Whats your BF story

[Rainbowbrite]

I really hope this is a good idea & it doesnt turn out bad. Most of us have had struggles with bf, very few found it as easy as we expected, or were led to believe. Just thought that i would start a thread so people coud post their experiences so that others might learn from or be supported by them.

I'll post mine soon :yes:

So please, post your stories.

Oh & please, for those who are pg, please dont be put off or scared by what you may read.

[Mummabear]

Good idea for a thread. I hope it doesn't turn into something it was never meant to be also.

I'll share my story to get the ball rolling......

DS was 8 days overdue and ended up being induced. I also had an epi. He was put to the breast about 20mins after birth but I had no idea what I was doing. I didn't get very good after care in hospy and wasn't given any help or advice for bf, other than 'here's your boob, here's the baby'.

I came home early and continued trying to bf but DS was sooooo unsettled and I was sure that I didn't have any milk. The midwives that came out told me I was being silly and that everyone gets milk. Meanwhile he continued to lose weight rather rapidly. I saw a lactation consultant and made sure that our technique was right and yet he continued to lose weight. She just said that he was a 'high maintenance baby' (bollocks!!). I started comp feeding him as I didn't want him to starve to death. He started putting some weight on and I started to relax. We continued trying to bf with no success. I went to a week long live-in clinic to try and establish what was wrong. Low and behold - I didn't have any milk - which was exactly what I said from day dot!!

This time around I'll avoid induction and all other drugs during labour, feed immediately (if circumstances allow) and tell everyone else to sod off and just listen to my instincts.

[Crazy Monkey]

What a great idea for a thread... I always thougth breastfeeding would be easy and we would both know what to do, but unfortunately it takes time and practise...

I went into labour 7 days early (DS arrived 6 days early) and had all the drugs and a forceps delivery... I had lots of trouble getting DS to attach to the right side and no matter what I did he was always very fussy, ended up staying an extra night in hospital hoping that my milk would come in and we'd be able to get it sorted out... Got home and things started to improve but then I got badly cracked nipples and the thought of feeding bought me to tears... I expressed all feeds for about 36 hours and then put him back to the breast... We had an ongoing thrush problem, that also caused pain and on several occasions I nearly got mastitis (I put DS straight onto the breast when it started and he cleared it up)...

After the 3 weeks of pain and tears (on my part) things started to improve... It was easy and painless and a beautiful experience.. I looked forward to feed times and even liked (on the most part) the quite bonding time we shared in the middle of the night...

I breastfeed DS for just over 13 months...

I always say to mums-to-be that breastfeeding is beautiful but you both need to learn the art of feeding and it is not as easy as is made out... You need to be patient and willing to go through some tuff times before it becomes enjoyable - well thats how is was for me...

[*Sal*]

This is such a broad topic, I am not sure where to start.

I had many difficulties when beginning to breastfeed, was ill-informed and thought it all came 'naturally'. My nipples were cracked and bleeding and I could only feed with a nipple shield and express until it settled down. I needed frozen cabbage leaves, hot compresses etc, and went through a lot of pain. With perseverance I managed to have a wonderful breastfeeding relationship with my daughter which lasted for 2 years.

When DS was born, I thought "been there, done that" breastfeeding will be sooo easy this time, well boy was I wrong! I had the cracked nipples again, but did not need the shield this time, he had trouble latching on and positioning was difficult. I went to a lactation day-stay at the hospital, but still ended up with mastitis when he was 9 days old. Somehow got through it and kept breastfeeding him until he was 18 months old.

DD2 also caused poor attachment, but I had a much more open mind and knew by the time she was born, that I could get through the unavoidable difficulties and have a good breastfeeding relationship again. I knew to call the ABA with any questions, and use the help of midwives in hospital as much as possible. This time around I am breastfeeding with a minimum of trouble and really loving it.

My best tips for breastfeeding mums having trouble - RELAX, seek help EARLY, talk about the problem. If you don't get answers that help you, ask someone else. Always remember it does get better, the first couple of weeks with a new baby are the hardest. Accept help from friends, partner, parents etc while you settle in, this will also help you to be able to concentrate on breastfeeding your baby....

[Rainbowbrite]

MJ decided to arrive 2 weeks early, posterior. I had a bit of gas & air during the labour but none for the last 2 hours (the hard part). No assistance, vb.

Our story is that while pg i hated the thought of bf. I was adamant that i would bottle feed, but due to pressure from the midwives i promised to give it a go. From day 1 i hated it. It was so painful i was tense & crying hysterically at every feed. I tried expressing but got no more than about 10mls at a time. I was so worried about MJ at 2 days old as she was very jaundiced & wasnt latching so asked for a bottle to give to her so that she was getting something. She gulped it all down, then threw it all back up again.

I have small nipples so the LC at the hospital told DH to go get some Lansinoh for the bleeding cracked nipples, & a sheild to see if that helped at all. It did :yes: Problem was that of a night there was a cow of a mw who refused to let me use the sheild. She yelled at me to just do it properly. I was on the phone to DH in tears at 3am.

The next day the LC spent the whole day with me, showing me how to latch her on, how to hold her & how to express if it was too painful to bf. She was wonderful. At the end of her shift, i still hated bf, but she said we were doing better. She said that i should go home with MJ the next day, & see how we go in our own home. She was going to visit us for the next few days. When we went home we did alot better. Still using the sheild at most feeds until one day i decided to try without & MJ did it :smiliedance: Only used it occasionally after that on particularly painful days.

I was adamant that i would only feed for 3 months, that came & bf was easier so said 6months is enough. It was about this time that I got really depressed, MJ wasnt well having gotten a rash from her needles & I was just not coping with anything. Went to a dr who told me that i've bf for long enough & that i was now being selfish with her. He told me in no uncertain terms to wean her onto a bottle starting NOW :mad: . This made me worse. Thanks to support i recieved here, i ignored his advice, threw out the formula i had purchased & got on with life.

Once i hit the 6 month mark, it seemed silly to stop. It was so convenient, free & honestly i'm too lazy to make up bottles etc. So said that we'd go till 12 months.

Now almost 15 months on & still going strong. I love the closeness that MJ & I have. She loves her feed times & so do I. Its an instant cure for all her upsets, falls, needles etc. I've now decided that MJ will wean herself when she is ready, its not my place to deny her. Being that she wasnt a big eater of solids till very recently, its great to know that she's getting plenty of nourishment from me.

Sorry to rave on. But yeah, its not an easy thing in my experience, def something that takes practise.

[rynosmum]

My DS came along about 10 days overdue and posterior. I was fully dilated however he was still yet to engage so we needed a venthouse delivery.

When he was born, he was cleared of a lot of mucous. Throughout the first 2-3 days, he was bringing up little bits of it so he had no interest in feeding. He wouldn't attach and seemed quite comfortable. His weight started dropping more than expected so I asked about formula. Whilst the hospital had it, they had no interest in showing me how to mix or use it - I felt useless.

They wheeled in a TV with some ancient breastfeeding videos to watch and each midwife tried to attach bubs and failed (although two of the late night midwives blamed me and told me that maybe I 'didn't have it in me to breastfeed' but that's another story).

I ended up hand expressing colostrum and picking it up with an eye dropper. It would take me about an hour to get 4mls which I would then give bubs and go back to another round. Needless to say, there was no sleep whilst I was in hospital. My paediatrician came in and requested we stay an extra day. Luckily, in walked my absolute angel - a midwife by the name of Karen - who calmly tried with me again. I was frazzled, bubs was starving (he was 4 days old) and then...he attached! She came back later that day to step through it with me again and more success! By morning, I could walk around with him attaching straight up - we'd finally worked it out!

We then went through excrutiating pain on the right side for a few weeks. For 2 weeks at least, when he attached I would stick my fingernails into the couch as hard as I could to help refocus the pain. No one had told me that for us, breastfeeding could be worse than giving birth!

But you know what, we persevered and had a long, successful breastfeeding relationship. We loved the nightly cuddles and to me there was nothing more satisfying than being able to provide your child with everything they needed. Some weeks he was putting on 500grams - it was wonderful.:D

[meme]

my first bub was born naturally and i had given no thought to breastfeeding. i knew iwould, but when it came to how to do it i had no idea.

i found myself left all alone with my baby and my mum i looked at my mum and said, well how do i do this mum , you fed me- and mum just said, just put her to your breast and so i did- ouch.

after that i pretty much had to have a nurse attach bub, i just couldn't get her to open her little mouth wide enough.
everyone told me it should not hurt, but it did. when my milk came in i was engorged and all my boobs hurt.,
my nipples were soon cracked and bleeding.
my let down felt like pins shooting through my boob.

my mum organised an ABA lady to vist me in hospital. i don't remember her giving me any standout advice, but it still helped.
i stayed in hospital for 9 days. they were happy for me to stay until i felt confident with feeding, even on my last day they told me i could stay longer if i needed to.

i was still finding attachment difficult and feeding painful but i was feeding. i went to my local ABA group. a counsellor there showed me how to turn her body in towards mine, by this stage i was a bit saturated by advice and i just wanted to be left alone, the milk was going in to her, but in hindsight i wonder how no one else had looked at positioning as well as attachment.

after a while it got easier. bub grew and learnt how to attach. my letdown eventually became less painful. i went on to totally love feeding and we happily fed until she was 2and a halfish.

dd2 i had similar issues with attachment but we improved much faster, i knew i could do it and that it would pass, i knew how to p&a bubs, i knew where to get help and support. we fed happily until she was 2 and through my next pregnancy.
dd3 still had pain and discomfort at first with p&a and engorgement . having only weaned dd2 2mths before dd3 was born i had plenty of confidence and any difficulties were resolved even quicker this time.
still feeding dd3.....:yelclap:

[blueeyes]

I empathise with you all who have posted. I have decided that I dont really have a story to tell - babe attached from day one and we have never encountered a problem. Not a block duct, attachment problems, any nipple soreness nothing (I am not bragging but it is the truth).
However, I had a extremely wonderful lactation midwife at my hospital, who sat with me for the first feed of the day (he was born late at night, put straight on the boob and then fell asleep). She extracted the colostrum and fed the babe and the we practiced attaching him. She sat with me for about an hour - just the three of us. She checked on me throughout the day and on the days that she was on. I saw her the day I checked out and booked in for a follow session. She is a remarkable midwife who made me more relaxed about bf, relatives think that if I was any more relaxed about it I would fall asleep doing it (have done that in the early days:eek: ). I have been able to go back to the hospital to see her if I have needed to and she is so willing to help. She loves seeing the babes growing up

From what I have read, I am lucky to have a trouble free bf experience thus far, but I have absolute awe for those that stick to it through thick and thin to give their babes the best start in life. My heart goes to you all:hugs: :hugs:
Mel - mum to Will - 6mth exclusively bf

[cheezelkat]

:yelclap: I think I posted my story a month or two ago, but I'll repost it.

I didn't put much thought into how I would feed Liam, I just told everyone I would breastfeed. I didn't read up on it or anything. I had heard some women can have trouble but I was sure I wouldn't be one of them.

When Liam was born, the midwife handed him to me to feed, gave me brief instructions and then left. I had *no* idea if I was doing things right or not. After a while, he finished and fell asleep.

Every feed after that was a nightmare. I cried at each one. My Liams were cracked and SO sore. I hated the engorgement. I was so frustated at the hospital (who refused to discharge me until I could breastfeed) that one of the midwives gave me a nipple shield and sat with me teaching me how to use it. They were a godsend. I said to myself if I still hated bf at 6 weeks, I would wean.

Two days later I begged to be discharged, and they did it only if I promised to see my local breastfeeding clinic in 2 days time.

I sought help. 6 weeks came, and we were still nursing and had no intentions of quitting. I was still shocked at how long Liam could nurse for - but it was now workable.

I ended up using nipple shields for about 4.5 months. I had gone to a day stay centre to wean him off once, but it didn't work at 6 weeks. At 3.5 months, I had a second attempt. I weaned him off the daytime use first, and then night time use.

Today marks our 6 month breastfeeding anniversary. I'm so pleased we made it this far. Our new challenges to face are teething and breastfeeding and I would also like to find ways of getting Liam to sleep without nursing. But they are minor issues in what has been a wonderful and rewarding journey for me.

[lukaelmo]

Hey, these stories are great...

I had lots of info about BFing before having the dude, knew it didn't just "come naturally", and was really determined that I was going to do it.

The dude was induced, 10 days overdue and I ended up having an emergency c/s... the dude was fed formula through a tube while he was in special care...

Well we just couldn't get it right over the next 24 hours. I had a cow midwife, she kept grabbing my breast and being pretty rough with me, and you know how shocking that is until you get used to your boobs being a bit of a free for all :rolleyes: . I then did the whole frantic eyedropper thing, I think I got about 2 drops out.

Dude wouldn't attatch, so was trying to feed him formula with an eyedropper, as was still determined to BF. The next night, the dude was crying and crying and I was walking with him in the halls, when a middie came up and suggested he might be hungry. I was almost in tears just thinking about failing again, but the midwife showed me how to lay down and feed... and just like magic, the dude attached. That was a great moment for me...

Over the next few months I kind of hated BFing, I was sick with it (all the flu like symptoms, hot flushes etc) and was continually massaging out blocked ducts in the shower... but I kept going, and now, 12 months later am still going... Just once a day now, and I'd like to stop, but the dude has other ideas...

If there was one thing that I think I did right with BFing, it was that I didn't say "I am going to feed for X amount of time". I just thought I would go until I wanted to stop, and like that I never felt any pressure... I also have had huge amounts of support from my and DP's family, who continually tell me what a great job I am doing... that really counts for a lot.

[Funkychicken]

I was induced due to PE and although it was a forceps/episiotomy birth, I have never really felt as though I was ripped off or anything like that-I had this squidgy bundle to look at and he was MINE! The first midwife to see me tried to, through very broken English, force my nipple to meet his head and left us both in tears. I asked her to leave us and the next midy, thank goodness, was also a LC and was doing rounds. She sat with me and talked for a while then together we looked at my boobs, then slowly began the dance of breastfeeing. This lady was fantastic and although I was a bit unsure, I knew I only ever wanted to BF. Twice during her visit with me another midy came to 'hurry' her along with words like, "You have more women to see, try to hurry up" and the midy with me replied, " I will come when this lady is ready for me to go". I felt so cared for and away we went.
DS was a guzzler and thankfully I had a huge supply from the start. He gained about 500 gms/week for the first eight weeks and he weighed 8.5 kg at 4 months! I fed him until he was about 14 months and it was the most amazing bonding experience of my life.
I'll leave it there and maybe my next two BF stories will come at a later date.:)

[AM]

With Tyler, he was born, and went directly to the boob, he did not feed, but nuzzled a bit and had a lick, then fell asleep.
I never doubted that I would bf, and had done some reading, but it kind of went in one ear and out the other, as when I was faced with a newborn, i felt so awkward and fumbly. My mw showed me to press my breast into a flat biscuit kind of shape so it was easier for him to latch on, and to press the breast away from his nose so he could breathe, and that was pretty much it.
Apart from Tyler stripping off numerous layers of skin off my nipple, and it being agonising while he was feeding, I simply would not give up, and kept saying to myself, I'll give it ten more days, and said that every day, so the ten days were never up, and one day, probably a couple of weeks in, it did not hurt any more!!! Yay!!
After that, pretty plain sailing, and he is still bf to this day - he's almost 2.5 now :D

[Rainbowbrite]

Thanks so much guys, keep them coming. Good & bad experiences welcome here :)

[Mischief]

Oliver arrived 4 days late after a long labour. He had been posteria and was not engaged, he was delivered by ventouse in theater....after having an epidural and being in labour 42 hours, all I wanted to do was...I dont know what....I wanted to rest I guess. Oliver was on my breast within a few minutes, although I hardly remember it.

Our relationship with breast feeding just didnt flow right from day dot. I have a hungry bubba and from about day 2 he screamed constantly and would only quiet when he was on the breast, but then he would scream again because my milk had not come in....It was heart breaking, and I was developing really bad baby blues.

Day 3 my milk started to come in, and I got blisters on my areolas from Mr O's hoover suction. My nipples stung, and no amount of lansinol would help. The LC and midwives all helped me with my attatchment and he was attatching well, but it I just couldnt enjoy breast feeding.

To make it worse with a constant stream of visitors (mostly inlaws who I wanted to leave), i started to feel really depressed and like the only time I ever got to hold my new baby, the baby that I had spent so much time nurturing, growing, and giving birth too, was when he was demanding my milk....I felt unloved and used....

Coming home my breasts were painful and engorged, I continuted to feel horrible pain when feeding. I checked, I was doing everything the LC had told me to do, Oliver was attatched fine....but he was ALWAYS hungry, I felt like I lived my life on the couch. The supply settled down about day 7 but emotionally I felt drained. Breastfeeding felt WRONG to me, I felt dirty and ashamed, but I wanted to give my baby milk....I knew that if I didnt I would be classed as a failure, and I felt that if I didnt keep going I was being selfish. So I kept going for 6 weeks, feeding and crying at the same time...

In the end my emotions were so bad, that my milk supply started to suffer, I couldnt feed Oliver, he just wouldnt get full...if I tried to express after wards there was nothing.....one night I expressed and he breast fed then drank another 100ml....I bawled, I was failing my son.

It was after that that I talked to my hubby and told him I wanted to start expressing some of Olivers feeds, by the end of the week I was exclusively expressing. I found it hard on my emotions still, but at least this way I was BONDING with my son, instead of associating all the bad feelings I had when breastfeeding with him.

Its hard work, time consuming and I feel very lonely sometimes, but my baby is 3 and a half months old and has only just started having a bottle of formula at night....mainly to get him used to the taste as I know eventually my supply will drop and I dont want to wean him of EBM overnight.

It was so hard not to give up, but I'm glad that Ive kept making the effort. I aimed for 2 months, then once we got there I aimed for 3 months, now I'm aiming for 4 months.....I'm just taking it a day at a time, going this way Oliver could still be having EBM at 50! LOL. (JOKING) And if nothing else keeps me motivated, its watching Oliver suck and spit the formula...LOL Obviously mummy's milk is much nicer! :D

[xkwzit]

Ahh my story - a bit of a saga - but here it is. The underlying message being that it may not be easy - but it can be done, especially if you get the right support.

DD1 was born naturally at full term and I had an epidural. She was spot on average weight. I had inverted nipples, but didn't think this was particular problem, as they would evert on their own every now and then. I knew BF could be hard, but had been told that it shouldn't hurt if you are doing it right (which I now know to be wrong). DD1 had difficulty attaching properly, which became evident at about day 2 when I had severe grazing on one side (which sort of horrified the midwives). The middies couldn't really help me with attachment though; they would just grab a breast in one hand and the baby in the other and mash them together. They could not tell me what I was doing wrong. Every time I rang to ask one to check on attachment, they would ask me if I'd watched the BF video. "No", I would answer, "there is some how to cope with cancer video running instead". I could redraw my eyebrows if I happened to loose them to chemo, but it wasn't helping to feed my baby.

After another day, the grazing and cracks were so bad, they had me expressing for her instead. She was quite jaundiced and needed fluids to flush the jaundice from her system. I was shocked when I found my precious EBM stained pink with my own blood from the cracks in my nipples (BTW, it is perfectly fine to feed your baby EBM with blood in it). I was taking my precious offerings around to store in the fridge, you can imagine how I felt when one of the midwives (the really nice one) confessed that she had SPILT some of my precious EBM because the bottle top was not on properly.

The day before we were due to leave (Day 4 perhaps, we were no where ready to leave BTW), the head middie sat us down to outline all the things we would need to do to express feeds for DD (because she was NOT attaching at all). Sterilisers, bottles, teats: none of which I had bought, because I thought we would have it all organised by the time we went home. I was SHATTERED and ANGRY.

I had a complete melt down with my OB the next morning - had a huge rant about the hospital, the midwives, the inconsistencies and the broken BF video. He said that I should stay another day. I said "why, this place is not helping me at all". He arranged for us to have a discussion with head midwife. Meanwhile, I had a similar (but lesser) meltdown with the paed, who suggested I call an LC. I called her; she said she could be there in an hour.

When she arrived, she picked up my little baby, had a good look at her and said, "She's got a tongue tie" (which no-one had mentioned) "and a receding chin". That combined with my very flat nipples meant she couldn't attach easily. She gave us a plan for feeding EBM, mentioned that a dishwasher would be fine for cleaning bottles. After only an hour with her, I felt so much more confident, and knew I could take my baby home, we left that afternoon.

We kept trying to attach her, but we weren't really making too much progress. I had heaps of milk, so at least that was not a problem. Feeding her required both of us, I would try to attach a screaming baby for 10 - 15 minutes, hand her to DH who would feed her EBM while I pumped off the next feed. This continued for about 5 weeks, if DH had not taken that long off work, I do not know that I would have coped - I was so close to giving it all away.

At about 5 weeks, we made the miracle discovery that she would attach if I wore a nipple shield. She had nipple confusion and had no idea how to handle a breast, but the shield made it enough like a bottle that she could cope. Though now that she was feeding off my breast, my nipples were cracking again. The cracks were not due to poor attachment, but the fact that my flat nipples had to be “remodelled” to allow proper attachment. As each crack healed, my nipple was that little bit longer. As hideous as that sounds, the fact that this was helping my baby BF made me feel a thousand times better about it. I still have the scars.

After a few weeks of feeding with the nipple shield (still seeing the LC each week), we tried to wean her off. I will remember for my whole life the moment we weaned her off the shield: we had been feeding with the shield, I pulled her off, took off the shield and expressed a little into her mouth. The light bulb went on “Oh milk comes from here too!” and she was then properly BF at about 7 – 8 weeks I guess. Still the nipple cracks were happening: I would sit there and psych myself into attaching her, because the first few seconds were like razor blades on my nipples, the pain would rapidly ease though, as long as she was attached right. I was still visiting the LC at about 11-12 weeks and then it all started to settle down.

My plan was only to BF until 3 months, but I continued until 6.5 months when I started slowly weaning to formula. She was on fully on formula at about 8 months.

I thought that having had such dramas with DD1, I was due an easier time with DD2 (again born at term, VB with an epi, 8 pounds 6). I had a bout of mastitis v early on, knew what it was and got AB straight away. DD2 did not have a tongue-tie or receding chin, but still needed to do some remodelling on my RHS (DD1’s problems were mainly on my LHS). I had a few huge cracks on that side, and once recall having a gobbet of flesh hanging off, but I knew what to do now. When the cracks were so large and did not seem to be healing between feeds, I would express on that side for 24 hours. That break would be sufficient for the healing to establish and then I would feed again. Nipples heal amazingly fast, esp if you rub them down the BM at the end of a feed. We had much less drama overall though and only had one visit to the LC to make sure I wasn’t doing anything wrong. Again she was fed BM up to about 6 months, when I started weaning her to formula. She would have been fully formula fed at about 7.5 months.

I can’t really believe how long that is when I put it all down, but if you have stuck with me until the end, my point is that you may (or may not) have massive difficulties BFing, but if you stick with it and have enough support you CAN do it.

Cheers

[drewid]

I knew all throughout my pregnancy that I was going to breastfeed. I never saw formula as an option, never really even considered it, i think more out of ignorance than education, but there you go.

When Andrew was born, my midwife asked me if i wanted to try to feed him straight away or wait until i was up in my room. I was absolutely exhausted from pushign out a posterior baby without drugs, so I elected to wait to feed him until we were upstairs.

An hour later we were upstairs and my room was full - paed checking out baby, my parents, my husband. My midwife came in and we tried to get Andrew on the breast. At first I felt like a spectator - the midwife grabbed my breast and Andrews head and just sort of smushed them together. I was just watching..thinking 'oh, this is not what i imagined!'. She explained to me that its hard in the beginning cos bubs mouths are so small that it is difficult for them to latch on, even if they are trying to, and that I shouldnt worry - as he grew, his mouth would grow and he would attach easier and easier as time went by.

That first time, he had a few sucks each side and lost interest and slept most of the day, with me trying again intermittently, both by myself and with a midwife if she happened to be in the room at the time. I sort of had the hang of positioning him and could get him to latch on, but he wasn't interested in hanging around for long, he would invariably drift off to sleep.

I'm not sure which day it was, day 3 possibly, the paed came in for a routine check and ended up doing a sugar test (somethign like that) and recommended that Andrew have a formula feed as he hadn't been getting enough to eat. I was rather apathetic and totally exhausted and just went along with that. The midwife sat in my room and gave Andrew the bottle - I wondered at the time why they didn't offer me the option to do it, but didn't have the energy to argue.

When we got home from hospital we seemd to have it going pretty well, though I did suffer from cracked nipples and praised the gods for Lansinoh. Those first few weeks were very emotional and I wondered if it was so hard for everyone at first. My mum was really supportive and showed me a different position to feed it - and that made the world of difference. It was so much more comfortable for me and Andrew, and it was pretty much smooth sailing from there. In those teary early days I kept telling myself that I would aim for 6 months and re-assess then. I got to 6 months and there was no way in heck I was giving it up, it was going so well and it was so effortless and convenient.

Here we are, at 17 months, and still going. Only 2 feeds a day now and I'm gently encouraging him to relinquish, but he's soooo not interested in giving up those boobies yet. I don't really mind - its 10 minutes out of my day and he loves it so much and it cures everything. I try to cherish all these moments, its such a special relationship to have and I feel so proud that we have come this far together.

[Manxie]

My go.....


DD was seven days overdue and to cut a long story short was born by emergency c-section.

I had decided that I would breastfeed, had meant to goto one of the ABA courses prior to having her but never got around to it. I wasnt concerned though I'd seen my sister feed her two boys and heck it looked so easy:rolleyes:

While lying in recovery, completely zonked out apparently they took DD to check her blood sugar and it was very low, the midwifes wanted to give her some formula, without me knowing:eek: Luckily a student midwife who had supported me throughout my pregnancy and knew my wishes was there and she told them that she would help me feed her.

The first feeds with this midwife around were fine, she was very good at helping DD to attach correctly. The trouble started when she was no longer around. I had a hellish night I think it was night two when dd was very usettled. This stupid midwife told me to "comfort suckle" her all night. Well as you can imagine by morning I was in tears and red raw. I then had another midwife who told me that I need to express/supply line feed and top up bubs with formula. What happened to it being easy? They also started me on medication to bring in the milk.

This all happened over the weekend first thing monday morning I was at the door of the lactation consultant at the hospital that mummabear had told me about. Thankfully for me she was my saviour. She told me to stop the medication, forget about supply lines. She watched me feed a few times and helped me get the positioning right. I also got DH to watch so that he could help me get the positioning right.

In summary what really helped me was access to this lactation consultant. I called her a number of times on my return home and dropped in to see her later on when the drs were concerned about DD's poor weight gain. I decided that for me her way was the best way and I ignored everyone elses advice. I also refused to breastfeed in front of any of the midwifes/child and youth health bods as I didnt want any conflicting advice.

Almost 12months later we are still going. I thought DD was weaning herself a while back but I was wrong. I then made the decision to wean her but have now had a change of heart with the support of my DH. I think I was just feeling the pressure to wean her, 12months old and all that. She has just been in hospital and is now very undernourished and I am actually once again offering her the boob as often as she wants it;)

In my mind the end of breastfeeding is almost as hard as the start, make the most of the middle bit!!!

I have loved reading everyones stories thank you for reading mine

[Bearskin]

During my pregnancy I was ambivalent about breastfeeding; if it works, ok but if not then I will FF however something in my mind kept reminding me that breastfeeding your baby is the most natural way to feed...

Labour was very easy (lucky as the hospital only offered gas and peth!) and I put DD to breast straight away. I reckon in about 10 minutes I thought, mmm this stings a little and it got worse. Midwives didn't check attachment and we did some damage in those first few hours. DD cried all night and every night for the next 13 weeks. In hospital I had 2 panadol every 4 hours for the nipple pain - give me labour any day! Every midwife showed me a new way to attach bub but one bright spark offered me a nipple shield and it kept me going in the first 4 weeks.

I just couldn't get DD mouth to open wide enough and all she wanted to do was feed; all night and all day for those first 3 days. I was confused - don't they ever sleep? One midwife provided a dummy (which I regret) but it gave me a couple of hours sleep.

Anyway, went home day 4 and kept feeding with pain (and the wonderful nipple shield) but DD just wasn't getting enough milk and hadn't gotten back to birth weight by 4 weeks. I was still putting her to bed in her cradle and feeding every three hours - next time round I am just going to offer the breast whenever and co-sleep! Much easier...

Went to Lactation Day Stay and it was fantastic - in one feed we got it right. DD head was too far forward and once that was fixed it was (almost) pain free. Stopped using the nipple shield - not a problem. It still took about 8 more weeks for things to settle down - had foremilk/hindmilk inbalance and DD had terrible wind and green poos and generally was 'grumpy' but at 13 weeks she just settled down.

Looking back it never occured to me to stop breastfeeding and FF - I knew nothing about how to prepare formula, didn't have any in the house and just kept trying even after all my family and friends advised, "Just put her on the bottle". Something in me kept saying, "This is the right way to go; it will get better."

After the day stay, DD started gaining on average 800gms per month and is now happy, chubby bubs. The best part is how easy breastfeeding is now - no bottles, feed anywhere (and I'm not shy) and I can't imagine a time now that I wont be breastfeeding DD. DD is now 8 months old, has 2 meals a day and still has 8-9 feeds (much to the disgust of some people) but it is the best food source I can provide and it is so handy when DD is overtired, hurt, grumpy or just wants a cuddle.

This is a great post - thanks for sharing your experiences.

[kymmy]

I breastfed my first baby after I was stitched and I think that was too long after - 1 1/2 hours after. I think I was lucky as I only suffered from cracked nipples and a bout of mastitis.

It was even easier with my boys. Its true breastfeeding is a learnt practical skill.

I think what helped me was to learn (and I only truly understood this with my last baby) that latching on correctly is very important. This is to put as much nipple into the baby's mouth as possible. It makes it hurt much less and allows baby to suckle effectively which results in a more satisfied baby.:thumbsup:

[Goosie22]

Lovely stories of triumph, Very good idea RB

I was 26 the first time I became pregnant, I knew I wanted to Breastfeed due to the benifits to my baby and myself. I decided to make myself more aware about possible problems and help, so I joined ABA and became a regular at the meetings (more like a morning tea). And a LC friend gave me a nice little orange book called "Bestfeeding" and it was so easy to understand with pictures of exactly what to do. I also found Sue Cox videos very helpful in understanding the relationship between the position of the babys head and the nipple and also the hold of the baby. This was pre internet days for me so I used the ABA libary to find things out.

So after a troubled pregnacy and then a "cascade of intervention" type Delivery and semi EM C/S (I cant call it a birth:crying: ) and then the following massive PPH (which I was given blood to replace) I was finally alone with my baby. He feed very frequently to which the midwives would say "Oh another feed, hes so hungry are you felling OK with it?" Ah yes!!! dont touch me and leave me alone. He was over 4.5 kg so they wanted to "watch" him for signs of hypoglycemia (which means he was given a IV canula incase) I was asked to put him in the nursery but I refused. His blood sugars were perfect, but he developed a temperature and he was turning yellow/orange type colour, so they did some blood tests, which showed he was a little bit jaundice. The Dr wanted to put him into photo therapy as he was just under the cut off, but I said he was feeding well (hourly for 30 min and I had plenty of colostrum:rolleyes: ) I knew it was Breastmilk jaundice as he was not sleepy at all and had massive output IYKWIM. And they started him on gentamicin and amoxil IV because he had the IV canula to be "Safe" in view of the temperature. So with all that going on I had no time to worry about if my nipples were sore (they were a little tender but not cracked as I remember) or if I was feeling this or that, I went through a flight or fight response just stuffing as much Colostrum/Breastmilk as I could into him so they would leave me/baby alone. Finally after 6 days I signed myself out:D and got my mum to snip the stiches out.

Once I was home I felt more relaxed and I only had the normal, wakeful baby problems to worry about and my sling and lots and lots of boobie fixed that up by 3 months or so.

[MonkeyMum05]

I was 21 when I gave birth to my little boy... throughout my pregnancy, I knew I would breastfeed. I didn't really take time to consider the second option.
We had a very,very long and scary labour... I ended up having pethadine, an epidural, an episiotomy... and my big little boy got sucked out! (So much for the natural drug freee birth I had planned..lol)
I got a quick cuddle (and I SWEAR he smiled) then he was taken off to the nursery. I was very worried that I wouldn't get to breasfeed... I had heard stories about babies not bonding with their mum after pethadine... and all sorts of other horror stories.
For the first day or so, I expressed whatever I could and the midwives took it down to him... at one feed during the night, they supplemented him with formula, without asking :mad: ... so the next day I aked if I could feed him.... (yeah, my baby, but I was treated as if I had no idea what to do). He was also jaundiced by then, so very dozy... he had trouble latching on, but kind of new what he was doing. Anyway... we perservered, and had a session with the LC.
When I took him home, I still wasn't sure that I was latching him on correctly... that feeling lasted until he was a few months old, and judging by his weight, I decided that we were doing it right!
There were lots of times int he early days that I wanted to give up... He would just feed almost constantly. I didn't bother weraing a top. He slept in our bed and suckled all night... then during the day, he wanted the same.
I kept on setting little goals... originally, I thought I would feed him until at least 1. Then when I started and it was more difficult than I had thought... I aimed for 3 months, by 3 months it was easy, so I aimed for 6 months, then 1 yr... and at almost 14 months, he's still going! (Though I am almost ready to let him give it up... if he's in agreeance!)

[*Chels*]

I had a long labour but with just gas.As soon as DS was out,I put him on the boob.I didnt really know what I was doing but he went for it well.
He fed so much,and the middies were great with helping me attach him etc.I didnt even realise my milk was in til I heard him swallowing it LOL.
Once I felt confident with feeding I left hospital.I got mastitis which was horrible and I had cracked nipples for ages.
10 months on,Im still BF.Havent had any probs,except now Riley doesnt want it as much:crying: i will keep BF until he self weans.

[Areca]

After a 14 hour labour (gas for two hours only) I delivered DD..all 4.1kg of her.
I always said I would bf, but didn't think I'd like it so told everyone I'd stop at 3 months.
DD was born and my midwife helped get her on to the boob, after she started looking for it (we had skin to skin contact after the birth). I was exhausted so just left my midwife to latch her on and then when she'd slip on the latch I'd just tell my midwife it hurt and she'd come and fix it for me. I realise now how pathetic I must've been and I also butchered my nipples in the process. DD latched fine, but she kept getting lazy. One of the nurses down in the ward told me how to fix that and I was good to go then. I just told everyone else I was fine cause I didn't want conflicting advice.
I went home when DD was two days old, my milk came in the next day. I was in agony! The midwife that came to the house took a look at my boobs and said 'oh you poor thing, they look so painful.' I would tense up everytime I had to latch DD on, the initial pain was a killer, but once she was on the pain stopped so I knew I was latching her on properly, I just had to get my nipples to heal.
My nipples healed after about two weeks. Then we got thrush. I went to the doctor and he told me what to get. I used that but it came back straight away. I tried Daktarin next and that was the best stuff!!! The thrush went away and didn't come back. I was sick of being in pain and when I got a clogged duct I jumped in the shower and started massaging straight away. I told DBF that if I ended up with mastitis our bf'ing relationship was over. Thankfully my clogged duct didn't turn into mastitis. I don't know if I would've given up or not to be honest, but at the time I was sick of being in pain, was tired, it was christmas time so I couldn't just hang around the house until we had mastered everything and I was getting pretty over it.
Once that first month was over I decided there was no way I was stopping at 3 months and decided to bf until DD was 6 months old. At 3 months I decided that was stupid. Our bf'ing relationship was going great, why would I start bothering with bottles etc. and pushed my limit to 12 months.
Now DD is 8 months old and can not digest solids yet. She still bf's 7 times in a 24 hour period and I've come to realise that we might not be stopping at 12 months after all. Breastmilk is the best thing I can give her for her nutrition and I'm happy to bf her until she is 2.
I am ready to cut back on the amount she feeds, I am constantly starving and my periods come way too regularly for my liking cause my hormones are all out of whack but I refuse to start supplementing with formula and I know that she will start eating soon enough and things should settle down. Even if she doesn't, this is such a short time in her life and I know I will be sad the day she has her last bf.

[Faiths Mum]

Hi everyone.

I'm still breast feeding my little girl who is 10mth,

From the moment she was born she had no trouble feeding she found my breast with in a minute or two after she was born.
I didn't even notice till my mum pointed out that she was feeding.(I had a 36hour labour and was ready to pass out at this point)

My problem now is she well not take the bottle we first tryed when she was about two months, and she still well not take one.
So I had to get her to take a cup at 6mths and she now is very good with it.

Trouble is she wont go to sleep at night with out the breast milk. She well go all day without but when she is ready for bed she'll cry and cry till I give in.

Help...

[spiritedfamily]

I have breastfed all my babies
1st until 29 mths
2nd until 15mths
3rd until 18mths
4th still feeding at 20mths...trying to wean her

They have all been different in their adaptation to feeding. I have always breastfed on demand with a combination of controlled feeds but I have never started controlled feeding until after 7 mths and have found as they get closer to being weaned, the night feeds and nap feeds are the last to go.

I had the most difficulty with my 2nd, she wouldn't attach to the breast correctly, I had to hire a lactation consultant for 2 weeks and then for the next 6 weeks I expressed my milk and she was fed my milk in a bottle until her neck muscles were stronger, but she never really got it right, it always came out her nose during a long feed.

With my 3rd child, I was anxious, as I wasn't sure if I was up for the same problems I had with no 2 and I felt like it might have been my technique but he attached fairly easily and fed happily, he was a noisy feeder but that wasn't a problem and so I guess the work I did with the 2nd child, trained me to guide them better to feeding.

and no 4...like duck to water, she knew what to do, but she's been that kind of baby, its like she knows her place in the world. She just can't get enough milk, she's putting up the most fight whilst weaning.

I have never seen any other option thatn breastfeeding so I have been determined against all odds to breastfeed and for as long as I am able.

[Tam-I-Am]

Wow, what amazing breastfeeding stories. I think they almost all have a common theme - early difficulties followed by success and ease! And mine's not really any different.

DD was born 1 day before her EDD on the 29th of June last year. All through my pregnancy I had been telling myself that I would try to bf, and if I could - great - if not, no big deal after all formula was a good 2nd option. In reality I was trying to steel myself for something that I would have been devestated by. Luckily it didn't come to that.

Within 20 minutes of her birth, I attempted to put DD to the breast. She really wasn't interested and after 20 minutes or so of trying I gave up on it and went to have a shower. After I returned from the shower, DD was sleeping and my family started arriving to visit. It wasn't til about 4 hours after she was born that I tried again - again, she really wasn't interested, was too sleepy and kept falling asleep. I don't remember much about the next couple of days, except never ending worry because the nurses were telling me I had to wake DD every 4 hours to feed because she wasn't waking on her own, followed by intense bursts of effort to breastfeed that got me no-where. By night two, DD was latching on, but incorrectly and I had pretty well managed to butcher my nipples. I had blisters and grazes all over them. DD cried for 5 hours the second night, and I had an idiotic midwife come and sit with me and tell me she was "bellyaching for something", but didn't know what (:confused: she was clearly hungry!)

We were discharged on day 4 thank god, but my milk still hadn't come in and I really didn't know how to breastfeed yet. I was in agony at every feed and didn't really know what I was doing. I spent most of my first night at home bawling while trying to feed my screaming DD. It was awful. Somewhere in that night I started feeling really ill, but just put it down to lack of sleep until I started vomitting violently at about 8am the next morning.

DH was really worried about me by this time, so called the mat hospital where I'd had DD who assured him that it was normal (:eek: :confused: On what planet, I ask you, is it normal for a woman to suddenly start violently vomitting 5 days after having given birth??!!) DH thankfully didn't like this advise so took me to a local clinic, where they did liver function tests and other blood tests that showed dodgy results. I was readmitted to hospital, put on 3 different types of antibiotics, morphine, and some other things, and stayed for an unknown amount of time (I honestly can't remember most of that time period, just bits and pieces....) Anyway, because I was no longer a maternity patient, but DD had to be admitted with me, I was put in the paediatric ward in a private room, and given access to the midwives whenever I needed them - but they weren't there 24/7. Turned out to be the best thing, as the paed nurses were FANTASTIC - so caring and helpful, and I had a LC whenever I needed her. I finally finally learned how to latch DD properly. Our breastfeeding relationship was well established by the time we got home, and I was a lot happier and healthier.

Fast forward to week 18 and they found out the problem had been "retained products of conception" (ie retained placenta) that was causing massive infections. They put me under a general anasthetic and did a D+C, which fixed that problem, but must have turned my milk a bit funny and DD started refusing the breast for all feeds for a 2 week period. I nearly gave it away, every feed became stressful and I was in tears, while DD screamed for milk that she wouldn't take.

Luckily, we sorted that out - and now, at age 13 months, we have no plans of weaning DD ATM, despite family pressure to do so.

I'm so glad I was given the time, opportunity and space to find my feet with my breastfeeding relationship with DD - there is nothing more special or better than being able to feed my DD myself. I'm glad I persevered and persevered til now (I always told my parents that being pig-headed was a good thing! :laughing: )

And I'm looking forward ot being able to feed my future children too.