How many mom's plan on breast feeding

Laura Zoey - posted on 04/29/2011

It is hard! I like lots of :) and ! To try to show when I'm talking with a smile or in an upbeat way. Otherwise it can sound very pissy.
Ianina, I'm so jealous you speak so well in two languages! I speak a bit of Spanish but seriously can't imagine being able to fully understand two languages.
Ok, back to breastfeeding topic :)

Ianina - posted on 04/29/2011

and sometimes is hard to understand that when the ONLY thing you have is something written. Face to face is different.
And english is not my main language :)

Chelsea - posted on 04/29/2011

ok good i think i speak for all of when i say we try to state are opinions without being offensive or speaking negatively about someone else but sometimes its hard to state your opinion without seeming negative

Ianina - posted on 04/28/2011

It is gross, you are right about that!
I read every post and don't think anyone was being offensive :)

Jennifer - posted on 04/28/2011

I didn't mean it offensive either. I just really hate smoking and being around people who smoke. I don't think it should even be legal to smoke around a child. Not trying to be negative towards those of you who do...just saying IMO, its gross and I hate it. Should be something you never start doing or quit BEFORE you make the choice to have children.

Chelsea - posted on 04/28/2011

it just shows you how much has changed since our parents but like ianina said i havent smoked so i dont know how hard it would be not to,but i agree that you should still BF even if you do, Bfing is Bfing. I wasent trying to say anything negative about parents who smoke after the babies are born just that i personally don't understand it, sorry if it came out as offensive because that is not how it was meant

Ianina - posted on 04/28/2011

Interesting, specially the last one :)

Laura Zoey - posted on 04/28/2011

This is what the center for disease control says about breastfeeding while pregnant



Should mothers who smoke breastfeed?

Mothers who smoke are encouraged to quit, however, breast milk remains the ideal food for a baby even if the mother smokes. Although nicotine may be present in breast milk, adverse effects on the infant during breastfeeding have not been reported. AAP recognizes pregnancy and lactation as two ideal times to promote smoking cessation, but does not indicate that mothers who smoke should not breastfeed.





This is from the Australian breastfeeding association, nicotine is about halfway down the page. It's quite detailed I think

http://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bfinfo/d...

Laura Zoey - posted on 04/28/2011

http://www.llli.org/faq/smoking.html
La leche league is the international breastfeeding group. Quite reliable :) I'll grab some more links in a second.

Ianina - posted on 04/28/2011

Because none of you smoke! :)
I do, and trust me, not smoking while pregnant or even cutting back is REALLY hard. I used to smoke a lot and drink a lot of coffee too. I managed to cut back on coffee because the girls only allowed me to drink 2 cups, if I happened to have a 3rd one, they made me puke.
With the cigarrete is even harder. For all non smokers here let me tell you something...nicotine adiction is WORSE than cocaine. The nicotine receptors in your brain go crazy when you don't smoke, and I mean crazy...(take it from the scientist here...I know what I'm talking about)
So yes, quit smoking while pregnant is SUPER dificult, so once you are done being pregnant, the first thing you want to do is light a cigarrete.

I don't see the conection between BF and nicotine, so if someone has info about it (not wikipedia), I'll be more than happy to read it.

Laura Zoey - posted on 04/28/2011

My guess is those who want to smoke after baby is born might not have been abstaining the whole pregnancy.....maybe they cut back, or lied to the drs, but yeah if you honestly went 9 months without it I don't see how you could slip back into it.......idk. I don't understand it.

Jennifer - posted on 04/28/2011

Another NON smoker here...I can't believe that! No offense to your mom Chelsea but I agree..if you didn't smoke throughout the pregnancy then why not continue that during BF!? Although I don't support any smoking period so I am a little biased...
I've always heard that MORE BF reduces jaundice, not switching to formula! I agree, a supporitve doctor is EVEYRTHING most of the time :)

Laura Zoey - posted on 04/28/2011

Yeah I've never smoked either, honestly can stand the smell. That's so weird the dr said bfing caused jaundice, Eric had jaundice too and I was told to bf more! He didn't need the list but they took his blood three days in a row. It sure is sad to watch that :(

Chelsea - posted on 04/27/2011

My first pediatrician told me that the reason my daughter had jaundice was because i was Breast feeding and that i should give her formula to make it go away, instead we opted to continue exclusivley breastfeeding and using a billy blanket, she was o it for 1 week and had her blood drawn four times, which was horrible but i glade that we didnt supplement, It would have been nice to have support from our Ped. but we didn't so we switched to a family practice cant wait to feel supported from the beginning. A Supportive Doctor is very important to BFing, in my opinion

Chelsea - posted on 04/27/2011

laura i didn't take it that way hun, i was just saying i knew, i just dont understand if you didnt smoke through your pregnancy then why would it be any harder not to while your BFing and why would anyone want to smoke if you alrady quite for 9 months, and if you smoked through your pregnancy then whats the difference with smoking while you BF. i just dont understand it either way i guess because im not a smoker

Laura Zoey - posted on 04/27/2011

That's too bad, more then 10% of their weight lost is usually worrisome. I'm sure your dr had good intentions.

Stephanie - posted on 04/27/2011

Her doctor told me to finally put her on formula because she had lost so much weight that I was going to have to take her back to the hospital if I didn't.

Laura Zoey - posted on 04/27/2011

Ianina, it doesn't sound bad. I mean you might appreciate the time to heal physically from your surgery without going straight into double baby duty. Yeah of course you want the healthiest babies possible, but I admit a day to recover sounds nice! If only the babies could get frozen in time for a day for moms to heal. That would be ideal. But if you do want to breastfeed it's really best if they are big as possible before being born. Smaller mouths have harder time latching on, and of course a stay in the nicu could mean bottles which can cause them to not know how to suck from the breast. Bottles are so much eSier to get the milk out of! But that's one perk of breastfeeding, their jaw muscles develo stronger and faster when breastfeeding because they have to work alot harder to get the milk out.

Stephanie, your milk usually doesn't come in until 4-6 days after the birth, and then it is still slowly setting up a rhythm for up to 6 weeks. So really it's important if you want to breastfeed you can't give any formula until at least 6 weeks. Your body needs the baby sucking on you much as the baby wants in order to get the right amount of milk being made. So if you give a bottle earlier then that it can mean your body thinks it's making enough when it isn't. Then you have to give more formula and your body makes less. It's a sad cycle but it's common. Sometimes the babies need to suck at the empty breast in order for it to know it needs more milk. So sometimes it seems like baby isn't getting enough milk, but give it a day and your body will pick up the pace and make more.

Chelsea, I didn't mean to imply you didn't know that! I just learned it. And was surprised how many moms I knew personally who did formula because they thought they had to quit bf to keep smoking.

Ianina - posted on 04/26/2011

I plan on BF the girls too. This is my first time so, to be honest, I really don't know what to expect. We have La Leche league here too, but I don't know how I feel about it.
And honestly, lately I don't know nothing.
I think I'm starting to freak out a little (a lot) specially since my OB wants to keep the babies inside as much as posible to avoid NICU. I know is going to sound bad but I was looking foward to a few days in the NICU so I get used to the idea of the babies...

Chelsea - posted on 04/26/2011

Stephanie, i would locate you local La lache league (sorry if its spelled worng). Lots of good support and information.

Stephanie - posted on 04/26/2011

I'm going to try my best to breastfeed this one but I failed miserably with my first so we'll see. Even with lots of help from doctors and lactation consultants, my boobs still dried up on me and she was on formula by 2 weeks of age because I had nothing left. So we'll see. I really can't afford all the formula right now so I'm going to get as much help as I can and if not, pump until they dry up again,

Chelsea - posted on 04/26/2011

I know that but back when i was born that wasn't the case, my mom knows that now but said her doctor scared her into either quiting or not breastfeeding. she said she wishes she would have longer but back then she thought it was the right choice

Laura Zoey - posted on 04/26/2011

Chelsea, idk if you know this already but the current health recommendation is that even if a mom can't give up cigarettes she should still breastfeed. The nicotine in her milk is less dangerous then the baby not getting the living antibodies in the milk. Of course it's best to suit smoking entirely, but if a mom can't quit, her baby is best off still breastfeeding!

Chelsea - posted on 04/26/2011

Well said Laura and corrie, thanks for the adcice, i hope soon we have one who post who needs it but either way i think its great to be able to go to someone even if it just for moral support :) Once my new little one arrives i am going to be going to college online to become a lactation councilor then onto lactation consultant. I plan on staying home with my girls but looking to work as a phone consultant so i can help mothers while staying home and offering to help support the women in my community so occasional outings. I also feel that the more i learn about breastfeeding the better i will be at it.
I have to say i disagree with the not being afraid part, i was afraid of my first time, i was afraid of the things that could go wrong and set us up for formula. I never experienced seeing anyone first hand breastfeed growing up or even now. My aunt bf till her son was 18 months but i didnt meet her till he was 2. My mom breast fed my sister for 3 weeks and me for 3 months but was a smoker and wanted to be able to smoke. those are the only things i knew from the people i love and even now i am the only one of my friends that has breastfed longer then a few days. I feel like i need the community here for that support even now. its important to know that what your going through is normal and so few people i know choose to Breastfeed. I try to support everyone i know who is planning on "trying" but generaly i find that if they go in thinking ill try it but if it is hard i can go to formula, they just go to formula because as you all know it is work at first, then it becomes second nature.

Laura Zoey - posted on 04/26/2011

Second baby I'm breastfeeding, and number one is still breastfeeding too!



My best advise is determination, ie stubbornness :) I had a hard time at the beginning with Eric, it hurt really badly, he ate ALL the time and I was really tired and just wanted to sleep! But one of the biggest reasons I breastfed was a strange one, my family cared for foster babies my whole childhood. The babies always were on formula so my breastfeeding exposure was just with my aunt. When I asked my mom about the difference (age 7 or so) she told me simplyy that when mom has a baby she makes milk for the baby herself, but if mom isn't able to be with the baby we have formula instead so the baby has something to eat. Simple explanation, but it put me in the mindset that breastfeeding is just what you do, that it isn't something that can not work, that it is something that determines who is mom and who isn't.



So when I had Eric at 20 years old I looked like I was 16, and did get asked if he was my brother a few times :( so I felt like breastfeeding sort of proved I was his mom or something. I thought there was no way it couldn't work. So I thought every issue I had was simply an adjustment period.

So I owe my success to my mom for providing me with an early and solid view on breastfeeding.

I didn't really look into it much at all while pregnant, and in my case this was ok because I simply delt with the crap and it got better. We did the cluster feeds where he nursed every 1.5 hours for 45 minutes each! I thought it was weird, but I didn't want to think my body wasn't working so I just went with it. Eventually it got better and easier and by then I was starting to learn the facts and found I was indeed normal.



So I chose to not wean Eric because I feel like the only reason I have breasts is to feed my children and so since Eric obviously doesn't feel he is done breastfeeding, I don't think it's my place to make him grow up. He can wean whenever he feels ready, and although I'd probably prefer he wean sometime soon, I don't think that's going to happen and im ok with that. Some toddlers just have higher needs in some areas then others and Eric needs this now, so I'm here for him!



So my advise is

- confidence, your body grew a baby from two cells, it's designed to feed it now!

- determination, it will likely be hard but stick with it and it gets so much easier and more fun

- knowledge, learn a little and you might be scared off, but learn a ton and you will be amazed at how there's a solution for almost every 'problem'

- support, make sure your dr is a breastfeeding supported- many are not! You will need to be able to trust their advise.

- encouragement, try to keep company with moms who also breastfeed, and family members who have as well. Those who never did, or tried and couldn't do it tend to bring us down and make us second guess our own bodies.

Corrie - posted on 04/26/2011

2 - I Breast fed my first exclusivly for 12 weeks and combine fed until 16. Being new to it i didn't understand my milk was just regulating and thought it was drying up. I genuinly didn't think he was getting enough and was a hungry baby. Turns out i was just misinformed.
I plan on breastfeeding again.
Longer hopefully, and mastering the pumping or expressing.
I went on to do the training to become a Breast feeding support co-ordinator for my county. I was about to train to go onto the hospital wards but fell pregnant with number two, i WILL be doing it once i'm in the right place with my kids.
My advice would be not to be scared. Go into it all with an open mind.
Never feel pressured to continue if it doesn't work for you.
Expect the unexpected.
Don't try to follow a routine. Your milk wont develop properly, and your baby may suffer for it.
Pretty much everything Tia said, no sense in writing it again.
But from a personal approach, i'd say love it, enjoy it, and make the most of it. That first feed is SO important for bonding and babies wellbeing, and you're an amazing person for even trying.
We're all different, but if you need help, it is out there.
P.S
Breast pads galore and a decent bra are a must have!!!!

Michelle - posted on 04/25/2011

Sounds like you are starting with the right approach!

Tia Melissa - posted on 04/25/2011

I've managed to bf my previous 4 anywhere from 1 year to 2y1m - depending on self-wean and dry up due to pregnancy. I intend to do the same with this one but every baby is different. Here's praying he can.

Standard disclaimer! I'm not a doctor, just a mom and everything I'm offering is based on babies without special needs or conditions.

I had a horrid relationship with my first MIL who had some wacky ideas on children so my advice, fwiw, is:

Milk production is supply and demand. Every missed feeding is a feeding your body thinks it doesn't need to make. Don't let a "well meaning" relative interfere with establishing your bf'ing relationship during the first 6 weeks. No outings without you, no overnight trips to grandparents, no extra bottles unless you OK them, no scheduling feedings because "you'll spoil" the baby... Follow your instincts. We have them for a reason.

BF'd babies eat more often and you're not starving them - breast milk is digested rapidly. Babies normally eat if they're hungry and won't if they aren't.

Drink, drink, drink as much water as you can stand. You won't have the insatiable craving for water that you did in late pregnancy but you will be thirsty. Unfortunately, you also won't have as much time to grab the glass of water you need when you're thinking about it. Stash bottles by your nursing area.

The first week is the hardest on establishing latch and toughening up your nipples. Take it a day at a time. If it isn't getting better, find a certified LC. They're worth their weight in GOLD!

Pump an emergency stash while you're over-producing so you have milk on hand. I've always found it easiest to pump one side while nursing the other side (pump resistant).

Use nursing pads until you've stopped leaking. This may be a couple of weeks and it may be for the duration of your nursing relationship (raising hand). Carry an extra shirt in your diaper bag.

Even though you will hear that bf'ing makes you lose weight faster, there are a few of us who actually gain weight after about the 6 month mark with no change in diet or level of activity. (again raising hand) Some bodies simply say, "I'm feeding a baby and I must have a 3 month emergency store in case there is a FAMINE!" Others are extremely sensitive to prolactin and yet others go into a pre-diabetic state while nursing (hand going up).

Don't be surprised if your bra size changes more than the "1-2 cups" from pre-pregnancy size. There are some really good nursing bras out there that go up to a K+ cup. Go to your hospital's new mom store - not Motherhood, they're clueless on fitting! - and get fitted for a nursing bra. Most likely it will be an Anita soft cup in white but it's a good starting place. Once you know what band/cup size you'll settle into, you can go online and look for a bra you can live with. Laurensilva, bravado, figleaves, herroom, breakoutbras (all of these are .com's) I ended up going to Nordstrom's (another professional fitter) and getting a Fantasie 4520 balcony bra and converting it. You can also try a mastectomy shop but be warned, they will probably be seamed, pointy and really unattractive. Hello 1950's bras! The best nursing bras, by far, are manufactured in England. They know how to make a large cup bra without sacrificing style. You will need at least 3 bras on hand...

Dish detergent (e.g. green Dawn) applied to milk stains before washing gets the milk fat out of your shirts really well so you don't have post wash grease circles on every shirt you own.

Be aware the EXCLUSIVE breastfeeding can also shut down your reproductive system (not 100% of the time- Search Bellagio Consensus or LAM) so you may not have a cycle for months, even years, depending on how sensitive you are to prolactin. A GYN with any knowledge of Lactation Ammenorrhea knows that they don't have to do anything to get them started again - like hormone therapy. You might check out Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler or one of the What Your Doctor Won't Tell You About... books because post-partum cycles are a completely different animal from pre-pregnancy cycles. At least for a while.

That about sums up what I can recall with my leaky pregnancy brain. Just remember, you will do what is best for your baby, yourself and your family. Doesn't matter how you feed your baby - just feed him or her.

Chelsea - posted on 04/25/2011

thank you Michelle, just want to say that im happy to hear that the mastectomies worked for you and you know longer have cancer, and i think i probably would have had the second removed to, if i was in your shoes. I am sorry that you dont get the chance to breastfeed anymore but at least you know the joy it can bring to a mother and you are still here for your children is more important then the way there fed. Thank you for you advice, i took it very hard when i stopped Bfing my daughter and was depressed for almost a month over it and just cried, so this time im going in with a different approach and trying not to think of it as failing but giving my child the best i could for as long as i could.

Michelle - posted on 04/25/2011

I can tell you from a veteran mom I was bless to be able to breastfeed my 1st 4 children. 1st child I breastfed until she was 5 months old then she preferred the bottle and I couldn't produce enough breastmilk for pumping cause for some reason when I went back to work I got to stressed out.

2nd child I quit my job and started my own daycare so I was able to breastfeed him until he was 9 mo's old then I found out I was preggo again and got too stressed out & he got 4 teeth in at once and wouldn't stop biting me.

3rd child I breastfed him until he was 15 mo's old but by that time he was just once a day in the evening before bedtime.

4th child I breastfeed him until he was 12 mo's old then shortly after that I found out I had breast cancer. I was 32 yr's old at that time. The tumor was over 10cm so I had to have a complete masectomy done and the surgery took care of it. No additional treatments needed. This was back in 2008.

Then I had the other side removed as a precaution 6 mo's later. Then I got preggo with my 5th. So I could have still breastfed with one remaining breast but I was parinoid that I might have cancer on the other side.

So with the 5th it was formula and it will be the same with this new little guy.

It did sadden me when I wasn't able to breastfeed my newest babies, but I know formula is the best next thing.

It is a preference for every mom. Some can do it and some can't. I would definitely give it a try for as long as you can and don't beat yourself up if you can't do it any more. Just know whatever breastfeeding you do can be a benefit to the child. And try to not stress out over it when or if you have to stop.

It is a wonderful bonding time for your baby and yourself, but you can still get that with giving bottles too.

My husband did love that he was able to give his last child a bottle and he will be able to do that same with this one. Hope this helps.

Jennifer - posted on 04/25/2011

I plan on BF this baby.

I BF my son for a week and then switched to formula. I will NOT do that this time!!!!
So I consider this my first time BF.

I want to BF for at least a year but no more than 2 years.

I have taken classes, having support lined up, etc so I feel very prepared this tme. SInce I obviously didn't "succeed" the first time, I don't feel like I am in a place to give advice..but from his experience, a proper latch is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!!!

Chelsea - posted on 04/24/2011

I am Planing on Breast feeding



This will be my second child, and my 2nd to breastfeed



I plan on breastfeeding between 1-2 years, I breastfed my first for 8 1/2 great months. I wanted to go for a full year. medical problems lead to supplementing juice into my daughters exclusively BF diet which in turn effected my milk supply. i couldn't get it back and so i switched.



To me the most important piece of advice for new Bfing moms is DO NOT SUPPLEMENT FEEDINGS. breastfeeding mothers do not need to give formula to supplement and in fact most moms who do supplement wean to formula before a year. Your babies will eat often so they get enough Milk and so your supply come in not because you dont have enough milk, the amount of time it takes for you milk to come in is effected by the frequency of nursing, supplementing effects this and tiny babies have tiny bellys that dont hold much. So please if you truely want to Bf stay away from all formula, i suggest not having any in the house when you come home, even the hospital samples should not come in to the house. Frequency is normal and a healthy start. This is more important at the very beginning but is true the whole time