Hey girls...I think I am probably dreading breastfeeding more than labour!

I am going to try my best and hope it will be ok but every single person I have spoken to has said they found it very painful...

it doesn't help that I just got to the bit in Jools Oliver's book where she talks about having 7 bouts of mastitis in 5 months!!

Does anybody know of anyone who found it easy?

x

I didnt have any pain at all. Not once. I bought nipple cream and didnt need to use it! It is time consuming at first. Be prepared to be sat on the sofa all evening with your baby, but its totally worth it.

I had some pain when my milk came in, but that only lasted a couple of days. Other than that I was never in any pain

Thanks to you both - it makes me feel a bit better!! xxxxx

Technique is everything ... find out all you can about BFing before LO comes along, and make sure someone at the hospital shows you how to get LO to latch properly - if you can nail that, it's much easier. If they don't latch properly, it can really hurt. They need to get a mouthful of boob, not just the nipple There are videos on the net of people BFing, definitely worth watching

There is nothing like the feeling when LO is looking up at you with drowsy eyes because they have a full tummy, and they have milk all around their mouths! So cute And definitely worth it

I did get mastitis in the first week, but that was because I was expressing in hospital using their metal pumps (Amber was in special care), and was told to only pump for 10mins which wasn't anywhere near enough to empty the breasts. It cleared up with antibiotics and special care gave me a great medela hand pump. I fed her and went up to express from the other side and the side she fed from if it still felt full.

Now the only pain I get is the initial latch, which most of the time does hurt, but only for a few seconds then it is pain free. And it's not bad enough to put me off. My breast have settled down so they are no longer getting over full either. Except first thing in the morning when I feed and pump at the same time (takes practice but works great).

The most important thing is to listen to your body, my boobs were telling me to feed every 3 hours the first week once I started to listen to them it was fine.

Have to say this is the worst time of the day for me, she cluster feeds (feeds more or less non stop with a few 30min naps in between) but during the night it is awesome, pick baby up, attach to boob, dose for 30mins or so, put baby down and get back to sleep.

im worried about breastfeeding too. not only for that but for other reasons too. but people are pressuring me to breastfeed! specially my OH. i know breastfeeding is very good for the baby .. specially right after brith. so i think im going to try it .. and see how it goes. if not im just going to bottle feed.

Charlie - I was a bit unnerved by other peoples bad experiences too - until I visited the breastfeeding section of this site.

When I went back to my friends who'd struggled/given up on breastfeeding - they all said 'well I could have probably sorted it out if I had *really* wanted to breastfeed'

I think a lot of people who decide not to breastfeed feel they have to say it was terrible so that they don't get judged or given a hard time - which really can't be very nice

It's not for everyone - but I'd recommend reading in the BF section for the real info

i breast fed my son (now 3) for 6 months and it was the best thing i ever did. like others have said technique matters! if you can get baby latched on properly and fully rather than just on the nipple then it does not hurt. i initially had a few probs not because of pain but because he was he was sleepy and did not feed much and i was tempted to give up because i thought he was not getting enough but as he was putting weight on and had lots of wet nappies they assured me even though i thought he was not getting enough, he was. i think alot of people think baby is not getting enough as you cannot measure it like you do with bottle unless you express, i admit i had a blip after a few days where i did nearly give up just due to tiredness and the constant feeding every hour he tended to snack a lot rather than drink alot at once, but with a good midwife, dp and support i carried on and am so glad i did. i used Kamillosan cream when they were a bit tender or dry and that helped. but i never had mastitis but then i did make sure as he fed that i also rubbed my breasts to make sure no pockets of milk built up in ducts. i actually found b/f relaxing and used to fall asleep sat up feeding my son in a chair. be prepared though sometimes to sit for what seems like hours!! good excuse to get someone else to run after you and always have drink and snack handy!!!! good luck
hth
marie x

I had a little pain in the first few days but none atall after that. I bought nipple cream and never used it ethier. Dont worry about it hun theres loads of help out there and like sparks said its totally worth it. Once you get going theres no stopping ya! x Good luck x