Hi, cheeky monkey and Myson,

Thanks for sharing you experiences. I would suggest that you make an appointment to plan/discuss/debrief with a skilled Lactation Consultant some-time before you have your next baby. She would go through a full medical history with you. There are some conditions that can have an effect on your lactation, such as thyroid conditions, polycystic ovarian syndrome, diabetes etc. (However, for others reading, people's bodies still react differently, for instance, with PCOS, some women have too much milk, and others don't have enough) There is always a reason why women don't produce enough milk. Unfortuntely, with our limited understanding of lactation, we may not know what that is in time to help you and your baby in this lactation. There is no "breast function test" no way of testing if the breast is working optimally. Like other organs of the body, some-times it doesn't work optimally, and supplementation is needed. It is a crushing blow to a mother who has been led all her life to understand this would happen easily and naturally. As cheeky monkey describes, babies who have breastfeeding difficulties often have bottle feeding difficulties - it was that inherent problem that is part of the reason breastfeeding didn't work out. And, as you point out, bottlefeeding mums often do it tougher - without the breast to soothe and comfort, and having to do something you thought you never would.
Usually when breastfeeding doesn't work out, it is the culmination of several complex problems (if it was easy, we'd have had it sorted.) I think in both of your stories, your time in hospital holds clues to what happened. Those early feeds are really important. I think there is every chance that breastfeeding will go much better next time.