Breastfeeding

I encourage all Mums-to-be to breastfeed your baby. I am 20 years old, and my son is now 13 months. My son has just finished breastfeeding, which I miss alot and it makes me think back to when he was a new born and I struggled to get though one feed. After eight long weeks of expressing milk every four hours, as well as feeding him on me, I finally mastered the skill of breastfeeding and I am proud to be a young mother who kept on feeding as long as I have.

He is now a big, healthy toddler, who is very bright and has always been alert and it makes me happy to know that I had a big part in his development due to the breastmilk he got from me.

So new mums and mums-to-be, when the time comes, do not give up. I'm telling you it is really enjoyable.. smile

thats great you did well, but not everyone is able to breasfeed easily or at all or find it particularly enjpyable, I know i didn't. I would encourage everyone to breastfeed but also not feel guilty if for some reason you can't or choose not to . My 3 boys were all bottlefed due to difficulties & in the end I chose to bottlefeed the last 2 from the beginning . My boys are all healthy & well , hardly ever sick & are very bright and active. I found that when I chose to bottlefeed I had an attitude of "no guilt" or "no regret". It wasn't an easy decision & there are times I wonder what if.. but I know I made the right choice for myself and the boys.

I think breastfeeding is wonderful and tried to prepare myself the best that I could before the birth of my son. I read about breastfeeding, spoke to my sister and sister-in-law who had successfully breastfed their children and even attended a Breastfeeding seminar run by the Breastfeeding Association of Australia (ABA). I never thought I would have any major problems, but I did.
I had a caesarean and found positioning my baby difficult due to this. From day 3, both my nipples cracked and only got worse and I ended up with Mastitis. My breasts were constantly painful and, this sounds strange and I only ever found one reference to this in a book, I would get shooting pains in the shower from the sound of the water. Even cuddling my baby hurt. I couldn't leave the house for very long because breastfeeding became such an effort, it was easier to do it at home.
I regularly saw the nurses at the Early Childhood Clinic, saw a Lactation Consultant, attended a day clinic and spoke daily to the counsellors at the ABA.
I really wanted to breastfeed and continued to persevere even though I was always in pain and unhappy. Why? Because everytime I made the decision to stop, someone would tell me that I have done so well to continue as long as I had, considering my problems. Support and encouragement to breastfeed is great but sometimes, supporting a mother to stop breastfeeding is important too. Even though the people I spoke to told me to 'give up' if I wanted to, there was always a 'but' there.
The day I did finally start dropping feeds I felt guilty. So much importance is placed on breastfeeding which is good, I will try to breastfeed again when I have my next baby and feel I learnt alot from the time I breastfed my son. But it is also important to enjoy your time with your baby and if breastfeeding isn't working for you, stop. It's not 'giving up' it's being realistic, breastfeeding doesn't work for everyone.
Thinking back now, I'm glad I managed to breastfeed for 3 months, but I'm also glad that I stopped when I did and my son is no worse for it.

I have 3 children, I tried breast feeding my 1st and due to him having quite sever reflux, was unable to feed him more than about 4 weeks.
I was more determined with my 2nd, we went through hell, breast refusal and bottle refusal, in the end, I fed her for 12 months then weaned straight to a cup.
I wanted to do the same with my 3rd, however in the back of my mind wondered if i would be able to, as i was returning to full time work when she was 3 weeks old. She came to work with me until she was 12 weeks, then had to stay at home with grandma. I continued breast feeding when i wasn't at work, and because i couldn't express enough to give her 2 -3 bottles / day, she was given formula while i was at work.
She is now 19 weeks old, at 16 weeks, she had to go to full bottle because my milk started drying up, she just wasn't getting enough from me.
As much as i enjoyed breast feeding, i can see many reasons why some women don't.

It's great of you to encourage something as healthy and natural as breast feeding, especially since you enjoyed it so much, but don't go to the point of making someone feel guilty if they don't, there may be underlying reasons why.

Just for the record, my baby that was breastfed for the longer period of 12 months has had more medical problems than my others, and also suffers with terrible food allergies. So breast feeding doesn't necessarily make them stronger, or less suseptible to illnesses.

Re the allergies my niece is the same, she was breast fed for 16 months & has a dreadful anaphalactic allergy to nuts & fish & intolerances to a list of foods an arm long, her mum said that while pregnant & breast feeding she ate HEAPS of cashews ( which is the main nut she is allergic to ) and now they are recommending that pregnant & breastfeeding mums stay away from nuts, seems you cant win either way!

I tried breastfeed in gmy newborn, however from the very first feed he latched on with his tongue up. I was very lucky not to get cracked nipples however each feed was "toe curling" I continued to feed for 3 months and then put him onto formula. I will try with this next baby. However not everyone can - or even wants to. Havin gsaid that I 'm really jealous that you continued to feed. I hope I have the same perservirance as you.

Hi Lesley,
How wonderful that you had the breastfeeding relationship you hoped for. My girl is 16 months old and our breastfeeding relationship is a high light of my life as a mother. I have learnt that it is so important to be educated about breastfeeding and to know that problems can be overcome if mum knows where to get the right support and suggestions to continue with wonderful mums milk. The Australian Breastfeeding Association is an outstanding organization and I would encourage any mum having difficulties to get in contact with them. The number should be in the white pages. Three cheers for human milk for human babies.

I had my first baby when I was fifteen years old, and was able to feed her for nine moths, after that my milk dried up and she went straight on a cup. I can understand that a lot of mothers have difficulty breastfeeding but i totally commend Lesley for the effort she put into breastfeeding. All I can really say to mothers who do give up is no dont feel guilty and have to remorse as to what you have done. it is a wonderful blessing that we now have formula for mothers who choose not to breastfeed or "cannot" breastfeed. But I also have to say, "what did they do before formula??" Giving birth and breastfeeding is the most natural thing a woman can do, so I think you should stick to it even if it hurts a bit. I found breastfeeding excrutiating and when I returned to school, expressing was even harder, but I still didnt stop until I dried up.
Now I have my second baby and I am 18 years old and I have found breast feeding a lot easier, so I honestly think that perserverance is always the best option.
But as I said this is not to make women who choose to or cannot breastfeed feel guilty. it is a choice you have to make and if you feel that is what is best for you and bubs then that is the best way to go
But I agree with Lisa "three cheers for human milk for human babies"

I am a first time Mum, of a beautiful 11week old little boy. On the third or fourth day after the birth, I began having a lot of trouble breastfeeding. My breasts were just beginning to produce the milk (as opposed to the cholosterum that occurs in the first few days of baby's life)! My breasts were so FULL of milk that they felt as though they were about to BURST! I knew that my breasts would get bigger, but I didn't expect them to get as big as they had. I was in so much pain it made me want to cry. My partner and I had decided before the birth that our baby would be breastfed. For this reason, I decided to persist on with the breastfeeding; much to my delight, it did get a lot easier. My nipples no longer hurt every time i feed and they are toughening up (they used to hurt in the shower)! Breastfeeding isn't for everyone, but in my case, I'm glad I persisted with it; I find it a very rewarding part of my baby's life!

I don't think it is emphasised nearly enough to expectant mothers just how difficult breastfeeding is at the beginning.
I think we all assume that because it is 'natural',it must be a breeze.
WRONG,WRONG,WRONG!!!!
It takes a lot of bloody hard work,perserverence and a hell of a lot of sacrifice.
I don't think you would find a mum anywhere who found breastfeeding in the first weeks easy!!!!

While I managed to feed all 3 of my children beyond their 2nd Birthdays,it was by no means 'EASY' at first..

First there were the cracked nipples,the engorgement ,the blocked milk ducts,the mastitis(I had 6 bouts with my 3rd baby in the first 4 months),
then there is the leaking breasts and the nursing-pads stuffed in your bra to catch those dreaded leaks.But if you can manage to get past the negative aspects,Breastfeeding can be a most rewarding experience .Not to mention the wonderful benefits you are passing on to your baby.

I just think that if first time mums (and Dads)were a bit more informed on the facts regarding breastfeeding both positive and negative and fore-warned as to how hard it really is going to be and that others have gone through it before them...and survived,maybe they will be more prepared and more inclined to stick with it and perservere rather than resorting to formula and labelling themselves as "unable to breastfeed".C'mon guys aren't your babies worth the effort???

PS ----I am in no way condemning bottle feeding,and believe everyone is different and I say do whatever works for you and your baby,I just think that we all have this misconception that it is going to be a breeze and when it is not easy,we feel like we have failed.
I do however think it is totally sad to not even give it a go!!!!

Mothers are under too much pressure to breastfeed. I breast fed for only two weeks. My daughter is two months old and is absolutely thriving. The most important time to breast feed is at the beginning, for their immunity. If mother is stressed, like I was, not eating correctly, drinking, smoking etc, breastfeeding is not better for the baby. I was sore and in tears so I stopped for her sake and mine. My whole family and I were bottle fed, I was the healthiest child, never got colds, never had a disease, no problem. I think too often mothers are pressured into breastfeeding because society says so. Don't you think that genetics,environment and care of the baby plays a big part in whether or not your baby gets sick. My other half wanted me to breastfeed, but he can now see that for Jessika and I bottle feeding is a much better option. I am much happier now and so is Jessika.

It is sad that you feel that smoking and drinking are your first priorities but I totally agree that if a mum wants to drink and smoke and isn't eating properly, that her baby is probably better off on the bottle .

I disagree with what you say about mothers being under too much pressure to breastfeed.From whom??-Mother Nature!!!!!!!!


Ultimately ,the choice is yours and yours alone and if you don't choose to breastfeed,don't go complaining and condemning it,just put your baby on the bottle.

If you feel the need to justify your actions,maybe you are trying to convince yourself that you have made the right choice.