Forum : Pregnancy

My little boy is 10 weeks old now.... I decided that I would give BF a try [though had the same reservations as you - there was no way I was going to BF in public etc. I was going to express & take that out with us!] however, I also decided if it didn't work for me I wasn't going to beat myself up & would just switch to bottle!

I struggled with BF... I lasted 3 weeks... I had a big baby & just couldn't fill him... for the 3 weeks he either cried for food or was feeding... in hindsight I didn't eat enough... I wasn't able to express as although my boobs were full of milk i couldnt get the milk to flow expressing... so whenever i fed the baby if i had visitors i would take myself upstairs and feed him in the bedroom.... in the end i felt like a recluse as my mum and dad stayed with us for the first week & then came back in the third.

at my wits end I sent my hubby & mum to tescos [at 3ish in the morning] for bottles & ready made formula... he ate 7 oz, burped & went to sleep - for 6 hours!!!!!!!!! so i switched... my baby has been content and happy ever since & now sleeps through the night.... joy.

So.... take the attitude.... give it a try... it works for lots of people & it is better for baby. I didn't venture out for the first 3 weeks as i was too sore to walk/do much so even if you last for a short time then it's better for baby than not.

But have a supply of ready made formula on hand just incase.

And if you choose formula - well so what - lots of babies are brought up & they thrive but there is a cost... sterilising isn't so bad & i make the bottles up in advance although you are advised not to do this.

Good luck & enjoy the first few weeks fly by xx
There

Hi, i breast fed, still do for one feed a day and she's 11 months old now, i like you was concious of doing it in public, won't even do it in front of my mum and dad but if i was going out i used to offer Isla a feed in the car just before we left the car park of wherever we had gone to and that way i knoew she wouldn't want a feed for at least another 2 hrs, as for you saying breast fed babies need more frequent feeds i didn't find this at all, in the early days they feed more often but my daughter was soon every 3 hrs and i kept to feeding her every 3 hrs even through growth spurts, i got her in a routine straight away near enough so i knew when she'd want feeding and where i was going to be, i used the Bubzilla sling to carry her and it was brilliant for covering up when breast feeding in public if i had to, it really isn't that bad, i never ever had people stop and stare at me, i didn't do it that often tho to be honest i just timed my outings. You can express and store your milk in fridge for 24hrs or in the freezer for upto 12 months (in a deep freeze, 3 months in compartment freezer, antibodies go from milk after 3 months frozen but you can still use it) and give to baby from the bottle, i'd recommend introducing the bottle early because i never ever managed to get my baby to take the bottle and i tried so so hard but she just refused point blank and it was because i left it to the 6 wks as the hv's and mw's will tell you to but it's too late by then because baby already has a preference to the boob. If you do express i found that the hand held tommee tippee expresser was brilliant, easy and quick to get milk out, when you feed baby by the bottle make sure you express to keep your supply up so say if you want an early night and you're leaving a bottle with hubby to feed baby you should express before you go to bed til your breasts are empty then either give as the bottle feed or store it in fridge/freezer. Whatever you choose to do will be just as good for your baby i just wanted to tell you that breast feeding and going out can still happen, you can always take bottle of expressed milk out with you rather than getting your boob out so to speak but like i said make sure you express at the feed times you give as bottles to keep your supply up. Good luck and enjoy your new baby when he/she arrives xxx

Hi Dawn, i had my boy about 7 months ago and was adamant that i would breastfeed, because it is so much better for the baby. HOWEVER after extensive research on breastfeeding on websites and books i was quite peeved when starting to breastfeed as no website or person had told me HOW HARD BF WAS GOING TO BE! I was nursing my son for 2 hours in the beginning per feed! And to get the latch was awful, SORE NIPPLES!!!! CRACKING! sORRY TO be so graphic! but no-one told me about the physical pain of breastfeeding and the amount of time it took up. People would come to visit and i would be stuck upstairs with the baby. I HATED IT....but was determined to breastfeed for babys sake (building up antibodies, no chance of constipation etc). However after about 1 and half months of hell...the 2 hour feeds were gone, and i did give a bottle aswell at times else i be exhausted. Because Brestmilk is easily digested baby does need it more often than formula which was the case for my son. So i do wish i mixed bottle more. Breastfeeding is hard, but if you are determined you can do it. I think you should mix feed so that way when you want a rest your husband can help. Its your choice, but try and breastfeed even first week its good for baby. But do try you might not find it that bad. Good luck to you....xxx

bf as you know is the best thing for baby (especially first 3 days as they get all the antibodies) but it is not the easy option. Once you get into a routine it is much easier and handier and of course free. Bottle feeding is not the easy option it used to be either these days. When I had my 2nd baby I bf for 9 days but as with |TTPs baby he was a big hungry boy and I felt like a milking machine. I used to make up his bottles for the day in the morning and put them in the fridge, Id pop one or 2 bottles in my bag and head out for the day, heating bottle when i was out. Now you cant make bottles up in advance. Once bf is established its really easy to feed in public without anyone being aware of what you are doing. I breast and bottle fed my last one, she is now nearly 19 months. She was not good at latching on. I bf during the day when I had lots of time to spare and bottle fed at night so partner could help out and so she would sleep that wee bit longer. when i gave birth every member of nursing staff inc auxiliary nurses had been trained in bf. Everytime I was going to feed I would buzz and someone would come immediately to make sure she was latching on properly. Once baby has learned how to latch on properly you more of less have it sussed. try and not stress too much, give it a try and if its not for you then give baby a bottle. all the best

The thing is its about finding out whats right for you and to be honest you wont know unless you give it a go. For some BF is an absolute dream, a friend of mine recently had her baby and from day one baby latched on and she had enough milk to feed 2 and can express however much she likes for when she is out and about, not a sore nipple in sight. For others its the biggest nightmare ever. I was somewhere inbetween. It took a couple of days to get the hang of it but after that I was fine. The odd day of soreness but nothing to bad. I never quite got the hang of feeding in public but I used to express milk so that baby was used to breast and bottle and my partner could also do some nights (I think the tommee tippee bottles were a big help with that). I reckon give it a go and see how you get on. If its not for you then change to bottles no harm done

Thanks everyone for your advice, it's been really helpful. I think so far i've decided to give BF a go initially and decide as i go along. I've got all the bottle feeding stuff on standby just incase and so at least i can say i gave BF a go and made an informed decision either way.