Finally

[AndiJ78]

Finally a place devoted to nursing! I no longer have to sift through "Am I Pg?" or "Who My Baby Daddy?" to help answer breastfeeding questions!

How many nursing mom's do we have now? I am still nursing CJ, he is a nursing champ.

[Skylynns_mom]

I am currently prego due June 25th and intend on breastfeeding, hopefully he takes to it much better then my daughter did.

[AndiJ78]

Every baby is different. Consider this one a whole new experience. And now you have a place to ask all those questions where you can *hopefully* get prompt answers.

Congrats.

[wantingbabies]

Hi!  I am currently pregnant also.  I am due on July 16th, and this will be my first.  I am planning on breast feeding, and am so glad I'll have a place to ask all of the questions I'm sure to have.  :)  I've been trying to read up as much as I can before hand, but since I have no experience, I'm sure lots of questions will arise once the baby comes.

[Brown Eyed Gurl]

I'm pregnant also expecting twins I plan doing my best to sticking to breastfeeding

[jenstam]

I'm nursing Brody now for 7 1/2 months. He loves his nursing. I'm glad to see this open up, too! I've been having an issue in the past week or two with low milk production. Not sure what it's all about but I have even (YIKES!) thought about supplementing with some formula because I know he's not getting enough. I actually think if I was still nursing at night and pumping at work during the day, adding a bottle or two of formula at this point isn't going to make or break anything. I'm not sure how much it bothers me. He's never had formula though. Not even sure if he would like the taste. I know all the tricks to increase milk production, but I'm not sure if I have the time or energy to do it! Maybe I just need a nudge ;)

[Skylynns_mom]

Thanks, my daughter had a very tramatic birth so by the time i was able to attempt to feed her she refused, she wouldn't even take a bottle and had to have a feeding tube for a while.  I pumped for about a month and a half and supplimented with formula b/c she absolutly refused to latch on no matter what be tried.  After a month and a half my milf production began drying up b/c i was able to pump as often as i should.  Hopefully my son with take right away and be a pro LOL

[AndiJ78]

Jen-It is possible he is growing again. while they may not have those back to back growth spurts like during the first 6 mos, they still have some during the last half of their first year. Make sure you are drinking enough fluid, but not too much as it can cause the breast tissues to swell and hinder letdown.

Brody is a champ, you'll pull through it no matter what you decide. Way to go, 7.5 months is an awesome accomplishment. You should pat yourself on the back...heck i'll pat you on the back!

A significant portion of nursing is attitude and commitment. It is a lot of work, certainly not as easy as some think it should be. But with the support of your family, friends, and some well-meaning folks online, hopefully those bumpy first few weeks will pass quickly and it will be smooth sailing.

[jenstam]

Hey, thanks Andi. I'm not sure what I'll do at this point. I know I haven't been drinking as much water as I should be, so that could be one cause. The thought of formula makes me feel guilty but I'm pretty sure it would give him just the right amount that he needs in addition to what he already gets through my breastmilk. Being in school two nights a week and working full time has really affected my supply lately. At this point, I don't think a bottle or two of formula is going to cause a drastic change. Still thinking about it...

You're right though, it is a lot harder in some ways. Especially in the first weeks and months. There is nobody that can help you feed the baby and they are demanding little buggers early on. But I know you understand what I'm talking about when I say that the way they look at you, rely on you and can be comforted by only you is such an awesome feeling. It's like no other. It has been such a rewarding, wonderful experience for us. My only regrets with my children are that I didn't have the right tools or mindset earlier on to nurse my girls. If...IF Ben and I have one more (he talks about it all the time!), I would not choose any other way to feed my baby but nursing. I have often thought it would be wonderful to become a lactation consultant.

[jenstam]

I forgot to mention that I have noticed a decrease in wet diapers, so I know he is getting less when he is nursing. It's like that first pump of the day I get a lot-usually 8-10 oz. Then the next time I get about 6-8 oz. I go home and nurse him right away and my guess is he gets about 4-6 oz and then again that same amount at bedtime. He nurses 2-3 times throughout the night, too. I've just been noticing his output of wet diapers has decreased. Like I said, I'm not sure how motivated I am at this point to try to increase my milk supply, or if I'm just going to introduce a bottle or two of formula, but continue on the same pump/nursing schedule. Still thinking about it.

[Mommy3Girls]

I am not yet, but will be in September!!! Woo Hoo!!! Hooray for breast feeding and making our babies healthy!!!

[pertykitty]

my sis tried to bf but then went to bottle and for some reason seems to think i should do some bottles as well to fatten addy up!! well look at her pics, the girl is chunky monkey enough.  its sad when you make your baby as healthy as you can and others till try to discourage you.  im so glad this forum came about.

[tiredbuthappy]

As many of you know, I was unable to breastfeed. We did everything we could, worked at it for months, and had professional help. I am here for anyone who struggles with breastfeeding and is unsuccessful. i read all the time on the forums that bf'ing is a very tiring and emotional thing- imagine what someone goes through when they go through all of the energy and emotions and it doesn't work! the warm and fuzzy mental image you had while pregnant of gazing into your baby's eyes as she nursed is thrown out the window as you sit tethered to a torture machine (aka pump) for several hours a day while you try to juggle a crying infant.

Good news is, even if you can't nurse directly, it is still possible to provide your child with breast milk. i am not here as much as i used to be, but am more than happy to provide support and encouragement for people who try to breast feed but cannot for whatever reason. if you see any posts i can help with, feel free to encourage them to pm me.  

[AndiJ78]

Tired-I am happy to see you here, I am little help when it comes to pumping, but you have had some awesome advice for many women here.

[mum2beagain]

Great forum!!
I never nursed James, too many preemie issues and although we tried I couldn't get him to latch so I pumped for a couple of months and then switched to a preemie formula (still feel guilty today!), He barely drank from a bottle either, feeding him was and still is a nightmare.
Sam was a bit different, full term (almost) and  twice the weight my first had been and a hunger to go with it. The first six to eight weeks were tough, really tough and many a night I said that's it, bottles tomorrow...never did though always decided next morning to give it another day and see how it went. Taking it day by day I made it to almost 10 months, I would have liked to continue for much longer but Sam just decided it wasn't for him any more and started to fuss, bite and refuse at each nursing session so we slowly weaned (for my benefit more than his LOL!).
I loved nursing my baby (well maybe not at first, sore nipples and all!) and intend to do it again if I have anymore children, BUT I still think it is something you should take day by day, if you mentally commit yourself to a long or extended nursing period you can be dissapointed; I was dissapointed both times that I didn't make it as far as I had wanted too. Next time I will commit to breastfeed as long as MY BABY wants to do so and is thriving rather then setting MYSELF a goal.

[shesherm]

I struggled with nursing at 1st..well not really LOL Saraya latched on after delivery no problem but at her 2 week appt they didnt think she had gained enough weigjht so they had me do ALL bottle feedings... and to supplement with FORMULA to bulk her up it killed me and of course I drove myself crazy for 3 weeks bottle feeding and pumping to TRY to keep my supply up.... FInally I just decided to do what I wanted and now I nurse her during the day and she gets a bottle of FORMULA  with cereal (she has reflux) at night to try to keep her weight up plus she has reflux so we are adding cereal to her bottles...ugh so I was perplexed...a bottle with cereal to help the reflulx or nurse...I felt guilty nursing because I thought I was being selfishand not doing what was best for our baby.
I really beat myself up during the early weeks and I'm glad to see this site for those to follow

[houseofgirls]

Hi everyone!  This is great, I'm glad there is a place to discuss breastfeeding now!  I am currently breastfeeding...6 months and going strong!  I nursed my older dd for about a year, and plan on doing the same with this baby.  The only thing that bothers me, is that I'm not sure that I actually want to wean at one year.  I might want to go a little longer, but I get such negative feedback from family and friends.  I actually had a phone call yesterday with a close family member who said "well your almost done, aren't you excited?"  NO!  I'm not almost done, and I'm not excited about it ending.  This may sound weird, but I really do love to breastfeed my baby.  

[xsamiamx]

Yay, a breastfeeding community!

I've been nursing my daughter for almost 11 weeks now. I've been struggling w/ a low milk supply (I think because of the depo shot the hospital pressured me into getting 2 days after giving birth), so I have to supplement w/ formula using a lactation aid.

I've been taking tons of fenugreek, more milk plus, oatmeal, and drinking non-alcoholic beer. At first I pumped after every feeding, but lately I've just been feeding every hour instead of two, and I rarely need to supplement.

My supply isn't near what it should be, but I'm still working on it!

[AndiJ78]

I was on depo after the birth of my first, it is not supposed to affect supply, most likely what has happened is your daughter has been growing. During the first 6 months they go through almost constant growth spurts, it can make even the most seasoned nursing moms (myself included) doubt the supply. I left myself with no alternative, no bottles, no formula in the house so I forced myself to keep going. I kept at it and nursing on only one breast during a growth spurt is literally constant. I took breaks long enough to go potty and not much else.

Keep at it girls, you can do it!

[jenstam]

What a previous poster said was the best thing I have done for myself and my son with our nursing experience. You just do it one day at a time. I don't know how many times I thought "I don't know what tomorrow will bring so I'll just get through today". In the beginning there were so many times when I thought "Tomorrow I will probably go out and get formula because he's not getting enough milk", but tomorrow came and I would say that again and give it just today. It has gotten me 7 1/2 months and my son has not had one drop of formula. Like Andi said, you just don't allow those things in your home. You don't supply it and you just work with your supply and keep at it. Supplying formula can be a downhill battle that can seriously affects your milk supply.