Breastfeeding Survey... share your experience

tatithomas · November 2013

Hi Everyone, my beautiful son is now 2 weeks old and while I love him to pieces, breastfeeding hasn't been the experience I was hoping it would be. The pain in my nipples and constant throbbing of the breasts really makes it difficult to enjoy and DS is also having issues feeding - bad latching (recently addressed a tongue tie issue with our pediatrician), falling asleep at the breast then wanting more 30min later. He is also a 'comfort sucker' so it seems half the time he just wants the nipple and warmth vs. food.

So my questions to you who are/have breastfed are...

1) What do you/did you most like about breastfeeding?

2) What do you/did you dislike most?

3) Did the constant throbbing/tingling/sore feeling of the entire breast EVER get better or is it just the nature of carrying milk? (After being pregnant for nine months, I'm DYING to finally sleep on my stomach again

)

4) When did you/do you plan to introduce a pacifier?

5) When did you/do you plan to introduce a bottle? (part of me worries once I do I'm going to rely on it way too often since pumping is SO much more comfortable than feeding directly)

I know it's only been 2 weeks so I'm definitely going to continue trying to improve the situation, including working with a lactation consultant, but the experience has definitely been a bit disheartening so far!

Thanks for sharing everyone!! I'm excited to officially join the 0-3m board and share my experiences with everyone.

thedash · November 2013

BF'ing is so hard! Hang in there! I am a STM and still struggled for weeks in the beginning.

The pain gets dramatically better after a few weeks. Try the gel pads for your nipples if you are having pain. They are amazing!

I agree with PP that trying a pacifier is unlikely to cause problems. I gave both of my kids one in the hospital but neither of them ever really took to it.

We supplemented a bit with formula when I had low supply the first few weeks. If you can hold off until after 1 month to introduce a bottle I think that's safest. But if you are exhausted and in pain then pump and have DH give a bottle while you rest. Your LO needs a happy healthy mama too! Have him read up on paced bottle feeding (check Kellymom).

Hang in there! The first few weeks of BF'ing are so tough but you will be over the hump soon!

TheLittleRedM · November 2013

1) What do you/did you most like about breastfeeding?

Hmm...I like knowing that the most work I have to do to feed my LO is pop a boob out. But I also love when he sort of kneads my boob to help with the milk flow. It's a boob massage and feels lovely

2) What do you/did you dislike most?

I had an overactive letdown so it was frustrating at times when he kept trying to latch but would then pull away choking or would clamp down harder to slow the flow of milk. Now, he just gets distracted and takes forever to finish eating it seems.

3) Did the constant throbbing/tingling/sore feeling of the entire breast EVER get better or is it just the nature of carrying milk? When your body finally regulates and knows how much to produce, all that throbbing and soreness not associated with latching will subside. Anything caused by latching will be gone when your LO figures out how to latch correctly.

4) When did you/do you plan to introduce a pacifier?

We attempted it at about a month old and then again around the two month range. He wanted none of it and still doesn't.

5) When did you/do you plan to introduce a bottle? We introduced the first one at 8 weeks. It's so much easier to BF than to pump when you figure out how to solve latching issues. We hardly give him a bottle unless I'm super tired on the weekends (so that DH can feed him) or if we have to get a sitter. But he takes it fine unless I try to give it to him.

algalphys · November 2013

1. I love the ease of BFing, like AFwife said
2. I dislike that I can't get away for more than a few hours at a time.
3. The soreness does go away, on days where he eats tons it comes back slightly, but nipple cream and some solid night sleeping stretches get rid of the pain.
4. I gave a pacifier in the hospital, if he's truly hungry he won't take it
5. I Introd a bottle at 5 weeks and he's had a bottle once a week since (now 7 weeks) with no issues. I know I won't likely BF past 6 months so I didn't want to have issues with bottles later.

With DS1 I was so unsure of breast feeding and so I switched to pumping at 4 weeks, continued til 3 months. But pumping truly sucks. I only pump a bit this time with DS2 to have a freezer stash so I can go out on occasion. I am having much better time with BFin this time and I feel like I may go past my original goal of 3 months this time. It is very hard, so much so that I wasn't sure I'd ever attempt it again after DS1, but I'm glad I did!

kdjudd · November 2013

1. I love how convenient breastfeeding is! There is no bottle warming in the middle of the night or anything. You just pull the baby close and latch on.

2. I hate that almost every feeding is my responsibility. Sometimes I'd just like a break!

3. I still have a little bit of pain, but for the most part the intense discomfort is behind me. We are about 4 weeks in right now.

4. We have already tried to introduce a paci around 3 weeks, but she won't take it.

5. Our daughter has already had two bottles. She does great with them and doesn't seem to have any nipple confusion.

HBirdie · November 2013

1) What do you/did you most like about breastfeeding?

It's free and easy (now. It was hard the first four or five days, though).

2) What do you/did you dislike most?

Nipple pain is a B. And I need privacy, which can get annoying (though that's obviously my choice). It's still hard for me to do when we're out and about.

Annnd I hate that I absolutely HAVE to get up when he does. No passing off one of the MOTN feedings to dad. Though he often does the diaper changes because he's a gem.

3) Did the constant throbbing/tingling/sore feeling of the entire breast EVER get better or is it just the nature of carrying milk? (After being pregnant for nine months, I'm DYING to finally sleep on my stomach again )

I never really experienced the throbbing or soreness that you're talking about, and I only get tingly during a letdown, and I don't always feel it. So I can't help on this one, though I'm sorry!

4) When did you/do you plan to introduce a pacifier?

One of the nurses gave him a Soothie in the hospital, which our LC then told us not to use... but after a day or two at home it was obvious he was an awesome BF'er so we didn't really worry about it causing any confusion. We don't use it much at home, mostly when we're out and about and want him not to fuss.

5) When did you/do you plan to introduce a bottle? (part of me worries once I do I'm going to rely on it way too often since pumping is SO much more comfortable than feeding directly)

Haven't yet. No plans to. We're EBF and I'm kind of intimidated by pumping. Plus I really don't want it to give me supply issues (namely, oversupply), so I just haven't given it much thought.

kje120 · November 2013

1) What do you/did you most like about breastfeeding? It's convenient and cheap

2) What do you/did you dislike most? Huge boobs

3) Did the constant throbbing/tingling/sore feeling of the entire breast EVER get better or is it just the nature of carrying milk? (After being pregnant for nine months, I'm DYING to finally sleep on my stomach again ) Mine aren't sore at all now. I get a little tingly feeling sometimes with letdown, but they aren't sore. If I get too full it's a little annoying, but it's not unbearable.

4) When did you/do you plan to introduce a pacifier? We tried around 6 weeks - he's not interested in one.

5) When did you/do you plan to introduce a bottle? (part of me worries once I do I'm going to rely on it way too often since pumping is SO much more comfortable than feeding directly) With DS1 we waited until 4 weeks like they recommend. This time we gave him a bottle of pumped milk at 2 weeks. He's never had any problem going between bottle and breast.

Carnation77 · November 2013

1) What do you/did you most like about breastfeeding? Now that I'm back to work I absolutely LOVE the closeness of breastfeeding. It's also an easy way to get him to sleep and to comfort him when he's upset.

2) What do you/did you dislike most? The 2 hour ticking clock I live my life by on the weekends. Having to pump 5 times a day just to get 3 bottles worth. Growth spurts and "wonder week" phase changes when he comfort nurses so much it hurts hurts hurts. Oh - and clogged ducts, blisters, and cracked nipples

fun fun fun!

3) Did the constant throbbing/tingling/sore feeling of the entire breast EVER get better or is it just the nature of carrying milk? (After being pregnant for nine months, I'm DYING to finally sleep on my stomach again ) My breasts don't bother me anymore. It's been 2 1/2 months now. So for me it did get better. Now they only tingle when I've gone too long between feedings/pumpings. However, if I sleep on my stomach I leak all over the bed. Maybe it's just me?

4) When did you/do you plan to introduce a pacifier? We introduced after a week. He took it for a couple weeks and has refused every pacifier on the market since then.

5) When did you/do you plan to introduce a bottle? (part of me worries once I do I'm going to rely on it way too often since pumping is SO much more comfortable than feeding directly) Again, we introduced after a week or two. No nipple confusion at all. Pumping may be more comfortable now, but after a couple months feeding from the breast will be more comfortable and more convenient. Try to do both if that works for you. BFing is so hard that you need to give yourself a break sometimes. Don't be too hard on yourself.

ILMomma · November 2013

1) What do you/did you most like about breastfeeding? The feeling that I am doing something that is so beneficial for my son.

2) What do you/did you dislike most? The MOTN feedings that only I could do.

3) Did the constant throbbing/tingling/sore feeling of the entire breast EVER get better or is it just the nature of carrying milk? It got better. After 2 weeks it was like flipping a switch and the pain wasn't nearly as bad. The tingling turned out to be my let down and it eventually didn't bother me anymore.

4) When did you/do you plan to introduce a pacifier? I introduced a pacifier at 2-3 weeks and we have had no problems with nipple confusion.

5) When did you/do you plan to introduce a bottle? We had to use a bottle at 5 days due to jaundice. Pumping takes way more time then just plopping out my boob so I mostly feed from the breast.

I was in the same boat as you. I was so done with it after a few weeks but it gets soooo much better. I can walk around now while breastfeeding like its nothing!

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