Did you find Breastfeeding difficult or easy?

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Permalink Reply by Deb Schroeder on October 23, 2009 at 2:16pm

I thought it was VERY DIFFICULT and I gave myself such a hard time for not being able to do it successfully. It is too bad that it just doesn't come easily to most of us so that we can just enjoy all of those precious moments instead of having the stress with the feedings.

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Permalink Reply by Sara B. Au on October 23, 2009 at 2:55pm

oh god, SOOO difficult, but worth every hardship. I know a lot about my difficulties stemmed from my c-sections, and no one really explains all that until I sought out (and paid for) help from a lactation consultant. I have a hard time with proponents who say it's so easy and natural... I was committed to making it work, but felt like a failure that it wasn't easy for me. A lot of good would be done by making sure people understand it isn't always so easy, but is worth it for so many reasons.

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Permalink Reply by Abby Evans on October 23, 2009 at 5:06pm

It was so hard at first, I remember in the hospital the nurses pushing me and proping me with pillows to get the right angle telling me how important it was to just relax! Like I could with all the pressure!!! The first few weeks were the hardest, I was exhausted and it was not something I was comfortable doing in public (mostly because I needed my "breastfriend" all the time to nurse comfortably).

After some time of hanging in there with it, it got easier and I had a hard time giving it up. I ended up nursing for 14 months and loving every minute of it. I think there is so much pressure on new moms, we are so tired and stressed that we end up doing what works best for us and we have options (unlike in nature where there is only one way!)

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Permalink Reply by Frelle on October 24, 2009 at 12:45pm

i have had no difficulty in breastfeeding, but have had speedbumps like plugged ducts, thrush, and mastitis. I think the instinct is far stronger in animals to nurse than it is in humans.. especially with the programming we get from the media and from our families.

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Permalink Reply by Ashley Garr on October 25, 2009 at 5:18pm

I'm pregnant right now and I've never had any doubt about wanting to breastfeed but I keep reading about all different difficulties women have had and how hard it is at first and I'm really discouraged and don't know what the best (and least expensive) way to learn about it would be. If anyone can help I'd be eternally great full!

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Permalink Reply by Michelle Hutchison on October 25, 2009 at 5:40pm

Bless your heart! Please don't be discouraged - it can be difficult, I won't lie, but so, so worth it - The weird thing is, just before I saw your message I had just finished entering a tip on our website about developing a support system for breastfeeding
There is always help out there. Please let me know if you are having trouble finding people in your area and I will see what I can do. You can do this, just don't be scared to ask for help.

Ashley Garr said:

I'm pregnant right now and I've never had any doubt about wanting to breastfeed but I keep reading about all different difficulties women have had and how hard it is at first and I'm really discouraged and don't know what the best (and least expensive) way to learn about it would be. If anyone can help I'd be eternally great full!

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Permalink Reply by Sarahi N on October 26, 2009 at 7:13pm

At first it was really easy because i was giving everything I had to keep my son healthy and alive, he was born premature and it was a very easy thing to do. It became harder and harder when I became extra tired, I wasn't sleeping as good as I was supossed to. I was awake most of the night making sure my son was breathing fine and he didn't have any problem. I became so obssesed with the idea of my son not being able to survive. As a first time mom, having a son born premature and having no family in my new country home at all, I found myseld doing extra work and putting extra presure on myself, even though my husband offered several times to help me with house work and cooking, I refused because I thought that was my dutie. I got exhausted and I only had enough energy to breastfeed for 5 months, then I stopped. And I wish I could go back in time and just dedicate my time to breastfeed my baby and nap instead of cleaning and keeping everything clean. It would have been better if I could have rest more in that way I would have been able to give more of myself to my loved Nolan. Breastfeeding was a challenge and it became easy when my son got better at it. We were a great team until I stopped.

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Permalink Reply by Stephanie on October 28, 2009 at 7:34pm

I am not sure what to think. I had never seen anyone breastfeed but decided to breast feed my first child, mostly because I thought formula smelled bad and was expensive. I never had any issues with breast feeding with her, or any of my children.

I do think if you don't have plenty of family support, and societal support it makes it harder. I have friends who weren't able to due to the lack of support of the father. I was surrounded by people who supported me in this, so I think it was easy for me for that reason.

I even had a C section with my first, but never had any issues at all.

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Permalink Reply by Summer Jessee on November 1, 2009 at 11:37pm

Oh us mothers and all of our "mothering guilt..."

I totally relate to you wanting to go back in time and do things differently. But when you're in the moment with your baby, your messy house, and everything... it's hard to find the balance and properly prioritize everything...

With my daughter, I realized that I may not be producing enough milk when she was around 4 1/2 months old. So one time, when she was just crying and frustrated with nursing, I reluctantly made her a 4 oz bottle of formula that we were keeping in the house "just in case" and she guzzled the entire thing down in an instant! Meanwhile, I cried the entire time I fed it to her :( We continued on like this breastfeeding and supplementing with formula until she was about 7 1/2 to 8 months old... and then I was totally dried up!! Sooo sad. I desperately wanted to continue but didn't know what to do if I wasn't making enough milk for her. The girl had to eat! I tried thinking "milky baby thoughts" and all that... but it just didn't work for me.

With my second baby (boy) I was even more determined to make it work since last time I couldn't quite figure it out. I said - minimum 12 months. Now, he's 19 months old and we're still going strong!!! He loves it and so do I.

I think it was better the second time around because I knew what to expect...

- I understood that when the baby 'sucks' is when your milk will 'let down' so have patience and let the baby suck away and have CONFIDENCE that the milk will come. Try not to stress about it and worry

- I also knew there was 'mother's milk' tea that I could drink to help with production... and I often did drink it with my son if I felt my production was a little low

If you really want to breastfeed there are many things you can do to help make it a success... Just do your research before hand and do the best job you can.

I really love breastfeeding because it's great for bonding, healthiest for baby, best for your wallet, the most convenient if you're out and about, helps you to shed off that extra baby weight, etc - there are MANY MANY benefits.

But besides the production problem with my daughter, it wasn't always easy for me getting started. For me, it HURT like a mother! So bad!! But it's kinda like childbirth for me (au natural)... you just have to keep pressing on and soon the pain will pass which it did. With both babies, it seemed there were about 2 - 3 weeks of really intense pain every time my babies latched on. I don't know why though... I don't hear many other moms talking about this. I guess my nipples had to get roughed up or something??? It was SO painful... but please don't let this discourage you. I had a STRONG purpose for nursing... so I pushed through it. Decide WHY you want to nurse... and remind yourself of these reasons when it gets tough, and you'll be through it in no time!

As far as the exhaustion goes... I would HIGHLY recommend mastering the nursing lying down method for nighttime. I know some moms are against this and they want to get their babies sleeping through the night, yada yada yada... but I guess I'm a little old fashioned when it comes to parenting. I think babies were meant to be cuddled throughout the night... so when they wake, bring them in bed with you, lie them next to you and let them suck away while you fall peacefully back to sleep. Some moms say they can't figure out the lying down method... but I would really recommend it. Still at 19 months this works for us.... he's about to get weaned... but for now it's still working.

One more thing, I did have mastitis twice with my daughter and once with my son. OUCH. I would not recommend antibiotics for this. Did that with my daughter and killed all my good antibodies. Instead, if you have a sore boob and you start to feel flu-like symptoms (achy, fever, weak) - immediately chop up a clove of FRESH garlic, put it in a glass of OJ and chug it down. Then lots of REST and it should pass you by if you catch it soon enough. And continue nursing from the sore boob even though it hurts.

Remember - a STRONG purpose and reason for wanting to nurse... will be your biggest asset here. Without this you'll throw in the towel more easily.

Thanks everyone for sharing :)

Summer
www.teamjessee.com

Sarahi N said:

At first it was really easy because i was giving everything I had to keep my son healthy and alive, he was born premature and it was a very easy thing to do. It became harder and harder when I became extra tired, I wasn't sleeping as good as I was supossed to. I was awake most of the night making sure my son was breathing fine and he didn't have any problem. I became so obssesed with the idea of my son not being able to survive. As a first time mom, having a son born premature and having no family in my new country home at all, I found myseld doing extra work and putting extra presure on myself, even though my husband offered several times to help me with house work and cooking, I refused because I thought that was my dutie. I got exhausted and I only had enough energy to breastfeed for 5 months, then I stopped. And I wish I could go back in time and just dedicate my time to breastfeed my baby and nap instead of cleaning and keeping everything clean. It would have been better if I could have rest more in that way I would have been able to give more of myself to my loved Nolan. Breastfeeding was a challenge and it became easy when my son got better at it. We were a great team until I stopped.

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Permalink Reply by Galit Lazar on November 7, 2009 at 3:41pm

I found breasfeeding hard and tiring. That is because I had underweight kids and I found that it was difficult because they would fall asleep in the middle of the feeding and they had a lot of trouble sucking well. Because of that I couldn't produce a lot of milk. With my daughter I had to feed her for an hour and a half every time and start again after one hour and a half. This is a lot of work. When she was 5 months old I decided to switch to the bottle. I am sure that if you have babies that eat well and you finish feeding them in 10 minutes tahn it is much more rewarding. The good news is that my daughter has a good immunity system so in a way my hard work paid off in the end.

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