babyblessed

Hi girls

a week till my due date now and I am most nervous about feeding.

i breastfed my son for six months but it was really hard work and for the whole time i felt unattractive and self conscious, i could never feed in front of anyone, even family.

i will breast feed as i know the benefits were clear for my son but i am worried about feeling the same as before...

just started reading "the womanly art of breast feeding" and really like the tone of the book but worried again about how often to feed; I demand fed my son and seemed to feed all the time; I thought advice would be to feed at set intervals but still looks like i should feed a lot...

sorry for loads of concerns but it would be good to hear your views girls; i don't know anyone who is feeding...

sam's mum

I feed on demand and although it felt as if I was feeding all the time at first it gets so much better once they become more efficient at getting the milk out and feeding times are shorter. I've bought a nursing cover-up thing (hasn't arrived yet but there's a thread about them here somewhere) which will hopefully be great for feeding when people come to visit or when we go out - like an apron but with a gap at the neck so you can still see your baby but nobody else can.

I find the feeding on demand much easier than trying to get into any sort of routine, as sometimes Sam will go four hours between feeds and sometimes it's only an hour - feeding him whenever he wants at the moment means that he's usually very well behaved, which definitely helps me relax more!

Hope it goes well for you x

babyblessed

thank you; it does make sense being more relaxed when feeding when they want; think i need to work on feeling more confident in the decisoin to breast feed...

sam's mum

I wasn't confident at all when I started...it was only when I started to relax more that it became so much easier and I love it now. Still not comfortable feeding in front of some people now (mainly because Sam gets so distracted and wants to see everything that's going on around him so he either lets go and gets a faceful of milk, or tried to turn his head to look around the room while holding on tightly!) but getting the hang of showing nothing - wearing 2 tops is great, so you pull the top one up and the bottom one down

luckyme225

My son is a really efficient eater now that he is almost two months. He normally only eats for about 10-15 minutes and will eat every 2-4 hours.

Ragirl

I think most of us struggle with a little confidence. Even though bfing my son was a breeze, I know it's not always that easy and have some occasional worries how it will go this time. But remember, you did it last time and you will be able to do it this time, even if it takes a little effort. You are doing the most wonderful thing you can for your baby and you- bonding with baby, giving them the best start in terms of health, saving yourself money, helping you lose baby weight, and reducing your risk of breast cancer in the future. Be proud of what you are doing- not every woman makes the choice you are.

I chose to demand feed my son, as that helps your milk supply stay up. And as others mentioned, he was just happier that way. He did nurse constantly at first, every 30-45 mintues. But by a few weeks this settled down a bit and by the time I returned to work it was every 2 hours. Rather than seeing it as a time to stress, view as an excuse to relax a little. Read a book while baby nurses, watch some tv, take a catnap...whatever, but pamper yourself during that time, make it a reward. If you are uncomfortable nursing in front of others, either buy a cover up or just go to another room when it's time to nurse. In the end, it's all about just you and baby and finding what works for you.

coz

I found it hard at first but now im getting used to it, i wont breast feed in front of other people either apart from my partner obviously, if people are at my house for a long time il just go into my bedroom and feed him if i go out i feed him just before i go out but if im out for a long time i just take a bottle with me so dont worry there are ways round it xxx