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Breast feeding

As me n my boyfriend are trying for a baby at the moment I've been preparing myself for as much as I can really so there are no surprises. Had done a search but couldn't find much. Was just wondering if many people on here who have kids breast fed or not and what their reasons were. Personally I don't like the idea of having my nipples sucked on by a small baby but is it better for the baby to have natural milk? I assume that the powder stuff will be just as good for the baby though 'these days'? Any suggestions? Will it in any way affect the childhood? Perhaps be closer to the mother? Etc..
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Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Breast is best, for all sorts of reasons - resistance to infection, better intelligence, protection from obesity etc. Some mothers start breast feeding with the best of intentions but it is harder than bottle feeding because babies take less at a time and therefore wake up more often during the night. Not to mention the sore nips and potential for biting. :eek:

    Here's the NHS propaganda site: http://www.breastfeeding.nhs.uk/

    Advantages for the mother include getting your figure back quickly and better bonding with your baby too.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I'd say try it out first. I think it is better for the reasons listed, but at the end of the day it comes down to you. My health has probably been negatively impacted by my parents / family smoking - in an ideal world it would be best if they didnt do it around me or other people - but im still alive for the time being. :)

    I would never criticise any mother if they chose not to, but would encourage them at least to try it if they haven't already. If they cant abide by it - then fine - but you might find you dont mind it as much as you expect.

    You could always ask your boyfriend to bite / suck your nipples in advance so you get used to it :p
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If it's specifically that you don't like the idea of the baby latching on the breast then you could always consider expressing your milk using a manual or electric breast pump (it's also possible by hand, but would be so, incredibly time consuming if it was for every feed) and storing it in sealed bottles with which to feed the baby. Or you could express some milk and combine it with formula feed, which would not only mean that you didn't have to express as often, it would also mean that the baby was getting the benefits of mother's milk at least part of the time -- without actually having to latch on. It also means you can potentially share feeding equally with your partner, which can't be a bad thing when you're both new parents.

    There are many well-documented advantages of breast-feeding, many of which Kentish mentioned, but of course it doesn't mean that if you choose not to do it that you are doing your child a disservice or going to cause a negative impact. After all, you have to do what you feel comfortable with and if breast feeding is going to make you unhappy then I think you should avoid it as the last thing you want to happen is that you associate nourishing and bonding with your child with a feeling of dread and unwillingness. Better the child gets their nourishment from another source, in my opinion anyway. Obviously, a new mother produces milk for obvious reasons, it's as natural as it gets... but that's not to say it will feel natural to you at first. It has got to be a very strange sensation, and you'll either warm to it or hate it and decide against that method.

    That said I think, as ShyBoy said, that you should consider giving it a go and then making a decision re: how you're going to feed the baby. But for the moment, don't worry yourself about these things, you'll have ample time and many opportunities to go through all these issues and anxieties with the appropriate people when the time comes. Though I can understand your eagerness to know everything, when it comes to pregnancy I personally know I will be asking every question in and out of the book. :)

    Good luck with getting pregnant, have fun trying ;)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I breastfed my daughter for 5 weeks, Im glad I did but Im also glad I stopped it when I did. Breast is best for baby but it isnt always right for every mother.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    briggi wrote:
    it doesn't mean that if you choose not to do it that you are doing your child a disservice or going to cause a negative impact.
    Actually, by implication it does.

    The rest I agree with - you should make the decision whether or not to breastfeed based on the facts but also your own feelings about it.

    The best person to get advice from would be your midwife, and although they are mostly very pro-breastfeeding they know all the ins and outs.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I'm in total agreement with you about the facts, Kentish.

    The basic fact that a mother lactates naturally tells us everything we need to know about the primal needs of a child. But as the original poster said, a lot has been done to create "unnatural" alternatives to mother's milk, as it's important to have a mother at the pinnacle of healthy happiness... as well as a child. I think it can impact new mothers negatively to hear that they're doing wrong by their baby if they can't, struggle with, or are unable to breast feed. I know when one of my close friends had her first baby she struggled tremendously with the expectations she felt people had of her with regard to breast-feeding. It's a difficult issue, sometimes anyway.

    My point in terms of it doing the child (and parent-child relationship) a disservice was that the benefits to the child through breastfeeding might not outweigh any negative feelings associated with the experience by an unwilling but pressurised new mother. Which would potentially have a far more negative on both parties, probably especially the mother. I'm for keeping new mothers as happy and comfortable as possible, as I believe that's of more benefit to the child in the long-run than breast milk.

    Anyway... when you do get pregnant, the midwife will of course be an excellent source of all this information as has just been said. In addition to the view of mothers on this forum, it might also be worth looking up a few Pregnancy/New Mother Discussion groups online to find out other some first-hand views :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Dispite what everyone said and the total pressure i got i choose not to breastfeed (i couldn't have for the first feed anyway) it wasn't for me. I did not like the idea for many reasons. Sure its meant to be better for the baby but if you choose not to doesn't mean you baby is gonna get sick etc.
    Read the facts and do what is right FOR YOU. Don't let anyone pressure you either way.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Kentish wrote:
    it is harder than bottle feeding

    No way! Botle feeding must be a breeze then? And there's me thinking it would mean washing and sterilising and carrying stuff around with you...

    My personal experience is that breast feeding is easy. I also really enjoyed breastfeeding. Not for the ole health benefit reasons, though I'm sure they're great and I was back into my pre-preg clothes on day 11. But mostly because it feels like being in love to have your naked baby next to your naked skin, feeding from you as provider, carer and nourisher- ahhhh bliss.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Glittery wrote:
    I breastfed my daughter for 5 weeks, Im glad I did but Im also glad I stopped it when I did. Breast is best for baby but it isnt always right for every mother.

    Very true!

    I bf my son for 3weeks, but couldnt carry on as i was on the verge of pnd. He's been bottle fed since then and is a healthy little thing! :D
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    katralla wrote:
    No way! Botle feeding must be a breeze then? And there's me thinking it would mean washing and sterilising and carrying stuff around with you...
    Good point. I only meant that bottle feeds sit on baby's stomach and send them to sleep for hours, whereas breastfed babies tend to feed throughout the night.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Thanks for the advice. Am thinkin (abit ahead of myself i know as i'm not even pregnant yet that i know of) that I could give it a go and if it goes well breast feed when i'm at home, but obv if i have to go out go back to the bottle so I don't have to expose myself to any family! Or would that mess up the baby's kinda...system? Being given two different types of milk?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Janjan wrote:
    Thanks for the advice. Am thinkin (abit ahead of myself i know as i'm not even pregnant yet that i know of) that I could give it a go and if it goes well breast feed when i'm at home, but obv if i have to go out go back to the bottle so I don't have to expose myself to any family! Or would that mess up the baby's kinda...system? Being given two different types of milk?
    You can buy a pump thing to get breast milk out in advanced so you can then bottle feed the baby in public but using your own milk. Or you could just find somewhere a bit private to do it whilst out in public, if you are uncomfortable with being seen. Eg. a lot of shopping malls have a mother and baby room. Or if you are at someones house you could go into a bedroom or whatever.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    And this helps you lose weight too hmm? If you're getting your chest figure back won't the rest of your body be our of proportion?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    You get your figure back, not your "chest figure" (whatever that may be).
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    What..so..by breast feeding it gets your whole body figure back to normal? And by chest figure I meant asin boob size. Couldn't think of the word.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Only because it takes a lot of energy to produce the milk. It's not magic.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    My sister breast fed my little nephiew for the first 2 months. It does provide your baby with a good start but it isn't for everyone so don't feel pressured into it! She ended up changing to formula because she had to breast feed every two hours during the day and sometimes at night and she started to find it hard and felt worn out. She did try the pumps, the manual and electric, but found they didn't work very well, i think it took about a day and a half or 2 days to express just 6 ounces of milk! Which is quite a long time!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Janjan wrote:
    What..so..by breast feeding it gets your whole body figure back to normal? And by chest figure I meant asin boob size. Couldn't think of the word.

    Supposedly it burns around 500 calories everytime you breast feed, but i'm not sure how true that is though. It does help you regain your figure a little bit quicker.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Janjan wrote:
    Thanks for the advice. Am thinkin (abit ahead of myself i know as i'm not even pregnant yet that i know of) that I could give it a go and if it goes well breast feed when i'm at home, but obv if i have to go out go back to the bottle so I don't have to expose myself to any family! Or would that mess up the baby's kinda...system? Being given two different types of milk?

    Most babies don't tend to like going from breast to bottle so that could be difficult unless you expressed.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Even with expressing, people find mixing the two more difficult. Mine wouldn't take a bottle- the teets are different you see. Some people find that after a bottle the baby doesn't want a breast again because they get more milk faster out of a bottle... I used a beaker with expressed milk once baby was old enough but for the first few months at least, breast feeding meant baby having me to hand 24hrs.- Would be a problem if you needed to go to work etc...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Oh and the figure thing- AFAIK, breast feeding encourages the womb too shrink faster, thereby pulling in the mummy tummy quicker as well as the calorie effect...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    When i first started stopping bf'ing, i gave my little 'un formula and i fed him once or twice too and it never bothered him. Some babies are different though and very picky.
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