Breastfeeding

[MrsBuchel]

hello everyone. I'm going to breastfeed, i wanted to skip the bottle all together. I'm aware that i'd have to be with my baby basically 24/7 which you have to anyways right! :) Giving up going out until your baby gets teeth isn't the biggest sacrifice. I was wondering if anyone skipped the bottle all together by just breastfeeding. Was it easy or is it harder then I think?

[Jennyjoelogan]

I fully breastfed my first son no bottle at all. I loved bonding with him everytime. It wasnt hard everytime i knew i was going out to a store i would feed my son before going out. You dont have to worry about washing out bottles nor boiling them. But its always good to have a pump and atlist a bottle if your going out somewere and need someone to watch him.

[harleymarie]

Oh and my daughter never ever had a bottle.. After breast feeding she went straight to cups and sippy cups

[harleymarie]

I breastfeed my daughter until she was 18 mths old and i thought it was extremly easy and i didnt have to lug around formula and a bottle everywhere. It does hurt at first and my nipples got so chapped, one of my nipples actually was so bad it had a flap of skin that i had to let heal for a couple of days. It does get better though and it becomes painless. At first you breast will leak all the time i used to soak through my shirts but after a while the will stop. I loved the bond between my daughter and me. Hope fully if im pregnant ( testing friday YAY) Ill be able to breastfeed. If your willing to be with your baby all the time its so worth it. I absoulutly loved it. Good Luck

[smiley_one]

I plan on fully breast feeding as well (as long as my fiance is making enough money to support me and the baby pretty well). My college doesn't want me to take the summer off because it would throw my schedule off due to changes in the school, but I will not have a babysitter for the first half of the summer so it's best if I take it off. My local WIC office offers training with breastfeeding and demonstrations if I ever get stuck. I also heard that breast milk can be stored for a very long time (if done properly).

[montanagirl7676]

Have you looked into hand expression? I did that with my first child when I returned to work at 4 weeks, rather than a pump, because it was just easier for me. I didn't like the idea of a pump, however I am going to try one this time. Just another alternative for collecting breast milk, but one you don't hear of often.

[mikaleen]

I breastfed 2 girls, and I plan to breastfeed this one as well.  The first few weeks can be difficult for some women, it is a learning experience for you as well as your newborn.  Support and knowledge will be your 2 biggest allies if you want to be successful.  I was lucky with both of mine, they nursed very well instinctively and we had no difficulties at all.  My first did have a bottle introduced at 6 weeks as I was going back to work, but I had a pump and she only got breastmilk in her bottles.  With my second I was lucky enough to stay home, and she only ever nursed from me, until she weaned at 2 years old.  I had no problem staying with my babies all the time until I slowly introduced solids after 6 months.  My husband bathed them, rocked them, read to them, changed diapers and dressed them...so he was able to bond in other ways.  I did have a pump for my second, but she was given breastmilk in a sippy cup after 6 months, no bottles.  I have a couple baby carriers and with a nursing tank I could nurse in public with baby in the carrier without anyone really noticing, unless they were looking too closely anyway.

I tend to lean a little towards the crunchy, so we did the extended nursing, baby led weaning, baby wearing type stuff.  I loved it and can't wait until June to do it all over again.  They grow up so fast.

The biggest thing is to just be flexible.  If you intend to not pump and only breastfeed that is great, but if something changes and you want to pump, it's not a big deal.  You can rent them from hospitals if you need one. I wouldn't buy more than 1 of any kind of bottles in the beginning, because some babies are very picky, and you would hate to be stuck with 8 bottles that are useless because baby won't feed from them.

Good luck!

[montanagirl7676]

Have you looked into hand expression? I did that with my first child when I returned to work at 4 weeks, rather than a pump, because it was just easier for me. I didn't like the idea of a pump, however I am going to try one this time. Just another alternative for collecting breast milk, but one you don't hear of often.

[MrsBuchel]

I'll be done with my job in June, i work at a school, then its just online college. So i will be able to be around for the baby. I think i will get a pump just in case. But I'd like to skip it all together, not have to get them off the bottle in the first place.

[MamaBear0612]

In a perfect world, where I didn't have to work, I would. I'm breastfeeding but will also work on getting her to take bottles when she's away from me. I go back to work, and she's going to daycare at 2 months, it's just unavoidable for us.

I do like the idea that her dad can also feed her too. Feeding a baby, whether through breast or bottle, is a bonding experience. I think it's good for dads to have that experience as well.

[montanagirl7676]

Absolutely easy. Natures design, no? And just think, less stuff to lug around, no bottles nipples etc to wash, no formula to buy or have to mix when babe is hungry. I would forgo the pumping & bottles entirely if I didn't have to return to work.

[parkersmommy]

I will be going back to work after my baby is born but I mean you would have to take the baby everywhere you went and be comfortable breastfeeding everywhere. I am getting a pump