I was BF'd, I think for about 6 weeks. In mums words - strictly 4 hourly, strictly ONLY 10 mins per side (!).
I don't think I thought about my own experiences (can't remember anyway!) when it came to feeding my children but I have a huge family everyone seemed to BF and FF'ing looked like a lot of faffing around when I got old enough to care about it.
I was formula fed from very early on - I think there were attachment issues right from the beginning. Apparently I wouldn't open my mouth wide enough.
However, my younger sister was born when I was 9, and my mum breastfed her for 12 months. I do have a vague memory of it, and I'd say that has influenced me more than how my mum fed me. For me, breastfeeding was just what you did, so when I fell pregnant that was what I planned to do - and when I read about all the benefits, etc, my mind was even more made up.
I was breastfed for almost 4 months before Mum switched me to Formula due to insufficient weight gain and that was the longest she'd gone as my brothers all refused earlier on then that for the same reasons after the bottle needed to be introduced. I was determined to BF DD but had similar problems, never had a full supply and meds/expressing/lactation consultants etc didn't enable me to ever get full supply so had to top-up with formula from 3 weeks since she hadn't even regained her birthweight. But I still breastfed her till 7 months when she refused altogether in favour of the bottle only.
I don't think Mum's not really breastfeeding us made a difference to my desire to, more the education and support that's around today - but it helped to have someone who'd experienced the same problems and feelings I was with regards to sucking as a dairy cow.
I was BF for about 4 months and then had to be put on formula bc Mum's milk supply went down and I was hungry. No one told her to feed more to make more milk, they told her only to feed every 4 hrs. She did differently with my siblings and they were all fed for 1 year.
Being breastfed myself didn't influence me but seeing my Mum BF my siblings did. I can remember her BF them and so I just thought it was normal. Like Shanti, I didn't see it as a choice, BF is the normal way to feed a baby. When I had problems at the start I was determined to overcome them, I remember thinking if my Mum could do it I sure as hell could too!
I was BF till 20 months and my brother was BF to 14 months. I plan to BF all going well, mum has told me all about the cracked nipples / infections etc put as bluntly as only a mother can but she loved BF and tells me she cried when each time she weaned so her positiveness makes me want to give it the best shot I can.
My mum breastfed my brother for a while, and she struggled with sore and cracked nipples so she stopped. She didn't even bother to try BFing with me.
My decision to BF was a no brainer to me though, I just decided it was completely natural, and there is tons of support out there for us now, whereas back when mum had us, there wasn't. Plus, formula isn't something we can afford, and my sleep is way too important to me to spend time in the middle of the night preparing a bottle!
5 weeks and so far no problems! Am hoping to go until around 6/7 months, maybe more
i was BF for 4 weeks i was making my mum bleed and getting more blood than milk
and was then found to be lactose intolerent
i BF DS for 5 days but i had planned on doing it longer and i also plan on trying to overcome and BF this time till at least 12 months be it successful
I was BFed for almost three years. My Mum still tells people (anyone who is listening) and is very proud of it - she weaned me when she fell pregnant with my sister, by telling me that I had drunk all her milk. This came back to bite her later, because I told her she couldn't BF my new baby sister because I had drunk it all
My Mum was Secretary of her local Nursing Mothers (now the ABA) and I used to wear a t-shirt that said "Breast Fed is Best Fed!" when I was a toddler. Oh, and my Dad was infamous in our local community for "teaching" other mums to BF (he was a nurse). I remember mums and their bubs coming to our house for a lactation lesson with my Dad. Where's the "proud as punch" emoticon?
I hope and plan to BF. No doubt my attitude is partly due to being brought up in such a pro-BF household. But it never really occurred to me to not BF, and I will be sad if I can't.
Mum regrets not having Bfed us all for longer. I think I was the longest Bfed of three of us, weaned at 7 months.
Most of the kids I had relationships with were bottle-fed (cousin, nieces etc), ABM or EBM.
None of the above has had any bearing on how I've fed my babies. I am however grateful that my immediate family has been very supportive of my breastfeeding - no one ever suggested to me that I try a bottle. It therefore never occurred to me not to BF.
I wanted to add:
After I was born (early 1980's, Australian hospital, vaginal delivery) my Mum was actively discouraged from BFing on demand. She made a sign for my crib "I am 100% breastfed" to stop the nurses at the hospital from topping me up with formula. She was scoffed at and told "this won't last." She says this only made her more determined to BF exclusively, but I can see why so many other mums gave it up or only ever tried FF, with such a lack of support.
Both my sister and I were BF for 6 months - then I think Mum was over it!
At first stopping at 6 months did influence me a bit (coz DS was going through a fussy stage around about the same time) but I persisted and BF him till 15 months.
I was BF for 6 weeks, then onto formula, like another poster said, that was the "done thing" back then, also my mum was 17 years old, had no support from the hospital etc, and was the first out of her friends and family to have a bay so felt she had no "role models" as such to show her otherwise.
She tried again to BF my next brother, with no success, inverted nipples and no support.
FF from 4 weeks...
My next brother she BF for 6 months until he kicked her so hard in the boob, she ended up with raging mastitis, dad still likes to tell the story of mum sitting in the bath, sobbing with pain and expressing "thick pus" from her breasts... niiice, not!
Then with my youngest brother, she did it, it all worked, and he was fed till he almost 2! mum always said it took her that long to work out how it all worked and to have the confidence to do it!
I had an aunty or 2 who were very pro bfing, I do recall them bfing their children, most however did bottle feed with formula.
Mum has always been a huge support to me with BFing, she always said she wished she could have done it longer with all of us.
I have Bfed DS for 17 months now, we will see how long he goes for...
My mum BF me for a little while, not sure how long, maybe 8 weeks? She had inverted nipples, attachment issues & I was a lazy sucker - she was sent home from hospital & told 'she'll feed when she's hungry'. Zero support back then
Of course I didn't feed (not very well, anyway) and we both had long crying sessions, me because I was hungry, she because she was sitting on her own (Dad off at work, no family or friends nearby) with a fussy baby who wouldn't feed.
She didn't try to BF with my sister.
I really wanted to BF; I fed DD1 for a week, came home expressing with cracked bleeding & scabby nipples and I just couldn't keep it up.
I fed DS1 for 8 weeks until I thought he needed formula. Nobody explained to me that it's normal to have growth spurts or for BF babies to poo less
DS2 was fed for 14 months and was a fantastic experience, I felt like I had finally got it right.
DD2 is currently still drinking EBM & has been since day 4.
I don't think mum influenced my decisions; breastfeeding is the 'default' option for me, always has been & if it doesn't work, then you try something else.
I was bf for 4 months. My mother told me that she hated bfing. Whilst pregnant with DD1 she told me repeatedly to ff. Of course I didn't get much support when DD1 was born. Through research and BellyBelly I have learnt much more about bfing and that it is actually natural and not some only hippies do.
I was BF for about 3 weeks and then onto FF as I wasnt gaining weight, this happened to both my brothers as well and the doctors thought it might have been linked to the blood pressure medications that mum was on.
I never really wanted to FF, for me BF was easier and I remember the pita sterilising etc from when my little bother. It helped I think that the girls were both premmie and that I had heaps of breastfeeding support in the NBIC beofre them coming home, Fia is still breastfeeding at 30 months
My mum didn't BF at all. We were the youngest in our extended family so I didn't even really see any women BFing growing up.
TBH the women on here had more influence on my BFing journey than what I grew up with.
Actually the positive factors of BFing were heavily influenced here....the bulldog 'never give up' attitude came from my dad
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but she loved BF and tells me she cried when each time she weaned so her positiveness makes me want to give it the best shot I can.
niiice, not!
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