parents who breast feed?

did your baby take right away? if not how did you deal with it? I am determined to BF an i hear stories of how they do not take it and you have to sit there for hours trying. I do not want to give the baby a bottle because of nipple confusion.

Re: parents who breast feed?

Miranda did but my neighbor had a daughter that didn't latch right away. She had to see a lactation consultant but it all worked out in the end.
I think its great that you want to BF and just remember if its tough for any reason there is so much help available. You don't have to give in and use formula unless you decide you want/need to.

Re: parents who breast feed?

Justin took to it like a champ right away. I didn' t give him a pacifier in the beginning. I will be BF for 11 months tomorrow! I am very proud of myself. It was alot of hard work pumping at work but I did it!
You will do great too!

Re: parents who breast feed?

thank you. this is why I am hoping to get a private room in the hospitial. I do not think I would be able to concentrate sharing a room.

Re: parents who breast feed?

My little one had no interest in bf'ing and I was devastated. We had a lc come to our house to help, but no luck. I decided to express and feed him my bm and now, 8 weeks on he only has my bm in bottles. I pump 3/4 times a day and feel like a real success after the heartbreak of not being able to bf. I still try to get Noah to bf every day, but am happy with my decision to feed him this way.

If your baby doesn't take to it right away, just keep trying and don't br scared to ask for help!

Re: parents who breast feed?

When I started to BF Julia in the hospital she didnt take right away, I just had to work on it with her and with the help of the LC. I pumped in the begining while I BF her just to help my milk come in more. I think I did it like that for 2 weeks and then she didnt have any problems latching on. BF is a very patient thing, some moms think that if there baby doesnt latch right away, then they cant do it. You really have to work at it if you want to feed your baby that way. I hope it works out for you!

Re: parents who breast feed?

I was lucky to have had him latch right away (the nurses couldn't believe he was my first) I was lucky though because my Mom BF me, my brother and sister. I just let my Mom help me and it went so smoothly.

Re: parents who breast feed?

Re: parents who breast feed?

Re: parents who breast feed?

Re: parents who breast feed?

My best advice is try o BF within 10 min of giving birth, this is what I did with all 3 of my kids and they all latched on so well and BF'd them for their first year, none of them ever had formula and my docs always attricute it to BFing as soon as they enter the world.

Re: parents who breast feed?

I had problems with Joseph in the beginning but it was mainly bc he couldnt' 5uck properly. In the beginning, he was given a bottle first, and then nurses for a few minutes. I had to pump out the rest.

At one point after he was home, my sister came over & helped me out (she had nursed for 3 years )

Re: parents who breast feed?

i had no problem with Olivia latching on and did not have a problem with nipple confusion i started pumping after 2 weeks and she took a bottle right away and the next feeding she took the boob so there was no problem and she uses a pacifier all the time too.

Re: parents who breast feed?

Re: parents who breast feed?

Alex latched on easily at first, but we started having some problems a few days later when she would eat from my left side, and OMG, it hurt! Even though she latched on well, the whole process really did hurt a lot for the first few weeks, but it was well worth it...

Re: parents who breast feed?

i have to tell you, nipple confusion seems to me to be a crock....the stress of being afraid to give your newborn a bottle, coupled with the fact that your milk doesn't come in right away, leads to a very stressed mommy and a very hungry, inconsolable little baby. With both my daughters, the first night home from the hospital, they each got about 2 ounces of formula twice in a bottle, bc I had no milk and they were so hungry. When my milk came in the next morning, they latched and ate with no problem. I started pumping immediately so that hubby could give bottles too, and I bf early in the morning and at night when it's quiet and I can relax ( and my 18 month old isn't yanking on me) and the rest of the day I pump (which only takes 12-15 minutes as opposed to the 40 it takes me to nurse) and give bottles of breast milk.

Re: parents who breast feed?

In my case, because of a moron nurse/ped in the hospital I was forced to use a bottle when my milk didn't come it super fast...it was the downfall of nursing for Molly and I. She had a nipple perference..NO confusion. She knew exactly what she liked best...the bottle nipple. I then had to pump for a year and never got to nurse her.

The above story is a bit different for me too. I would have to pump 30-40 minutes, 8X a day, to get enough milk for Molly's supply. So everyone is different. Every story is different.

The one main, important thing to know is that you CAN overcome challenges. You CAN work it through and find a solution. If you need help, ask for it from a professional LC, not just a hospital nurse. Often they have little to no training. Read, take a class, read again. And come on here if you have any problems

Re: parents who breast feed?

Michele...I think thats what the problem was with my little boy. He did NOT want to work for his food, so the preference for him was the bottle.

I think women like me and you, who pump exclusively for extended periods of time are often ignored in the bf'ing world and I am so proud of the fact that I am working hard to do the best thing for my baby that I tell anyone who will listen. I am lucky that I only have to pump 2/3 times a day to get enough milk and every day I am thankful that I am in that position.

I go to a BF'ing support group and feel very jealous when I see the other women bf'ing their babies, but I know that I am doing the absolute best thing for my boy! I admire you so much for doing it for a year, I am going to try to do it for as long as I possibly can. I am inspired by you when you say that you pumped for a whole year! I hope I can keep it up for that long!

Re: parents who breast feed?

I used to cry when I would see moms bfing their babies. Even now I am jealous. Honestly...those few days when Molly did nurse mean so much to me.

Re: parents who breast feed?