breast feeding

finally decided im going to breast feed!
didnt do t with my boys so im kinda excited but a lil scared that i wont get the hang of it!
is it hard to do? anyone here try and give up??
and for the people who are breast feeding, well firstly good on ya! and secondly, have you got any tips???

I have'nt done it yet but from what I heard it's pretty simple you will naturaly know how when the time comes if not the drs will teach you ^_^

Read as much as you can, take a class and don't give up.You have to be 100% committed for it to work-but the reward is unbeleivabe.Pump a couple times a day if you have a big sleeper and be patient-but most of all if it doesn't work out you are still just as good as all the other Mommies!

Quoting charleigh:“ finally decided im going to breast feed! didnt do t with my boys so im kinda excited but a lil scared ... [snip!] ... try and give up?? and for the people who are breast feeding, well firstly good on ya! and secondly, have you got any tips???”

well with my 1st i only bf for 3 weeks with my 2nd did it for 4 months and with my 3rd did it for 24hrs before sending my hubby out at 4.30 in mornin to go and buy sterlizer and bottles which i hadn't given up so easy but i found it to painful but i wish you luck as it is a lovely feeling when it works and yes buy in a breast pump

i tried with my first son and was really struggling, then i got mastitus and it was just far too painful so i switched to bottle. the fact that i was struggling to begin with put me off when my second child came and didnt even attempt it, but my partner has asthma and my midwife tells me if i breast feed her she will be less likely to get it so thats what swayed it for me!
so i should get a breast pump? see i tried that with my eldest aswell and just couldnt get anything out!!
do i need to get some nipple cream of some sort or do the generally not get too sore??
im full of questions im affraid i jst wanna get it right!!

Quoting nicki 3 kids:“ well with my 1st i only bf for 3 weeks with my 2nd did it for 4 months and with my 3rd did it for 24hrs ... [snip!] ... up so easy but i found it to painful but i wish you luck as it is a lovely feeling when it works and yes buy in a breast pump”

ahhhh another brit! we are popping up all over the place atm lol!
ok ill get a breast pump, is there some sort of special pillow that would help? or is a regular pillow good enough??
did u get mastitus? or was it just painful in general??

I nursed my first for 5 months(cause I went back to work) and my second for almost 8 months.I did not find it easy or natural to hold the baby while nursing with my first and didn't understand how milk was made and all the positives and negatives-that's why I said to read.My second kid has zero health issues(I mean has only had two colds in her life and that is it), and my other has had only a few issues(more bowel related) and I do contribute that to nursing.As for bonding, I really didn't think it helped me bond with my kids, I am a touchy lovey mom and am always massaging and interacting with them anyways.I do hope to nurse this one for close to a year because I won't be going back to work-wish me luck!

Quoting mama3trish:“ I nursed my first for 5 months(cause I went back to work) and my second for almost 8 months.I did not ... [snip!] ... with them anyways.I do hope to nurse this one for close to a year because I won't be going back to work-wish me luck!”

i do wish you luck!
and congrats for persisting!
so u have seen results?? they are healthy children??
see my kids are healthy but they are always getting colds etc and breast feeding is supposed to give a crtain amount of immunity isnt it??

Quoting charleigh:“ ahhhh another brit! we are popping up all over the place atm lol! ok ill get a breast pump, is there ... [snip!] ... special pillow that would help? or is a regular pillow good enough?? did u get mastitus? or was it just painful in general??”

i didn't buy any pillows just used the ones i already had.no didn't get mastitus.i had my daughter in hospital and she fed in there about ahour after being born but i left the hospital after 6 hrs to go home and i guess i just struggled to then get her to latch on again properly which is why i sent my hubby out shopping.i really do regret giving up so easily but i had to do what was right for my daughter.i had an electric breastpump with my 2nd child and i loved it so if i was you i would really invest in one

Quoting nicki 3 kids:“ i didn't buy any pillows just used the ones i already had.no didn't get mastitus.i had my daughter in ... [snip!] ... for my daughter.i had an electric breastpump with my 2nd child and i loved it so if i was you i would really invest in one”

ahhhh ok electric breast pump sounds like a lot less work!!
ok thanks so much for the advice!!!
maybe ill mention to the health visitor that im a bit worried about it too and maybe she can help me out!

Quoting charleigh:“ i do wish you luck! and congrats for persisting! so u have seen results?? they are healthy children?? ... [snip!] ... are healthy but they are always getting colds etc and breast feeding is supposed to give a crtain amount of immunity isnt it??”

Absolutely it is supposed to provide the baby with your antibodies, however when you stop bfeeding the baby usually catches something because they aren't receiving your antibodies any more.So the longer you nurse the more they build up those antibodies and hopefully they make their own and are healthier because of it.Just take all the help you get.If you get someone really pushy just be honest and say, I'd rather go at it at my own pace please.I got into a tiff with the first nurse I had with my 1st kid.She almost made me quit- because I didn't realise that the more the baby ate the sooner my milk would come in- so I was nursing every hour and when I was in tears and said what do I do- she gave me a disgusted look and said"Give up eh, well I'll just go get the formula", and I lost it on her, then we were friends!

Quoting charleigh:“ ahhhh ok electric breast pump sounds like a lot less work!! ok thanks so much for the advice!!! ... [snip!] ... for the advice!!! maybe ill mention to the health visitor that im a bit worried about it too and maybe she can help me out!”

that sounds like good idea also when you have baby midwife can help with latching on. i didn't see mine till 2days after daughter was born which is why i switched to formula but get as much help and advice as you can and don't feel bad if it doesn't work.....good luck my fellow brit lol

Quoting mama3trish:“ Absolutely it is supposed to provide the baby with your antibodies, however when you stop bfeeding the ... [snip!] ... gave me a disgusted look and said"Give up eh, well I'll just go get the formula", and I lost it on her, then we were friends!”

ok thanks for the great advice, just one mre thing if u dont mind, so do i need to do it little and often or try to get her to feed for longer periods at a time with more time in the middle or just feed when she wants it??

Quoting charleigh:“ finally decided im going to breast feed! didnt do t with my boys so im kinda excited but a lil scared ... [snip!] ... try and give up?? and for the people who are breast feeding, well firstly good on ya! and secondly, have you got any tips???”

I didn't breastfeed with my first baby either. But I am goin to this time and I am a bit nervous and excited about it as well. I think I am a bit worried about not getting the hang of it also and also that my milk wil dry up or something like that. This girl that I work with told me about how she breastfed both her boys but her second only up until he was two months because her milk dried up! So I am soooooo worried about that...I am looking forward to seeing some tips from others mom's who are breastfeeding here in this thread!

Quoting charleigh:“ ok thanks for the great advice, just one mre thing if u dont mind, so do i need to do it little and ... [snip!] ... and often or try to get her to feed for longer periods at a time with more time in the middle or just feed when she wants it??”

I fed on demand until my milk supply was well established(for me first two weeks) and after that I nursed on demand within reason-meaning I would check diapers and all other necessities first then feed.As long as you establish your supply and listen to your body (drink lots) then you will have plenty of milk.The friends of mine that weren't successful were those that let their kids sleep for 5 hours at a time(if baby is sleepy you should wake them during the day every 3-4 hours until milk suppl is abundant or pump) or would supplement with formula and not pump.You have to be willing to give up sleep, but once you get good at it you dose off while feeding at night(recliners are awesome) and lose very little sleep.