over myself when around anyone besides my husband. And with the small boobs, mine were small as well and didn't grow throughout my pregnancy but have now went up two sizes since actually having her. I never thought I had any colostrum while pregnant either until I took my manual pump just to see and stuff came out! After that one time they would leak. Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy!

 

[daisydoo]

thanks again everyone I think its just a matter of having the confidence to say 'this is my time with the baby feeding' and be strong about it.
thanks again for all your help and hopefully ill be over on this board properly very soon!

 

[Lucy Lu]

look forward to seeing u over here daisydoo! just wanted to add, im v flat chested and was initially embarrassed in front of the midwives. have always had a huge paranoia about showing my chest, but I have totally changed since our LO was born. I just see them as my baby's human bottle now rather than a sexual thing and it's taken away a lot of the nervousness i had about feeding in front of people.

also the midwife told me small boobs are the best for feeding really as it's a lot easier to get the baby into position!

good luck! xx

 

[becstar]

Just to add, I used to watch my sister feeding in front of my step-dad and thought 'I could never do that, so weird' - but now I don't care, I feed anywhere and everywhere and if people see my boobs, good luck to them!

Although, saying that, I didn't the other day when OH's uncle was here, as he is a bit odd and makes me feel uncomfy. I could have used a blanket but Ilana pulls them off and screams!

I have pretty flat nipples too (well, cone shaped rather than bits that stick out) but have had no trouble in feeding with them.

 

[Kbee]

I promise the midwives wont laugh-we are all different, they will encourage and support you to bf.
xxxx

 

[pennysbored]

Welcome to the club!

 

[lalitas charm]

Hey there, the MWs wont laugh, we are all different!! I never leaked when I was pregnant and I've been breast feeding for 6 weeks and still haven't leaked. My LO is growing like mad and at 6 weeks old is 12lb so I've definitely got enough milk I'm just not leaky I guess.

I wont feed infront of anyone other than my DH. I just go to my bedroom if anyone is here and when I was in hospital I just apologised to visitors and explained the situation and they left. It only happened the once and was family and they understood.

Good luck with the birth and the start of the BF,