Name: Celia & Katie

How long: 12 weeks.

What was the problem: 1) Initially bad latch and poor positioning. That was a side issue to the main one - 2) I was living with my in-laws when Katie was born. She's the first b'fed baby in their family for 60 years. So I faced an attitude problem. Throughout the pg they'd repeatedly talked about my bottle feeding the baby, that I wouldn't be able to b'feed for . After she was born they made it clear that they were uncomfy around me when I was feeding her. They made it clear there'd be NO babysitting whilst she wasn't taking a bottle. I had many comments about the frequency of her feeds, worries over her weight gain.. it was like they were all holding their breaths waiting for me to "fail" and give her formula.
3) We had green poos that wouldn't return to yellow. I felt SO guilty and really saw it as MY fault. I was under pressure to give bottles to her so that she could be looked after by MIL whilst I did moving stuff.

What we did: 1) We worked on the poor latch and positioning - repeatedly - everytime she grew some more I'd get sore till dh would remind me to amend the position to account for her larger size.
2) My stubborness kicked in. We spent a lot of time hidden away in our room at first until I built my confidence up a little. I invested in some b'feeding tops for discretion, and decided I WAS going to sit and feed wherever I happened to be in the house and it was up to them to get over it or move. I repeatedly assured them Katie wouldn't be put off by their staying in the room, that I didn't mind either or I wouldn't feed there.. I went all out to educate them about b'feeding.
3) I was advised the green poos could be "a form of colic" even though she wasn't crying. She was "either under or over feeding, or possibly was getting wind trapped in her tummy making her stomach think it needed to produce more bile than there was milk for it to digest". I worked like crazy for two days to get us moved, feeds had stopped being enjoyable and it was breaking my heart. I couldn't take the stress of each feed any longer. So we moved before dh, MIL and FIL thought we were ready to, but it meant I could unpack at leisure with no-one breathing down my neck, and most importantly, relax and feed at leisure. Within a week I had normal poos.

Why: I'd grown up seeing my brother & sister b'fed, I'd never known any different and had only ever imagined b'feeding my babies, that I "wouldn't be able to" had never entered MY head until my in-laws put that fear there during my pg. I knew I'd Love b'feeding from having witnessed my mums and sisters experiences of it, I knew it would be worth sticking with it.

Outcome: At 12 weeks we finally moved into our own house, I was finally able to relax and "let it all hang out" if I wanted to. I didn't feel guilty if I did "nothing" for however long it took to do "nothing" for. Katie relaxed along with me. We Finally Clicked. We haven't looked back! I now Love and cherish our times together feeding. My in-laws have (for now) accepted that this is how my daughter will be fed. Katie is starting on solids, so I'm involving MIL in that and she's happier. My in-laws are now ok with being in the room with us when we feed. I'm starting to get the "how much longer.." comments, but I think they're finally realising I'll do this MY way and just how stubborn about that I can be
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Wow, that is so impressive that you hang in there and did not give in to their pressure! Good for you and for Katie!!!

Name: Kristina & Lucas (01/25/05)

How long: self weaned @ 13 mos

The problem: Flat nipples, inability to latch

What we did: Used Medela brand nipple shields at every feeding for the first 3 weeks. During the third week I'd get him going with the nipple shield then take it away and try to get him re-latched without it. By the end of week 4 we were sheild free. Every feeding seemed like such a production, but I'm so glad I stuck with it. DH was VERY supportive and constantly told me what a fantastic job I was doing. Being very hormonal I felt like my body was being such a failure. Fortunately supply was not an issue and the Medela shields are thin enough that the ducts were being properly stimulated for let-down at the feedings. My only beef is that there is very little info out there about how to self-treat/self diagnose for flat nipples and everything I would read would just say to ask a lactation consultant. Medela makes 3 sizes of shields and turns out I really should have had the smallest size, but the one most readily available in stores is the medium and NOTHING to clue you in as to how to figure out what size you need. Check with your LC...yeah, yeah yeah.

Outcome: Once off the shield we succeeded in breastfeeding exclusively (no formula) with the exception of the introduction of solids for 13 mos. Never had any other complications.

Kudos
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to all of you who worked past sucky attitudes, nipple confusion, supply problems, thrush etc. I can only imagine
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Name: Jeanne

How long: It really did take that 5-6 weeks to get it all figured out. I was ready to give up at week 5, but stuck it out and magically it started to get better at week 6.

What was the problem: He was nursing all along, but it hurt SO bad. I had cracked, swollen,sore nipples and his latch, although effective, hurt so badly! He was gaining weight, so nobody really cared that I was in horrible pain! Also, I'm chesty, and he was big and floppy too. I had visions of me waltzing around the house with him in the sling just bf'ing away, and for us, bf'ing was not something you could multitask while doing. It was a full-body experience.

What we did: I used the football hold from the very beginning, and never used anything else. To give my nipples some relief, I would nurse, then pump into a bottle, then nurse, etc. Josh took them both like a champ. I also used Lansinoh cream, which did help. I had a lactation consult where we tried a nipple shield, but that just upset him more than anything else. All of a sudden around week 6, we just got used to eachother. I also nursed frequently during the day-- every 2 hours I'd say. That really helped too.

Why: I liked knowing that I was giving him the best possible start with the breastmilk. I was breastfed, and it was just something I wanted to do for him. I didn't like it at all for most of the time I did it, if we're being totally honest. After we learned to nurse in bed (probably 3-4 months later), I would put him in bed with me for his early morning feeding, and we'd fall back asleep together for a couple hours. At that time, I felt more like a "mother" and more bonded to him than I had before. It seemed so natural. I definitely missed that when we weaned and that was the last feeding to go.
Outcome: He nursed for 9 months. I was going to ttc again and he needed to be weaned for that reason. If that hadn't been the case, I would have probably nursed for a month or 2 longer.

Name: I’m Gretchen, and my dd To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 15 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Kendall has been nursing now for 5 months, but not without help!

How long: I'd have to go back and look at my "diary" but I think it took about 4 or 5 weeks for it to be a smooth ride completely.

What happened: Well, I didn't nurse her right away after the surgery like I wanted, which I am sure didn't help. I had advised the nurses that I was BF, but I had thought a LC was supposed to be there for my first time. No one asked me or told me someone was coming to show me. Thankfully, the baby nurse was very nice and helped me get started. That first little tug was amazing! After that it was down-hill. I knew I had flat-nipples before and had been wearing the hard nipple-shields at home, but it did not work very well. She would nurse, but I couldn't feel the tug anymore and she wouldn't nurse for long. She had plenty of soiled diapers, so I thought she was doing fine. I can’t remember all the details-wish I had kept a diary of our days in the hospital. But basically she was fed colostrum by bottle that I had pumped, but I would still try and nurse her whenever I could. And then the nursery gave her formula early one morning (without asking me!!!) b/c her weight was too low. The LC came again and showed me how to use a nipple-shield and also did some syringe-with a small, flexible-tube-thing to see if she was having sucking issues; she wasn’t. She even showed me how to hold the tube to my nipple to feed formula into K’s mouth while she was nursing, but it was too complicated. To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 15 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.


What we did: The day we got home from the hospital, my MIL bought me a Medela Advanced Pump. I pumped to relieve pressure and to get them soft enough for K to nurse. There was a lot of crying and frustration, and realizing how easy it was for my friends, and even my own mother, to give up. On about the 4^th or 5^th day, I saw blood while I was pumping-there was a skin tag right on my nipple and it was coming loose and slightly bleeding from the pumping & nursing. I was freaked out, but thankful it didn’t bleed anymore & I could use the shield. Eventually the tag disappeared-I still don’t know what happened to it. We ended up using the nipple shield for every feeding until she was about 3 weeks old, then I started trying to get her to do it without it. (I had vowed to do no more bottles at home!) She would go for a minute or so, and then start to fuss so I would put the shield back on. With patience, we were able to take it away completely! As she got older, she got better and nursed for longer. Sometimes there was pain, but not much and I used Lanisoh religiously after each session. IA that is whole body experience, very painful on my back, but I think the pros outweigh the cons. Oh, and I have only ever used the cross-cradle hold w/a Boppy. We could not get the hang of the football hold or the side-laying-down position.

I returned to work after 8 weeks, pumping 3 times a day at work and nursing at night and on the weekends. We were able to go 4 months straight without really supplementing, except occasionally. But now my production seems to have plateued and she eats more than I can produce. I decided to not stress about it, and still pump 3 times a day and nurse on weekends, but willingly give her formula if I can’t BF or don’t have any saved. And my mother (daycare) adds it to her BM bottles. My goal was to BF for at least 6 months and I think we will definitely make it, and I will continue going as long as she wants to, but no longer than 12 months probably. Not sure how comfortable I am with going past that, but we will see.


Why: I always thought it was an amazing gift to be able to sustain your own child on something only you can provide, naturally and really wanted to be able to do that. I also was very interested in the added benefits of saved $$$ on formula, less messy/stink diapers, and portability! Although I don’t take advantage much of the portability part, I did BF her in a dressing room at Kohl’s once! Breastmilk is the best thing for your baby and gives them a great start and also has health benefits for the baby and the mom that I just couldn’t pass up.


Congratulations and kudos to all the women of TBC who has taken on this challenge and succeeded!

Sorry so long!