Ok about time for another update. Annika is now 3 weeks old and we are STILL exclusively breastfeeding . Still haven't had to top her up at all. So for all those people out there who were like me and didn't feed successfully last time, oh my goodness what difference a different baby can make! We're still using the nipple shield, and after one brief attempt at attachment without the shield (in the bath), I'm not quite game to try ditching it yet (I think she'd mangle my nipples tbh!). I'm also still doing some expressing (cos of the shield) and now have about 2 litres in the freezer!!! The pain on attachment has lessened considerably and I am finding the vast majority of the feeds are VERY comfortable. I don't feel worried that she's not getting enough, her weight gains have been fabulous and she seems settled and contented... even with some cluster feeding in the evenings. I'm finding it easier than I expected to just "go with the flow".

Does anyone know if there is a point at which you can say you don't need to express with the nipple shields? I'm only expressing once a day and feel that I could probably drop it, only doing an occassional express if I felt she hadn't drained my breasts enough.

Interestingly I was looking at pictures of my DS at about 2-3 weeks old. I'd forgotten that he was already in mittens (for scratching) by the same age... (he virtually lived in mittens for the first 6 months of his life) what a clue to the fact there were allergies there - if only we'd been able to recognise it at the time. With DD now, there's none of the incessant scratching and itching that poor DS went through. So there's something for anyone out there with an "itchy" baby!!!

And when I was at the GP for something and she asked casually if baby was on bottle or breast... and I replied (oh-so-casually) "breast". Ah the world of meaning behind that one little word! I feel lucky beyond belief to have been blessed with this beautiful girl who is making our BF'ing so easy and successful!