My breastfeeding journey has been up and down. I've shared most of it already, but just a quick recap. After a very rocky start with dd1, including formula intolerances, poor milk transfer, many insane pumping/feeding/nursing schedules, and a hospitalization for failure to thrive, she finally figured out the boob at 3 months old. After that, she became a boob fanatic and wouldn't take vottles, pacifiers, or teethers, only boob. I THINK she's finally weaned herself now (at 3 yrs old and change).
I nursed DD1 throughout DD2s pregnancy and tandem nursed both until just recently. I had a weird issue with her where there's a duct literally RIGHT behind my left areola and if it's too full, she cannot latch until I empty it a bit. After the first few weeks when my supply regulated, it didnt get so full and that issue went away. Dd2 is still nursing at 19 months and I expect her to go past 2 years (Considering her current catchphrase is "I want MILKY! Pease! Milky ALL DAY!!)
My advice. 1)stay away from the crazies. You know, the formula is evil, your baby will die of cancer by age two, you'll overfeed and stretch their stomach and then they'll be obese...people. Breastfeeding groups can be great, but they also tend to go overboard. 2) Locate your resources ahead of time. We got lucky and our peds office has a lactation consultant in office...and one that was knowledgeable about both pumping and supplementing, but you dont want to be frantically googling at 4am when your baby wont eat. 3) Spring for the fancy breast pump. The pump I started out with was not good enough at all. Its worth it to get a battery pack and/or vehicle adapter and a hands free bra. I've had to pump in the parking lot at the grocery store and once while my husband was driving, and I know women who pump while driving to work using some type of hands free system...which sounds crazy to me, but you do what you've gotta to get your baby fed. If you will be pumping/stashing, get a deep freeze. Your milk will stay good longer and they keep things frozen longer should there be a power outage.
@Boobopgirl I second the advice about staying away from the crazies. If your child isn't thriving on BF alone, please seek help and look into other methods of feeding. I find that some groups can be a little bit too extreme.
Having said that, finding a supportive tribe is so helpful in your BF journey. I was surrounded by fellow BF'ers. My entire family were BF'ers, my mother's group and many of my friends. If you aren't as fortunate as I was, there are great FB groups to join. I highly recommend the Australian Breastfeeding Group on FB.
@dajocl- it's definitely not always that way. I pumped from like the first hour with my NICU baby, around the clock and barely made enough to keep up with her. When we went home from the hospital a week later I had a hard time keeping up with that schedule and my PPD got horrendous, for my sanity I thought maybe I could stop pumping with every wakeup overnight and started taking fenugreek. I then wound up with mastitis which totally killed whatever supply I wound up just switching to formula by 6 weeks.
Both times for me attempting to EBF didn't work, pumping barely worked and I didn't make enough to supply over half of my DD's needs EPing by like week 3. This time I'm really struggling with the idea (because formula is expensive) but I'm considering not even trying...idk, it was very hard on me emotionally and mentally both times "giving up" or "failing". I have 2 very healthy little girls who were barely ever sick as infants and were mostly FF...that's just what I keep reminding myself.
I was creeping the May17 breastfeeding thread and noticed just how many times they seem to be pumping right off the bat. It seems very intimidating and almost robotic. How did you maintain optimism and still find time to squish the squish???
I was creeping the May17 breastfeeding thread and noticed just how many times they seem to be pumping right off the bat. It seems very intimidating and almost robotic. How did you maintain optimism and still find time to squish the squish???
i am not going to lie, it is. you need to find a balance. bc if you do too much you will resent every part of it. i did it 2x a day (on top of general feeding) and that was a lot. not sure about these women's stories but i assume if they are doing it a lot they are pumping instead of BFing?
some women dont have a choice, like their baby won't latch or pump makes them produce more or their nipples are inverted or another random reason. so they have to pump instead. which hats off to them. i would throw in the towel if i had to pump every time.
A little of both I think. I don't understand the difference still or why you'd want to do one over the other
Some woman have issues with latch or have to know exactly what their baby is eating in a feeding because of issues gaining weight. SIL had to exclusively for the first couple weeks because her son was losing too much weight. So she had to know exactly how many ounces he was taking in at a feeding. She's back to nursing now that he's where he should be
@PizzaMonster3 I am a first time mom (this will be my first). I will have to pump because I will have to work and baby will be at daycare, but I plan on BFing at night, in the mornings, on the weekends. When I am with LO I plan on EBF. Those are my plans, but I am open to just pumping or formula, IF this process doesn't work for us.
@PizzaMonster3 I had 3 exclusive pumpers in my June BMB due to various struggles with LO nursing at the boob. You really have to be committed to that, they were pumping 8x per day. I would've lost my mind but they powered through.
TTC x 1.5 years.
Acupuncture, Femera x3 cyles, and HSG. BFP in September 2014, DS born June 2015. TTC x2 months. BFP January 2017.
DS was 8lbs6oz at birth and has held steady at a high percentile his whole life, so I was very fortunate from that side. For me, the struggle was that I couldn't get him to latch properly, plus I don't have inverted nipples, but they aren't super big, so I think they were hard to latch too. I also met with my bestfriend's aunt who is a LC while home for the holidays and she said that it seems that he had a bit of a tongue tie. Anyway, I had big dreams of BFing for 1 year because "breast is best" and it saves so much $$$ and there's that bond. I went to a class beforehand at my hospital, which was absolutely fabulous and then attended a breastfeeding clinic 3 times within the first 3 weeks, plus was at the hospital weighing DS every 3 days to ensure that he was gaining weight. For me, the pain from a poor latch was unbearable. I had cracked and bleeding nipples and would cringe and cry in pain every time DS was at the breast and would dread each feeding. I also decided to start practicing with my pump early on since I was going back to work at 12 weeks and wanted to build a freezer stash, plus maybe give my poor nips a break, but the pump was even worse and I ended up all black and blue with bruises. I ended up using a shield to give my poor nips a break, which was great, but when I went to work and DS started to take a bottle regularly, he was no longer interested in the breast, I think because the shield made my flow a lot slower and made BFing a much harder job than a bottle. This time, I'm planning to try to EBF again, but I won't allow myself to struggle through it for so long this time. I'm also planning on getting this one checked for lip/tongue ties early on if she is struggling to latch and am hoping to stay away from a shield this time.
@dajocl- it's definitely not always that way. I pumped from like the first hour with my NICU baby, around the clock and barely made enough to keep up with her. When we went home from the hospital a week later I had a hard time keeping up with that schedule and my PPD got horrendous, for my sanity I thought maybe I could stop pumping with every wakeup overnight and started taking fenugreek. I then wound up with mastitis which totally killed whatever supply I wound up just switching to formula by 6 weeks.
Both times for me attempting to EBF didn't work, pumping barely worked and I didn't make enough to supply over half of my DD's needs EPing by like week 3. This time I'm really struggling with the idea (because formula is expensive) but I'm considering not even trying...idk, it was very hard on me emotionally and mentally both times "giving up" or "failing". I have 2 very healthy little girls who were barely ever sick as infants and were mostly FF...that's just what I keep reminding myself.
I refuse to pump again. It was too hard. If the sns doesn't work I'll be doing straight formula and not feeling bad about it for a second.
Same. The constant pumping and stupid SNS system was too much of an emotional mind shit storm. I've already told DH I'll do 3 days of trying but if this kid isn't 100% on the boob by the end of 3 days trying I'm done.
Re: Breastfeeding & Pumping - Everything you want to share, know and ask
I nursed DD1 throughout DD2s pregnancy and tandem nursed both until just recently. I had a weird issue with her where there's a duct literally RIGHT behind my left areola and if it's too full, she cannot latch until I empty it a bit. After the first few weeks when my supply regulated, it didnt get so full and that issue went away. Dd2 is still nursing at 19 months and I expect her to go past 2 years (Considering her current catchphrase is "I want MILKY! Pease! Milky ALL DAY!!)
My advice.
1)stay away from the crazies. You know, the formula is evil, your baby will die of cancer by age two, you'll overfeed and stretch their stomach and then they'll be obese...people. Breastfeeding groups can be great, but they also tend to go overboard.
2) Locate your resources ahead of time. We got lucky and our peds office has a lactation consultant in office...and one that was knowledgeable about both pumping and supplementing, but you dont want to be frantically googling at 4am when your baby wont eat.
3) Spring for the fancy breast pump. The pump I started out with was not good enough at all. Its worth it to get a battery pack and/or vehicle adapter and a hands free bra. I've had to pump in the parking lot at the grocery store and once while my husband was driving, and I know women who pump while driving to work using some type of hands free system...which sounds crazy to me, but you do what you've gotta to get your baby fed. If you will be pumping/stashing, get a deep freeze. Your milk will stay good longer and they keep things frozen longer should there be a power outage.
@Boobopgirl I second the advice about staying away from the crazies. If your child isn't thriving on BF alone, please seek help and look into other methods of feeding. I find that some groups can be a little bit too extreme.
Having said that, finding a supportive tribe is so helpful in your BF journey. I was surrounded by fellow BF'ers. My entire family were BF'ers, my mother's group and many of my friends. If you aren't as fortunate as I was, there are great FB groups to join. I highly recommend the Australian Breastfeeding Group on FB.
ETA: Group is called "Breastfeeders in Australia"
**June Siggy Challenge: You Had ONE Job!**
LO#2 EDD October 18th
Both times for me attempting to EBF didn't work, pumping barely worked and I didn't make enough to supply over half of my DD's needs EPing by like week 3. This time I'm really struggling with the idea (because formula is expensive) but I'm considering not even trying...idk, it was very hard on me emotionally and mentally both times "giving up" or "failing". I have 2 very healthy little girls who were barely ever sick as infants and were mostly FF...that's just what I keep reminding myself.
May Siggy Challenge: Parenting Fails
May Siggy Challenge: Parenting Fails
BFP in September 2014, DS born June 2015.
TTC x2 months.
BFP January 2017.
Anyway, I had big dreams of BFing for 1 year because "breast is best" and it saves so much $$$ and there's that bond. I went to a class beforehand at my hospital, which was absolutely fabulous and then attended a breastfeeding clinic 3 times within the first 3 weeks, plus was at the hospital weighing DS every 3 days to ensure that he was gaining weight. For me, the pain from a poor latch was unbearable. I had cracked and bleeding nipples and would cringe and cry in pain every time DS was at the breast and would dread each feeding. I also decided to start practicing with my pump early on since I was going back to work at 12 weeks and wanted to build a freezer stash, plus maybe give my poor nips a break, but the pump was even worse and I ended up all black and blue with bruises. I ended up using a shield to give my poor nips a break, which was great, but when I went to work and DS started to take a bottle regularly, he was no longer interested in the breast, I think because the shield made my flow a lot slower and made BFing a much harder job than a bottle. This time, I'm planning to try to EBF again, but I won't allow myself to struggle through it for so long this time. I'm also planning on getting this one checked for lip/tongue ties early on if she is struggling to latch and am hoping to stay away from a shield this time.
Baby Boy due October 2017