things that no one told me about bf

[Maya23]

Hi ladies, is my first time posting here after I had my little boy, but been reading all your post every single day
I have always wanted to bf, and was hoping that I could do it until sept ( he will be 6 months then) but I had to stop at 9 weeks due to my nipples bleeding.
Everything has been perfect in those 9 weeks, no pain at all, Matteo was latching on very easy, couldn't be more happier.
Being a first time mummy I didn't know how to take care of my breast during bf..they were leaking and leaking constantly and I was always wearing a bra with pads, and I ended up with thrush by week 6.Shooting pains in my breasts and so so so painful to bf.Went to the doc only to find out from him, that I have to leave my breasts "breathe" (walking half naked in the house for a few hours a day).The thrush from my breasts went in my son's mouth and then back to my breasts and by week 9 my nipples started bleeding and I had to stop
I know I sound daft but i did not know all that!!i had a bra on almost 24/7 due to them leaking and leaking.No one told me on the breastfeeding classes how to take care of myself whilst bf.
ohhh sorry for the rant..I had to let it out

 

[meldmac]

Sorry you had such a hard time hon I too wasn't able to bf but for different reasons, wasn't producing enough milk and Colin wouldn't latch at all.

 

[beccybobeccy]

Hi honey, welcome to baby club!

Its always really hard making the decision to stop but you made the right one for you and your little one so that makes it the right one. Full stop.

Education about BFing whilst pregnant is really lacking... I had literally no idea about how hard it all was and I thought I was prepared!! x

 

[blondey]

I don't think people tell you how hard breastfeeding can be in general really.

I had a horrendous time. After 4 days I didn't have any nipples left and I was bleeding and weeping everywhere. I had sweet FA help from the midwives. So after seeing a lactation specialist who could only put the issues we were having down to LO having a mouth that was too small, I decided to express and did so for 6 weeks.

You did brilliantly hun doing it for 9 weeks and you gave your LO a real good start.

After having a baby and realising how hard and stressful bfing is, I strongly believe there should be a much stronger support network out there which is widely available to women who struggle. This is what would increase those bfing statistics.

The MW's are quick enough to bombard you with all the facts and statistics about the benefits of bfing when you go for your pregnancy appointments, but then seem to drop off the planet.

For something which is so natural and amazing, it's so hard to get right and keep up and I think a lot of people, me included, underestimate this!

xx

 

[Chellxx]

Hi ladies, is my first time posting here after I had my little boy, but been reading all your post every single day
I have always wanted to bf, and was hoping that I could do it until sept ( he will be 6 months then) but I had to stop at 9 weeks due to my nipples bleeding.
Everything has been perfect in those 9 weeks, no pain at all, Matteo was latching on very easy, couldn't be more happier.
Being a first time mummy I didn't know how to take care of my breast during bf..they were leaking and leaking constantly and I was always wearing a bra with pads, and I ended up with thrush by week 6.Shooting pains in my breasts and so so so painful to bf.Went to the doc only to find out from him, that I have to leave my breasts "breathe" (walking half naked in the house for a few hours a day).The thrush from my breasts went in my son's mouth and then back to my breasts and by week 9 my nipples started bleeding and I had to stop
I know I sound daft but i did not know all that!!i had a bra on almost 24/7 due to them leaking and leaking.No one told me on the breastfeeding classes how to take care of myself whilst bf.
ohhh sorry for the rant..I had to let it out

My midwife has been on since day 1 about breastfeeding and its a good job that i'm so set on it or she would of been quite pushy really but not once has she mentioned this, so thank you i'll make sure i have a few "free" hours in the day once lo is here

 

[mrs_park]

No one tells you how hard it is, and in some ways it sets women up for a hard time and many are unable to continue. I'm sorry you had such a hard time you did really well to get to 9 weeks and you should be really proud of yourself, it's a huge accomplishment and I'm sure your LO is thankful

 

[alynn6758]

No one told me how hard it would be, made it seem like the happiest thing on the planet...but it wasn't for me 3 times in row...with DS1 I lasted 3 days, with DS2 I lasted 6 weeks, and with DD I made it 2 weeks...I wish I could have enjoyed it like I see so many women do, but I was so miserable I found myself not wanting to hold or feed my baby, so i had to stop...now that she's formula fed, we both are so much happier I think BF is great and women that can do it are very lucky so are their babies

 

[Maya23]

Yes!the midwives don't tell you the negative stuff about it!They only tell you how good breast milk is for your child..which is absolutely true!it is a very good start for a baby, but what about the mummy??what about a good start for us 2?After i got the thrush nothing went back to normal..I was crying and bf my son..and this is another reason for new mummys to get depression.That is not healthy for either of us.I wish they could improve the bf classes and tell you the negative part of it 2.It's only fair for us to know that bad things can happen too and that is not our fault.

 

[Aunty E]

I'm guessing they don't tell you the negatives because they don't want to scare you off! I wore pads day and night, with massively leaking boobs, and I never got thrush from it. I don't spend any time walking around 'airing' my boobs. I think you were desperately unlucky to get thrush and it sounds horrible

 

[mrs whitehead]

I totally agree. I only thought about bf'ing. Never thought about or wanted to ff. But I was only in hospital 5 hrs after giving birth and then they basically kicked us out. With no information or support. They didn't show me how to get Ava to latch on or anything. They left me to try it myself and then they came back and said 'oh just keep trying when you get home'. She was and wasn't latching properly. I think it was a combination of me having HUGE nipples, she only has a little mouth and she had jaundice so wasn't feeding properly anyway. I tried for a week and I was in agony I was a mess. I was getting so upset and when she cried I couldn't stand it I couldn't even be in the same room as her. I felt like such a failure. So we went onto formula and she settled so much easier, slept better and her jaundice went. My hubby was going mad coz he was reading the big purple nhs book and he said it basically said if you can't bf your not doing the best for your baby and your a terrible mum. They put too much stress on mums, they are keen to push bf when your pregnant but don't support you once you have the baby.

 

[Maya23]

I'm guessing they don't tell you the negatives because they don't want to scare you off! I wore pads day and night, with massively leaking boobs, and I never got thrush from it. I don't spend any time walking around 'airing' my boobs. I think you were desperately unlucky to get thrush and it sounds horrible

I know!!!Tell me about it!I never heard of thrush in the breast before..but the doc made me feel like an idiot..when i told him am wearing the bra with the pads 24/7

 

[bumpy_j]

I'm guessing they don't tell you the negatives because they don't want to scare you off! I wore pads day and night, with massively leaking boobs, and I never got thrush from it. I don't spend any time walking around 'airing' my boobs. I think you were desperately unlucky to get thrush and it sounds horrible

I know!!!Tell me about it!I never heard of thrush in the breast before..but the doc made me feel like an idiot..when i told him am wearing the bra with the pads 24/7

i didnt know this i never not wear my bra!

 

[Carlyp1990]

i agree they dont tell you how hard it can be and make it seem like the easiest thing in the world. However, where i am the support group is fantastic, i chose to stay in hospital overnight so they could help should i need it and a bf lady came round to talk to me and give me information. when i left hospital th MW was also great and when i had a few problems they sent a bf specialist round to see me asap and then did follow up phonecalls etc to see how we were gettin on. I do agree its hard though, and the lifesaver for me was lying down while feeding with no bra on... although the breast that wasnt 'being used' would leak all over the place!! lol xx

 

[Maya23]

i agree they dont tell you how hard it can be and make it seem like the easiest thing in the world. However, where i am the support group is fantastic, i chose to stay in hospital overnight so they could help should i need it and a bf lady came round to talk to me and give me information. when i left hospital th MW was also great and when i had a few problems they sent a bf specialist round to see me asap and then did follow up phonecalls etc to see how we were gettin on. I do agree its hard though, and the lifesaver for me was lying down while feeding with no bra on... although the breast that wasnt 'being used' would leak all over the place!! lol xx

They do give you support when needed..but with me was too late..I wish I would have known about thrush in breast before starting bf.

 

[amy19604]

I got thrush too and one of the main reasons you get it is because it thrives in a damp environment which is exactly what your boobs are in your bra with pads all day, even though you change them regularly.
Thrush was awful, its so painful and my baby had it in his mouth too and he wouldnt want to feed from me, just screamed and screamed trying to feed, so i ended up having to express and feed from a bottle,cos it was more comfortable for him. then i got mastitus too, the only way i could carry on bf was by using nipple shields and expressing cos everytime i tried to feed again we would pass the thrush back and forth. in the end he was so used to nipple shields and a bottle he wouldnt latch on to me, it was so stressfull for both of us that i just carried on expressing and bottle feeding for as long as i could, but ive just switched to formula as it was getting harder and harder to express enough milk, but i felt so bad and was so upset about it all, felt like a right failure
but i had no idea about any of this stuff and it was going so well until i got thrush
also when i went to the docs with it they had no idea about it! i had to tell them what it was and why we both had it etc

 

[Cattia]

I have been really lucky, the support here is amazing. I went back to the birth centre aftet having my daughter in hospital and my son was born at the birth centre. The staff there were fantastic. There was a lactation consultant on duty and all the midwives were so helpful, you could buzz them any yime of day or night and they would spend as much time as you needed to get it right. When I got home I could call for advice 24/7 and twice I called at 3am! They also run a BF support group round the corner from me which I used to go to every week. It was not until I came on this site that I realiaed how lucky I was. I wish everyone could have the same great care I had.

 

[Maya23]

I got thrush too and one of the main reasons you get it is because it thrives in a damp environment which is exactly what your boobs are in your bra with pads all day, even though you change them regularly.
Thrush was awful, its so painful and my baby had it in his mouth too and he wouldnt want to feed from me, just screamed and screamed trying to feed, so i ended up having to express and feed from a bottle,cos it was more comfortable for him. then i got mastitus too, the only way i could carry on bf was by using nipple shields and expressing cos everytime i tried to feed again we would pass the thrush back and forth. in the end he was so used to nipple shields and a bottle he wouldnt latch on to me, it was so stressfull for both of us that i just carried on expressing and bottle feeding for as long as i could, but ive just switched to formula as it was getting harder and harder to express enough milk, but i felt so bad and was so upset about it all, felt like a right failure
but i had no idea about any of this stuff and it was going so well until i got thrush
also when i went to the docs with it they had no idea about it! i had to tell them what it was and why we both had it etc

sorry you had to go through this too..I honestly thought I was the only one with this problem.
Yep, everything went perfect for me too until i got the thrush..and then that was it...we started passing it on from one to another..
I couldn't stand knowing my son had thrush in his mouth

 

[amy19604]

i agree they dont tell you how hard it can be and make it seem like the easiest thing in the world. However, where i am the support group is fantastic, i chose to stay in hospital overnight so they could help should i need it and a bf lady came round to talk to me and give me information. when i left hospital th MW was also great and when i had a few problems they sent a bf specialist round to see me asap and then did follow up phonecalls etc to see how we were gettin on. I do agree its hard though, and the lifesaver for me was lying down while feeding with no bra on... although the breast that wasnt 'being used' would leak all over the place!! lol xx

They do give you support when needed..but with me was too late..I wish I would have known about thrush in breast before starting bf.

yeah my midwife and hv were great, really supportive with bf and came out and helped me in the early days, and it was going so well, but id been having the thrush pains for days not knowing what it was as they started off mild, and cos my lo was screaming when trying to feed we thought it was belly ache or something, wasnt until my pains got really bad and he was hardly feeding and i googled it and found thrush. i called the mw who said it sounded like it was and to get to the docs, but by then it was already really bad and had affected our feeding.

 

[amy19604]

I got thrush too and one of the main reasons you get it is because it thrives in a damp environment which is exactly what your boobs are in your bra with pads all day, even though you change them regularly.
Thrush was awful, its so painful and my baby had it in his mouth too and he wouldnt want to feed from me, just screamed and screamed trying to feed, so i ended up having to express and feed from a bottle,cos it was more comfortable for him. then i got mastitus too, the only way i could carry on bf was by using nipple shields and expressing cos everytime i tried to feed again we would pass the thrush back and forth. in the end he was so used to nipple shields and a bottle he wouldnt latch on to me, it was so stressfull for both of us that i just carried on expressing and bottle feeding for as long as i could, but ive just switched to formula as it was getting harder and harder to express enough milk, but i felt so bad and was so upset about it all, felt like a right failure
but i had no idea about any of this stuff and it was going so well until i got thrush
also when i went to the docs with it they had no idea about it! i had to tell them what it was and why we both had it etc

sorry you had to go through this too..I honestly thought I was the only one with this problem.
Yep, everything went perfect for me too until i got the thrush..and then that was it...we started passing it on from one to another..
I couldn't stand knowing my son had thrush in his mouth

i know, me too, i burst into tears when i realised he had it in his mouth and we'd been thinking it was bellyache, i felt so so guilty the midwife said not to think like that but you cant help it!

 

[OmarsMum]

I didnt know that some babies dont latch on. I thought once you hold them close to the breast they will automatically latch on & start feeding. I didnt know that some mums dont have milk to BF even if it's a very low percentage. I didn't have any milk to BF & DS couldnt latch on. Tried to express but I didnt get a single drop. After 4 weeks of trying everyday, I gave up & moved on. My mum BF all 4 of us with no problems so I thought it would be the same for me. xx