And how they feed my baby. Lotus is going to do a breastfeeding story carnival at some point and because I have nothing better to talk about tonight, I thought I’d share my story and link to it later.
My Mum breastfed me until I was 3 and then did exactly the same thing with my brother. He was born when I was 5 1/2, so I remember him being fed.
Actually, until I was a teenager, I don’t think I had ever had anything to do with bottlefed babies. Mum’s friends were all breastfeeders and that is what I accepted as the norm.
So when I was pregnant there was no doubt in my mind that I would breastfeed.
I consider myself so lucky because I had no issues with it, at all.
After Amy was born, she latched on and had a few sucks while we were still in delivery, I could feel her sucking, but there was no pain or discomfort.
That night after Nathan had gone home (Amy was around 3 hours old), she got a little fussy so I got my boob out. You can imagine how proud I was when she latched on amazingly and fed like her life depended on it. (Hey! At 3 hours old, my boobs were all she had!)
I felt a little strange, like maybe I should have asked the midwives for help? Then I told myself I was being silly, she was my daughter and I could do this, by myself! 
So I did.
The midwife came in about 9pm to check our temperatures and was amazed to see me feeding my daughter (again). Her look of shock was priceless as she asked ‘You’re feeding her?’
‘Yes’
‘But, you didn’t ask for assistance!’
‘I didn’t need it’
‘But everyone needs help. Wait, does it hurt?’
‘Nope, I can feel her sucking, but there is no pain’
‘Oh. Well, that is great then.’
Amy wasn’t a sleepy newborn and she spent the night alternately sleeping on my breast or feeding. I couldn’t get her to latch on on my right side, so we fed on the left all night.
The next morning I asked the midwife on duty for help attaching Amy to my right boob. After some crying and some twisty turny boob groping she was attached.
The midwife did the rapidly-becoming-annoying spiel.
‘Does it hurt?’
‘No, I can feel the sucking, but no pain.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes, I’m sure!’
‘No pulling or pinching?’
‘No’
‘Oh, well I’ll leave you to it then.’
‘Thankyou for the help’
‘That’s okay’
My milk came in less than 24 hours after Amy was born. I spent most of the time I was in hospital feeding her.
Everytime the midwife came in they would see me feeding and ask about it.
‘You’re feeding her again?’
‘Yes, she wants to feed.’
‘You know newborn babies don’t actually NEED that much milk?’
‘Yes, I KNOW they don’t NEED it, but she WANTS it, and I don’t want to listen to her cry because she WANTS to suck.’
‘Oh. Okay then.’
Half the time Amy was actually asleep on my bare breast, but I liked seeing the midwives discomforted by us. Yes, I’m a bitch sometimes.
We wet home and Amy spent 90% of the day feeding. When she wasn’t feeding she was screaming because she wanted to feed, so I fed her. Path of least resistance and all that jazz.
She grew bigger and got more attached to my boobs. She spent (and still spends) every opportunity with her hands down my top.
I swore I wanted to feed until ‘at least 12mths’. At my 6 week check, I was told I would have to take extra care of myself because ‘there isn’t much of you’.
So I did.
12 months came and went and somehow I didn’t feel like weaning. Amy was a boobie addict and refused to give them up. We eventually stopped night feeds completely after Amy minced my nipple with her newly cut teeth.
(Note to Amy? Yeah, teeth are bad. Love Mummy)
So, here we are, 9 days off 18mths and she seems more boob addicted than ever. I am trying to cut her feeds down to 1 or 2 a day, but she is having none of that.
She can get into my boobs herself now and every day I am so glad we made it this far. I am taking it a day at a time, as she feeds and twists and turns while still holding my nipple in her mouth. Lately she has taken to trying to wiggle backwards out of the chair, while still feeding. Not my most favourite move. 
So I have a few bits of advice for anyone wanting to breastfeed.
-Wet some newborn nappies and freeze them. Wrap them around your boobs to help with the heat and swelling of engorgement.
-For engorged boobs, heat will help the milk flow, so use a heat pack and massage before and during a feed and use ice compresses afterwards.
-Buy a good barrier cream and use it for any grazes, cuts or blisters. I didn’t need one at first, but after the teeth came through, Amy minced my nipples regularly.
-I used my hands to help Amy attach. I used to squeeze my nipple and areola into a flattened biscuit type shape. This meant that she got a good mouthful of boob even when she didn’t open her mouth wide enough. I needed to do this until she was around 6 mths old.
-If what you are doing isn’t working, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Ask your friend, a nurse, a midwife or your buddy on the internet what they did that made it easier for them.
-If you are badly sore, rest and express until you heal. Don’t be afraid to say that it hurts. Even when I KNEW Amy had a good latch and we knew what we were doing, some feeds were excruciating, no matter what we did.
-Loose tops that lift up are more discreet than button down shirts if you are nursing in public.
Feel free to leave any advice of your own in the comments. Also, if you have any questions, please don’t be afraid to ask. Another great person to plague with questions (I do it all the time and she still loves me) is Tara. She is actually a Peer Lactation Counsellor and she is lovely.
You can see more (breast)feeding stories here.
I love you!!!
frogpondsrock’s last blog post..Awards… part one..
aww I’m so chuffed for you that breastfeeding went so well! I tried it with Zack nad it was excrutiating, that and me getting way to tense about it and I decided to switch to formula – no problems there!
Well done on giving your daughter the best start in life 🙂 You’re a great mummy!
Marylin’s last blog post..A Little Bit of This and That
you were in hospital with your first child and you were the one telling the midwife whats best no wonder why your daughter is so dependant on you and clingy. know matter how many children one has you will never know it all..
I do not know how you made it past the teeth.
Up til then, a beautiful experience.
Teeth? Torture time.
witchypoo’s last blog post..Puzzle
Annie breast fed all three of our sons, although our youngest, Zach, didn’t thrive on the breast milk – we actually had to stop at about three months and give him formula. THEN he started sleeping through the night, not crying (screaming) 10 minutes after feeding, etc. He is also our Asbergers boy with the limited scope diet. There are so many things he won’t eat – foods he is actually revulsed by – that I wonder if the breastfeeding issues weren’t an expression of Asbergers. Anyway, Annie treasured being able to breast feed – it kept her close to her sons.
Lou’s last blog post..What I could have done
I have a bad case of the Uh Huh’s now.
Yep, my kids were great nursers. Yep, I never needed any help. Yep, I just nursed’em until they were done.
When 3of3 was born, she nursed for 8 hours STRAIGHT her 2nd night. The docs wanted to kill me, and I told them in the nicest voice I could muster to F off already.
Oh, I loves pissing me off some docs.
Good on yah, sister.
Mr Lady’s last blog post..Around the world in 80 minutes
Whoever speaks…lighten up…seriously….she is just offering advice…and thanks for it. It is easy for some but not so easy for others…and it is really good to see moms out there supporting nursing. My son is 14 months old, and we are just weaning now…I never had too much trouble…
Great post.
Can’t relate at all, but well done! I take my hat off to you.
Jenty’s last blog post..And…. he walks
:::::sighs::::: um er where am I? oh yeah breasts are great I feed off them until I was 34.
Old Knudsen’s last blog post..Muggings Are Now A Medical Procedure
sorry ‘fed’ off them, i don’t know where my mind is.
Old Knudsen’s last blog post..Muggings Are Now A Medical Procedure
wow.. cool post..
i might have better luck with baby 2.. hehe
Taz’s last blog post..18 weeks old
I had no idea of the ‘complexity’ of the whole thing. A real eye opener. I’ll be bookmarking this in my ‘fingers crossed’ folder.
Xbox4NappyRash’s last blog post..Bad Pile Up
whoever speaks says: “you were in hospital with your first child and you were the one telling the midwife whats best no wonder why your daughter is so dependant on you and clingy. know matter how many children one has you will never know it all..”
You’re a troll, aren’t ya?
Of course nobody knows everything. And doctors, nurses, midwives come under that very same category. If the baby is attaching and sucking well, it is best to leave mum and bub to get on with what they’re doing.
I’m sure if mum *needed* help she would have asked.
Now be a good clever dick and go play in the traffic.
Anja’s last blog post..I said PUSSY and ‘the man’ said NO.
I breastfed and I had taken a 2 hour class and thought I was prepared emotionally.Unfortunately all they talked about was latch problems which I never had.I learned everything else the hard way-the more they feed the more you produce etc… I’m so glad I stuck with it! Kudos to you.
haha
You made everyone put in their 2c worth!!!! LOL
I can say I don’t have any experience but when I screw my face up at dirty nappies (from Nath’s sister’s baby), Nathan always tells me
‘It’s different when you have your own.’
He assures me that I will be quite happy to breastfeed and change nappies and clean up vomit.
And he said that I will ‘just know what to do.’
Sounds like it will be an amazing experience…
(and a little scary too?)
“Whoever speaks” If you are going to visit a well written blog and throw insults.Ummm it might be a good idea to practice your grammar, punctuation and of course your spelling first. *Dickhead*
My 13 year old son is still dependent on me.For the little things in life. Food,clothing, shelter and of course his safety.At least my son is only clingy on the day his pocket money is due.
Farkin Trolls give me the sheets!!!!
frogpondsrock’s last blog post..Hmmph..I wanted to rule the world… but apparently……
hee. Alex fed like a champ while we were in the hospital. Drove ’em nuts. (after we got home, different story.) Hee.
Dawn’s last blog post..NaNoWriMonday – 3:2
I know it isn’t always a good idea to engage trolls, but gosh. That Whoever Speaks irks me and I’ve got two things to say:
#1 – As the mother of a child that just emerged from HER body, yeah, I think it’s fair to say that she was the expert on that child. A midwife is going to have knowledge of babies in general, but no one knows a baby better than their mother, if they are a good one, which obviously Veronia is.
Why do people feel the need to question a mother’s instinct? Grrr.
#2 – What CHILD isn’t dependent on their parents? That’s part of what makes them CHILDREN. I don’t see too many 18 month olds out there with jobs and homes of their own. I think Veronica and Amy are doing just fine.
Ugh!
Veronica – this was a great post. I breastfed Julia until she was 3. I’ll likely do the same with Lucy. I had a little trouble getting started with Julia. The nurses kept suggesting I let them give her formula, “just to be sure she’s getting enough.” I stood strong, but was an emotional wreck worrying about it. Dave finally booked some time with the lactation consultant after her shift and she helped me out just by watching me feed Julia and assuring me it was fine.
Breastfeeding was one of the most important choices I made with Julia, not just for the health benefits, but for the bond it helped create between us. I’d encourage any mother to breastfeed. There’s nothing better for your child.
Leslie’s last blog post..Here Are The Champions, My Friends
Dear Whoever Speaks:
This is not YOUR blog. An opinion and a story of events is being presented. If you find this threatening in some way, then go hide under the covers and cry until someone comes to put you someplace safe. I know it was a stretch to actually get your thumb out of your butt so that you could type, but really…do us all a favor and just put it right back. kthxbai.
V – great post. I had a lot of difficulty breastfeeding both of my boys. They just weren’t getting enough out of me…the pigs. I’m all for breastfeeding, but I’m also all for people making the right decisions for their own kids. I have a cousin who is a lactation counselor and she acts like NAZI if she sees someone with a bottle. I find that to be very rude.
Tasina’s last blog post..Humble Pie
Congrats on making it so long bfing! That’s wonderful. I tried for 10 weeks and I could never make it work. My daughter just screamed at me. Looking back I know I could have done things differently and it might have helped but I don’t know how it would have turned out. I try not to do ‘what if’s’ too much. If I have another baby I’ll use what I learned and give it another go.
janethesane’s last blog post..Super Readers…to the Rescue!
This post makes me wish I had stuck with breastfeeding longer. There’s something so amazingly special about that bond between mother and breastfeeding child…yes, even during the teething, and twisting, and turning 😉
LunaNik’s last blog post..She writes, I read, we speak…
Had to laugh at the midwife “but everyone needs help” Hah!
I had a similar experience, only it was nurses, not midwives. Only, instead of being annoyed that I didn’t need help, the nurses were so delighted that they invited other nurses and doctors into the room, until me and my newborn nursing son had our own little medical paparazzi gathered round. I guess it was sweet. They were all so PROUD of us. Mostly they gave my son all the credit, “Look at how well he latches on…coo coo”, but that was fine by me. I guess I did sort of feel like, hey, we know what we’re doing. We were made to do this!
And then I laughed at the stories of Amy getting older and being able to access you at will, and not wanting to wean. My daughter was like that. I was a double-nippled pacifier in her eyes. Man was there a ruckus at our house when our doctor suggested we gate her door at night so she couldn’t come into our room for late night feedings. I looked at him and said, “You don’t know this child.” and he looked at me like, “I’m the one with all the degrees on the wall, do as I say or you’re a moron” so I humored him. For one night. Just so I could tell him the story of how she screamed for four hours solid, then threw almost everything out of the room over the top of the gate, and finally realized she could build a set of steps with all that stuff and proceeded to do so.
Lol, I think I just wrote a post, not a comment!
Velvet Verbosity’s last blog post..100 Words – Precise
I wish I did but I didnt’ and I now hope my daughters do… thank you I will send this to my daughter who is pregnant.
Just a mom’s last blog post..PLEASE STAY,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
TO WHOEVER SPEAKS,
You obviously don’t know what you are speaking about, your comments reflect your ignorance of all things relating to children and child rearing, I feel sorry for you cause you don’t have anything better to do than to make negative comments, what a boring existence you must have.
I had no idea you were still breastfeeding thats WONDERFUL , at 18 months i thought Rebecca would never stop infact due to the lovely new milk supply brought with her baby sister she feed like a newborn around the clock but over time she just gradually dropped feeds and weaning the last few weeks has been a joy. Do you think you will just keep going or are you looking to wean?
Im also one of these lucky people who has never had any problems and i don’t think the midwifes could believe everything was that simple, they kept trying to change my positions and i was like just leave us alone 1 – its not hurting 2 – she is gulping down milk like crazy so if its working who cares?
Laura McIntyre’s last blog post..Update On All
I had a really hard time nursing Max, but maybe I’ll save that for Lotus’ carnival.
My advice would be yes, to ask for help, but don’t let yourself be bullied either. I was bullied all to hell when I tried to get help nursing Max. It’s MUCH better to talk to a professional lactation consultant than a friend or relative, no matter how much the friend or relative thinks they know. Many hospitals offer free lactation consultant services, or you can call the local La Leche League.
I nursed Max until I was 20 months, and Jessamine weaned at 26 months.
Marie’s last blog post..Indeed.
i had 3 great nursers and 1 horrible one. but i’m crazed so we didn’t give up. ava is 2 and still nursing. if i even suggest weaning she crys and clings to me. she just may go to college on the boob.
zoe’s last blog post..Love me Love me not
Awesome to hear mommies who FOLLOWED THEIR INSTINCTS and told the docs/nurses/midwives whatfor! 🙂 I believe that one of the cruelest things in the medical establishment (as if we need anymore) is the damage done to natural processes such as breastfeeding. The medical establishment gets very little training when it comes to women’s health—what little is being done now really IS a revolution!
I’m proud to say little P is just NOW being weaned (he’ll be 3 in June), and I’ve loved nearly every day of it! The teeth can be a problem—but we’ve managed up until now 🙂 It can be done, and extended breastfeeding is AWESOME! 🙂
Love your smilies! What a fun story. My post is here.
TX Poppet’s last blog post..A Tale of Two Ti++ies
You are an inspiration, my dear!
I can’t believe those idiotic midwifes, btw. A baby should eat as much as it demands from the very beginning!
Sarcastic Mom’s last blog post..(Breast)feeding Carnival
You’re a rock star, you know that? Right??
Mr Lady’s last blog post..Everything you never wanted to know about my boobs
Yay!
Rebecca’s last blog post..Most inspiring breastfeeding story I know…
I too fed on demand… at one point when my first was almost a year old I was in a conversation with a group of women who were flabbergasted that another of the women was “strong enough” to feed on demand… i was flabbergasted that there was any other way!!! way to go!
That’s awesome how you shared those tips! Glad to read a success story!
amy’s last blog post..Mammary Lane Revisited
To anyone who is reading the comments on this blog: Please realise that some of these negative posts are most likely from writers hired by the formula companies or mothers who feel guilty or defensive for not breastfeeding. Understand though, it’s a sensitive subject, I still feel guilty for not breastfeeding my first child, but I know it’s not my fault. The formula companies pay off the govt. and try as they can to hide the risks of formula.
Comments on this entry are closed.