Second time around

[SammyD]

I was a complete failure at breastfeeding my DD 9 years ago! After being determined to bf all through my pg and never considering bottlefeeding, I was incredibly disappointed when I had to make the decision to wean her at 3 weeks when I lost my milk after recurrent mastitis & cracked nipples.

I'm now 23 weeks pg with #2 and am even more determined to bf this time. I want to do everything I can to make sure the same thing doesn't happen again.

Is there anyone else out there who managed to bf successfully after experiencing similar problems 1st time around? How did you go about it? Is it worthwhile employing a private lactation consultant to help me through? Any advice or personal stories would be most welcome.

[kymmy]

honestly i feel for you
I have never had any major problems
bf my three
though i must say it does get much easier
you have to persevere
and one thing that helped me
is
put as much nipple in baby's mouth as possible
it promotes the right way for suckling
also doesn't hurt as much
should not hurt at all
also bf takes practice
if you can feed for six weeks
it becomes second nature for you and baby...

[jackieb76]

Hi SammyD,

I have a 6 year old daughter who I had a lot of trouble breastfeeding and was only able to for around 3 weeks. I now feel that this had a lot to do with not having the right support. I had a lactaction consultant in hospital but as soon as I got home I found it very difficult and so expressed for a little while until I lost my milk and felt I had to buy some formula.

When I was pregnant for the second time I was feeling so determined to breastfeed so I read as much as I could about it (attachment, positioning etc) and also subscribed to the ABA and went to a seminar held by them. I had my second daughter in February this year and it was tough in the beginning and my nipples were sore as they got used to my daughter feeding. I asked the midwives in the hospital to help me attach her at EVERY feed for the first few days (and nights) so that I could work at getting her on right. When we came home from hospital the midwives came and saw us and again I got them to check the attachment. I must admit that for the first 6 weeks it was hard but I am so glad that I persisted. It really does get easier and now at 3 months on we are going great and I hope to feed as long as we can.

Just be confident that you can do it and take all the help that you can get, don't be afraid to ask for it. Believe in yourself and you will do it and if you don't that's ok too because you know you have given it your best shot.

Take care and good luck.

Jackie :thumbsup:

[Melo]

Thanks Sammy for posting a thread about this! :thumbsup:

I was wondering about this the other day..

With my DS I pratically gave up... We had people here continously and it felt like I was forver stuck in DS's bedroom feeding him (as I didnt want to feed in front of them). This time around i'm breastfeeding where ever I want! And I hope to b/f for at least the first year :fingerscrossed:.

I'm going to a private hospital this time as well so hopefully I can get lots of support!

Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy! :smiliedance:

[jarrahsmumma]

my story is similar to yours, and now pregant secod time round I am so determined to BF. I have signed up for a course with the ABA in september, where you learn all about BF, with up to date info (not like stupid ante-natal class) you get a 12 month subscription to ABA and also lists of helplines and LC that you may need.


You CAN do this! knowledge is power, so get informed about EVERYTHING and you will be great

[sueb31]

Hi, I had lots of problems in the early days but am still breastfeeding...I had badly cracked nipples for the first 6-8 weeks, mastitis at 10days, 5 weeks and 7 weeks and nipple thrush after the second lot of mastitis. That list of probs sounds terrible, doesn't it! But honestly, once I got to the 8 week mark, it got easier and now is so easy, I'm glad I stuck with it.

My advice would be, get as much assistance as you feel is useful, be that a friend or family member who has gone through it or a lactation consultant or both. When in hospital, ask to see lactation consultants if they have any, as they know more than midwives about it all I think.

I found the lactation consultant really good, she came to my house, observed feeding etc. It cost $70 for the first (and only )visit, she phoned a few days later to check up and I phoned her later on with a few questions.

Other things I did was to rest the worst side for 24 hours and express from it, while feeding from the other side and the expressed milk. I never did that for more than 24 hours at a time due to concerns about supply. As it turns out, I have never had supply problems so far, my boy is 4.5 months old now.

I also used Lansinoh cream and tried to air my nipples as much as possible.

I am so glad I kept on with it, it is all going so smoothly now.

Good luck!
Sue
And Andrew - 4.5 months

[JE's Mum]

Hi SammyD

While I only have one, we had a lot of trouble getting breastfeeding started as my son wouldn't attach to the breast at all. Initially I had to express around the clock (every 4 hours day and night) to ensure my supply came in and feed him my milk in a bottle. I ended up going to the Mercy Hospital breastfeeding clinic in Melbourne when he was 5 days old and they got him attached with a nipple shield (I cried when he finally went to the breast, a very emotional moment!). It took about 4 weeks before he was feeding from the breast at every feed. He is 14 months and we are still feeding today (although, I am trying to wean. The irony is I am now having trouble getting him off the boob!)

I understand that most of the big public maternity hospitals run these clinics and have breastfeeding consultants available for a chat (you don't have to be a public patient either). They are an absolute godsend. I would even recommend calling them before your baby is due and chatting about your concerns jsut so you know where you can go, if you need to. If you have any trouble with feeding when your baby arrives, book yourself in straight away. The sooner you get onto it the easier it is and the less dispondent you feel.

Also, the ABA counsellors are fabulous for advice!

All the best with your second. Hope all goes well. And hey, if it doesn't work out this time, don't dispair, your bub will thrive anyway. :hugs:

[SammyD]

Thanks everyone for all your positive advice...it's nice to know that there are others out there who have been in the same position but managed to get through it!

[NZMama]

Hi there, I too had problems with breastfeeding DD1 . Cracked and bleeding nipples, I cringed everytime I latched her on. It came down to the fact that I was engorged and as a result not latching her on correctly. My shyness at revealing myself certainly didnt help. But my mum came into the room with me and showed me how to shape myself in order for bubs to latch on and my midwifes support helped me persevere. I think at the end of the day that was the key word PERSEVERE. We did manage to get it down to a fine art and I then became a pro at discretely feeding her while in public. I must admit 5 years later with DD2 I was still a little apprehensive but this time accepted all the help possible to get back into the flow of things, this time it didnt take as much time to get the hang of. Just like riding a bike.
Goodluck with your second try :D

[addysmummy]

It came down to the fact that I was engorged and as a result not latching her on correctly.

hello - firstly sammyd, my story is the same as yours altho i am not pregnant with a 2nd yet - my first is only 3 months old! we weaned at 3.5 weeks for similar reasons and i am still not really over it i think (btw, will i ever get over it?). rather than the right "technical" support for me tho, i think it was more the stress and lack of support from my family/parents who we were living with at the time.

i would really like to breastfeed the next time round - thank you for this thread - it's been great to hear similar stories.

just wanted to ask NZMama - i was an oversupplier and constantly had problems with oversupply that i didnt know what to do with - i didnt want to express too much cos that would increase it more so i would try not to, then it would be painful etc etc...and that may have caused latching problems. just wondering what you did about the engorgement and also the latching difficulties because of engorgement?

[NZMama]

Hi addysmummy, congrats on your new bubby and dont be disheartened with not successfully breastfeeding your 1st child I have friends who struggled with the first but were more determined the second time around and managed it.
I can relate to what youve said about not wanting to express too much. I was constantly told to express the milk off but found I was going round in circles, I would express the oversupply off only to have it all come back by the next feed. Like they said you are encouraging supply. I tried to keep and use as much of the expressed breastmilk as possible because I didnt want to waste it, but alot went down the drain.
Unfortunately there was no magic cure, in the end I just had to grin and bear the feeling of 2 rather square looking boulders on my chest (it was the strangest thing) for a bit until my milk supply balanced itself. I found the best thing to do was to express a tiny bit off at the beginning of each feed to make it easier to attach DD1 onto the breast. The problem was my breasts were that hard that the only thing she could effectively grasp was my nipple, hence the pain later. But by expressing just a little milk off first made my breasts a little softer, then I would rather forcefully squeeze my breast flat (yes uncomfortable at first) to make it easier for her to latch on. My body then started to get a clue and my milk supply was reduced.
I Hope that this helps even if only a little bit next time :)

Oh I also swear by freshair and Lansinoh for those pesy nipple problems

[MumsieMel]

Hi Sammy

I had the same thing, couldnt bf DS, for numerous reasons but mainly cause i had no real idea how to attach him properly and developed masitis twice in the 2 weeks i bf him for :(.

But once i got pg with DD i knew that i would bf reguardless and i wouldnt leave the hospital until i had it all sorted and lo and behold i bf her till she was 5 mths and i returned to work. :yelclap:

So there is hope! Good luck