Cinnamon Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 I must say that I loved breastfeeding my girls,& fed them until they were about 10 months old. In fact I think I stopped at around the same time their teeth got big................ I would encourage any new Mum to give it a go,but really I am an advocate of 'each to their own' & 'live & let live' People make their own choices for their own reasons,& we should all understand & respect that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whoopsie Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 The health benefits are relative. Not all breastfed chidren will be in perfect health but overall they will be healthier than bottle fed ones (this is information collected from hospital admissions and childhood illness records). There are always going to be healthy bottle fed children and sick breastfed ones. In this country we are lucky. We have clean water, regulations for formula production and good education for infant feeding as well as laws preventing unscrupulous practices, so children can be formula fed safely (though not all are). Things are not the same for much of the rest of the world. BTW it's pregnancy that affects your boobs, not breastfeeding - doesn't make a blind bit of difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie50 Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 I think the woman who wrote this article was in her own way attempting to say that breastfeeding is not for everyone. She was honest in saying that she felt it to be 'creepy'. The Mother & Baby magazine is read by many women and therefore should give a balanced view point and show that even amongst their editorial staff there are those who made the choice to breastfeed and those who did not. I have attempted to breastfeed all four of my children. The first I gave up at 6 weeks as I just could not get the hang of it and was worrying myself sick. I did like the fact the midwife advised me to drink stout or guiness to help my milk though! With my second child I breastfed for about 3 months however my son I managed a year and last but not least youngest was fed for 18 months. I did feed wherever and whenever as I firmly believe it is natural and as such people should not be hiding away. I remember a train ticket collector asking me to feed my baby in the toilets so I told him to go and have his dinner in the toilet and see how he liked it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJuff Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 Such an emotive subject. It should be a mother's choice, if mum is happy so is baby whatever feeding method is chosen. I breastfed all three of my children DD 1 to 1yr, DS 10mths and DD2 to 11mths. Loved it!!! Work got in the way!!! However I do think it's weird to see 2 and 3 yr olds asking for the breast!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whoopsie Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 Definately a fan of the Guinness! Also chocolate - you have to look after that iron level after all!! Nice one Lizzie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadietoo Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 I did feed wherever and whenever as I firmly believe it is natural and as such people should not be hiding away. I remember a train ticket collector asking me to feed my baby in the toilets so I told him to go and have his dinner in the toilet and see how he liked it! Well said Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluekarin Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 I breast fed my first two. My ED found it quite difficult to latch on and then I started having really bad pains when I fed her. Almost to the point of not wanting to feed her as it hurt so much. Found out I had thrush in my nipple, which felt like knives when she fed. A bit of Canasten later and all was ok. Fed her till she was about 8 months old I think, she may have been older. She hated bottles though, though when she had to get off them, she didn't want to. Didn't like change. Still doesn't. DS was a dream feeder, until he started biting me at around 6 months old. He then went onto a bottle really easily, so I think it was his way of saying I want more milk than you're giving me. YD was prem (born 9 weeks early). I expressed milk for her to be tube fed, and when she was bigger I tried to breastfeed her, but she would just fall asleep. As it was important for her to gain weight, the nurses said it would be best for her to have some special formula in bottles. I really didn't like the fact I couldn't feed her, but it was what was best for her that is important. As for mums who feed outside, in public. Shock Horror! Its natural! It is ridiculous something so natural should be seen as such an awful act that it needs to be hidden away in loos. By all means do it discreetly, and not have your boob hanging out, but no one should complain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyhenSG Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 I totally agree that it should be the mother's choice however I also think you should at least try before dismissing the idea totally. My son, now 4, was born 10 weeks early and spent his first 5 weeks in NICU. I had decided before he was born that I wanted to breast feed but his tricky start made me all the more determined. I was lucky to have had a great deal of support from the NICU nurses (those on maternity really weren't interested if I'm honest). It wasn't easy as he was too small to 'latch on', so was fed via NG tube for the first 3 weeks. I expressed so much during this time I felt like a dairy cow! I also had 2 nasty bouts of mastitis - very painful and it made it difficult to feed. There were a couple of very young (teen) mums with babies there and they wouldn't even try to breastfeed as they thought it was 'gross' - I think that is quite sad really. It really helped me bond with my son - he was whisked away to an incubator as soon as he was born so I didn't even get to see him until he was about 6 hours old and didn't hold him until 24 hours after he was born. Although I wasn't physically feeding him myself, just knowing that he was having my milk helped me feel I was doing something positive for him. I fed my son for 18 months - until he started biting and I personally felt he was getting a bit too big to breastfeed. I fed in public, always discreetly - I didn't want anyone looking at me any more than people wanted to see my great expanse of flesh! I also breastfed my daughter, now 17 months, but only until she was 8 months old. I was much more tired second time round and my milk just dried up. I was sorry in some ways but it did make it easier for my husband to share the feeds and feel included - and I got a bit of a rest! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chook n Boo Mum Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 I also BF my babies, now 13 & 10...... DS was 18 months when he decided he'd had enough and refused to latch on....I was devastated & eventually with the aid of cabbage leaves in my bra got used to the discomfort of milk and no release from feeding The Breast Feeding Counsellor at our local maternity unit was on holiday for a fortnight when he decided to cast me aside....when she rang me on her return she said I should be happy that I had a confident and independent child........not much has changed there then He'd started to get his teeth at 17 weeks & only bit me once...I'm not sure who was the most shocked..me from the bite or him from my involuntary scream DD stopped feeding at 19 months, when she also decided to go nappy-less during the day and had a nasty bug..she also started having a regular daytime nap...at last I remember the first time I fed in public, I was shrouded in coats, muslins in fact anything that would drape & must have been far more conspicuous than had I just tucked him under my shirt which I did for most of the rest of my feeding "career"......I always wore a tshirt with an open shirt over the top & rarely had any flesh on show.........some will be shocked to read that I even managed to feed the babe whilst pushing a trolley around Sainsburys on one occasion, I rested most of his/her (can't remember which one it was now )weight on the handle of the trolley, a perfect height for me & carried on as normal.....I was not aware of anyone noticing and certainly no comments were heard. One of the main reasons I BF them both was complete and utter laziness...the idea of toddling downstairs for a bottle & warming it at stupid o'clock was totally alien to me............mind you with DD I very nearly gave up as she reduced me to tears on many occasions early on...I just gritted my teeth as I wanted her to have whatever benefits, be they real or perceived, that he had had..after the first few sucks the pain does ease due to natural painkillers being released, but I still had to get through that pain. I too had mastitis with both of them in the first 2-3 days of being home & ended up both times being pumped with antibs and the child being latched on whilst I was practically comatose with the infection temperature.....oh the joys of breastfeeding I did train as a BF supporter under my previous HV who fed her child until she was nearly 4 as far as I was aware..that I did find a bit strange, especially as the child was allowed to simply lift mum's shirt & latch on whenever & wherever she wanted to, .... I think I was called on twice to help a new mum.....I would have found it more help speaking to someone who was/had recently BF a child rather than a professional who was following the guidelines of the moment...I passed on my experiences & it seemed to help the new mums I encountered.........including my step daughter & various nieces. I was bottle-fed as a baby as it wasn't the current thought of the time to BF...........times change as do the "fashions" of medical advice........which is not meant to inflame any medics out there, it's just a laybod observation . Sha x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 My reasons for not breastfeeding were not vanity but a structural prob - to suggest it was vanity is unfair to women like me who have a genuine problem which is very common. Some babies just cannot latch on and despite expert help it just wasnt to be. I wanted to breast feed but am not going to beat myself up cos I couldnt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chook n Boo Mum Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 I've just re-read my post & realised it sounds rather heavy on the pro-BF , as I mentioned laziness played a factor in my decisions, and the honest realisation that I am not organised enough to make up bottles & remember to take them out if I was leaving the house, heck the changing bag with all the clobber and locking the door on the way out was hard enough .............whilst yes I obviously am pro because I did it...if it's not right for whatever reason and bottle feeding is right, then please don't feel you have in any way shape or form failed, you haven't you are simply feeding your bub the best way without undue stress, which lets face it when a little one pops out it's not always a bed of roses, exhaustion amongst other things is a major nightmare for most of us & if littl'un needs a bottle to satisfy it's needs, then give it. The attitude of observers is what upsets me not Mum's personal reasons for one or another decision, they don't have to look at a discretely fed babe, and wouldn't they rather a quiet happy child than a starving hungry screecher..........one of those conundrums we are never going to solve I feel ! Sha x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie50 Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 Ah memories wet t.shirts, nipples firing milk at passer byes whenever I heard a baby cry within 100 miles, mastitis (twice), sitting for a whole day in my nightie trying to feed a very very frustrated baby, bed sheets covered in milk etc - you can see the appeal The debate will go on but it is a choice. It can sometimes be a practical choice or emotive. Yes some women do think it is gross and whilst I could say how fantastic it was (and it was at times) it is not the most appealing thing when you have just given birth, feel like poo anyway, feel completely overwhelmed by the fact there is this little baby now in a cot beside you and then you have to feed it! Despite the fact I did breastfeed I can honestly say that it did not make me a better mother. I do like to often through it into statements e.g. my 30 yr old really does not like to be reminded that she was suckled at her mother's breasts after a horrific labour but hey I need to get my pound of flesh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whoopsie Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 My mother also said she breast fed largely out of laziness - I totally agree with her!! I tell my clients this at antenatal classes and they say they love that I am honest. Too Right. I also point out that there is no pressure, but I think it's worth giving it a go if you can (skin to skin contact can be just as beneficial and is definately wonderful!). I got a surprise the other week when I said this to a woman who had definately decided to bottle feed (which is fine with me). When I went back to see her she told me she tried it and liked it so much she's doing it several times a day!!! Cue huge grin from me, not because she's breastfeeding, but because SHE'S HAPPY! I think I shall become a breastfeeding counsellor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patsylabrador Posted June 29, 2010 Author Share Posted June 29, 2010 This has been a real eye opener for me. My reasons for bottle feeding were many and varied but one that might sound odd was also laziness. I couldn't bear the thought of the sheer hard work of getting my baby to feed. The mechanics of getting enough food into my baby (which is weird considering the proportions of my chestal area - spent ages trying to come up with a family friendly term, I wasn't sure about bazoombas which is our family term) seemed more work than making up a few bottles. Different perspectives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy chickens! Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 I think it's a shame this issue still exists - you have to do what is right for you and your baby and I'm sure some mums give up is because of the pressure put on them to do it, so they are not relaxed and can't enjoy it. I personally found it offensive that the lady writing the article appeared selfish in wanting to be able to drink, and thought it a shame she felt it creepy to bf, but she's entitled to her opinion. Like most things in life there are pros and cons; I did bf both mine and loved it, but it doesn't suit everyone and you should never consider it a failure in any way if it doesn't work for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whoopsie Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 Well Said Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..lay a little egg for me Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 It seems very sad to me that an entirely natural function could be considered "creepy" and yet having large pictures of bare breasted women in the daily rag for men to drool over is not apparently. I agree that women who chose to bottle feed should not be made to feel failures, particularly if they tried it and could not get on with it. As is clear from all the above, many women try very hard to breast feed and struggle; I think that they should be encouraged to transfer to bottle feeding if things are difficult. But I agree that all women should feel sufficiently at ease with the idea of breast feeding that they are willing to give it a go, and breast feeding in public should not be frowned on if it is done discreetly. My problem is with the manufacturers of formula who try to make out their product is actually better than breast-milk. And, of course, when they market formula to women in developing countries who can't afford it but buy it because they think it is better than breast milk and then their poor babies get gastroenteritis and some die because they cannot sterilize the bottles and the water. I really struggled with breast-feeding at first but did eventually get the hang of it in the end and fed DS until he was nearly 2 yrs, I did try some mixed feeding and did not like the making up of bottles, warming them and then having to throw half of it away because DS did not drink it all, but on the other hand the fact that OH could feed him while I had a rest was great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midori Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 I totally agree that it should be the mother's choice however I also think you should at least try before dismissing the idea totally. My son, now 4, was born 10 weeks early and spent his first 5 weeks in NICU. I had decided before he was born that I wanted to breast feed but his tricky start made me all the more determined. I was lucky to have had a great deal of support from the NICU nurses (those on maternity really weren't interested if I'm honest). It wasn't easy as he was too small to 'latch on', so was fed via NG tube for the first 3 weeks. I expressed so much during this time I felt like a dairy cow! I also had 2 nasty bouts of mastitis - very painful and it made it difficult to feed. There were a couple of very young (teen) mums with babies there and they wouldn't even try to breastfeed as they thought it was 'gross' - I think that is quite sad really. It really helped me bond with my son - he was whisked away to an incubator as soon as he was born so I didn't even get to see him until he was about 6 hours old and didn't hold him until 24 hours after he was born. Although I wasn't physically feeding him myself, just knowing that he was having my milk helped me feel I was doing something positive for him. ! Yes, I get where you're coming from. One of my twin girls was in NICU for 9 days after they were born at 23+5 weeks. Expressing was difficult at that gestation, not least as we live an hour from the hospital and constant visiting and other children at home make it harder, but once started it was fine. I also felt like expressing was all I could do for her, but it made it feel like I was doing something, we could barely touch our daughter, let alone pick her up or do anythign else constructive for her. Experts are so convinced breastmilk is best that they will attempt to get mothers of babies in NICU who do not wish to breastfeed to agree to their baby having donor milk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shirl Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 I bf my first son for a day, son 2 for 10 days, first daughter for 2 years 4 months (6 months pregnant at that point) and daughter 2 for 2/12 years. I believe as long as mother's make an informed decision then that's fine. I am very pro bf but do think there is a lot of mis-information from both those for and against. I do think both camps can be offensive in the language used and that's when war breaks out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadietoo Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 This has been a real eye opener for me. My reasons for bottle feeding were many and varied but one that might sound odd was also laziness. I couldn't bear the thought of the sheer hard work of getting my baby to feed. The mechanics of getting enough food into my baby (which is weird considering the proportions of my chestal area - spent ages trying to come up with a family friendly term, I wasn't sure about bazoombas which is our family term) seemed more work than making up a few bottles. Different perspectives. Having done it both ways, this is really interesting. Breastfeeding was FAR less hassle than bottle. eg..you could go out for the day, and all you needed to take was a clean nappy and a bottle of water for you...I really don't know how I would have coped with the demands of my three year old had I not been breastfeeding my son. I could tuck him under my arm (literally) and play "tummy-ache" or whatever game my daughter decreed...read to her etc with a minimum of disruption to her day. (I used to then enjoy the one to one with my son at the 5 am feed...the 2 am one was for catching up with my book..you can't easily read and bottle feed!) Oh what lovely days....happy memories Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sageandonion Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 LOL at Lizzie50's memories I've not read the article, but reading this thread has brought back the joy and pain of BF - one more of my memories - savoy cabbage leaves down my bra, please tell me I was not alone in trying this trick! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chook n Boo Mum Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 You are not alone..........it's a strange perfume after a while isn't it No idea how or why it works, but it does Sha x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sageandonion Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 Thank you Sha - I remember my boobs resembling an ordnance survey map of Great Britain what with the imprint of the cabbage pattern and oh yes that aroma! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie50 Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 I forgot about the cabbage leaves.....the aroma of that and breast pads (mine used to fall out every time I bent over) Between being half drunk drinking guiness and having cabbage leaves stuck to me I must have been a right charmer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shirl Posted June 30, 2010 Share Posted June 30, 2010 I'd like to step in at this pointand say cabbage leaves are not compulsory . I never used them and fortunately never sufered from mastitis or other painful conditions when breastfeeding. Well I had the pain in day 3 or whenever the milk comes in but you get that even if you don't bf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
