You may have noticed TigerLady is taking a short break from the champions thread so I am helping out in the meantime. I hope you will join me in sending our thoughts and to her

Welcome to the BnB BF Champions thread! If you have found yourself here because you need a bit of extra support, you have come the the right place.

This thread is not intended to take the place of the main BF forum. So you can always post threads directly there. However, this is a good place for more intensive and specific advice when you need that extra boost or have a concern that you just can't seem to get sorted.

You can seek assistance in 3 ways:

1. Post a question/comment/concern at the end of this thread. Most of the BF Champions are subscribed to this thread and will check it. You can expect a reply from one or more Champions fairly quickly. Usually the same day and sometimes nearly right away!

2. Go through the list of Champions below. Each Champion has listed a bit about themselves and/or what experience they have. You are sure to find someone that has experience with the same concern you have. Click on the Champion's name, then send them a message on their profile or via PM. They will get back to you as soon as they are able. You can always message more than one Champion, too.

3. Send me (Katt, or Nervous_1, or Summer Rain) a PM and ask for a Champion to be assinged to you. Tell me a bit about you and your concerns. I will do my best to choose a Champion for you.

If you don't know what an abbreviation means, look at the end of this post for a list.

If you are interested in becoming a Champion, please PM me.

Happy Breastfeeding, Everyone!


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Ablacketer: experience: 2 babies past one year exclusively (one till 18 months and one still nursing),being active duty military and nursing (duty standing), working and pumping (from 8 weeks), co-sleeping till 6 months, sharing a bedroom till 9 months
age gap of over 10 years between babies, painful let down, C-section(failure to dilate due to cervical scarring post LEEP procedure) after two vaginal births, homemade baby food/wean at 6 months.

applegirl: DD had a poor latch for the first 6 weeks. Experience of pumping and continuing to EBF when returning early to work (my DD was 8 weeks old). EBF and lots of international travel. Co-sleeping.

amygwen: c-section, cleft palate/lip, expressing, young mom

AnnaBanana9: Alyssa is going strong at 25 months, no signs of wanting to self-wean. She was a slow weight gainer and we had to face an ignorant GP who dismissed us with "just give her formula" and didn't want to listen to us. I have had blocked ducts and a bout of mastitis.

anna matronic: Single parent, experience with co-sleeping, delayed milk, c-section, jaundice, newborn weight loss, NIP, and reflux.

Aurora: Low supply, slow weight gain, large breasted, supplements to increase supply, and combi-feeding.

austinsmom: 7 months general experience

Babydreams321: I had a severe over supply, I had bleeding nipples etc for the whole time, i started expressing when Harry was 6 weeks, i ended up exclusively expressing until approx 6months

babypowder: I have experience of reflux and cows milk protein intolerance with a baby who fed every 2 hours (or more) for the first 12 weeks.

BecL: Experience with SCBU, preemie, BF while PG.

Bernie: Experience with TT and latch issues.

Bex84: I have been breast feeding for over 5 months. I found breast feeding in hospital difficult but once at home was able to work it out myself. I had thrush on my breasts and baby had oral thrush early on. I am now really confident, I co sleep, am happy to nip and plan to breastfeed as long as my little girl wants. I have dealt with DHs family trying to get me to formula feed. My little girl is a frequent feeder, the first two months it was every 20 minutes to an hour, then she started sleeping through and still feed every hour to 2 hrs in the day.

Blah11: Bf dd for 33 months, Bf whilst pregnant until 6m, experience of self-weaning, currently bf exclusively.

Braven05: Sleepy eater (in the beginning), mastitis, clogged milk ducts, breast biopsy while BFing, sore/cracked nipples from a high palate, EBFing but pumping at work for 3 months now, cosleeping, BFing with very large breasts/using different "holds" to accommodate this.

bky: Experience at breast supplementation (useful for relactation and low supply), long term combination feeding, management of chronic low supply.

brunettebimbo: I am going to train in BF Support as soon as the course comes up in my local area. I've overcome latching problems, weaning off nipple shields and refusing to latch.

caro103: Experience of-EBF for nearly 9 months now, breastfed straight away with skin to skin after homebirth, sore, bleeding and cracked nipples, latch difficulties early on, baby having a retracted lower jaw, large breasts, nip.

Celesse: My LO was slow to latch and had an initial weight loss of 18%, followed by ongoing weight issues til 2.5/3months. Needed supplementing, so combi-fed to begin with. Eventually went EBF at 4 months. Now extended feeding. Also I'm TTC and BF. I'm a trained BF Peer Supporter.

cheese lover: I've BF LO for nearly 9 months now. I've experienced a long assisted delivery with delayed (3 hours) initiation of breastfeeding. I've been pumping at work for almost 7 months, part time co-sleeping and overactive letdown, blocked ducts, thrush, NIP.

ChocolateKate: Experience of breast abscesses.

Chrissie33: Experience with NIP, TT, and extended BF.

Clairebear: Experience with c-section and general anxieties.

CocoaOne: Trained BF peer supporter, experience with co-sleeping, expressing, difficulty with LO accepting bottle/cup, extended BF.

DolceBella: EBF for 6 months, pumped while working full time, extended BF, BF while PG.

Doodlepants: I BF my first child for a month and am successfully BF my 2nd who is now 2 months. I have experience and have researched A LOT, BF with implants, oversupply, overactive letdown, mastitis, thrush, weak suck, breast compressions, fore/hind milk imbalance, dairy intolerance, jaundice and attatchment and positioning with large breasts.

Ellie: I have experience with EMCS under general, NICU, delayed meeting baby and delayed start to BF, delayed milk and low supply at the start, slow weight gain, then poor latch problems, thrush, expressing and donating, going back to work, extended BF. I would love to be of help if I could.

Elmo5: BF after Elective Caesarean, slow to latch, latching issues/ bad latch, nipple shields, tongue tie, exclusively BF, BF whilst BLW, blocked milk ducts, nursing strike co-sleeping, NIP.

Faerie: EE for 5 weeks after EMCS and DD being in the NICU. Experience with tube feeding, transitioning to EBF, BF while PG, self weaning, toddler starting BF again after birth of baby (DS), tandem nursing, difficulty with bottle introduction (DS), and NIP.

FsMummy: BF multiples (twins)

goddess25: My areas of expertise are 1. BF with low supply related to PCOS (nothing helps as its hormonal) 2. Slow weight gain 3. Needing to top up but baby absolutely refusing formula 4. Blocked milk ducts X6 5. Thrush in breast 6. BF with a toddler

GypsyDancer: I have experience in...breastfeeding for nearly 16 months and still counting, EB..never given formula, exclusively breastfeeding through Jaundice, breastfeeding a baby with additional needs (specifically cystic fibrosis), breastfeeding a baby with special dietary requirements and needing high fat intake, breastfeeding through the night up until a year/frequent feeding, cosleeping, breastfeeding as a young mum, also now breastfeeding through pregnancy.

Im_mi: Experience with extended BF, tandem nursing.

JellyBeann: Extended BF, severe TT, and large breasts.

Jms895

Joyzerelly: We've breastfed for 13 months and counting (plan to go until he self weans). We've had issues with and overcome; oversupply, undersupply, forceful let down reflex, mastitis, pump expressing, hand expressing, lop sided boobs, latching on. We're co sleepers, too. And he fed hourly for at least three months! Day an night! Slowed down at about 4 months.

kalou19272: Experience with combi-feeding, NIP, expressing, working while BF, co-sleeping.

Katt: Experience with newborn weight loss, jaundice, and thrush.

Kermie219: -I tandem feed my son and daughter. Daughter for over 20 months now son for over 3months. Fed after 2 sections, son has diagnosed reflux, co sleeping. I definitely do not lack confidence with nip'ing and would love to help cheer on someone who is apprehensive.

Kirst1805: Experience with extended BF, co-sleeping, and NIP.

Kmac625: BF after an EMCS, delayed milk (day 6), low supply (had to give formula top ups), cracked/bleeding nipples, failed finger feeding which led to dehydration and early introduction of a bottle at day 4, slow weight gain and a newborn who wouldn't wake for feeding. I am still going strong. I also express and donate my milk to a baby in need.

Kota: Experience with severe TT, combi-feeding (as a result of TT), weaning off combi-feeding to EBF, nipple shields, weaning off nipple shields, slow weight gain, NIP, and extended BF.

Lawhra: I have been exclusively breast feeding for over 5 months. On top of the usual stuff like cluster feeding I have experienced: Success with second baby, not first (this STILL upsets me 9 years later), jaundice, blocked ducts, thrush, severe tongue tie, loss of latch around 6 weeks, nursing in public and encountering negativity from a nurse. Expressing to donate and mix with solids when weaning. Now traditional weaning alongside exclusive breast feeding.

Lilly12: I've been breastfeeding for about 9 months now (in 2 days.
Been through a corn allergy , found out through elimination diet.. So had to cut out corn completely. Now with solids she has outgrown it thankfully. Also dealt with oversupply and block feeding.

lisaf: I have been breastfeeding for over 7 months. I have experience with: establishing breastfeeding with a baby in the NICU, latch problems, tongue tie, lip tie, exclusive pumping/establishing latch after exclusive pumping, nipple shields, large breasts/nursing bras, oversupply, pumping at work.

Littlestar85: Experience with late preemie, latch issues, TT, upper lip frenulum tie, and slow weight gain.

lori: I had a breast reduction a few years ago and have managed to EBF for 6 months (EVERYONE pushed me to FF, saying that they'd never seen anyone successfully BF without supplementation after a reduction). I pumped 8-10 times a day for months and did everything I could think of to increase supply, so I could be a good cheerleader for someone going through the same. Simon also had reflux, so BF through that was a challenge.

Lottie86: EE for 14 months! Experience with preemie baby.

lovealittle1: I am EBF my DS after EMCS. I started out with flat nipples and dealt with cracked, bleeding and scabbed nipples due to a sleepy newborn and bad latch. DS also had 10% weight loss. We cosleep and babywear. I'm happy to help!

Lownthwaite: I have been BF for over 18 months now and have experience of: BF after EMCS, EBF - my LO has never had formula, BF whilst BLW, thrush, blocked milk ducts, hand expressing, expressing at work, co-sleeping, nursing a toddler, NIP.

lozzy21: Experience with latch issues (baby refused to latch for 6 weeks), nipple sheilds, large breasts, weak suck, combi-feeding.

Lu28: Experience with baby weight loss and slow gain, latching issues, expressing, nursing strikes, extended nursing strike / early self-weaning.

Lynnikins: Experience with SCBU, anemia, cracked/bleeding nipples, BF newborn with toddler running around, EE, biting, milk sharing, BF while PG.

Maggs: I've breastfed for over 3 months now, breastfeeding right after birth (while doing skin to skin), EBF for first 6 weeks (he takes the odd bottle of formula or expressed milk now), painful latch, jaundice, hand expressing, manual & Electric expressing, sleepy eater (first couple of weeks), co-sleeping, NIP, being pushed to supplement with formula (but refusing).

Maid Marian: I've been breastfeeding for 6 months, and am going to continue until my baby self-weans, whenever that is. I have experience of: BF after emergency C-section (first feed over an hour after birth), exclusively BF - my baby has never had formula, thrush, painful latch , co-sleeping (my baby wakes several times a night to feed), BFing with large breasts, and a c-sec scar (finding positions/holds to make feeding pain free), nursing In Public (I was terrified to start with), manual-pump expressing, feeding lying down , feeding in a baby-carrier, and feeding on-the-go, PND.

MamaBird: Experience with jaundice, TT, slow weight gain, increasing supply. Supplemented with formula for one day as a newborn on nurse's advice, but then dropped the formula and EBF. Feeding on demand after weaning and well past 6 months.

MarineWAG: I'm Stacey, 23 and EBF my big, 91st centile baby until he was 6 months old- now extended BF. I have experience in expressing, co-sleeping, delaying weaning, and TW.

maybebaby3: I was adamant i wanted to BF my first son. I was not prepared, however, for some people to really try and put me off BF with comments of 'how do you know he's getting enough' and if he cried 'maybe he's still hungry. give him a bottle'. i felt very vulnerable and pressured and gave in to the pressure at 3 months and then it was a slippery slope on to FF. By 5 months Dylan was FF and i felt a failure. with erin i was much more confident and BF til 21 months and i am bf owen still at 10 months age with no intention of stopping yet i would like to help anyone, especially those who feel pressured into stopping BF for reasons such as i was told


membas#1: My BF experience includes BF for over 9 months, pumping during the days while at work, NIP, BF & Cosleeping (BF laying down), biting during feeds, supply drop during AF, still feeding during the night after 9 months.

midwestbelle: Teen breastfeeding mom who works full time. Experience with expressing.

Miss_Bump: BF for 20 months. Experience with jaundice, slow weight gain, severe reflux, bed sharing and BF, night BF at 20 months.

MissFox: I've been BFing since April 2011, BFing after EMCS, BFing/pumping at work, BF while BLW, Combi-Feeding without a set schedule, BF while laying down, Cracked Nipples, Severe biting (CHOMPS down and yanks head back! OUCH!), NIP.

Mommyof3co: BF 4 boys, young mom, increasing supply, medical issues, body issues, extended BF, preemie, NICU.

Moomette: I have been exclusively breastfeeding for just over 11 months now with no signs of stopping any time soon. We dealt with severe tongue-tie for the first 8 weeks resulting in cracked bleeding nipples and many problems, but persevered and got through it. I tried expessing, but as LO would never take the bottle, it never happened for us. I've also dealt with biting as LO's an early teether, fast let-down, and mastitis around 4 months. Oh, and I've always fed on demand.

Mork: 11 months BF after EMCS. Experience with mastitis and TTC while BF.

mrscookie: Experience with latch issues, breast preference, flat nipples, and combi-feeding.

MrsQ: Experience with large boobs, mastitis, thrush, TT, extended BF, positioning, EMCS, medical drugs when feeding, expressing, manual expressing, anything really. I am a Breastfeeding peer supporter for bfn so am glad to help.

mrs_park: I can help with...Bf after emcs and traumatic labour, low milk supply, formula top ups, nipple confusion and long term nipple shield use, guilt and sadness over formula top ups, increasing milk supply and moving to exclusively breastfeeding, feeding through a nursing strike.

m_t_rose: BF DS for 19 months. Experience with oversupply and mild TT.

muddles: BF for 11 months and counting!

Mumandco: I've been BF DS2 for over 6months. Nobody showed me how to BF for 3 days so I taught myself. It was a tough 3 days; sometimes LO wouldn't latch and I had no idea how to latch him. But after trying and trying he's had a perfect latch ever since. I also have an energetic toddler to run after which was difficult in the beginning but didn't stop me! LO also refuses the bottle. I NIP without a cover and I have huuuuuge boobs.

MumToOllie: I have bf for 5 months now and I have had experience with thrush, mastitis/blocked ducts, poor sleeping and slight tongue tie (untreated).

Nervous_1: Experience with: combi-feeding, flat nipples, big boobs, thrush, nipple shields, home birth and subsequent hospitalisation due to lil one not feeding at all, feeding over 1 year, unsupportive family, very sleepy newborn.

OnErth&InHvn: Experience with NICU, expressing, c-section, TT, poor latch, jaundice, relactation, failure to thrive, low supply, and combi-feeding.

Ozzieshunni: BF after elective C-section for medical reasons. Establishing BFing with a LO in the NICU.

pinkclaire: Experience with TT, mastitis, blocked ducts, expressing, BF while PG.

pinkie77: Exclusively bf from birth until we started blw at 24 weeks. She was a prolonged cluster feeder, I didn't think she'd ever stop the evening cluster feed! Although even now she'll have 2 or 3 feeds in the space of 2 hours in the evening. She's a pincher too, don't know if that's relevant? And I'm also a single mum

Pixxie: Young mom, experience with jaundice, BF in a low BF rate area, starting LLL training.

Poppy7: I'm a NHS trained BF Peer Supporter so have experience in all areas. I also have personal experience with the following- BF my son until 16.5 months (stopped due to milk change in pregnancy), BF and pregnancy, engorgement, NIP, correcting latching problems (especially in newborns...I volunteered on the labour ward with newborns), growth spurts, currently BF my daughter, small age gap between children.

praying4good: I have 4 months breastfeeding experience. I have breastfed through mastatis and currently nursing whilst having thrush. The early days were difficult as breastfeeding on demand was non stop, however now things are alot easier.

Rach27: Experience with extended BF and co-sleeping.

RayOfLight: EBF my first for 4 months now. I am currently doing the LLL BF support course and have been leading on a BF campaign in Merseyside. I donate milk so express every day and suffered with badly cracked nipples at the start. My boy still feeds anywhere between 1 and 4 times in the night too.

readynwilling: I have experience in nursing laying down, nursing through AF, older baby not accepting solids so EBF'ing longer than 6 months, latch issues at birth and using "finger feeding via syringe", baby biting.

RedRose: Experience with baby with allergies and mother's elimination diets.

Rhio92: Teen mum, experience with expressing, lazy latch, problems sucking, syringe feeding.

Sarahwoo: BF for 11 months and counting. Co-sleeping and general experience with BF issues.

shareema: Experience with latch issues, bloody discharge from nipples, difficult start, overactive letdown, over supply, expressing, combi-feeding.

silver_penny: Experience with cracked/bleeding/blistered nipples, latch challenges, mastitis, PG while BF, tandem nursing, extended BF, co-sleeping.

sossypops: I have been breastfeeding my little girl for 8 months now, plan to feed her until she is a year old. So I'm happy to help anyone get started, any general feeding questions, feeding past 6 months or breastfeeding when your baby has a cows milk protein allergy.

staceyg: Experience with tongue tie, flat/inverted nipples, engorgement, shields, and biting.

summer rain: I have experience with BF 2 babies past a year, CMPI and allergy and soya intolerance, severe/prolonged neonatal jaundice, tongue tie and other oral issues such as high arched palate, lip tie and a receding jaw, BF with flat nipples and large boobs.

sun: BF my son for almost 19 months, currently BF my daughter, BF while pregnant (until son self-weaned), low Supply due to extreme weight loss after LO#1 was born, gaining/maintaining weight while BF, nursing strike, poor latch/cracked, nipples/infection, NIP, cosleeping, BF while babywearing.

T-Bex: We're still breastfeeding now (at nearly 21 months!), and had a pretty bad start to it. I struggled to get her to latch, and then once she did, it hurt like hell until she was about 3 months, when it started to get considerably better, practically overnight. She had 'poor weight gain', so was told to supplement (which we didn't), because she was gaining, and all other advice we had was to just feed more (my HV told me to feed less, and to give bottles). In hindsight, I think Bethan has a tongue-tie (which no-one checked for). I also had blocked ducts twice, which was a pain. But other than that, yup. No problems. I found it hard being a BFing mum at 22, because I felt looked down on by both professionals and people my own age (who FF).

TennisGal: Bf'd Lizzie til she was almost 18 months, and currently bfing Ally. Experience of... Bf when pregnant, extended feeding, painful nipples/cracked nipples, reflux and the various bits that brings! Nip, feeding lying down for a long time (!) PCOS

TigerLady: I have breastfed both my DS and DD after scheduled c-sections. I AP, co-sleep, babywear, and work full time. I BF while PG and tandem nurse. I have experience with extended BF, expressing, thrush, cracked/blistered/bleeding nipples, BLW, NIP, blocked ducts, increasing supply, and milk sharing.

Tiggercats: We've overcome latch problems, cracked and painful nipples (resulting in the need for nipple shields), blocked ducts and mastitis and are now still BF and hoping to continue beyond 2 years if LO allows. I NIP, used to part time co-sleep (but now LO STTN) and I'm a single mum so I've done this with very little help.

Tilliepink: After struggling with a poor latch, I EE for my DS for 6 months. After having my DD and suffering from poor latch, cracked bleeding nipples, large breast, flat nipples, blocked duct, more than a 10% weight loss and having a c-section, I decided that I would EE for her as well. I plan to make it to 9 months and then using my large freezer stash to get to 12 months. I’m also donating my breast milk to a fellow Canadian mom.

tootyfruity: i have 5 months bf experience, we had a lot of trouble with latching for the first 6-8 weeks i used nipple shields for a few weeks, lo was in special care, expressed regularly.

Twoofeach: Has BF 4 children, trained peer supporter, has experience with premature babies, feeding multiples, mastitis, BF while PG, and extended BF.

Veganmum2be: I had an EMCS and a baby that would not latch at all for the first few days, so I had to hand express and syringe feed. We continued with latch problems for many weeks. I EBF for 6 months.

VillageGirl: I have been exclusively breast feeding LO for 3 months now and have experience of the following: extended use of nipple shields (needs be!), nipple dermatitis, slow weight gain in LO, reflux, lower centile babies / frequent weigh ins and the emotions attached!, building confidence with NIP, cluster feeding.

Violetsky: my experience is: bfing a preemie, latch problems (inc. cracked/bleeding nipples), cluster feeding, biting while feeding, foremilk/hindmilk imbalance, overactive letdown, 8 months bf & counting, co-sleeping, BLW

Wishingonastar: Experience with overactive letdown, oversupply, poor latch, sore/cracked nipples, expressing, working while BF, BF while PG.

Abbreviations:
BLW = baby-led weaning
Combi-feeding: combining FF and BF
EBF = exclusive BF
EE = exclusive expressing
EMCS = emergency c-section
Extended BF = BF a child 12 months old or older
LLL = La Leche League
NIP = nursing in public
NICU/SCBU = newborn intensive care at hospital
STTN = sleeping through the night
TT = tongue tie
TW = traditional weaning




For our BFing champions, the blinkies are here:





If you don't know the code, it's:

[URL=http://www.babyandbump.com/breastfeeding/135217-get-your-own-personal-bnb-champion-one-one-support-here.html][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/sublime_envy/BFing%20Blinkies/circlebfwb1.gif[/IMG][/URL]

Any problems, PM Katt, Nervous_1 or Summer Rain x

Great Idea! I will leave a wee piece about me and describing my situation etc...

I would love to have a breast feeding champion.

I am Emma, I am 28 and this is my first child. I have only been breast feeding 3 weeks and 4 days...I have suffered with sore cracked and bleeding nipples to the point I got so down with it all and almost gave up BF altogether. I am now BF again, after having 2 days to get myself together, but also giving him a bottle occassionally so I can leave him with hubby or someone to take some time out for me. It sounds selfish but I get down really easily so both me and hubby think its for the best or until he gets into some kind of routine really. Oh also I have huge boobs so find I worry I might smother him and that he isnt getting a good latch...you could say I worry.

Thanks!

Emma.xx

Hi hun, and welcome to our support group. I'm sorry you're having issues, but hopefully we can help.

When you say you give a bottle, is it expressed breast milk or formula? Just so I can match you with the best Champion for you.

Sorry should have said.

Its mainly 1/2 breatmilk and 1/2 formula in the bottle.

Emma.xx

OK hun, I'm going to pair you with Mervs Mum.

Thank you!

I havre PM'd you Emma

If anyone wants to ask general questions too, you are more than welcome to in this thread

I need some advice too!
My milk supply is not sufficient for my baby's needs. I created another thread before finding this one in fact.
Due to an artificial delivery of the placenta I suffered a huge haemorrage at the birth of my baby.
Indiana is now 10 days old and I have been trying to breastfeed exclusively but have had to (recommendation by midwife) resort to supplementing with formula every other feed.
As of today I have decided to try and just give breast and have managed to do so up until the last feed whereby it was painfully obvious that my little girl was still hungry.
I'm so upset and I know that crying and getting stressed won't help, but I just can't seem to stop myself...

Any help would be greatfully accepted.

my best advice hon is to stick at it! the more you feed your little one the more you will produce, thats how BFing works xx if you supplement at this stage then your supply won't build up to meet her needs xxx

couple of weeks and your supple should settle, hope this helps xxx