s/o BFing: positive stories?

[bunch]

May 15, 2012 9:17:55 GMT -5 Willis Jackson said:

May 15, 2012 9:14:42 GMT -5 ijack said:

Also people who tell you it doesn't hurt if you're doing it right are lying liars that lie. It hurts. Unless your husband sucks on your nipples 8hrs a day, they aren't used to what is about to happen.

YES! A THOUSAND TIMES, YES!

Amen. Bfing is hands down the hardest and yet most rewarding thing I've ever done. The only thing that compares is supporting a friend who has also just made it over the 3 mo hump bfing her dd. I really wish that I'd have known the it was going to be hard. I thought it was supposed to be easy and was shocked when it wasn't. Now that I know what to expect I think that child 2 will be a breeze.

[caidan]

I breastfeed my daughter exclusively for 6.5 months. And once she stated solids, continued until she was 14.5 months. I never had any pain or anything. In the hospital she had trouble lacthing but was fine by the time we brought her home.

It was much much easier then anticipated, less bottles to clean and convenient when we were out longer then we thought.

Also she was a good sleeper and slept for 5 hours almost immediately. Slept through the night the first time before she was 2 months old. So it was a very nice experience.

[Chuppathingy]

I've been BFing for two years and four months without issue, despite the fact that due to an emergency, I didn't even get to see DD for the first 2 days while I was in the ICU, let alone nurse. It took a bit of work at first but I've never had any real problems.

[DazeyDee]

We've really had a pretty easy go of it. DD is just a couple of weeks from her 2nd birthday and is still nursing a ton - I'll keep going until she self weans or until I am uncomfortable.

She latched quickly and easily in the hospital. I had an unexpected c-section, and they brought her to me in recovery and she was ready to go. The LC even commented on her latch, it was really good from the get go. My milk came in on day 2, and the one mistake I made was pumping in the hospital. My boobs were rocks - it was awful - so one of the nurse brought me a pump to "pump to comfort". All that did was stimulate the crap out of my supply - I'd feed DD and still be able to pump off 12 ounces. That was the hardest thing to deal with, really, and I ended up taking Sudafed for a couple of days to help dry things up a little bit. I did have one hell of a freezer stash though!

I pumped for a year at work until I got laid off, and continued nursing the entire time. It's an awesome experience for us, and boobs really are kind of magic, they fix all kinds of things. It's been great, and I will absolutely breastfeed any future babies, too.

[nannersp]

We had a few hiccups in the beginning, but I was quick to ask for help from lactation consultants, and that helped tremendously. I BF'd my daughter just a little over a year.

[petitefrite]

I think BF'ing is more of a commitment than I could have imagined. The time commitment, the planning required if you want to go somewhere, etc. is A LOT. DD was on the nipple shield for 3 months before she finally accepted my bare breast.

I feel like now, after 4 months of BF'ing that my nipples are more sore than ever. DD likes to tug on my super thin breast skin while nursing, and the pain is unbearable. I cover her hand with a mitt or sock because it is very painful. My breasts are sensitive as hell, and I think it has something to do with pumping 2 times a day.

There are many times when I really enjoy BF'ing. When I get that little one eyed look, or a smile that offers a little milk spillage it makes it all worth it. I am proud I've made the commitment, and most of the time it is fine. But the logistics, soreness, and sheer effort it takes should not be understated.

[Deleted]

I really wanted to succeed at breast feeding. I made it 2 weeks before the stress of my sons medical conditions and the nurses telling me that I was feeding him wrong got to me and I dried up. It was a dark time for me, and to this day I am still hard on myself and wish that I had kept trying even though I knew it would have been emotionally damaging if I had. Anyone that has successfully breastfed their child is truly an inspiration of how I want to be for my next child.

[megs193]

Breastfeeding did not go well for me at all. I am a PA and worked in a NICU so breastfeeding was so important to me since I saw the benefits first hand. I had a 4th degree tear and a long repair so by the time I got my son, he was too sleepy to latch. After 7 hours the hospital made me give him a bottle. I knew he didn't need one but I was so emotional and it was the middle of the night so I gave in.

He never latched well and we hired 3 different lactation consultants, all of whom said he was tongue tied. We took him to an ENT who said his tongue tie wasn't bad enough to be fixed. Fast forward one year later, he had to have his adenoids removed and the new ENT said his tongue tie was pretty bad and he would clip it while he was removing the adenoids.

I ended up exclusively pumping for 6 months and it is the hardest thing I have ever done. If I didn't believe that breast milk was way better than formula I would have given up so I see why some people can't do it.

[hopeful2012]

I had a pretty easy time getting DS to breastfeed. It hurt bad for maybe the first few days and then got progressively less painful. He didn't have any trouble latching, our biggest problem was that he would fall asleep in the middle of feedings which made him get up more frequently and/or not get enough food.
I definently prefer it to bottles but hated pumping so I had decided to stop before going back to work.

[pescalita]

Delurking because I felt the same way before I had A. I have a history of depression & anxiety, so my H and I were wary of PPD, and I didn't know if I would need to go back on meds immediately after delivery.

We've had an enormously successful time of BF, after breaking just about every rule early on. A was born with a rare white blood cell condition that required a few days in isolation in the NICU to diagnose. I didn't BF or pump for 14 hours after my c/s. For the next 5 days, I pumped when I could in all the chaos and got in maybe one 5 minute nursing session/day, while he was fed mostly formula - he got all of my colostrum, but he was taking 2-4oz bottles as well.

Lucky for us, he's an easy kid, and my body adapted well. He came home and took right to nursing and never looked back. Since we had started with pumping/bottles early, we kept it up once/day knowing I would be going back to work at 14 wks. In the first month before we got settled, that one pumping session was sporadic and sometimes skipped. Now that I've been back to work for 2 months, he's upped the amount he takes during the day, but my supply has kept up w/o extraordinary measures.

In the very beginning, it was painful and difficult to be trapped every 2-3 hours, but not enough that I really thought about quitting. I guess we bonded more gradually than a lot of people say it goes, so I was pretty detached about it in those early days and determined not to be a pacifier. At the point we are now, I'm glad he's so easily comforted by nursing, and it's not a bad way to spend my limited time with him. I'm a worrier (see: anxiety, above), so I can get a little OCD about my supply, but I'm getting at least as much as I send each day, and I have a good freezer stash.

I think I can contribute our success to a few things:
1) Easy, flexible kid and flexible body - I just lucked out with these
2) Support and complete buy in from my H: He's just as invested in and responsible for feeding as I am, even though I'm the one physically doing it.
3) Taking it one day at a time: In the NICU, it was hard to see how this was going to work out, but I just kept at it and tried not to worry about the next day.

[katieb4tom]

It's been so easy and so enjoyable. It sucks at the beginning, more because you can't get away and they want to eat constantly, but at 7 months, I love it and am not looking to quit anytime soon.

I will say that around day three I got the help of a lactation consultant who fixed the latch my baby had and after that, smooth sailing.

In my opinion, I think one reason we've had any easy time is that we did Koala (kangaroo?) care, where the baby is born and immediately placed on your stomach. I had her latched on to my boob within two minutes of her coming out of me. I think this helped us both a lot, with everything.

I work full-time and pump while away from her, if that adds anything for you. It's all good.

[mswax]

I nursed both boys longer than I ever expected to. It was a wonderful experience for everyone. Things I found useful to know:

1. The first 2-3 weeks are the hardest. If you can get past the 3 week growth spurt, things get much easier.

2. Learn to nurse in public asap. Use a cover, learn how to be discreet, whatever you need to do to be comfortable with it. Feeling like you are stuck in the house sucks!

3. Learn to nurse in bed (safely, no flames). You'll get SO much more sleep.

4. Learn to go with the flow. This was the hardest one for me. There were days (especially during growth spurts) when it seemed like they would nurse for hours at a time. I learned to just sit on the couch with a book or the TV, some water and snacks, and just chill. DH picked up the slack around the house, made dinner, etc.

Don't worry too much. Learn what to expect, and try to be prepared, but as with all things parenting, you can't really KNOW until you are there.

[megs193]

May 16, 2012 6:37:51 GMT -5 megs193 said:

Breastfeeding did not go well for me at all. I am a PA and worked in a NICU so breastfeeding was so important to me since I saw the benefits first hand. I had a 4th degree tear and a long repair so by the time I got my son, he was too sleepy to latch. After 7 hours the hospital made me give him a bottle. I knew he didn't need one but I was so emotional and it was the middle of the night so I gave in.

He never latched well and we hired 3 different lactation consultants, all of whom said he was tongue tied. We took him to an ENT who said his tongue tie wasn't bad enough to be fixed. Fast forward one year later, he had to have his adenoids removed and the new ENT said his tongue tie was pretty bad and he would clip it while he was removing the adenoids.

I ended up exclusively pumping for 6 months and it is the hardest thing I have ever done. If I didn't believe that breast milk was way better than formula I would have given up so I see why some people can't do it.

Oops. I thought I was posting this in the why moms choose not to breastfeed thread. This is obviously not the most positive story but I am hoping for one with my next child.