Not for everyone but great if you can do it. (Breastfeeding in General)

Member Name: mumto3

Product:	Breastfeeding in General
Date:	16/10/08 (14 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Free, always available and just the right temperature

Disadvantages: Can be painful, too much pressure to do it and makes you exhausted

I have breast fed all three of my children for their first year. I am still feeding my
youngest but his birthday is in a couple of weeks so this will soon stop. With my first
baby I really struggled to breast feed and I spent many days in tears because of the
pain I was in. I had trouble latching her on and my nipples was raw and she was
screaming because every time she tried to feed I would tense up and she wouldn't get
any milk. I eventually purchased some nipple shields and have never looked back.
After a couple of weeks I had to wean my daughter off the nipple shields but by then
she knew how to latch on and we didn't have any further problems. I had my daughter
at home and didn't get any help or advice on feeding from my midwife but having
heard what you are told in hospital I don't think it would have helped. I had mastitis
twice whilst feeding my second child but this although horrible at the time was soon
cleared up with antibiotics. With my third child I have found it a struggle to keep up
with his demands for milk. He was quite a big baby and obviously needed plenty to
fill him up unfortunately being third I have two other children to look after and I
wasn't able to produce enough milk to sustain him properly. Breast feeding can be
tricky and it is painful initially even if the child latches on properly you still
experience pain when the milk lets down. While you are breastfeeding you need to
drink plenty and eat nourishing food regularly and get as much rest as you can. This
obviously gets harder the more children you have as you don't get the opportunity to
rest and you can forget to eat properly. I found breastfeeding to be convenient as it is
always on tap and it is also very cheap as you don't need any kit except a decent
feeding bra. If I had another child I would probably have to bottle feed which does upset me but practically I don't think I could manage three children and the demands of a hungry baby. My husband is a farmer so there is no paternity leave the babies pop out and you have to get on with it!

Summary: Can be hard work but is worth it once you get going