i dont think i ever had a 'glowing' stage. i just got fatter and sweatier. Yay being due in July!
Katy, i think its near on impossible to over feed a breast fed baby, and at the moment its probably got a lot to do with the comfort aspect. when oliver was first born, people kept on st me to try making him wait 3 hours between feeds during the day, which i did as i knew no better. He was geumpy and shouty and miserable as **** until i gave in and just started feeding him on demand, and he was instantly a different child. there were sges where he was feeding every 40 minutes and i thought my nips might drop off, but he got into a routine by himself in the end.
Thanks I have carried on feeding her and I have some Lanisoh, that stuff is good! The first day one side got really bad and I had loads of trouble with it for days but the cream healed it in a day. Shame it's so expensive but I think it will last ages.
Just had the best nap ever :)
How is everyone else getting on?
You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are.
I wanna try breast feeding but bit put off by how painful and tiring everyone keeps saying it is. Also as I'm gunna be a single parent I'm gunna have to do all the night feeds x
I wouldn't be put off. It isn't THAT painful the first couple of days are more owwie and after that it is just when they first latch and they suck frantically, then it goes off and it doesn't hurt. It is tiring but I am hoping it will get better when we settle into a routine and she goes longer between feeds. The first couple of days while you are waiting for your milk to come in is the hardest part. You have to feed constantly, I really do mean constantly she spent a whole day on the boob with only a few 10 min breaks one day. I was lucky because I didn't have problems with latching though because she was a natural and did it all for me, even when I was too out of it to move after giving birth. She just rooted and put herself on.
I think breastfeeding is easier at night than bottle because you don't have the fuss of making up bottles you can just wack a boob in the mouth and your sorted! I was really worried and scared of breastfeeding but when it came down to it it felt like the most natural thing in the world to me and I love having that closeness with her.
Also don't be ashamed if it doesn't work for you and you choose to bottle feed. Whatever is best for you! I heard a couple of women in hospital who wanted to bottle feed because they had so much trouble breastfeeding but they guilt tripped themselves into not doing it.
You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are.
I always would advise that if you arent sure about breastfeeding to give it a go for a while. You can always switch to formula. Its can be a little painful and awkward at first -took me 6weeks to do it with no fuss, awkwardness or any sort of soreness. Our latch was t always correct though which caused the pain. A
good latch is so important and i hadnt realised at the start.
Lansinoh is a miracle cream the cooling breast pads were amazing also for the first few days.
After preparing a bottle at nights i can confidently agree with Katie. Pulling a boob out is so much easier and quicker. No standing in a cold kitchen while baby has a scream. Or worrying about milk temperature and cleaning the bottle. Im sure there are tips though that those that formula fed will know.
Last point that i feel is important... Do what is right for you. Experiences vary person to person so do what you would feel comfortable with and make a judgement from your own experience.
ty for your advice. I wanna at least breast feed for first few days so baby gets first milk with all goodness in. I'll see how i get on. Theres so much pressure to breast feed tho.
There is but if you just try and remember that you know best. Everyone is quick to tell you what to do but I have found giving answers confidently makes people back off pretty quick! Also I think if you do decide to try BF then don't be put off if you don't get it straight away because you are both learning. When my milk came in Poppy had trouble latching and kept coming off but you jsut have to keep putting them back on, they will get there eventually.
You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are.
my midwife literally grabbed my tit in one hand and the babies head in the other and held them together.
i didnt find breast feeding tiring, if anything i enjoyed the fact that it gave me a good excuse to sit on my arse and ignore the housework. After a few days your nipples become immune to the whole thing, but indo remember sitting one night incredibly sleep deprived crying cos i was on the wdge of the bed and bent forward to feed and my back hurt, and my boobs were so sore. Thats when i discovered feeding laying down. big boobs ftw.
From my point of view bf was hard and painful. He never got a good latch and on one side he had an awful latch which resulted in me being in tears every time he feed that side. I lasted 3 weeks before I made the decision to give him formula whilst in absolute tears. He was only ever off the boob for 30 mins at a time unless we were in the car so after 3 weeks of pretty much 0 sleep I couldn't cope any longer. I do feel that if I hadn't stopped then I would have ended up with awful pnd. Saying that my milk dried up in 2 days so I'm guessing due to bad latch my milk supply was dwindling as I never felt the milk let down that people talk about once he was on and it didn't get any less painful throughout the feed which could sometimes be 1-2 hours long. Once he was on formula is was a different baby I guess because he wasn't starving all the time.
Saying all of that though I am going to try and breast feed again but this time I'm not beating myself up if I can't do it. As long as he gets colostrum and a few days of mummy milk ill be happy as I don't think the way I was before was healthy for any of us. To be honest in hindsight I don't think I really bonded with him until he was on bottle.
I was also very shy at bf in public and even in mothering rooms. I once ran out of a mother care in tears because I needed to feed him and the bench thing had people sitting bottle feeding and they had their buggies pulled next to them so even though there were seats I couldn't get to them. I tried to feed him standing up hoping someone would let me sit down by moving the buggy but they all just gave me horrid looks and he wouldn't latch so I ended up feeding him in the car in tears.
My midwives were hopeless and a poor latch with chloe resulted in blocked ducts, mastitis and scarring. I ended up expressing for 8 weeks then formula feeding. When ella was born she couldn't maintain a latch and again nothing useful from the midwives, I tried expressing and discovered the scarred side was producng only a few dribbly ml compared to 400ml+ on the other side. I had one huge breast and one that was working but only when i expressed as ella never learned how to maintain a latch. At 6 weeks the gp advised me to move onto bottles as i was so uncomfortable and she'd had almost90% breastmilk for 6 weeks. I never ever used powder, I never heated up milk, we always gave room or fridge temp ready made milk, at night we'd take up a stack of bottles, some cartons of formula and a cool bag. We mostly fell asleep while baby fed and got woke with an empty bottle hitting us in the face.
Mand, South Wales, Full-time working, single mother to 2 scarily independent girls.
I AM A PROUD PLUMERIA SISTER
Ahh i never really thought of cartons. Midwives are either really helpful or dont bother helping at all. I had the boob and baby pushed together also and told there ya go. My husband helped me with the latch at start.
Make sure the latch is correct if u do try. That to me is most important in my opinion for comfy breastfeeding. I plan to do it again
Rude people ... Ignore them! U will always have someone critisize ur choice to bottle or breast feed. Cant believe people would move biggies sp u could sit. Ignorant.
Lucas had jaundice so wasn't interested in feeding for a few days. I was in hospital the second night and I had to wake him up to feed and I remember crying for hours because he wouldn't latch then eventually a midwife came after I pressed the button an hour after I pressed it and I forced her into getting a midwifery assistant and we spent 2 hours (it was like 3am) trying to get him to latch in loads of different positions but he just didn't suck. But then once he had I was so proud :) then his jaundice got sorted and he feed abit better but I found it too painful and the thing I couldn't handle is that before he got anywhere near my boob and my top was off I would just leak all over myself. I wish I stuck it out though because I missed that bond and it helps you loose weight quicker and I'm still struggling to loose it a year and a half later. I also would have loved the bond people say they get but the stress of being in hospital and him not sucking and having wet tops all the time even with 2 layers of breast pads in it was best for my sanity to bottle feed. Next time though I will definatlt try again
I loved breast feeding.
It was painful for the first couple of weeks but I'm so glad I persevered.
You can get really nice covers for breast feeding in public.
The midwives were great, and there are also specialist breast feeding nurses, groups and help lines.
I was lucky in that I was at a mum and baby unit and they helped a lot.
Lanolin cream is great for sore nipples (does get very sore!)
I was also lucky that Jasmine is a fatty and loves her food, so she latched straight away.
Breast feeding is great, but its not for everyone and I do really understand how some women can't do it.
I went to a breast feeding workshop when I was pregnant and that was great, there were loads of people there who were really unsure about it but they give you so much helpful info.
I'm fine! Totally fine. I don't know why it's coming out all loud and squeaky, 'cause really, I'm fine!
It really isn't Shelz! Hope you get more sleep soon!
There is nothing like a night in A&E to make you feel like an awful mother :(
We were worried about Poppy's breathing because it was getting so fast, her chest was rattling and she kept squeaking. We called the midwife who told us to go to A&E. We were there all night and Poppy is fine but it was so horrble to watch her when they were trying to get blood. Her veins were too tiny and it took them 2 hours and 8 attempts. I feel awful for putting her through that when there was nothing wrong :(
You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are.
