Breastfeeding moms, was it easy for you?

I know I am asking for it with this question!

When I was pregnant I planned to exclusively breastfeed my son. I had so things working against me at the time (he was premature, I had an emergency c-section, his blood sugar levels dropped and he was put on formula before I even got to see him for the first time). I did everything I could and worked with some excellent lacation consultants, but ultimately switched to formula at three weeks.

So my question is, did breastfeeding come naturally to you or did you have any complications? If so, how long did you breastfeed?

With my first baby, I went into parenthood with the idea that breastfeeding was "natural" so I never even considered how hard it would actually be. My original intent was to breast feed for 6 months since that was the recommendation of those times (my "baby" is now 28 and a mom herself). Labor and delivery went smoothly, she was a beautiful baby and we were very happy until the first time the nurse brought her to me for feeding. This was back in the days when babies usually stayed in the nursery at the hospital and were brought to moms for feedings. "Rooming in" required a private room which insurance would not pay for. I had no idea what I was doing and neither did my baby. Nursing sessions ended in tears for both me and her. We worked at it in the hospital and when we went home. A lactation consultant came to my house twice to help with different holds and to work on getting her to open her mouth wide enough for a proper latch. Exhaustion, frustration, despair, and worry was our life for almost 2 full weeks. I succumbed to the temptation of giving her one of the bottles of prepared formula the hospital sent home with us or using the powdered formula samples we had received in the mail on numerous occassions for fear she would starve. Then, miracle of miracles, she latched on properly and would nurse for 2 straight minutes then 3 than 4 until she was nursing properly and getting enough. I nearly folded several times, but my mom was there to encourage me during the day and my husband encouraged me during the night. I ultimately nursed her until 5 months when I went back to work and resumed my college courses. My next 2 babies were born like they knew how to nurse and we had no problems. My second I nursed only for 3 months before I began my student teaching, but my 3rd I nursed until she self-weaned beginning at 11 months. Our youngest child was conceived unexpectedly when I had been taking birth control pills for 11 years. Her siblings were 18, 15, and 12 when she was born. I did love to breast feed and intended to nurse her until she stopped. It was like starting all over when she was born. She was a terrible nurser and was so sleepy with a tiny little mouth she could barely latch on properly. We struggled for about 5 weeks until I felt as though I could say she was finally nursing well. If she had been my first, I would have quit, but I knew it could be hard so we kept at it. She began to self-wean at 14 months. When my grandson was born, he and my daughter had breast feeding problems. I had been there and done that, so I was able to walk her through some things to try and after a few days he began to do well on the breast. He was nursed or fed pumped breast milk until he was about 8 months old then my daughter weaned to formula because of her work schedule. She teaches 3rd grade and was finding it hard to find the time or the place to pump enough at school.

I got extremely sore and scabbed up the first few weeks. I had a spinal headache from the epi I got at the hospital so I did not have proper training at the hospital for latching. I ended up pumping for a few weeks and bottle feeding her the pumped milk. When she was about a month and she was used to the correct latch b/c of the bottle nipple and my boobs were used to a different sensation because of the pump, we tried again. Been going strong ever since. I work full time and go to school part time so I nurse when I'm with her and pump while I'm away. She has never gotten an ounce of fomurla yet, to this day.

It was pretty easy. Certainly easier than formula. Some initial soreness, overproduction, and teething issues of course. She recently weaned just past her second birthday. I worked & pumped for over a year. :)

I'm not going to lie - I never wanted to breastfeed my son. It just seemed "dirty" to me. BUT - I did do it (and my opinion of it obviously has changed as well). Anything that I could do to give my son the best food he could get I would do, even if I was uncomfortable. It came very easy to my son and I - he learned quickly (by the second day he was a pro). At first (for like the first month) he liked it best using the football hold, and as he got bigger we moved to the normal position. Then, he caught this major cold last month and couldn't nurse because it was hard for him to breathe while nursing, so I moved him to bottles and now he's decided he just wants formula. I've given up on nursing. I think he weaned himself completely at almost 4 1/2 months.

i was so not a natural at breastfeeding! i tried, but i would watch my aunt who had 2 kids around the same time that 2 of mine were. she made it look so easy and i just struggled. i really thought something was wrong with me. i didnt breastfeed for long because i got so discouraged. i know it wasnt fair to my babies for me to give up so easily, but despite what the others on y answers that preach breastfeeding say, it really isnt right for everyone. all you can do is try.

With my first son, it was hard, but only for a few weeks. We had latch issues, and I was very sore. Once we figured out latching, and that I am allergic to lanolin, things got better, and by six weeks we were nursing strong.

With my second son it was easy from the first day. He was great, and I was able to pick up and nurse him without any soreness or engorgement from the first day.

I nurse my kids until they're ready to wean, so at least a couple of years each.

I breastfed for 15 months with my daughter and plan on doing it again (36 weeks pregnant with #2). In the beginning it did hurt quite a bit but I was determined and I also had scabs but once I got past that it was easy. My nipples toughened up and it never hurt after that. The football hold worked best for me. I breastfed everywhere and anywhere and was glad I never had to measure ounces, formula, water, or whatever. I did a clogged duct once and I just had to massage it out and put cold and hot packs on it for a few days and it went away.

My son latched on like a champ from the first minute. I didn't realize how lucky I was until I heard about all the mothers who try to breastfeed but have problems with it.

I breastfed him exclusively (or he was fed breastmilk from a bottle) for six months, and after that, he received formula and breastmilk. I was working at the time, and I wasn't able to pump enough for him to have breastmilk at daycare.

My plan was breast feeding only...I didn't even own a bottle! The lactation consultants said my twins were naturals (and they were) but I was producing zero milk! The night I brought them home from the hospital, I knew something was wrong. They were screaming (starving)....Thank goodness the hospital sends you home with that little nipple that attaches to the premade formula! That was the first night....The next day my OBGYN gave me a RX for something to make me lactate (can't remember what it's called) and I pumped and pumped and fed and supplemented....I never produced more than 2 oz at a time (certainly not enough to feed twins!) I continued formula feeding and adding the liquid gold that I produced for 6 weeks....I just wish someone would have let me know this was a possibility...I was under the impression if you tried hard enough everyone could breastfeed....that's just not the case....

breastfeeding came naturally to me, and especially my daughter. She was a pro from the go.

It was Dr.'s telling me that protein in my milk was making her sick...and did not educate me on how simple it was to fix.

It was also my lack of educating myself on breastfeeding to know that I could still do it.

It was just...when you have a sick baby and you put your faith in Dr.'s...things can go awry.

It sucks when you learn this after the fact.

i had the same problem, well for slightly diff. reasons. but same general idea. i wanted to exclusively breastfeed until i went back to work. but do to health prob. concerning both my son and i i coulnt even try to breast feed for 4 days.by then it was so hard, and we went through several lactation consultants but nothing worked...so i decided i would rather see him happy and full on formula instead of starving and miserable because he woulnt feed from me. i feel i did what was best for my son and he is a happy healthy 2 month old now so i dont regret giving him formula, i wish it would have worked out to breastfeed him but it didnt and so there's no reason to feel ashamed or guilty

Breastfeeding was easy for me. I breastfed my daughter for 7 months then I had to stop because I found out I was pregnant. I just had my son March 4. I plan on breastfeeding him for a year.

like anything worth doing, it was hard work. but i am sticking with it.

I exclusively breastfed my first for six months and then added a bottle of formula now and then, but continued to breastfeed him until he was ten-months-old.

It definitely did not come naturally for either of us at first, and my hospital had a horrible lactation consultant. In fact, it took five days for my colostrum to switch to breast milk. It was probably around five weeks or so that everything just clicked. Five to six weeks seems to be the magic time that nursing, and a lot of other mothering things, suddenly becomes easier.

I had twin girls in December and planned to breastfeed them as well. This time is was somewhat easier because I knew what I was doing, but, of course, they had to learn. (I also started pumping with a Medela double-pump almost immediately, but it still took five very long days for my milk to come in.) At their two-week appointment, the pediatrician suggested giving them each three bottles a day to get their weight up, so I ended up pumping almost non-stop until their next appointment so those bottles could be breastmilk. They did end up having a couple of bottles of formula when I was just so exhausted and stressed that I couldn't produce enough for both of them. From four-weeks-old on, though, they've been nursed exclusively.

And just like before, around six weeks, everything just got easier.

With my first I transferred from a homebirth to a hospital and found an incredibly hostile pediatrician and neonatologist (separate doctors). The OB was great, as was the intern in triage who actually kept visiting me and went out of her way to make sure I had the right forms, etc.

I had my son taken away, suctioned repeatedly. I believed them when they said I couldn't nurse because he was breathing too fast. I didn't breastfeed until almost 20 hours later, they couldn't "find" a spare pump for 18 hours.

They put him on an IV without my permission and I allowed it to continue because they were constantly threatening me. What I didn't know was that they were also giving him glucose. They gave him too much of the wrong kind of glucose. He GAINED weight, I think it was almost a pound the first day. His kidneys couldn't clear the liquid fast enough, they told me his kideys had failed (they were fine you just can't dump fluid and sugar into a baby like that). They had to give him more medications.

I had to weigh him before and after each feed to see exactly how much he was getting because of the artificially high glucose levels. Then I had to top him off with pumped milk and sometimes formula (which I always just dumped down his front). Then after nursing, cup feed, I would go pump for 20 minutes. If I was lucky I could go to the bathroom before it was time to start again.

As my stress increased he went from being hard to latch on to not getting any milk -this was probably because I wasn't getting any letdowns. I was also using a nipple shield which is one of the worst things possible to do before the milk comes it, and probably should never be used ever.

The hospital ped made the hospital social worker call CPS over 10 times because CPS wouldn't agree to do a home visit. They finally agreed just to shut him up. So I had them visit twice the first week I was home because their nurse couldn't visit the first time.

After 5 days I it was the weekend and the weekend staff was less insane. I finally got a keycard so I could leave the locked ward. They found me a bed, I finally got a little sleep. When they said I could leave I nursed him "one last time" before we went and with no one checking how much he got. He got 6oz in one feed (which is unreal for a baby that size).

To get out of the hospital I had to agree to four doctors appointments the first week and to see the outpatient lactation consultant -she was awesome. I saw her I think 4 times that week. I had to get my son off the shield, it was a hard battle. Then all of a sudden he wouldn't nurse without it. Then I had extreme pain, I almost couldn't bring myself to nurse at all, my nipples cracked. That was the longest night of my life waiting for the nursing clinic to open. I was there when they opened the doors. We fixed it and it was ok for a day or so, then I had to go back and get more help.

I fired the pediatrician. I fired the doctor a few weeks later when she finally came back and I stopped seeing her replacement. She said to night wean a 7 week old?!

I fought, and I fought, and I fought. I would NOT take no for an answer. I knew all problems were temporary and fixable.

I am still breastfeeding my first son -he's just over 2. I am also nursing his younger brother who is 4 months. I nursed all throughout the pregnancy. I had no problems with nursing the second time.

It can take up to 8 weeks for a nursing pair to get the hang of it. It can take up to 8 weeks for a baby to learn to nurse. Women in this society are continually lied to about breastfeeding by medical professionals. They are given a million and one false reasons to stop, horrible advice that leads to poor latch and not enough milk getting to the baby.

http://www.wiessinger.baka.com/bfing/tro...
"My Baby Just Doesn't Get It"
漏2000 Diane Wiessinger, MS, IBCLC 136 Ellis Hollow Creek Road Ithaca, NY 14850

There are lots of reasons why a baby can't seem to get the hang of latching on and nursing well at first. While your baby learns how, you need to: 1) keep him fed, 2) keep your milk supply going, 3) keep in touch with breastfeeding specialists... and 4) keep the faith! Your baby will learn how. These babies did.

Emily just didn't get it. She would root, but she didn't seem to understand latching on. Like almost all non-nursing babies, she could suck just fine on a finger. Her mother worked on positioning, and began using a rental pump to make sure her milk supply would build whether or not Emily began nursing soon. She bottle-fed Emily, using formula to supplement her still-low supply. Over the next few weeks, she tried different positions, a nipple shield, a feeding tube, and finally just stopped trying for a week. "Look, Emily," father said to daughter, "The whole world sucks. There's no reason you can't." A little more time with the nipple shield, and Emily started nursing. It took her a bit longer to become fully competent, so her mother continued to pump and offer an evening bottle. By 6 weeks, the formula and the breast pump were gone.

Daniel just didn't get it. He would try and try to latch on, then give up in frustration. After just one visit from a lactation consultant, Daniel and his mom "got it together". It was a simple matter of positioning.

Timothy just didn't get it. His mother had "easy" nipples and plenty of milk, but Timothy couldn't stay latched on at first. Even though she could sometimes pump 10 oz at a sitting, once Timothy learned to latch he could suck and suck, and not swallow a drop! Over the first month, Timothy's nursing skills kept improving, and he began swallowing sometimes. By 7 weeks, Timothy was pretty competent most of the time. His mother pumped for an evening bottle for a few weeks, but then Timothy started refusing it. The boy who started out not knowing how to nurse ended up not liking bottles!

[...]

Minda just didn't get it. Her mother had large, soft breasts, with nipples that didn't stand out at all. Minda's mom tried many positions, a nipple shield, finger-feeding, bottle-feeding, and by 5 weeks was ready to quit. She tried a feeding tube at the breast as a last resort, and it turned out to be the "latch on here" signal Minda had been looking for. It took another week of ups and downs before Minda nursed consistently and easily.

Alex just didn't get it.He would fight and cry at the breast, and his mother's milk supply dropped really low. His mother finger-fed him with tubing, alternating time on her finger with offering the tubing at her breast. She used a hand pump, and supplemented her low supply with formula. By about 4 weeks, Alex would latch on some of the time. Suddenly, things began to click. His mother continued to use tubing at her breast to supplement him while her own supply increased. From the day he really began nursing, Alex sat in his mother's arms like a different baby - relaxed and content, as if he'd found heaven. Alex loved being a nursing baby.


http://www.kellymom.com/newman/13still_m...
1. Women with flat or inverted nipples cannot breastfeed.

Not true! Babies do not breastfeed on nipples, they breastfeed on the breast. Though it may be easier for a baby to latch on to a breast with a prominent nipple, it is not necessary for nipples to stick out. A proper start will usually prevent problems and mothers with any shaped nipples can breastfeed perfectly adequately. In the past, a nipple shield was frequently suggested to get the baby to take the breast. This gadget should not be used, especially in the first few days! Though it may seem a solution, its use can result in poor feeding and severe weight loss, and makes it even more difficult to get the baby to take the breast. (See handout #8 Finger Feeding). If the baby does not take the breast at first, with proper help, he will often take the breast later. Breasts also change in the first few weeks, and as long as the mother maintains a good milk supply, the baby will usually latch on by 8 weeks of age no matter what, but get help and the baby may latch on before. See handout #26 When a Baby Refuses to Latch On.

It was pretty easy for me with my son BUT I was extrememly informed, like sickeningly so. I imersed myself in everything I could find during pregnancy and after he was born because I was going to make it work. I let my Dr and the nurses know that I *would* be nursing and there *would not* be anything else in his mouth.
We've been nursing strong almost 18 months and we'll continue as long as he wants.
Good luck! I hope it works out this time

I'm sorry to hear you had so much trouble. I hope it won't discourage you from giving it another go if you plan on having more children.

Breastfeeding came so naturally to me, with both children, that I almost feel guilty when I read about the tremendous struggles that other women go through. I give props to all those mommas who sought help, and stuck through the rough times.

My first son latched on like an old pro, and nursed like second nature right from the get-go. I weaned him early, at six months, due to poor medical advice and my naiveity. I really regret it.

My second got the hang of it right away too, and has been going strong for over two months. I am going to let him self-wean, even if I have to nurse through toddlerhood.

Most of the problems were on my end- I was tired, not eating well, a bit depressed, and had an older child to care for. Getting through the on-demand, round-the-clock feedings was tough for me. Very tough. But I made it over the hump; he is gaining weight and thriving! I never had trouble with milk supply, despite my poor diet and fatigue. I believe that's a myth.

I am glad you gave it a shot. I hope you don't get a lot of judgemental answers. It is possible to re-lactate, if you'd ever be interested. You could also look in to milk banks.

Keep your head up; better luck in the future!

it came pretty naturally to me. i had a c section as well. i specifically told them not to formula feed my baby. he cried with hunger for 1 hour while they stiched me back up as i would not allow a bottle. finally i came to see him and they plopped him on my boob and he latched on right away.

i have mastitis now, as a complication of breastfeeding, but i continue to do it. i'm taking a safe prescribed antibiotic that is secreted through breastmilk but is ok for baby.

he is one month old today and i'm still breastfeeding.

With my first daughter, breastfeeding did not come easily for us. I got some not-so-great information (plus a bottle and a pacifier!) at the hospital and we struggled to work on the latch for 6 weeks.

My second daughter latched on just minutes after birth and nursed like a champ with absolutely no problems from the very beginning.

The little one is 2 and still nursing. The older one nursed twice that length.