Breastfeeding Chatter #18

I've made it over 8 months! Nothing compared to BAL who deserves the world's biggest medal xox

I'm just so happy with how far I've made it. All the tears and frustration and pumping with DD and being bone dry by 8w PP, then having DS and all the fears. But we have had ZERO issues, apart from the occational stress and worry. I had a blocked duct a few weeks ago but a call to ABA helped me out. It was painful! Every letdown I would have to bite down on a pillow and moan. It was nearly worse than early days!!

DS is having between 3-5 feeds during the day and 1-4 during the night. I'm still hanging out to reach 12 months, and I've already been told to put him on formula because I have a big commitment coming up which means I'll be out 2 nights a week. It's not much compared to you working mummies, but I've never been away from DS for more than 15 minutes, and he was sleeping when I did that.

He's such a good bub. Doing things DD wasn't doing til 18months and just being a generally happy little man. Except, he's a bit of a biter. I have bruises on my arms from him and he only has 2 teeth.

But yeah, just popping in to have a Woo Hoo to Me about breastfeeding and my son :)

Aww thanks Char :hug: You have done so well.. We all have, BF is not easy for so many of us. Sometimes I wonder how it can be so hard!!

Blessed that's also awesome- I find BB mamas so inspiring.

Joeve hello gorgeous! I was hoping you'd poke your head in here. :) can I say, BF was super challenging for me in the early couple of months in particular. In fact I know a lot of mamas here have had big and small challenges with BF. it will get easier i promise.

Hi all! It's been ages since I popped in but here we are still going strong at 14 mths. DD2 still has a couple of bfs overnight, but I'm fine with our rhythm and she's not a wakeful, hard to settle girl. Likes her booby milk more than DD1 did at this age!

Well done to Char and BAL!! :clap:

A couple of weeks ago DD2 had a few intensive all night bfing sessions when she wasn't well. It was not long after I o'ed, but AF is still absent and I wondered if anyone else has had this? I am confident of my O date and AF is at least three days past my longest cycle ever (so at day 40). I'm usually as predictable as clockwork, 30-32 day cycle. AF returned about six mths ago and has been regular ever since. Negative pg test this morning and not feeling pg. Thoughts?

Hmm not sure Jen. I've heard AF can still be a bit irregular while BF. is the extended feeding a sign of up the duffness for breastfeeding mothers?

Maybe you almost Od but the feeding stopped full follow-through?

jen - maybe just the increased feeding put it off? I can't work it all out - last time af returned at 3 months pp despite ds feeding 2 hourly around the clock and this time is all over the place despite a similar feeding pattern

BAL and Charlotte -.congrats to both of you, you're both very inspiring :)

just under 3 weeks until dd turns 1. fastest 12 months ever!

i've gone the other way, last cycle was only 20 days. Wondered if it was implantation at first but pretty sure it is full AF. i had been pretty regular til now.

DS still feeding well at almost 14 months. DD is slowing down her feeds. She went 5 days without one, then had one before bed, then another 3 days no feed. She asked for one tonight but i am on my own so she has to wait for ds to get to sleep first. (i am feeding him now).

ihave a wedding on saturday and my frock is not very bfing friendly. Will see how i go, ds wil l prob be too distracted to feed anyway but just have to worry about my bursting. Am taking my pump just in case.e33`

I'd say the change in feeding patterns changed you around jen. I think =P

You know my favourite thing about bf. I do love those middle of the night feeds. just now, I went in an bf Spock, we sat there in the dark together. neither of us could see eachother, but we could feel eachother and smell eachother. i played with her hair (the whole inch she has), and she reached up and felt my face, and my neck and my chest. was such a special quiet moment. she feel asleep but I couldn't bring myself to put her down in bed. i just wanted to cuddle her for ever.

I saw an ad for a piece of crazy 'must have' (not!) baby equipment. It was marketted as a feeding and nursing table, and was a basket that rocked and held baby so mum didn't have to when she was feeding baby. supposedly for both breast and bottle feeding, but i can't see how it would be helpful for either.

Nawww thats so sweet! I love your Spock she sounds beautiful x
I found today a good bf day! I just looked at her little face and jaw working away and was overcome with love. :)

I had a lovely moment like that tonight too T. Really trying to enjoy these night feeds!

Jen, not sure? Try another test in a few days maybe??

HotI, have a great time at the wedding! I took DS1 to a wedding when he was young, bought a special feeding dress and then he hardly fed until very late at night, find really need a new dress!!
So, not an implantation bleed, was there a chance it might have been??? Does that mean...?

DD is almost 13 months and is asserting full ownership of my boobs for the first time. If she's feeding (and I've learned this is a sign she's pretty much finished) she will stop on one side and try to get at the other side. If she has access to lefty and righty she will take a few sips from one then switch, then back etc. And if she can sneak her little paw in, she loves to gently touch the opposite nip while she's drinking from the other. It's like a soothing movement I think. And today for the first time she aggressively tried to open my top to get at them even though it wasn't mama milk time. I'm Not sure how I feel about any of the above actually. Cute and funny on one level but on another level it irks me, sad but true. They're mine!

Ps TT40 that's glorious. I love how they touch your face almost unconsciously when feeding. I used to love DD's little windscreen wiper arm when she was littler- her free arm would swish across my chest from one side to the other like a windscreen wiper.then she went through a phase of always touching my lips and mouth.

ll yea Spock does than, or hits me like playing a drum. and she did that in the bath the other day, fed from lefty and was playing with righties nipple. I was sure how I felt about it too at the time.
the thing she does the moet tho is roll my boob between her thumb and fore finger
jovee my Spock is beautiful, and funny and clever and crazy and bold =)

i know im spamming here... but i love that no matter how angry or sad or cranky or pained my little one is, she just gets so excited when i pull out the boob, she even laughs even if she has just been screaming

Spam as much as you like with lovely posts like that. Lovely.

Someone asked the other day how often DS2 wakes overnight, I was like "yeah a lot" and they asked what I do to try and settle him, I said "pfft settle I just feed him" :lol: Why would I bother doing anything else??

Yep spam away! I was thinking the same thing as Ocean. It made me smile.

Lol about settling! If my 2 year wakes I still mostly given him a bottle of milk so of course when the 6 month old wakes I feed him. I agree why do any thing else when feeding is the easiest, most quiet, fastest way to settle?

Oh my goodness yes, why spend an hour settling (or more, DD still can't cope if something wakes her at night) when a feed will do it in a quarter of the time?

TT40 I love your stories. :)

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Maybe you almost Od but the feeding stopped full follow-through?

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I think you were right, MadB. AF started about 10 days late, but otherwise completely normal. Guess our bodies just keep us on our toes!

DD2 also settled back to waking only 2-3 times before 7.30am.

Lady, the reason bub is crying might be different every time, but the solution is always the same - bb! I'm too lazy to troubleshoot at 2am. ;)

DS is sick. Poor munchkin. Snotty nose, cough, kept waking up crying out Mum-mum. Not sure where he picked up this bug, but I'm not happy. i'm so careful!
He didn't want to feed during the night, he kept just crawling over to me and crying until I wrapped my arms tightly around him, and now he doesn't want to get off the boob.

He's still waking eleventy times a night, and yes I (horror!) feed him back to sleep.

I bled 7w PP, and since then I've had a regular 24 day cycle. Even though I exclusively fed for 6 months before introducing solids. It really sucks that I'm so regular.

hope your ds gets better soon C. only one cure for something like that and its bm =)

Aww poor bubba Charlotte. Mine is similar atm. Had a fever of 38.5 last night and not much better this morning! The night before he would only sleep on me while I was sitting in our feeding chair. Last night was a bit better- he slept on my pillow with my head right next to his.

He's slept pretty well the last few nights. Last night he was in our bed from 3am and was gagging on phlegm. It was horrible.
But, I think he's getting better.

He's developed the annoying habit of pinching my chest/arm/ boob while feeding. It's causing bruising and it bloody hurts!! Any ideas?

keep his hands busy (play with his hands or give him some beads or a toy).

show him how to pat your skin instead of pinch.

I think they all go through it, distraction and redirection are best methods.

can i just get some reassurance... this is going to sound stupid, but just wondering how much does a 10month old bf? Spock will be 10 months next month, and well, she still feeds HEAPS, Im not complaining, I'm loving that she finds comfort and enjoys bf etc.. but if she could have her way she would snuggle on me and comfort feed for hours at a time, simular to a new born. she is active other times, starting to walk and is such a bold adventurous thing...I guess I just didn't expect her to still feed so much still...
i dont even know what im saying. just want to know that other 10month olds feed so much so i don't feel guilty for sitting on my arse feeding for hours at a time

TT, there's a whole range of normal... Some mums find that as their LO gains independence, they need a bit more reassurance that mum is still there and increase their feeds, especially the comfort sucking. Could be what's going on? :hug: Enjoy the excuse to sit and do nothing. She'll be off again soon.

Yes, normal!
Glad he's doing better Char

Hi everyone! Well, I am in unchartered waters here. DS weaned just before 22 months, and DD is almost 23 months now, so this is all new. I'm actually finding myself struggling with the whole breastfeeding a toddler thing - I'm happy to keep going, as is DD, but I struggle with how my feeding DD makes others uncomfortable. Ridiculous, I know! Plus, DD is a bigger feeder than DS ever was, and very loud and obvious about what she wants, so there is no hiding!

Actually, I was wondering, is there a general thread for breastfeeding toddlers? I thought it might be helpful to be able to chat (and vent) with others doing the same.

There isn't that I know of Sterla, it's a good idea, I'll ask the question of the higher powers :)

Breast feeding a toddler definitely presents some challenges... To you and others!! I know some mums find it easier to feed at home, but your DD might have other ideas ;)

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can i just get some reassurance... this is going to sound stupid, but just wondering how much does a 10month old bf? Spock will be 10 months next month, and well, she still feeds HEAPS, Im not complaining, I'm loving that she finds comfort and enjoys bf etc.. but if she could have her way she would snuggle on me and comfort feed for hours at a time, simular to a new born. she is active other times, starting to walk and is such a bold adventurous thing...I guess I just didn't expect her to still feed so much still...
i dont even know what im saying. just want to know that other 10month olds feed so much so i don't feel guilty for sitting on my arse feeding for hours at a time

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Dd is the same at the same age. She hasn't dropped a feed yet from newborn. :) everyone thinks its odd lol

Thanks for the reassurance girls. It is just everyone in my mums group are talking about their bubs cutting back etc.. and I'm sitting here going, our feeds can easily still last an hour...so just needed to hear we are at the other end of normal

Sterla, I bf DD1 until she was almost four. Ppl do think it's unusual, but I know at least two of my friends who then went on to bf their own toddlers for longer partly because my doing it made them think about it. It was other Mums on here that normalised it for me too. So I think if other ppl see bfing toddlers, it will make it seem more normal. Since, you know, it's not like we're that weird in other things. ;) Try to remind yourself how great it is that your DD is still bfing and all the benefits you are both getting from it.

DD2 is still a frequent bfer at 14 months. DD1 was down to about four bfs in 24 hrs and not overnight at this age, but DD2 would have four by lunchtime! And she wakes about 3 times a night.

It doesn't last forever. I think back to DD1 and those four years of bfing are a distant memory. :( It all passes so quickly. I try to enjoy our milky snuggles, this is the only time in her whole life when I can do this for her.

I reckon that amongst those mums that allow their babies free access, the frequency of feeds (and length, too) doesn't seem to change all that much. It's more normal, however, to push food and cut out feeds.

thst could just be it MadB, I let Spock have whatever wherever whenever. the only restriction I have ever placed on her is when we are in the bath and she wants both sides at the same time (eg has lefty, comes off has a suck of righty comes off has a suck of lefty and repeat) she can go off and on all she wanys in the bath just only one side.

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...Actually, I was wondering, is there a general thread for breastfeeding toddlers? I thought it might be helpful to be able to chat (and vent) with others doing the same.

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Great idea - you'll find it here :)

Hope it helps a bit Sterla!

Actually i beg to differ. I still offer regularly to DD and always have but she's definitely decreased feeds over the last 4-5 or so months. She's never been a booby monster though, always an economical timesaver feeder- too much to see and do and be distracted by! That said I have cut out one feed just recently (her pre-morning nap feed) as I'm back at work for two part days a week, replacing with cows milk. So she now has 3-4 feeds in 24 hours but she had been on 4 for a few months anyway. But just in the last two weeks she's been less interested even in her afternoon feed.

Ah, well, there's always an exception to the rule :)
Just anecdotally, I guess, I've noticed the difference in babies I know between those who are breastfed freely and those who are actively dissuaded :dunno: It's entirely unscientific

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Ah, well, there's always an exception to the rule :)
Just anecdotally, I guess, I've noticed the difference in babies I know between those who are breastfed freely and those who are actively dissuaded :dunno: It's entirely unscientific

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I've noticed the same. I have been told if I want dd to eat more I need to stop breast feeding her so much

If I were to offer boob to DD right now she would squeal with excitement, clamber madly to get to my boob then... Have a few distracted sucks and twiddle with my other nipple and constantly swap from one to the other without really taking much.