Positive BF stories

[cheezelkat]

I know theres a lot of posts on BubHub about people who tried breastfeeding for a short time and decided it was too difficult. Whilst I acknowledge and respect that a very small percentage of women cannot physically breastfeed, there still seems to be a large percentage of women who run into difficulties straight after birth and do not seek the right help to overcome the difficuties and give up, saying they couldn't do it. I have heard of mums breastfeeding through multiple bouts of mastitis requiring surgery, thrush, pregnancy; relactation stories and even one women who adopted a little girl and found someone willing to express her milk for her daughter - thats dedication!

I think if we have some positive stories to tell - especially ones that come from people who overcome stories, some mums-to-be might be inspired to keep trying even if they run into difficulties. Breastfeeding doesn't always come naturaly but nearly every problem can be rectified if you seek help early on!

My own story

When I was pregnant, I was determined to breastfeed, however I assumed it would come naturaly and didn't do too much reading on it. After delivery the nurse gave me Liam and told me to start nursing - I had NO idea what to do, felt unconfortable and felt ackward and clumsy. By the end of Day 1, my nipples were cracked, sore and bruised from a bad latch. I seriously hated breastfeeding and had to call a midwife everytime I wanted Liam to latch on for assistance.

Day 2 - I cried everytime I had to feed it was so painful. At the end of this day, a midwife took pity on me and gave me some nipple shields. I told my partner I would continue BFing to 6 weeks and evaluate it then.

Day 3 - I told the nurses I needed to go home. They weren't sure as I still had problems with latch, but Liam hadn't lost more than 10% of his weight and I was getting itchy to go home. They discharged me on the condition I saw a LC in 2 days time.

Within a week, Liam had regained his birth weight.

6 weeks - still going strong! I decided I could easily continue this and the bond Liam and I had with our feedings made all the difficulties totaly worthwhile.

In the end I used nipple shields for 2 1/2 months for every feed, a month for night time feeds and now we are off them completely :smiliedance:
It took a lot of work, patience, tears and was frustrating on both mine and Liam's part, but I couldn't be prouder that we stuck at it :thumbsup:

[nemosmum]

Great idea for a thread:thumbsup: Keeping it positive!

My experience:

I never even thought about bfing I just asumed I would do it and like you didnt read anything or even think about it at all! I know that sounds weird but I didnt:o

I didnt have any real major problems physically bfing , I had cracked nipples once for a few days (nothing major) and one case of mastitis.

But my major problem was emotional, how I felt about bfing or how I was supposed to feel iykwim.

I hated bfing, I felt resentful and was very sleep deprived as my son would demand feed every two hours day and night. I would bf for an hour or more and it was exhausting. I really wasnt prepared for the negetive feelings I felt about bfing.

I would cry just thinking about the next feed.

DH was very supportive and so were most of my family and friends which helped.

I would constantly call the counsellors on the ABA hotline (mostly in the middle of the night when I felt desperate and totally alone!) They were awesome and got me through the really hard times.

After about 4 months it got easier, I no longer dreaded every feed, I enjoyed the conveince of bfing (not having to pack bottles/wash etc)
I also finally got more than 4 hours sleep at a time and my bub started to bf quicker which was great (no more hour long bfing marathons:D )
And towards the end I loved the close ness I felt when ds and I were quietly enjoying a feed!

I bf for about 11 months before weaning him onto a prescription formula (he has allergies)

I am soooo glad I continued to bf and didnt give up, I feel like I have given my son the best start in life. I think it was worth sacraficing a little bit of my sanity lol to give him the best:thumbsup:

I am hoping bfing will be easier next time around, but if it isnt I will keep perservering!

Sxx

[sam's mum]

I didn't have any trouble with feeding my daughter, I regained consciousness after having her and the midwife had latched her on and put the rails up on the bed in the deliver suite. It was a bit of a shock! She had no trouble from that point on.

When I came to feed my son I was worried about how he would go as it was just over 12 months since a lump had been taken out of my right breast. The scar runs down the side of my nipple and they weren't sure if this would effect my milk. I know that you can succesfully feed using only one breast, but the thought of this freaked me a little - I would be very lopsided for a while:o . It turns out the milk supply was fine, but it took a long time to get into a routine, and he still needs mylanta with every feed or else he just doesn't sleep through the night.

I tried to take him off the mylanta a couple of weeks ago, but he started waking up every couple of hours, then every hour the next night. Back on the mylanta and he is sleeping 10 and a half hours straight:smiliedance: .

[rylea's mum]

:thumbsup:
great idea, inspiration is all some people need

i personally was very lucky and had no probs to date:fingerscrossed:

i must say the support out there is awsome should you need it, and have always felt that if i had needed help i was far from alone.

while in hospital before my discharge i was approached to take part in a on going survey which would last 12 months.
it intailed being contacted every two months to see how i was going with breastfeeding and to see if i had faced any obsticals and where i had tured too for help, they have me rate the support i have been offered or gotten from various places, and asked me to inform them of anything i think could help improve the support and imformation available to breastfeeding mums.
i love being a part of something that will benefit the positive support out there.
i remember lying in my hospital bed hearing the lady going around asking for volunteers and everyone in my ward turned her down...
me i obviously said yes and that was because, i was a first time mum, freaking out about breastfeeding, worring that maybe it wont be easy and to tell u the truth didnt have the first clue of anything, and desperatly wanted to feed for at least 6 months... anyway i remember thinking if i can help others in my situation and improve the support out ther it is totally worth it as i know in the past some mums havny been offered the support and have gave up thinking it was easier..

sorry about the long winded storey but i think positive bf stories are what keeps us trying

[fee's]

While pregnant I had the attitude that I would give breast feeding a go but wasn't going to be heart broken if we couldn't do it for what ever reason. I had bought a tin of formula for when we got home if it wasn't working. I also had a view that I would stick it out for 3mths, 6mths tops as I couldn't see me feeling comfortable doing it any longer.

I had trouble getting the latch right in hospital but pretty much thought I had the hang of it by the time I left after having a midwife with me for nearly every feed while we were there.

I had a lactation consultant arranged to visit me after a week of being at home. After suffering through incredible pain for that week she was able to tell me I had a split in my nipple and to start expressing from that side and just feed from the other till it healed. Since then I haven't looked back.

My son is 11mths old and still breast feeds first thing in the am 3 times during the day when he isn't at child care and a bedtime feed every night. I think back on my attitude before having him and can't believe I am still doing it. I love the closeness and the special mummy and bub time we have. I expect when I go back to work properly and he is spending full days at child care my milk will dry up and he will be less reliant on it but until then I intend on enjoying our special time together.

[SilverStarfish]

I was the same as Fee. I wanted to breastfeed, but knew that my baby would also be totally ok on formula if it came to that.

Breastfeeding was soo much harder than I expected! And it hurt! Ouch! I don't care what the literature says... breastfeeding IS going to hurt a bit in the beginning - unless you've had something else hanging off and sucking/gnawing on your breasts every 2-3 hours? :laughing:

I felt really akward & clumsy trying to feed her trying to feed her in hospital. I was never quite sure if I was getting her on right, so I buzzed the midwives to help me. I must have been doing something right though, because in the 3 days she not only made up her birthweight, but she even gained a bit!

It was still really hard going when we got home. My nipples were sore and grazed. DD even drew blood once and I cried more than a few times at the mere thought of the next feed. Things took a definate turn for the better once we tried out the "football" hold - not sure why that worked, but we both found it more comfortable.

Three months on and we are doing just fine :thumbsup: DD is thriving and gaining weight beautifully. It still can be a bit draining - literally and figuratively! - though I express milk too and that gives my poor boobs a rest when they need it.

I'm so glad that we stuck with it, though I can really understand why some women just go "Whoa, this is not for me"

I really love the convenience factor of BF. No washing up! No waiting for bottles to warm. I can pretty much feed her anywhere at anytime.

[JE's Mum]

We had a lot of trouble in the beginning. I always thought there might be issues with whether or not the mum could breastfeed but I never thought the baby would be the one who couldn't do it. My son latched on for the first feed after birth and that was it for a week. He would go to the breast but just couldn't grasp the idea that he had to open his mouth. He would just blow kisses!

I was an emotional wreck. I was expressing every four hours around the clock to make sure my milk came in and feeding him my milk in a bottle. He still couldn’t attach. We went to the Mercy Hospital breastfeeding clinic in Melbourne when he was 5 days old and they managed to get him attached with a nipple shield. It was such an emotional moment to finally see him breastfeed.

It took about a month to get him taking every feed directly from the breast. We continued to breastfeed with a nipple shield until he was 5 ½ months when he was finally able to feed without it!

He is now 15 months old and I am in the process of weaning him. We have ‘out-fed’ all our mum and bub friends.

He is now down to his final breastfeed in the morning. I will be pretty sad to see it go but am really proud we made it this far. It was such a struggle to get it going and it took almost 6 months to get it down pat, without any aids!

Perseverance and getting the right help, early, is the key. :smiliedance:

[mysonroger]

my in laws are from northern ireland, which has one of the lowest rates of breast feeding in the western world.( 6 week average)

i came back to australia to have my babies and i'm glad i was around the influence of my own mum and not MIL as she wasn't as supportive about bf as i would have liked....nor was SIL. MIL was always so surprised every time she rang up to find i was still bFeeding. her advice was always 'sure, you've done well to get this far' even though it wasn't that long.

i perservered through bf despite being on antibiotics and pain killers 24 hrs /day for two months due to infections with No. 1. No. 2 was much easier. no mastitis, no thrush and an all round better experience.

[*Chels*]

I am from NZ,where we have the same midwife throughout the whole pregnancy and birth.
I think its very diff over here.Formula feeding was never mentioned and to me,never an option.
After I had Riley he went straight to the boob,and it was all good.
I stayed in hospital for 5 days,until I had the feeding down pat.
Whenever I had trouble latching him on,i buzzed the nurse.They were all so lovely and helpful!!!
After I got home,I got mastitis and felt like i had the flu so bad!!!I just stood in the HOT shower feeling freezing!!
My midwife came round and gave me antibiotics.I had to keep feeding to drain the breasts,even tho it was the last thing i felt like doing!!!
So we survived that.He woke up evry couple of hours and feed for at least an hour.It was very exhausting and there were nights when i broke down crying coz i was so sleep deprived and it seemed like I couldnt go on!!
7 months on,hes still exclusively breastfed.I have tried the bottle-with both EBM and formula,so I could have a night out.BUT HE WONT HAVE A BAR OF IT!!!Hes a boobie man.I intend to BF until hes at least a year old and then see how it goes from there.
Sometimes it is hard,I feel like a milk bar and sometimes i have bad nights where he wakes 5 times.I cant go back to work just yet coz i got the boob!!!
But its what mothering is all about!!!And when hes on my boob,looking up at me and stroking my face,its all worth it!!!!!!!!!

[Briannabear]

I absolutely loved breastfeeding! :thumbsup: I was blessed to be able to breastfeed with no major dramas for 10 months. I would have done it for longer but my DD self-weaned.
I had some trouble learning how to attach properly, but once I got the hang of it we were fine. (after some fabulous advice from my experienced - 5 children - sister-in-law)
My only problem was too much milk! My DD used to be swimming in it!
I cant wait to (hopefully) breastfeed my new baby once he/she arrives! :D

[Goosie22]

Wow, that's not very long at all. Does anyone know what the average in Australia is?

taken from Ausstats (http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/525a1b9402141235ca25682000146abc/8e65d6253e10f802ca256da40003a07c!OpenDocument)


There has been considerable discussion surrounding the optimal duration a mother should breastfeed her infant. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding (the consumption of breastmilk only) for 6 months with the introduction of complementary foods (milk substitutes and solids), and continued breastfeeding up to 2 years of age. In Australia, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHRMC) recommends exclusive breastfeeding to around 6 months (NHRMC 2003), and breastfeeding with appropriate complementary foods is encouraged up to at least 12 months of age (Marks et al. 2001).

Results from the 1995 and 2001 National Health Surveys indicate that the proportion of children receiving any breastmilk declines steadily with age (graph 1). In 2001, by age six months around half (48%) of all children were being breastfed. This had declined to 23% of children who were being breastfed by age one and 1% of children being breastfed by age two.

[misskittyfantastico]

I too was happy to BF if I could but wasn't going to be bothered if I couldn't. I was only planning to BF for three months anyway so that I could return to my (better) blood pressure medication.

As soon as my girl was born, I put her to my chest...and she snuffled around abit then clamped on!

It was strange and painful at first, but three months came and went - I couldn't bear the thought of weaning her. Amelia turned 8 months yesterday and all's still going beautifully....hopefully things will continue that way.

[mysonroger]

Wow, that's not very long at all. Does anyone know what the average in Australia is?


with regard to northern ireland, i met someone who was doing her PhD on it in 2003, she was trying to find out why the averages were so low. my friend had a baby while i was there and sure enough, she only planne d to BF for 6 weeks. my SIL didn't plan on it at all , for reasons that were pitiful to hear. she has ended up bFeeding, much to her surprise, but is planning on weaning for a return to work. fair enough. but i can't fathom why you would plan not to bf while you were pregnant.

[meme]

i hadn't given much thought to feeding. i just assumed i'd breastfeed, that's what babies do and had no idea it would be difficult.

i wanted to feed her straight after she was born but i had no one to show me how. i fed her anyway and damaged my nipples. after that feeding was super painful. cracked and bleeding nipples and the dolly parton engorgement. didn't help not to mention the letdown reflex that felt like needles. i spent 9days in hospital getting a nurse to attach her at every feed before i felt i could go home and manage on my own.

for six weeks or so i felt really clumsy and had to hold her head in one hand and my breast with the other so she would not 'come off'.

i breastfed her until she was 2.5yrs.

the next two have been a bit better because i have been more prepared. i have still had, sensitive nipples , engorgement, mastitis at times, and a painful letdown in the beginning. i have also had the knowledge that i can do it, that it gets easier and that it is a rewarding part of motherhood, that i wouldn't have wanted to miss.

thankyou for this thread to share some positive stories. :smiliedance: