Back Pain...

[MQAAord]

Breastfeeding is very beneficial. Mothers who breastfeed are doing a wonderful thing, and I have nothing bad to say about breastfeeding.

I choose not to because I didn't want to be the only one to ever be able to feed the baby, and I can't do the 'pump' thing. I went to an agricultural college, where I learned all about milking machines & hooking cows up to the different kids of machines. After going through that, I just can not pump. It's a personal thing.

The breast vs bottle thing is a very touchy subject, and a (very, very few) women look at bottle/formula feeding as 'evil', and those who bottle feed are less of a mother than those who breastfeed. They ignore the fact that not all women even [i:45a845c5c6]can[/i:45a845c5c6] breastfeed. For some with certain medical conditions it is not a possibility.

Bottom line it comes down to what you feel comfortable with, and it's a personal decision everyone needs to make for themselves. Learn all you can, and if you're undecided, give breastfeeding a try and see how it goes.

No matter how your baby is fed, what's most important is the love & cuddling you give your baby during feeding times!

[lrcantrell]

I completely agree. I breastfed with my first two but if we have a third I''ve already decided that I'm probably not going to. Just for the mere fact that I will be so busy that I don't think I would be able to fit in the time it takes to commit to doing it. I was also one that was never truly in love with the whole nursing thing. I did it for 10 weeks with both my boys but I was jumping for joy when I would wean them. It truly is a personal preference and the main thing is just do alot of research and reading, get all the facts about it and know that whatever you decide to do is what's best for your baby. If you're still undecided then like amber said, try it and if it's not for you then you can always stop anytime. If you love it then keep on going. I know people who've nursed for more than a year and others that did it for only a few days. Their babies have all turned out equally healthy.

[jamauk]

Breastfeeding isn't easy and I had a terrible time with the guilt of not enjoying every moment of it. While I was pg I had visions of gazing into my baby's eyes while he was nursing and drifting off to sleep while in the rocking chair with him. Well....then he was born and reality set in!!! My son had a good latch from the beginning and I was never sore, so that wasn't a problem...the problem was that he was 9 lbs 5.2 oz when he was born and had a HUGE appetite. My milk production couldn't keep up with him. He was ALWAYS hungry and I was beginning to feel permanently tied to the rocking chair. We went out and bought a really nice (and expensive) pump, but because of the size of my breasts, it didn't fit well and I couldn't get a lot of milk....THAT was painful.
We introduced formula as a supplement at about 5 1/2 weeks mostly in order to give me a break. My child did not take too well to the bottle. Then DH got offered a new hire class at Jetblue and was leaving when the baby was 6 weeks old and would return when he was 13 weeks. Well, since the baby was used to nursing with me, he absolutely would NOT take the bottle from me. So much for supplementing.
I went to training with DH for the spouses orientation deal for three days and we left the baby with my mom. Because I'd had such a hard time pumping, she was doing formula about half the time and expressed milk half the time. She said he would scream and cry after the breastmilk bottle, but was fine and would sleep for hours after a formula bottle. Once I got back and started nursing again, he was crying all of the time. It is my belief that my little guy just wasn't getting a full enough belly with my milk. Since DH was in Miami and I was on my own, I made the decision to wean at 8 weeks and to this day I sometimes have guilt trips about it.....
However, I learned a lot from the experience and we will DEFINATELY introduce a bottle/formula earlier with the next one and supplement from day one.
It is a very personal decision and you have to do what is best for you and your child. A good friend of mine nursed her daughter until she was 13 mos old and her little girl is ALWAYS sick. My son only had breastmilk for 8 weeks and he's had two colds and no ear infections (knock on wood)....so although I know there are proven health benefits to breastfeeding, it isn't a fool poof system either.

WOW...I guess I got a little carried away there....sorry! Maybe too much information??

As far as maternity clothes, I agree with Amber, buy a size bigger! By the time I was 7 1/2 months I had outgrown all of my clothes! I was living in DH's sweatpants and big and tall tshirts!!

One thing about breastfeeding....it really does help get the baby weight off! I lost all of it plus 10 lbs all while I was breastfeeding! I only gained 29 lbs, though....and it was ALL baby!!! My face and legs actually looked thinner while I was pg (on the days I wasn't swollen) then before I was pg! Go figure...that baby took everything I had!!!

Sorry, got distracted....I could talk about pg stuff for HOURS!!!

Skibum....keep asking questions...in my opinion, pg stuff is facsinating, especially if you haven't done it yet!! [img]/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Kristie]

[quote:803a2a54c1="skibum515"]Amber, if you don't mind me asking, why did you decide not to breast feed? I heard that it was supposed to be really benificial to the baby (but that might just be rumot [img]/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] )[/quote:803a2a54c1]
she said rumot... huhhhh huhhhh hhuuuuhhhh... 8)

[Kristie]

[quote:cc610c4c11="jamauk"]WOW...I guess I got a little carried away there....sorry! Maybe too much information??[/quote:cc610c4c11]there could never BE too much information on this stuff... I really appreciate it cuz i'm just learning a ton here (which is helping in my decision process actually)!! :-)

so, doesn't it, like, hurt when you can get the milk out? I've heard about the leakage and am thinking you just leak more when your not breastfeeding or pumping?

Hey Amber - how's bill liking those 36DD's?? haha

[skibum515]

ya, and if you decide not to breast feed, what happens to all that milk? does it just get absorbed back into your body? And if you do breast feed, do you ever run out of milk or does your body just keep producing as long as there is a demand for it?

and yes, i agree with kristie, all this info from those who have "been there done that" really helps me learn a lot (moreso than just reading books or articles KWIM?)

[jamauk]

Hey Krisitie,
I can hurt if you get too "full", like when the baby skips a feeding. Its not really "pain" more like pressure. Like when you have a sinus infection and you feel like your head is so full of goo that it will explode... When I went down to Miami with Jason for those three days I had to go to the bathroom with a hand pump a couple of times a day to pump. This was for two reasons. If I didn't, I felt like I was going to explode. Also, if the milk isn't let out, your body stops producing. It thinks you no longer need it and since I thought I was going to continue nursing after I got back, I didn't want to "dry up".
I didn't wean Ben, I cut him off cold turkey and THAT was painful! I was VERY engorged, so I would take warm showers and self express a little bit. The warmth of the water would trigger the "let down" process and I would just leak away in the shower. That is kind of how I "weaned" myself. It took about a week or so to completely dry out.
I hope I'm not scarring you more than informing you! It really isn't all that bad (especially when you compare it to childbirth!!!)
(just kidding, I had a c-section, anyway so I can't really compare!)

[lrcantrell]

Oh my gosh, I leaked all the time! I overproduced so I was like a faucet going off. I bought those bra pads (disposable) and used those all the time. They hold a ton!!! I would leak a whole lot more just before feeding time or if I was full and hadn't pumped yet. When I would get out of the shower I could bend over and they'd be going off, drip, drip, drip, like a leaky faucet!!! As long as I had the bra pads in though, it wasn't really an issue and I would forget about it.

If you do not breastfeed then your milk production will just decrease and eventully stop. You will leak at first and feel full but if you don't ever start nursing then after a week or two you'll be completely dried up. As for weaning, ouch jamauk!!! You're braver that I ever was, that sounds like it would be painful!!! I would just skip a feed for two days then on the third day, cut out another feed but not the one right after it. For example: if I was nursing at 0400,0800,1200,1600,2000,2400 then on the first 2 days I would cut out the 1200 feed, after that, cut out the 2000 and 1200 and so on until they're all done. The 0400 feed was always my last to cut out because I was to lazy to get up and make a bottle!

I always found the first week of nursing was extremely painful. I would bite down on my teeth whenever the baby would latch on. Once they were on it felt better but at first it really hurts. My advice if you're going to nurse is to make sure you grab the lactation consultant in the hospital and get her to show you the proper way to latch, it'll make a ton of difference in the amount of discomfort that you fee. Once she showed me with ds#2 it was alot better. I used Lanolin oil on my nipples to keep them from getting cracked and bleed at first. Once they toughen up though, it's no problem.

[jamauk]

lrcantrell,
I WISH I produced like that! Maybe I would have lasted longer with breastfeeding. I would wait until over an hour after Ben's last feeding and pump for 30 minutes and MAYBE get a full oz. A friend of mine that had a baby the same time I did would nurse for 45 mins and then pump immediately after and still get 4 - 6 oz. How do you guys do it???

I bought the Lanolin oil as well, but never used it. I never had any pain at all while nursing. Ben was a latching pro from the first time. The lactation consultants (jason called them the "nursing nazi's) were very impressed. They were very intense where we delivered. They looked down on women who chose not to nurse (the reason I know this is because they told me flat out) and they wouldn't let me introduce a pacifier or a bottle even though he had one heck of a latch. They let Jason feed him expressed milk with a syringe. It was pretty bizzare!!

Anyway...to any of you with pg or nursing questions...keep on asking, like I said in another post, I could go on & on & on and then some more about this stuff!!!

[jamauk]

Kristie,
BTW, how is your sister's back feeling?