NHS breastfeeding DVD freaked me out!

Hiya,

I finally got around to watching the NHS breastfeeding DVD my midwife gave me, and unfortunately it has not had the intended effect! (Ie convincing everyone how wonderful and great BFing is)

I've been intending to BF (for health and cost reasons) but I admit, I didn't realise how time-consuming it was. It looks like for the first few months, babies feed every couple hours and each feed can take up to an hour. So doing the math, it sounds like you're kind of BFing constantly for the first few months. And you can't express for the first month so your partner can't really help you out.

Is this really how it is???

Also, I noticed in the DVD, none of the women burped their babies after feeding. I thought this was standard?

I'm still going for it, I'm just going to see how it goes and try to do it as long as possible.

Does anyone have any experiences or coping strategies they'd like to share?

I have a history of depression and am worried about post-natal depression, so I'd like to prepare myself mentally for what it's like, without over-worrying about it...

cheers,
j

Hi,
I breastfed my daughter until she was old enough to have regular milk....almost a year.

In the beginning it is frequent, in my experience it was every couple of hours, but I did have a quick eater and she was finished within 20 minutes...at night she would sleep a bit longer and it would be about 3-4 hours between feedings. Personally I found it easy once I got over the initial sore nipples (having eczema didn't help). Although you are feeding more frequently you dont have any headaches preparing bottles, and wherever you are you always are ready to give her what she needs (just needing a quiet place to sit).

I also find waking up in the middle of the night not too bad, the deal to get her dad to help out was he would get his ass out of bed and get her and bring her to me, that way I stayed in a nice warm bed and she just snuggled in with me and ate...I admit often we would just drift back to sleep a bit.

Hope this helps, if you have any specific questions-- ask away- it has been 20 years, but I still remember it fairly well

You don't need to burp as much because they're not taking in air like they can with a bottle.

I found the lying on my left side in bed feed the most comfy when tired but managed to do all kinds of things while sitting up feeding Jean (reading, eating dinner, surfing the 'net on my phone).

Why can't you express for a month after birth?  I had never heard that before and I'm definitely planning to pump straight away!

Why can't you express for a month after birth?  I had never heard that before and I'm definitely planning to pump straight away!

Geeta, I think it's more so they don't recommend bottle feeding ebm for a bit to avoid confusion?  We used the Tomee Tippee closer to nature bottles with ebm occasionally with no problems but didn't do so til she was a month old.

Geeta, I think it's more so they don't recommend bottle feeding ebm for a bit to avoid confusion?  We used the Tomee Tippee closer to nature bottles with ebm occasionally with no problems but didn't do so til she was a month old.

Ah, okay - that makes sense.  I am definitely going to express, and probably before a month, but I will probably take my chances with nipple confusion!  I can see why you wouldn't want to, though.

Well you can always express and freeze it for a few weeks.

Yes, exactly!

I think breastfeeding is different for each baby. You won't know how it will be until you actually do it. I was not prepared for how hard it was, but I think determination is 90%.

My son had a tongue tie so we had initial problems and he would feed for 2 hours at a time with only an hour or two break in between, it was quite draining, but it really does get better. I found that around 8 weeks, we both got the hang of it. He still continued to feed often and for long periods of time, but it got more manageable. Co sleeping, which I know not everyone is comfortable with really helped me get some sleep at night.

It is really time consuming, but in my opinion it is worth it. Just try and stick it out for 6-8 weeks. I really think something just clicks after that. Try not to worry, you may have one of those babies that just gets it straightaway. Good Luck!

Like Sunnyflower said, the difficulty of breastfeeding can depend on the baby, but it also depends on the mother's patience.

I didn't breastfeed some of my kids because I didn't have enough knowledge or the will to do it (I really wanted to, but didn't try hard enough and eventually gave up). I'd get very stressed if it didn't go well, or if the baby wasn't adapting. My last 2 babies were a big success, though. I breastfed my now 9 year old until he was 9 months old, and my 14 month old is still breastfed I don't think he intends on stopping anytime soon!

Breastfeeding comes easier to some moms than it does to others. But patience is key

It is time consuming and hard for a start, but here we are over a year later, and I'm not what you'd call a tough nut, so you can do it too!  Plus it may not have occurred to you, but a newborn can take a LONG time to drain a bottle too, nearly as long as for a breastfeed, but with the bottle you have to throw in time to boil a kettle, sterilize, and clean the thing afterward too.  Try and think of feeds as cuddling time and down time for the first couple of months.  Feeds are a good excuse to relax on the sofa, watch a little TV, and be brought snacks and hot drinks     You'll be pretty tired whatever method of feeding you choose, but this one is best for the baby.  Don't be downhearted.  I was determined to breastfeed quite pigheadedly before having Lucie, but I was sure I'd feel weird and icky about the whole thing.  I just figured I'd push through it for her sake.  Things are always very different from what you expect, and it was nothing of the sort.  Nothing has felt more natural, although that doesn't mean it hasn't been a learning process!  Just be sure and get good advice as a lot of the advice you get given by well-meaning people (and occasionally old-school HVs) is actually harmful to BF rather than helpful.  Baby-led is the way to go!

It is time consuming and hard for a start, but here we are over a year later, and I'm not what you'd call a tough nut, so you can do it too!  Plus it may not have occurred to you, but a newborn can take a LONG time to drain a bottle too, nearly as long as for a breastfeed, but with the bottle you have to throw in time to boil a kettle, sterilize, and clean the thing afterward too.  Try and think of feeds as cuddling time and down time for the first couple of months.  Feeds are a good excuse to relax on the sofa, watch a little TV, and be brought snacks and hot drinks     You'll be pretty tired whatever method of feeding you choose, but this one is best for the baby.  Don't be downhearted.  I was determined to breastfeed quite pigheadedly before having Lucie, but I was sure I'd feel weird and icky about the whole thing.  I just figured I'd push through it for her sake.  Things are always very different from what you expect, and it was nothing of the sort.  Nothing has felt more natural, although that doesn't mean it hasn't been a learning process!  Just be sure and get good advice as a lot of the advice you get given by well-meaning people (and occasionally old-school HVs) is actually harmful to BF rather than helpful.  Baby-led is the way to go!

That is lovely advice! ♥

I bottle fed my first, breastfed my 2nd but as he was in the hospital 3 weeks and was an emergency c section it was a struggle and didn't work, and am planning on breastfeeding my 3rd. As far as the TIME goes.... no matter which way you go it will take up your whole life for a little while. They will want to feed frequently regardless of how they get their food, and this nice thing about breastfeeding is that your boobs are always right there, you have to prep a bottle.

It's time consuming, indeed! I read through all 4 of the Twilight Saga books in just a few weeks, since I'd read while nursing

Wow, thanks for all the reassurance ladies! This is really helpful. What I'm taking from this is that it can be hard but it's doable and a positive attitude is key. (Also to hope for a quick feeding baby!)

(And can I just say, you are all much more reassuring and helpful than the NHS! 

Especially thanks for pointing out that it's going to be exhausting and tough no matter how I feed, I think reminding myself of that will help.

  Reading the whole Twilight series -- what else did you all read or watch while BFing? We don't have a TV (though I'm seriously rethinking that now!) but I'm thinking maybe I should stock up on books and DVDs now...

I'm also wondering, is there anything your partners did that was really helpful or supportive while you were BFing? My husband is already planning to take up the lion's share of cooking, cleaning, shopping that first month... just wondering if any other practical or emotional support was really helpful to you?

Thanks ladies! You rock