I was ready to give up on day 6 until....

i took my LO into another room away from everyone and just looked at her little face. so innocent, dependant on me for everything and i just though to myself, its up to me to do whats best for her and i knew then that i could do it.

i found it so painful for the first 2 weeks, my nipples were cracked and very sore and sometimes bleeding but i sent DH out for some nipple shields and they really helped.

after 3/4 weeks i had cracked it and was so proud of myself. i aimed to feed her for 6 months and ended up doing it for a whole year!

well she is now 19 months old and a real handful but i wouldn't have it any other way. we are now trying for baby no. 2 and can't wait to do it all again.

good look to all you ladies starting out. you can do it xx

what a great thread!!

Things that help me:

Expressing and others feeding!

Pumping loads

OH making me food and bringing me drinks!

Support

Determination

Goals and Milestones

Good luck everyone xx

Thinking of the money!! BF saves at least £350 on formula alone if done for the first year. Not to mention the savings in sterilizing stuff, bottles, teats, electric etc. So I think we all deserve a nice treat.

I really struggled with flat nipples when my breasts engorged and used a latch assist that I got from Everyday Maternity, it drew our my nipple so that Alfie could latch on.

We had a terrible time of it. Darwin was so little and weak when he was born, he had issues latching on and I had no idea what I was doing. A nurse helped me for about 30 seconds, and after that I was on my own.

My nipples cracked, bled, scabbed, peeled, and I thought I'd have to give up. At that point, it was Lansinoh (lanolin) that saved me. Overnight things got better - that stuff is magic!

Latching on was a big issue for us, and because Dar was little he wanted to feed all the time (ow!) The doctor's helpful advice was this: "looks like you're having trouble with latching on. You should work on that." So I got on the computer and looked up breastfeeding websites, videos, anything I could find. I learned how to get him to latch on (most of our problem was I was trying too hard and not letting him just do what comes naturally).

I went mad with the lack of schedule, short nursing sessions (because he got too tired to keep going), growth spurts... at six weeks I started to supplement because I thought if I didn't I'd lose my mind. Then I got a grip, regrouped, stopped making formula and surrendered myself to Darwin. If he needed to feed I just relaxed and let him. Forget the laundry, the dishes, whatever, I just gave myself over to him - that relaxing was what really turned things around.

Now at five months + it seems like things are getting on track. I still can't pump enough to have 'spare' milk to add to his pablum so I use formula for that, but when he's not eating solids he's BF on demand and all on his own he's started taking longer breaks between longer, more serious nursing sessions.

For anyone having trouble, all I can say is try your best to stick with it through tough periods like infections, sore nipples, growth spurts and long nights. If you need to supplement, it's not the end of the world, but try not to give up BFing completely. Something magical happens after a few months - all of a sudden your LO will start to interact with you while s/he nurses. S/he'll put a tiny hand on your breast, stare into your eyes, and just LOVE you and it's the most precious thing in the world.

My breast friend pillow, it was an amazing help. Feeding my son on demand worked best for us.

What a great thread!! Not too much longer for me, and there was such great advice here!! Thanks ladies!!

Making sure that i stuck through the first week. It does hurt but it does get better, once you have that first week done it gets much better.
Also lots and lots of support. I would have given up a long time ago without the help and support of some people here

Very inspirational!!!

Nice read ladies! I am sure this inspires many