Breast feeding.....

ACleanLife24

If nature all works they way it is supposed to... (you and baby)... how long will you plan on breast feeding (or pumping)for?

ACleanLife24

No judgement on which is better etc.... just thinking about when does society judge as being "too long" vs what my body can handle vs lifestyle vs what the research says

Pure curiosity

yodapup

I was unsure with my daughter since everyone I knew either couldn't do it or gave up early (my mom only breast fed me for 2 weeks). I took a class and was confident and determined to make it at least 6 months. I breast fed her for 14 months and she would've kept going but I was mentally and physically done. I plan on doing the same this time (around 14 months).

blueeyedrose86

SS- For as long as it works for both of us. DD will be 2 next week, and we're still going strong, despite my milk drying up weeks ago and my nipples being sore as hell. Hopefully it'll be the same with this one, but I won't stress about it if we don't make it quite this far for some reason. 

KMKaiser07

I nursed ds for 16 months when he decided he was done. I will allow this baby to self wean as well.

maelic

Not sure yet. I hated breastfeeding so much with my daughter that I'm leaning towards not at all this time around. I'll have a talk with our pedi and see what he says.

SMT2015

I bf my first baby until past 2 yo. I planned to do the same with my second but we unexpectedly got pregnant and my supply began to dry up at 8.5 mo. It was devastating to say the least. I wanted to do the same for him that I did for his sister but life had other plans. He self weaned as soon as my supply started drying up. Hoping to feed this baby until at least 2 yo also for the immune system benefits. Also hoping my son will take an interest and begin feeding again when the new baby comes. It's not looking great though. He won't latch on at all anymore

SMT2015

Oh and I will add that although the first few weeks of bf are the hardest it is fleeting and smooth sailing there after. It's all about getting a good latch. Also, if you want advice regarding breastfeeding, go see a lactation consultant, not a pediatrician. Pediatricians do not specialize in breastfeeding, I was given really poor advice from my first dd's pedi. Luckily, I had already done my research and taken a bf class so I knew his advice was wrong and I didn't follow it and let it sabotage our bf'ing.

beedaul90

With both of my daughters we exclusively breastfed until 8 months and then introduced solids and continued until 15 months.. That's the point where I'm just done! Lol I plan on the third going the same way. Good luck!

kitteh81

I really had no idea how long I was going to nurse my first, I just knew I was committed to breastfeeding because it is free and we were dead broke (with more than 30k in high-interest debt, as well as student loans.)

It was freaking HARD at first. She had reflux and, looking back now, I'm pretty sure something I was eating was the culprit (dairy, most likely.) We got through the first weeks only with the unwavering support of my husband and mother. Then once we got the hang of it, it was just SO easy and convenient. And the more I learned about the health benefits for me and baby, the better I felt about my choice.

As we neared her first birthday, I just couldn't understand why I should wean her off of my milk--perfectly formulated for her exact needs and filled with immune-system boosting antibodies--and put her on cow's milk instead--which is perfectly formulated for the needs of a growing calf.

Around that time, I read somewhere that a child's immune system isn't fully functional until they turn 2, so that was my goal age. I remember my mom saying "Well, ok... just don't be one of those people nursing a three-year-old!"

I became one of those people nursing a three-year-old.

And then a four-year-old.

On her fifth birthday, she told me that she would wean when she was six. I said No way, Jose. I was totally over it, and tandem nursing my toddler was just leaving me totally touched-out.

If you would have told me when she was born that I would end up nursing her for 5 years, I never would have believed it. I'm still nursing my 2yr3mo old, and have vague plans to get her weaned before baby arrives, but I wouldn't mind doing a little tandem nursing with her and the new squish, but only for a short while. She won't be nursing as long as her sister did!

As for the new baby, this is our last so we'll see. Part of me thinks that I'll let him or her self wean, but then again I will be working full-time starting when baby is 6months, which I never did with my first two. That could make extended nursing less of possibility, I'm not sure.

kotastar14

I breast fed my daughter until she was 18 months old when she weaned herself off. I'm planning on doing the same for this little one as well it as long as it works for both of us

kynbar5

I didn't breastfeed my 1st 4 and honestly only breastfed my youngest because he was going to be our last child and I wanted to have at least tried to go through it with one. The beginning was definitely a struggle and I wanted to quit more than once. We made it through and he (and I) were champs lol. I wanted to go to a year and he just got officially weaned one week ago (YAY!) and he's 18 months. I'll probably go the same amount of time with this one. Definitely no longer. My youngest didn't start sleeping through the night until I quit breastfeeding him. Pumping never worked for me. It hurt and I could only ever get a tiny bit of milk to come while trying. All of my kids are completely healthy and have fantastic appetites! Just do what is best for you and baby and if you have to go the formula route oh well.

parenthood4

I nursed my first two for 13 and 14 months, so I assume this one will nurse for at least that long. This is most likely our last baby, so I can see going a little longer. But both of mine weaned themselves at that time, so we will see what this baby decides to do. I can't see myself going past two though, but we'll see.

Mine also don't really sleep through the night until they are weaned, which kind of sucks. I worked full time from when my first was 5-12 months, and pumping enough is really hard. I'm glad I had a freezer supply because I definitely used it. I was home with my second, and it was so much easier.

Yes the first few weeks or months are really hard. But it has been such a wonderful thing for our family, I really love it. But do what works for you and your family, everyone is different!

smount2011

I tried nursing dd, but it didn't work out so well. She was in the NICU so for the first 3 weeks i pumped exclusively. The last week they began letting me feed her from breast. It lasted about another month but she wasn't eating enough, and she was on my boob all day long! I gave up and formula fed. It was the best decision I ever made. HOWEVER, I'm going to try again with this one. If successful I'm hoping to do it for 6 months to a year.

cataleya82

I didn't even try to breast feed my oldest, but I was 19 and wasn't into it. With my second I tried for a week and he wouldn't latch, the lactation consultant told me it was because my breasts were too large. At his 2 month check up it was discovered he was tongue tied and that was why he couldn't latch. I'm still pissed about it and he's almost 9. I voted for 6-12 months because that is what I'm hopeful for.

cmerribury

Nursing my son was one of my favorite things about when he was really young. I would have kept going much longer, but he self-weaned at 9 months. Ideally, I'd go up to 2 years, but I'm shooting for at least 1 year with this one.

lightrox

It really depends on my baby both of my boys ate so much I couldn't boost my supply enough to satisfy them, I would pump 8 oz and they ate another 4 ounces of formula right after it was insane but they are still big eaters to this day. I breastfeed them for 12 weeks each and supplemented with formula but after 12 weeks I was done and they got formula whatever works for mama and baby is what I say you never know what will work until baby gets here. This baby is a girl so I'm not sure if she'll have her brothers appetite we'll see when she gets here.

oceanchild

What is SS?

mrspepper05

oceanchild said:

What is SS?

Special snowflake. Haha. 

Kath525

I breastfeed my son until he was 11 months old. Then I weaned him because my husband and I were going to Europe for two weeks and I didn't want to pump in Europe and didn't have enough milk in storage to last my son two weeks. I didn't really want to nurse past a year anyways- he didn't sleep through the night while I was breastfeeding either. I plan to breastfeed for a year this time as well.

oceanchild

mrspepper05 said:

oceanchild said:

What is SS?

Special snowflake. Haha. 

Lmao thanks!

I just weaned my 4yo (prob would've gone one more year if I wasn't pregnant) and still nursing the 19mo - plan on tandeming again. Good times.

maelic

SMT2015 said:

Oh and I will add that although the first few weeks of bf are the hardest it is fleeting and smooth sailing there after. It's all about getting a good latch. Also, if you want advice regarding breastfeeding, go see a lactation consultant, not a pediatrician. Pediatricians do not specialize in breastfeeding, I was given really poor advice from my first dd's pedi. Luckily, I had already done my research and taken a bf class so I knew his advice was wrong and I didn't follow it and let it sabotage our bf'ing.

I did it for four months and it just got worse. The lactation consultants I saw were useless in caring for MY and my baby's wellbeing, their only attention they had was for the breastfeeding relationship, which is part of why it sucked so much. I felt like a dairy cow.

I'm going to ask the pediatrician because I'm only interested in what he has to say about health benefits vs emotional downsides. If he tells me to tough it out for a couple months I might, but I hated it so viscerally that it would be rough.

maddynnugget

I nursed my daughter until she was 18 months old because she had all the things breastfeeding is supposed to help with or minimize the occurrences of (chronic ear infections, eczema, etc.). I honestly don't know I'd go quite as long this time around; I felt like a chew toy at the end for DD. I do want to try to nurse for the first year though at least this time.

Torpedogirl

My first babe I was only 18 and I did try but gave up quickly. My second I tried for about 2 weeks and just hated it and didn't get the hang of it at all. My last little was in NICU so we had to start out pumping. I have flat nipples and he would not latch properly even with a shield so I decided for his benefit I would exclusively pump. I did that for 4 months every single 3-4 hours with a few days of power pumping. He was exclusively breast milk until 5 months old. I had to stop b/c while they give us breaks to pump at work I was simply too busy to get the sessions in to keep my breasts from hurting. I will do the same this time if he won't latch. Pump for the 4 months.

skruhmin

Both of my boys I successfully nursed for 12 months around work. Ds1 I pumped at work for 4-6 months, ds2 I pumped at work for 9 months.

jess9802

I nursed DS for 19 months and hope to nurse this baby until 18-24 mos as well. Just like last time I will pump at work until the one year mark.

LilLump2

I picked 12-24 months. My first 3 weaned around 12 months. DD2 weaned at just over 13 months, but I think that had more to do with this pregnancy than her choice. I'll let this LO self-wean too.

soxfan9968

Ftm and I'm completely clueless on how it'll work out. I'm hoping to be able to do it for at least 6months. Ideally, I'm planning one year and then start the weaning process.

Smom901316

Exclusive until 7 months when we slowly intro'd solids , dropped to night/bed time only from 12-18 months. Done by 18 months

elle313

I breastfed my daughter until a little after she turned 3. For the last year it was down to once a day so she could fall asleep for nap time. I thought extended breastfeeding was weird until it happened to be what worked best for us, and I think its partially to thank for the strong relationship my daughter and I have. We had tons of snuggly bonding time over the first few years thats I'll always remember fondly. I'm open to breastfeeding for the same length of time again with this LO if the situation leads to it. If they self wean anytime after turning one, I would be okay with that, too. 

blueeyedrose86

I love reading all the extended bfing stories! I can't tell if it's becoming more normal or if more moms are admitting to it, but either way, kudos!

ClaireBear90

12-24 months. Realistically, probably somewhere around 18-24 months. This is based off of my prior experience with my older two and knowing that in all likelihood I will be pregnant again before this one is 2 years old. I like to let them nurse as long as possible, but still have a little break between starting all over again. I haven't ruled out tandem breastfeeding though if I ever have a baby who is reluctant to wean that soon.

ClaireBear90

SMT2015 said:

Oh and I will add that although the first few weeks of bf are the hardest it is fleeting and smooth sailing there after. It's all about getting a good latch. Also, if you want advice regarding breastfeeding, go see a lactation consultant, not a pediatrician. Pediatricians do not specialize in breastfeeding, I was given really poor advice from my first dd's pedi. Luckily, I had already done my research and taken a bf class so I knew his advice was wrong and I didn't follow it and let it sabotage our bf'ing.

ETA: screwed up the quote ha.

YES times a thousand. I switched pediatricians because the first one was AWFUL about my breastfeeding struggles . . . and she had been a breastfeeding mother herself! She tried to get me to use formula less than 24 freaking hours after DD was born! Anyone who knows anything about breastfeeding knows that the milk isn't in yet and that giving formula isn't going to help. I refused to do it. She also told me to pump, which led to me having oversupply and tons of other issues that I didn't have with DS the next time around. Still makes me upset to think about it and how many other mothers may have followed her horrible advice.

SMT2015

If you aren't committed then it won't matter what you do or who you get advice from. Bf is mind over matter at least in the first few weeks when it is the toughest bc both you and baby are learning at the same time.

irenewslee

I bf/pumped for about 7mos with DD and I just couldn't handle the stress at work and pumping schedule towards the end. Like a lot of people have said, it's hard the few weeks.  But for me, the toughest came after that when I started developing milk blisters in month 2/3.  Being on this forum helped me A LOT and the ladies were very encouraging and gave good advice.  Returning to work after 3 months meaning I had to jiggle work, pick up baby from DC, housework and pump all at the same time.  That was also very stressful.  At least my boss at the time was supportive but I felt bad for not working 8 hours on most days.  This time around I want to return to work part time meaning I will have a bit more flexibility.  Since I had the last experience not too long ago, hopefully this time will come a bit easier and less stressful (but who knows since all babies are different). My goal is 6-12 months and hopefully that's a realistic goal.  Good luck to you all!!!

bbrianax

Ideally 6-12 months, but we'll see.

llybeck

SMT2015 said:

If you aren't committed then it won't matter what you do or who you get advice from. Bf is mind over matter at least in the first few weeks when it is the toughest bc both you and baby are learning at the same time.

I just want to add that while this may be true for some, it definitely isn't for others. There are so many factors that can affect how successful your breastfeeding experience is and it is not always just being committed and getting through it. Sometimes you can't and there is nothing wrong with that! Not every mother/baby can do this for physical (or mental) reasons and that is a-okay. If you want to breastfeed, do your best and work with LC's but please don't beat yourself up if you are not successful or you can't keep going as long as you want. 

llybeck

I picked SS because of the experience I had last time. I was incredibly committed to breastfeeding but my body didn't cooperate and neither did DD. It didn't get better for us. She had extreme lip and tongue tie and even though I saw around a dozen LC's, they all said it was fine. She was loosing weight and was failure to thrive so they suggested supplementing with formula. We did that and I still tried to pump but no matter how much I was pumping, my already dismal supply was tanking even more. I also had severe PPD/PPA and it was an incredibly difficult time. The day we switched to formula completely was one of the best days of my life, it truly saved me and it strengthened my bond with DD. I was able to calm down knowing she was getting what she needed and life was good again. She was still having stomach issues and once we corrected her lip and tongue tie that pretty much cured that. 

I really don't want this to sound stupid or overly dramatic but I feel a bit "traumatized" because of the experience I had. I honestly want nothing to do with breastfeeding at this point and I don't know how I will feel once this LO gets here. I would like to say I'll try and at least go until I go back to work but I really can't say right now. So my plan is to try and if it is heading down the same path I will reevaluate at that time and likely make the switch to formula. 

jenniferamcooper

I selected 12-18, that's what we did last time. We started the weaning process at 11 months in preparation of me going back to work at 12 months. I introduced cows milk "early" at 11 months because I didn't want to bother with formula. He got 4 oz at lunch time so IMO it wasn't a big deal. We nursed in the morning, before daycare, when we got home and bedtime and that worked great til 14 months. I weaned at 14 months due to travel my DH and I had. I was a little sad but he didn't miss or ask for it once when I took out feedings slowly. I think I was sadder than he was!

skruhmin

llybeck said:

I picked SS because of the experience I had last time. I was incredibly committed to breastfeeding but my body didn't cooperate and neither did DD. It didn't get better for us. She had extreme lip and tongue tie and even though I saw around a dozen LC's, they all said it was fine. She was loosing weight and was failure to thrive so they suggested supplementing with formula. We did that and I still tried to pump but no matter how much I was pumping, my already dismal supply was tanking even more. I also had severe PPD/PPA and it was an incredibly difficult time. The day we switched to formula completely was one of the best days of my life, it truly saved me and it strengthened my bond with DD. I was able to calm down knowing she was getting what she needed and life was good again. She was still having stomach issues and once we corrected her lip and tongue tie that pretty much cured that. 

I really don't want this to sound stupid or overly dramatic but I feel a bit "traumatized" because of the experience I had. I honestly want nothing to do with breastfeeding at this point and I don't know how I will feel once this LO gets here. I would like to say I'll try and at least go until I go back to work but I really can't say right now. So my plan is to try and if it is heading down the same path I will reevaluate at that time and likely make the switch to formula. 

The only reason I'm "loving it" is because you found what worked for you and your daughter.  I wish you success in whatever you choose, but definitely go for the least stressful.

TwoPairPlusOne

I have been breastfeeding non-stop, not a day off at all for 9 years the 6th of October. Mine self wean at around 3 1/2 years. I have never pumped, owned a bottle or used a pacifier. But I am hard headed and Hubby is a strong supporter.