Question for BF moms

Kageer · February 2014

I did 10 months and a year respectively, but always took it month by month. That way I could check in with myself and it didn't seem like such an enormous goal. For example I would say to myself " I want to do another month" at the beginning of every month and then reevaluate next month. But I would say as long as it is enjoyable for both of you.

jenb_99 · February 2014

I don't plan to BF long at all. BF was an epic fail with DS, and honestly I'm only planning to try again with this baby because I feel obligated to. I plan to BF part-time, FF the rest of the time, and pump to build a small stash. I'll probably only BF for 2-3 months and pump no longer than 6 months. I really prefer the convenience and peace of mind that bottles provide me, and I feel confident in the nutrition that formula provides my baby. I can find other ways to bond with the baby that don't involve nursing.

JAM85 · February 2014

My goal is a year and to start baby led weaning at 6 months- I am really trying to get as much info ahead of time to learn as much as I can about the complications and road blocks I could be facing since I am FTM to prepare myself.

spinsoffresonance · February 2014

With DD my goal was to try the best I could to make BFing happen then go til 6 months. I went back to work at 6 weeks, then was unemployed at 6 months. At that point I hated pumping but BFing was going really well so I decided to keep going. I'm not sure I would have kept going if I still had to pump at work. We made it to 14m until my supply dried up due to this pregnancy and DD weaned herself. I think this time I'd like to go til 1 year again if not longer but it will depend on if I'm working and how pumping is going.

sthomas1222 · February 2014

And something to keep in mind, a great analogy came across my Facebook feed the other day. A lot of moms are told for a myriad of reasons, some not very accurate, to quit breasfeeding and go straight to all formula. Or have supply issues and just give it all up completely. The analogy talks about a whole apple vs. a slice. Just b/c you only have 1 slice of an apple doesn't mean you don't eat it and just go get junk food and eat all that instead. You eat the 1 slice and fill up with other food. You still get the healthy apple and then add on whatever else you need. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. But if it's mentally and/or physically wearing on you then that is a case of what is best for mom is best for baby and stopping completely may be the answer. Just something to keep in mind.

momthatlifts · February 2014

My goal is 6 months. My super goal is a year

cnbean · February 2014

Honestly I think my goal this time is a week. I BF my son for a month and it was the worst choice I could have made. I was miserable the whole time. I would love it if this time it would just click and be amazing. If that happens I'll go as long as baby is willing. But I don't have high expectations. As long as he gets the colostrum I feel like I've done my best. Anything else is just icing on the cake.

mwitter80 · February 2014

I will breastfeed for as long as it's mutually beneficial. My first weaned during this pregnancy due to supply tanking, and I have lots of guilt even though he is close to 2. The WHO recommends at least 2years and I hope to follow that recommendation.

ho11yday · February 2014

Going to give it a go but I'm definitely stocking up on formula. Will definitely try for the first 6-8 weeks after birth and, if all goes well, probably just bf morning and night when I come home from work. Not interested in pumping like I did with DS1.

EDIT: the pain was unbearable, DS was losing too much weight/wouldn't gain weight, and the anxiety from d-mer was unnerving; all of these would be reasons for me not to BF if they happen again.

chillypenguin · February 2014

The goal is one year, up to two years. It will depend on when I feel comfortable weaning, and also when we decide to start trying for another baby (no idea on a timeline for baby #3). But I had MAJOR problems BFing last time, so really any time at all, no matter how short, would be great.

Shell+Bell · February 2014

My goal will be the same as last time. 1 year or until baby gets teeth. Which ever comes first. I'm terrified of biting. I have late teethers though. I made it to 11 months with DS2 when he self weaned because I was pg and my milk changed. He got his first tooth at 13 months.

typeset · February 2014

I EBF my son for six months and weaned him at a year. Same plan goes for this one. I was so done by the end.

caycelee · February 2014

My goal is to BF for at least one year...continue to pump afterwards but wean off the breast. I'm hoping the BF'ing just goes ok, I've heard a lot of complications and just want to be successful at it first and foremost!

Hallil · February 2014

I bf'd my daughter for almost 2.5 years. I didn't have a set goal in mind when we started, I knew I wanted to and I would make every effort to, but I wasn't heart set on a certain time frame. I had to stop nursing when I got pregnant because it hurt too bad and a small part of me wanted my body to myself for just a couple months. (Myself minus LO growing in womb ha!) This time around I will take the same plan, do it, if it works, for as long as we both like.

Mimaloo · February 2014

My goal is to BF until the kid's teeth come in and then pump after that for up to two years. That's my ideal plan anyway.

mirdamae03 · February 2014

Mimaloo said:

My goal is to BF until the kid's teeth come in and then pump after that for up to two years. That's my ideal plan anyway.

Unless the teeth freak you out or something, there's really no need to stop nursing. Most kids aren't biters at least not while nursing. I pumped 3x/d while at work from 2 months-1 year, and it is a PITA. I'd much rather pop the kid on the boob than pump.

bumpuser9353653 · February 2014

stina76 said:
My goal is 3-4 months, but we will see how it goes. I have to go back to work in the fall and my school is not the most pleasant environment for pumping. We only have 2 staff bathrooms and they are coed. Yuck! Also, everyone and their mother has a key to the classrooms so anyone can walk in at anytime. So I have zero privacy!

@stina76 - does your school make you pump in the bathroom? I know VA requires employers to provide a private, locking space for women to pump. Not sure where you're at, but worth looking into.

Also, in response to the OP, I plan on BFing for at least a year, just like with DD1. I went back to work at 3 months and pumped to keep her solely on BM. She gradually self weaned at 14 months. At that point she was getting mostly solid food and just nursing at breakfast and at bed time, so it was a good time for both of us. And I was ready to have my body back to myself at that point ;-)

mmks · February 2014

Mimaloo said:

My goal is to BF until the kid's teeth come in and then pump after that for up to two years. That's my ideal plan anyway.

Not sure what teeth have to do with anything...I nursed my son even when he had almost a full set of teeth and he did not bite me once ever! I know it can happen, but for us it was totally not an issue at all.

sthomas1222 · February 2014

RugbyMamma said:

My goal is 3-4 months, but we will see how it goes. I have to go back to work in the fall and my school is not the most pleasant environment for pumping. We only have 2 staff bathrooms and they are coed. Yuck! Also, everyone and their mother has a key to the classrooms so anyone can walk in at anytime. So I have zero privacy!
@stina76 - does your school make you pump in the bathroom? I know VA requires employers to provide a private, locking space for women to pump. Not sure where you're at, but worth looking into. Also, in response to the OP, I plan on BFing for at least a year, just like with DD1. I went back to work at 3 months and pumped to keep her solely on BM. She gradually self weaned at 14 months. At that point she was getting mostly solid food and just nursing at breakfast and at bed time, so it was a good time for both of us. And I was ready to have my body back to myself at that point ;-)

Federal law actually requires that the employer must provide a space other than a bathroom, that can lock, unless they have under 50 employees and have filed and been approved for an exemption.

Teeth and BFing: https://www.llli.org/faq/teeth.html

Mimaloo · February 2014

I just assumed teeth means that they'll bite. I admittedly know nothing about BF other than that it's great.

I signed up for a BF class - DH and I are going next Wednesday so hopefully I'll know more after that

rcbuko · February 2014

I BF DD1 for 13 months, DD2 for 16 months and DS exclusively for 9 1/2 months and made it to 11 months with formula supplementation. I always have a goal of a year and will have the same goal this time.

bumpuser9353653 · February 2014

@mimaloo - If they bite, they are probably just about done eating and are getting distracted. My DD got her first tooth at 7 months and only ever "tested them out" on me once or twice. Just remove their mouth for a second or two before re-latching and calmly say "no biting". They figure out pretty quickly not to gnaw on mom if they want milk. ;-)

Xath · February 2014

RugbyMamma said:

@mimaloo - If they bite, they are probably just about done eating and are getting distracted. My DD got her first tooth at 7 months and only ever "tested them out" on me once or twice. Just remove their mouth for a second or two before re-latching and calmly say "no biting". They figure out pretty quickly not to gnaw on mom if they want milk. ;-)

Yeah, and also, they can definitely bite you before the teeth come in, and it still hurts like heck. If it's a behavior your LO develops at any point, you'll deal with it when it happens, whether they've got the teeth or not. What worked for us was an immediate removal from the breast after a bite with a verbal "no biting." They catch on quickly.

danabsd · February 2014

@mimaloo - If they bite, they are probably just about done eating and are getting distracted. My DD got her first tooth at 7 months and only ever "tested them out" on me once or twice. Just remove their mouth for a second or two before re-latching and calmly say "no biting". They figure out pretty quickly not to gnaw on mom if they want milk. ;-)

Yup. I only got bitten maybe twice before she learned. R

mrt · February 2014

Ideally I'd like to bf for a year. I only made it 7 weeks with my son., but it was miserable the whole time. I really felt I bonded with him more after i stopped. I was really hard on myself for stopping. I will be more realistic and stop sooner if it is not working this time.

jntaylor11 · March 2014

I just weaned ds this week, so we went 2.5 yrs. I'd love to go as long as we can with this one. If we have a third & it is closer together than these two, it may get cut shorter. I don't really have a desire to tandem nurse. Ds1 was mspi so it was the best option. If ds2 can have cows milk then I won't feel bad weaning him before I weaned ds1.

fatbarbie0226 · March 2014

Shorty self weaned at 13 months. We gradually nursed less and less until we skipped a day, then I tried to nurse her the day after and she didn't want anything to do with it. I plan on doing the same with this one, but I will also have DH feed him a bottle of pumped BM once a day. Shorty never took a bottle and it was kinda tough on me to always be with her no matter what. It would be nice to have DH feed the baby once in a while if I go out for a ladies night or something.

tjkdlhb · March 2014

Mimaloo said:

I just assumed teeth means that they'll bite. I admittedly know nothing about BF other than that it's great.

I signed up for a BF class - DH and I are going next Wednesday so hopefully I'll know more after that

DD never bit. I nursed her until she was 16 months.

hfooter · March 2014

I hope to go as long as I can. Trying not to set any expectations for myself as I know for some it's easy and others it's not.

TaylorHam86 · March 2014

fatbarbie0226 said:
Shorty never took a bottle and it was kinda tough on me to always be with her no matter what. It would be nice to have DH feed the baby once in a while if I go out for a ladies night or something.

Yikes, I never thought about the fact that LO might not take to a bottle.. I sure hope he does. Mama has places to go!

stina76 · March 2014

RugbyMamma said:

My goal is 3-4 months, but we will see how it goes. I have to go back to work in the fall and my school is not the most pleasant environment for pumping. We only have 2 staff bathrooms and they are coed. Yuck! Also, everyone and their mother has a key to the classrooms so anyone can walk in at anytime. So I have zero privacy!
@stina76 - does your school make you pump in the bathroom? I know VA requires employers to provide a private, locking space for women to pump. Not sure where you're at, but worth looking into. Also, in response to the OP, I plan on BFing for at least a year, just like with DD1. I went back to work at 3 months and pumped to keep her solely on BM. She gradually self weaned at 14 months. At that point she was getting mostly solid food and just nursing at breakfast and at bed time, so it was a good time for both of us. And I was ready to have my body back to myself at that point ;-)

@RugbyMamma - You would surprised by ALL of the things by law that "should" be happening in schools. Unfortunately, my school is in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Chicago in a very old run down building. We don't have chairs for all the students if they would happy to all show up (never happens, but...) So the private, locking space sounds great, but not going to happen for me! : )

cindythelou · March 2014

My goal is at least a year.

daizijayne · March 2014

My goal is a year. Beyond that, however long it continues to be mutually agreeable. DS just weaned back in December, just shy of 30 months. We were both ready. I wouldn't change a thing about how it worked out.

TecheB · March 2014

I ebf my son until he was one. After one only nursed before nap and bed. I wanted him to self wean and he still hadn't by two and a half! I went out of town to help my best friend with her newborn and he weaned then. I don't think he would have ever weaned if I hadn't left for a few days! Plan on doing the same with this baby. Ebf for a year and nurse to sleep if still wanted/needed.

Mimaloo · March 2014

stina76 said:

RugbyMamma said:

My goal is 3-4 months, but we will see how it goes. I have to go back to work in the fall and my school is not the most pleasant environment for pumping. We only have 2 staff bathrooms and they are coed. Yuck! Also, everyone and their mother has a key to the classrooms so anyone can walk in at anytime. So I have zero privacy!
@stina76 - does your school make you pump in the bathroom? I know VA requires employers to provide a private, locking space for women to pump. Not sure where you're at, but worth looking into. Also, in response to the OP, I plan on BFing for at least a year, just like with DD1. I went back to work at 3 months and pumped to keep her solely on BM. She gradually self weaned at 14 months. At that point she was getting mostly solid food and just nursing at breakfast and at bed time, so it was a good time for both of us. And I was ready to have my body back to myself at that point ;-)

@RugbyMamma - You would surprised by ALL of the things by law that "should" be happening in schools. Unfortunately, my school is in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Chicago in a very old run down building. We don't have chairs for all the students if they would happy to all show up (never happens, but...) So the private, locking space sounds great, but not going to happen for me! : )

I'm not surprised. I work in a school that caters to the elite and we barely follow laws. I doubt I'll have a private space.

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