Breast feeding success stories

[blueflower]

Wow, I came across this thread, while looking for something else, but I am so glad that I did find it!
I have read through many of your posts, and feel inspired to write mine down for you all.
I remember being pregnant, and with the questions that came with being pregnant, 'are you having a boy or a girl?', 'when are you due?', etc, and one that I always though was a bit weird, 'Are you going to breast feed or bottle feed?'. I was a bit dumb struck the first time I had ever heard it! Why on earth would I give my child formula, when I have two boobs that are getting huger (after already being on the big side) as time progresses. My reply was simply breastfeed of course.
I come from a Nutrition background, so knowing how much better Breast milk is to formula, and I was determined to make everything work and breastfeed.
DD was born at 8.29pm. While in labour I spoke to my midwife, and said, I wanted to breastfeed her straight after birth. I explained that I was determined to breastfeed. The midwife was great, she helped DD attach, which she did quite easily, and we had our first breastfeed, which lasted for about an hour. My DH's family came into the delivery suite, to see us. I was just covered with a blanket, and DD was still feeding. I said to my DH that they had better get used to seeing me like this and these BB's. hehe

While in hospital, my milk came in on day three or four. There was no problems with my supply, in fact, I had such an abundance that DD could attach properly until I had expressed some out.

So months later, DD is now 11 months, and we are still going strong.
I am pleased to say that in this time, I have not had one problem. No grazes, cracked nipples, blocked ducts, or mastitis.
There have been the occasional bouts of me second guessing my milk- usually after people have made comments to me about my milk like 'playing netball will stop your supply', 'when her teeth come through you will stop breastfeeding in a hurry', and even one from the community child nurse 'she is not putting enough weight on'. With this last statement, A trip to the Paediatrician calmed my fears down and he said, she is a very happy and content child. Even now that she is on solids, she still does not put weight on easily. I have found that these always came from people that never breastfed their children.

I am so glad that I have been able to breastfeed this long. Every day is a blessing to me. My DH let me stay on leave without pay, just so that I could breastfeed till 12 months.

Even to this day, I don?t know when our breastfeeding will come to an end. I have not really set a time to finish it. I do know that I would rather me end it, as I don?t think I could mentally handle DD refusing her much loved breastfeeds. I return to work next month, so I think we will just take it one day at a time.

Months on, I am ever so grateful for my DH, he has never said anything negative about my breastfeeding. I have expressed the occasional bottle, for him to feed, and I think in 11 months, he has given a total of four bottles. He has bonded with DD in other ways, like she loves her bath time and playtime with daddy.
Also I think I was very determined to BF, with the thanks to my mother. She was very active in the then 'Nursing mothers Association'. She is no longer here with us today, but I know how much breastfeeding her children meant to her, and as her only daughter, I have managed to do this as well. I know that if she were here today, she would be so proud of me! I know I am proud of me!

Thanks for reading my story if you are still reading. For someone that had no problems what so ever, I sure have rambled on!

[~Saram~]

With my first I did all my reading and although I was apprehensive and a little embarrassed (having been brought up with the whole sexual nature of breasts and how my artner would react etc) I was determined that it would be the best thing for my baby.

DS was induced at 36wks and had an underdeveloped suck reflex and jaundice which made him sleepy. Becuase of the lack of sucking my milk didn't come in until about day 9. I distinctly remeber day 4 at 4am when they were syringe comp feeding my little bub while I was hooked up to a breast pump exprerssing 2-3ml and the midwife yelling at me that I needed to have more than that, it just wasn't going to cut it and that my baby needed to be formula fed.

The next day the paed walked in and reved me again at how all this had happened, why didn't I say he wasn't feeding etc ( of course I didn't know he wasn't feeding - I would put him to the breast, he would suck at the nipple and fall asleep!) and then he yelled at the midwife for telling me not to bother breast feeding and told me to get back on that breast pump and stop the comp feeding.

2 wks later of expressing every feed and syringe feeding and then bottle feeding my MIL sugguested nipple shields. We went on to breast feed with shield for over 9mths before DS was ready to wean of the shields, we then BF until past 2yrs!

DD journey was a lot less dramatic with just the usual cracked nipples so we turned to the shields again but only for 3wks. DD is now successfully breast feed and occassionally bottlefeed and I lov ehte flexibility of doing both!

[Carol-Sean]

Like all other first time mums, the first weeks of BF were excruciatingHowever after abt 3wks of endurance, I found it a very pleasant experience. it brings out the most beautiful, warm fuzzy feelings and the connection it built between my son and I is indescribable. I think I have BF for 17months mostly because it makes me feel good than because it is necessary. I'm thinking of weaning him now though coz he is a very big boy and once he grabs onto that breast he leaves me famished and I cant keep eating like there' s no tomorrow, a girl's got to get her figure back. But i must say, it's the best thing a mum can share with her baby.So if u can go for it!

[kungfubecca]

our experience has been a good one. A little bit of hard work in the first few weeks getting to know each other, but he never went without. I considered myself very lucky with my supply and Xaviers ability to to feed.
I actually went back to work when Xavier was 5 months old, and have been expressing at work every day. Which I have to admit, has been quite trying, yet I perserveerd, because my supply was great and had no troubles expressing 400ml plus each day.

Then I got the flu and xavier got the flu so between me be dehydrated and him not feeding as much 'cause he felt so bad, my supply plumeted. To make matters worse at the same time I was performing a more stressfull job role, and meetings interupted my expressing.

2 months later and I am finally getting reasonable amounts of milk each time I express. I am currently am still expressing twice a day, and would be lying if I said I wouldn't like to drop one or both of those. I am really hoping to wean Xavier off his day feeds at the very least once he turns 1. I do enjoy feeding him, and I don't think that feeding is an inconvenience, but expressing at work is.

Another reason I chose to express at work, is to show every one I work with that it can be done. Power to the mums!!!

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

I have loved reading all these stories, what a great thread idea MantaRay!

Here's my story (it's quite a bitter one at first, but I'm bloody proud of myself now I look back at that first month!):

I always just assumed I'd breastfeed because I can't be arsed with bottles and that stuff. It was very much seen as a bad idea by my mother's family, who told me how awful feeding is and how wrong it is and they bought me bottles whilst I was pg! So I decided that I WAS going to breastfeed and my baby would NOT be having formula.

His birth... didn't go to plan, let's just say, as that's a whole novella in itself. He was completely disinterested in feeding for the first day at least... but I don't know if he was given formula in the SCBU because he was just taken away for 90 minutes after he was born.

Then the stupid horrid cow of a midwife on the ward told me I'd never be able to breastfeed and DS "needed" formula so if I didn't give it she'd take him away and do it. I insisted on breastfeeding before formula, and only using a cup, which was acceptable.

Then my milk came in - same time as the woman in the bed opposite me. Evil cow midwife was very helpful to her and got her cold cabbage leaves, which the nice lady offered to share when she realised I wasn't getting the same treatment. Luckily for me I had no engorgement or pain so it wasn't needed.

We were discharged and home for the weekend. On the monday we were rushed back to hospital as DS had lost weight and was jaundiced and I couldn't feed him. The SCBU team were lovely and were really great, helping me express and BF and making sure they gave EBM before formula. They did let me sleep through two nights, the two nights surrounding my birthday, which meant I got my pre-birth birthday wish of getting a decent sleep with a baby for my birthday LOL. (BTW, I have damage to my optic nerve, which means that to me DS looked jaundiced normally, the pinky tone looked a bit more yellow to me. When he has a temperature he looks purple and bruisy, so I always know when he's ill on sight, but explains why I never noticed the jaundice, he looked the same as me for skin colour to me.)

At 3 weeks old DS was having one bottle a day. He started to throw up after that bottle so we stopped it. At about 5-7m he had a pre-bed bottle in the hope he'd sleep through, but that's a lie.

TBH, although I did a lot of fighting initially, after about 4 weeks it was really easy and my DH was fantastically supportive (once he got used to the idea that I'd squirt when uncovered at first, he was icky about that) and DS self-weaned really easily. Too easily really, I'd still be doing it if I could. Full-time, making meals for DS is such a pain and when he leaves food, just a waste.

I haven't even had many negative comments from people, possibly because my family realised pre-birth that I was going to feed DS for as long as possible. And because I'm scary LOL.

[Neenee Jellybeanie]

Great topic!!

DD and I had hurdles at first. Due to our unfortunate birth experience, she didn't breastfeed for quite a while after she was born. It was a bit tricky at first but we got into it fairly quickly. At a few months old, she went through a horrible phase of breast refusal. The only thing that really helped was time, patience and having showers together. Looking back, I think the problem was my supply. I had supply issues at around 6 months as well, again, we got through it. I was giving her bottles of formula before bed for a while in the hopes that she would sleep better but it didn't help, in fact it gave her tummy aches, so we cut that out. I had a few people tell me to stop BFing; my ex MIL, ex P (who didnt want my boobs to sag) and my GP who said (in response to me being worried about DDs weight, without actually seeing her) "You can't keep breastfeeding just because you want to! There's no benefit to breastfeeding beyond 3 months anyway" LMAO.
The most recent problem we've had is biting, which is a direct result of teething. 2 months or so ago, she drew blood from both nipples! She's cheeky too, I remove her from the breast when she does it so now she only bites and the end of the feed LOL. It's annoying and often painful, but once the tooth cuts the gum, she stops so I just grind my teeth and deal with it until it ends. Such is life!

I'm so proud that we've made it this far and I have a feeling we're going to make it to 12 months! I honestly didn't think we would many times but it was definately worth persevering. I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't comfort DD when she wakes in the night or hurts herself with the boob! My life would be so much harder lol! DD has never been sick either, even when I've been sick. I contribute that to BFing

[The[cookie]Doctor]

I decided, that now we are nigh on six months, I would finally post in here.

Our journey has been quite simple. We had no attachment issues and no supply issues - our main problem was me fighting the norm of forumla feeding that surrounded me. I felt terrible pressure by my DF to breastfeed which made the first few days and weeks rather unpleasant. With my 'I'm so big I need my own postcode boobies', we battled through the discomfort until we found a way to feed that bothered neither of us. We eventually accomplished breastfeeding in public - which progressed from completely covered up in parents rooms, to the ability to now whip it out whenever and whereever; including supermarket aisles, trains and at the park.

I have battled through PND - where I do not want to be touched, or have my baby anywhere near me some days, and we're still going, still exlcusive and almost at six months. There are times I have wanted to give up. There are days when I wil cry through a feed, or when I will vomit afterwards, because I am sickened by touch. But we're still going. I have now encountered three painfully blocked ducts in a matter of six weeks, as well as shortlived, but painful and annoying round of thrush.

Even though I was hesitant to begin with, I am now confident, and as much as I am battling with tactile aversion at the moment, I do really love breastfeeding. There are days when I would like to give it up so I can stop feeling like I am losing my DH, but I am lucky that he understands. And I am lucky that I also seem to have had a stellar run with health professionals that have always praised WHO standards. I am lucky that I have had support from BB and I am ever so thankful that I have a thirst to prove myself.

[Inanna]

Great thread MR!
DD13: I had a very long and difficult labour - she was to be a homebirth and we transferred to hospital after 24 hours or thereabouts of labour. I had an epidural and had a dural tap - when the cerebro spinal fluid leaks creating an excruciating headache. I was discharged home with this as "the pain isn't bad enough to be a dural tap". I couldn't sit up without calling out in pain so we used nipple shields. DH attatched DD for each feed - she screamed and fed nonstop. After 7 days at home I went to hospital and a dural tap was diagnosed and a blood patch done to rectify. A few hours later I could sit up for the first time in a week without pain. It was heaven. We had trouble with attatchment and had to wean off the shields. I got blisters, bleeding - it was pretty hideous. But we got the hang of it eventually and she went on to exclusively b/f for 10 months and b/f in total for 3 years. She self weaned.

DS7: I had a beautiful birth centre birth - he attatched immediately but his attatchment wasn't great. I ended up with blisters, bleeding nipples and 3 hideous bouts of mastitis. My nipples were an absolute mess. By 6 weeks it was all good and he self weaned at aobout 2 1/2.

DD5: She fed like a trouper - she was born sucking and took to the booby with flourish. No problems, no mastitis, nipple trauma. She fed beautifully - she self weaned at 2 years.

DD4: She took to the breast beautifully too - no trauma, mastitis and she self weaned at about 16 months.

DD10 months: As most of you know she was a 28 week premmie. I began expressing the day after her birth (I was in icu for first 24 hours - and expressing wasn't even considered) and nothing came - not even a speck of colostrum. I was shattered. By day 5 the nicu staff were getting heavy about needing some milk for her. I was absolutely terrified of not being able to produce milk for her. I knew all the stats and premmies that don't have breast milk are at higher risk of all types of problems. I phoned a lactating friend who offered to give me her milk. She came with a bottle and I sureptitiously put it into the speci jars supplied by the hospital. At least I knew she would have "the good stuff". I then expressed and got my first colostrum - 5mls. It was like Christmas! My friend ran down to NICU with the precious colostrum. Her milk wasn't needed after all! I was on motilium for supply. I continued to express for the next 3 months and 1 week every 3 hours around the clock. Immy went home fully breastfeeding and still is!

[The[cookie]Doctor]

Oh Deb, what a wonderful, wonderful job you have done with Immy, you should be so flipping proud of what you have achieved. I have goosebumps just reading your achievement. Well done!

[Inanna]

Thanks Cookiemonster - it was very rocky but worth it!

[{sarah}]

Alexzander was my disaster story!! I had a 36 hour labour which ended with an emergency c/s at 1.30am. I had about 6 hours sleep in the preceeding 90-odd hours and was exhausted. The midwives commented that it looked as though I had given birth to twins - one vaginally & one caesarean. I tried to breastfeed him for the first time around 15 hours after the birth. I was too out of it to remember to try any earlier & no-one even suggested it. He was so tired & couldn't be bothered (this was Sunday afternoon), Monday was the same & all the nurses did was give him heel pr!ck tests to make sure his BSL was ok. They kept saying he'd get there. By the Tusday night I was told he was getting dehydrated & I had to feed more. So for 15 hours I had him on & off the breast continuously, all the while him hysterically screaming, me crying & the damage to my nipples getting worse with each attempt. In the morning (Wednesday) I demanded a bottle. No-one really questioned it, I was asked if I was sure & I was. That was it. I tried to express for the next week & got nothing, I tried to breastfeed and he would suck then scream as nothing was happening. I gave up & in hindsight there wasn't much more I could do. I was traumatised by the birth & should have had someone guiding me in what to do, but no-one was bothered.

Juliette is my wonderful success story, she is six months old today & has been exclusively breastfeed for that whole time. I had attempted a VBAC, but ended up again with an emergency c/s, this time after 11 hours of labour. I had lost a lot of blood so was kept in recovery for almost three hours & Juliette was taken to the SCN as a precaution because of her gagging straight after the birth. I hadn't realised where she was at the time & expected her to be waiting for me on the ward. I said I wanted to BF but was told I was on half hourly obs due to the blood loss & wasn't going anywhere, Juliette was also to be kept at SCN for another few hours. Enter my guardian angel & Juliette's godmother.... Cailin was awesme & pushed for me to be able to feed. So at 3 hours old Juliette had her first breastfeed & did wonderfully. The nurses were trying to kick me out to go back for my obs but we stayed until she was done. From then on she has fed like a pro, no attachment issues or anything like that. I had major issues for the first three months with one extremely sensitive nipple. I was in tears at every feed & there was nothing anyone could do about it, I had to press on through and just hope it would get better. So many times I wanted to give up, but I forced myself to keep going moreso for me than her as I felt I had to give her one good start to life seeing as I couldn't conceive her (IVF) or birth her myself. Sometime after three months the pain just stopped & we're here gong strong now. I'm so proud of my little girl and myself. I will be eternally grateful & thankful that I had my best friend there to push the point of breastfeeding early on otherwise we migt not have made it.

[clairekerzner]

I love reading these inspiring stories- you guys are all amazing!

We had a real breastfeeding odyssey ourselves, and every bit of struggle was worth it in the end. My daughter was born by emergency c-section at four days overdue after becoming tangled in her umbilical cord before labour could even begin. She suffered severe brain damage as a result and spent a month in the NICU at Princess Margaret Hospital in Perth. Today at 14 months of age she's 100% healthy and perfect, which is a complete miracle, but in the beginning things were very rocky.

For the first few days, she was in a coma and not receiving food. I was pumping every four hours and feeling pretty pleased with myself when I got my supply up to a total 60mL each time- but it plateaued there, and that was the most I ever got while pumping. After about a week, they started giving my daughter tube feeds, increasing the amount she could take by a few mL every four hours. They expected her to reach 60mL per feed and stop- but no, that wasn't enough for her! She rolled straight past 60mL and ended up taking 110mL every feed.

She quickly went through the EBM I had stored, and from then on we were playing catchup as she moved onto bottle feeding and at the same time began to attempt our first breastfeeds. She would try to latch on without success, then drink a 60mL bottle of EBM, then a 50mL top-up of formula, then I would rush off and express for her next feed, then run back just in time to start it all again. I was going crazy watching other mums churn out 250mL of milk every time in the communal expressing room, and feeling super guilty that I wasn't making enough milk for her (never mind the immense stress of the delivery, the situation we were in (literally living in the intensive care unit) and her diagnosis, which was terrible).

The midwives started pushing me to express more frequently, but I just couldn't do it. Gradually with the help of a nipple shield she started to get better at latching on, though she would fall asleep almost instantly as she was on an anti-seizure medication that made her very drowsy. Bit by bit, though, we got better at it, and the amount of top-up she needed dwindled down.

By the time we were ready to go home when she was one month old, I was totally over the whole pump-feed-pump routine, and I decided it was time to give it up. It occurred to me that there was a good reason why my breast-milk supply wasn't increasing, and it wasn't due to me not pumping enough (as I was told repeatedly)- it was due to all the medical professionals telling me I had to wait three to four hours between feeds. I figured that if she only got 50mL in one feed, but she fed again one hour later instead of three, she would build up the supply.

And I was right, too. Over the course of eight weeks, we breastfed almost hourly all day and all night, with occasional formula top-ups, too. And finally, finally, my milk supply had gone up enough that we farewelled the bottle altogether at about three months of age, and now at 14 months of age she is still fully breastfed (though now with solids and sippy cups too, of course).

I look at my rapidly growing little person and I am just amazed at our joint tenacity and determination with breastfeeding, and so proud of what we've managed. I'm now ready to wean her, as I've gone back to work and she's dropping feeds herself, but it's been an incredible journey.

There are two things I would say to other breastfeeding mothers. One is, don't be afraid to breastfeed on demand, no matter what you're told you "should" be doing. Follow your instinct and do what feels right for you. The other is, don't be afraid if you have to give formula top-ups for a while if you're having supply problems. If I hadn't given Sophie formula top-ups, we wouldn't have succeeded at breastfeeding because she would have failed to thrive. Giving the top-ups took the pressure off both of us and allowed her to grow at the same time as letting my milk supply increase from frequent feedings.

I actually wish I'd kept up the routine we had of giving her one bottle of formula a day, usually in the evening. She was fantastic at taking bottle OR breast until about five months of age, but after that she became exclusively breastfed and wouldn't look twice at a bottle, no matter the circumstances. This meant she couldn't be babysat for more than a couple of hours until she was almost a year old, and nobody else could put her to bed except me as she needed the boob to sleep.

Anyway! If there's one thing I've learned, it's that there's no "right" or "wrong" when it comes to feeding your kids. As long as they're happy and healthy, it's all good. But I guess our story shows that persistence and determination goes a long way to succeeding if you want it badly enough.

[Shanti]

Hi Everyone

These stories are so inspirational. Well done to all of you It's such an achievement and so fulfilling feeding our babies/kids isn't it?

Here is our story We made 12 MONTHS TODAY!!!!!!!!!

https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...stfeeding.html

[MummaSue]

Everyone's stories are wonderful, I love reading them.

We just made the 3 month mark and I'm very proud.

I researched all there was to know about b/f before little missy was born because I was determined that this was the way I wanted to feed my baby. I had a (semi)elective c-section - bubby was very transverse - and she was given straight to me and put on my chest in theatre and then again in recovery. She took to boobie like a wee duck to water - and hasn't stopped guzzling since.
However, after the first day I got cracked nipples. Some of the midwives were just awful at helping me and showing me how to attach her properly, some of them grabbing my nipple and shoving it in her wee mouth until she started sucking. So after such a good start in recovery, the midwives on the ward ruined it for me.
I begged to see a lactation consultant and saw one on day 3, which is the day that my milk came in and I also left the hospital. She told me that everything was fine, to stick some hydrogel pads on my nipples in between feeds and all would be well.
All was not well. The cracks turned into holes and I had a hole on each nipple. I cried at every single feed and didn't leave the house when she needed fed as I did not have the confidence to sit through a feed in front of anyone other than DH.
I then developed mastitis, which was AGONY. But it quickly cleared with antibiotics and continued feeding. The pain continued and the holes remained as huge as ever.
I went to my GP about another matter and she asked me how the b/f was going. I broke down and told her that I had sore nipples, showed her than and she almost fell off her seat. She told me that i had to stop b/f. I told her that wasn't an option. She kind of glared at me and I told her again that it wasn't an option. So she said that I needed to express for a few days to let the nipples heal - from both breasts. Again, I told her that wasn't an option for me, I didn't want my supply to go down. So we compromised and I expressed from the right breast and fed from the least (although still very) painful left breast. And slowly they healed.
One of my friends who had been away overseas returned and we met for coffee and I was feeding Evie and she said "honey, you're latching on wrong". She showed me how to do it properly and IMMEDIATELY it felt right. I still had damaged nipples at that point but latching on the way my friend showed me, it didn't hurt at all.

So after seeing numerous midwives, a lactation consultant and my GP - it was my friend who was the most helpful. And since that day, we haven't looked back. And to be honest, i think one of the reasons I never gave up was because I knew deep down in my heart that I hadn't been given the best advice about things. Surely breastfeeding couldn't be this sore or hard - people do it every day!!!!
Throughout all of this, my baby girl continued to gain heaps of weight and is now 6.4kg and has the cutest, chubbiest thighs I've ever seen on a baby hehe. Gorgeous!

I love breast feeding and am really going to miss it when we're not doing it any more. Not sure when that will be, I'm just going to go with the flow and see how little missy takes to solids and maybe even decides herself that she doesn't want boobie.

Thanks for reading.
Sue x

[Jennifer13]

One of my friends who had been away overseas returned and we met for coffee and I was feeding Evie and she said "honey, you're latching on wrong". She showed me how to do it properly and IMMEDIATELY it felt right. I still had damaged nipples at that point but latching on the way my friend showed me, it didn't hurt at all.

So after seeing numerous midwives, a lactation consultant and my GP - it was my friend who was the most helpful. And since that day, we haven't looked back.

Sue this is a fabulous story! Thank goodness for your friend. While it's a shame that the professionals didn't do a better job of guiding and supporting you (grrr at your GP's attitude), your story is a great example of how we women can help each other as mothers. Just think, you might be able to do the same thing for someone else one day!

[MummaSue]

Jennifer that is so true about mothers helping each other. My friend got her helpful little tip from another mother when she was having troubles in the beginning herself!!!

Sue xxx

[fi1980]

Wow - so many women have done such an amazing job often under really difficult circumstances it's just wonderful to see so many of us perservere and give bf everything we've got!

I'll keep my story brief! I've now been breastfeeding for over 12 months and I am so proud of myself and so glad I was able to make it this far.

Before having my daughter I had no real expectations for breastfeeding other than hoping I would be able to do it for a at least a few months! That might sound silly but it is just something I had never been exposed to. My mum didn't bf for long and all my friends and family seemed to have trouble bf and bottle feeding was the norm. Because of this I got a lot of pressure to put DD onto a bottle - every time she was unsettled or I was stressed I was told to just give her a bottle - as though ff would magically make everything better?? I still get told the same thing, even my next door neighbour who frequently hears DD when she is unsettled told me just the other day that maybe she needs a bottle at night

Well I showed them!! It hasn't been easy, that's for sure. Aside from having little support or encouragement to continue bf I ended up with PND which almost put an end to our bf journey. Thankfully I got some help and was able to stick it out and get back on track and 12 months into it we are still going strong with no sign of stopping anytime soon All this and I returned to work when DD was not quite 4 months old so learnt to become a champion expresser!

I'm so glad that I perservered and continued to bf, it is such a wonderful experience and is something that I know I will miss when I've completed my family and have no more babies to feed! But until then I'm going to continue enjoying every special minute!!

Fi

[MummaSue]

Good for you Fi xxxxxxx