I think the question you need to ask is- why do you have an audience in the first few days/weeks of life? Things are hard enough! Especially some so unsupportive and critical. I can hear your frustration coming through in your writing loud and clear. It's fantastic your husband is on board. A preventative word in their ear from him may go a long way. He needs to advocate for YOU while you bond with new bubba. You have way more important things to be doing. Gigi was so on the money with everything- tell them what YOU want and how things will be. It IS hard to establish BFing with people around and all up in your face.

I had to deal with ***** nurses in special care telling me I 'can't breastfeed my baby because he has Downs'. 'Will have feeding issues.' "Failure to thrive." All ridiculous statements as the only thing wrong with him is his floppy airways which he will grow out of. Thank god for my sister in law being by my side in the early days and telling them to shove it. I watched and learned and pretty soon I was telling them all to shove it, too. P is now 3 kilos over his birth weight (now almost 7kg), and turned 3 months a few days ago. He's in 90th percentile on regular growth charts and isn't even on the DS charts. He's healthy and happy and that is in no small part to our fantastic bond. Exclusively breastfeeding him in special care for almost 2 months (with EBM for night feeds) is the only thing that kept me sane at the time. And happily, spending all that 'slow-down' quality time with your bubba while you get to know each other will help you reset your perspectives. It will remind you of the true value of people's throwaway words and opinions, and what's really important to you.