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282955 tn?1394730951

How long are you planning on Breast Feeding if possible

Well ladies I have been thinking if I will be blessed and be able to breast feed my son, I was planning on doing it till maybe 6months or less then switch to formula.  How about you?
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561451 tn?1257476350
The lactation nurses had told me with my daughter, that any little drops I get from pumping, to save and put in the fridge!  That way the baby is still getting that colostrum.  

Anywho, I would always breastfeed, and then after the baby was born pump my boobs dry lol...  Sounds funny, but not even kidding.  Eventually all the milk comes out, and while your pumping I always felt for lumps of milk, you will know what i'm talking about when you try to pump...ahaha and massaged that area or pressed on it, to release the milk and make it come out to make sure I had everything.  Usually after my kids ate it took 10 minutes of pumping.  

When my son was breastfeeding they made me pump for a full day to really see how much he was eating, lol...he was eating 8 oz (at 2 1/2 months) every 3 oz, and I'd get an extra 4 oz from each side.  So I was have 8 oz on each boob....Quite a lot of milk, but I got a nice storage build up of it...ahaha  
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589762 tn?1330207135
I did breastfeed my daughter for 6 months and I kinda just stopped producing milk....I do plan on BF this little guy too for at least 4 + months.... I guess it will all depend on work schedules and my milk production! WHEW and Heck yes its cheaper than formula!
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Avatar universal

From what I have read you actually don't want to pump days before you give birth. Before your milk comes in your breasts are filled colustrum. This is a nutrient rich liquid that is essential for the baby after birth. One only develops a certain amount of colustrum so trying to stimulate milk before the baby has a chance to eat the colustrum would be counter productive. And let me tell you.... once your milk arrives (about 2-3 days after birth) your breasts are going to be full enough without having to pre pump! :) Your milk will then adjust on its own depending on what your baby needs. This is a very natural process. I would recommend that you pick up some info about nursing so that you have all the information and you are prepared. There is lots to know. For example: One should always try and help the baby finish one breast at a time. The very last bit of milk in your breast has a bunch of filling nutrients that will help the baby stay full longer. They say to pump one breast while your baby is nursing on the other. This helps stimulate milk production evenly in both breasts. It is very very very important for your baby to get colostrum. Here is some info I found online:

Colostrum (also known as beestings or first milk or "immune milk") is a form of milk produced by the mammary glands of mammals in late pregnancy and the few days after giving birth.
Colostrum is high in carbohydrates, protein, and antibodies and low in fat (as human newborns may find fat difficult to digest). Newborns have very small digestive systems, and colostrum delivers its nutrients in a very concentrated low-volume form. It has a mild laxative effect, encouraging the passing of the baby's first stool, which is called meconium. This clears excess bilirubin, a waste product of dead red blood cells which is produced in large quantities at birth due to blood volume reduction, from the infant's body and helps prevent jaundice. In humans and mice, colostrum contains immunoglobulins such as IgA and IgM. IgA will be absorbed through the intestinal epithelial, travel through the blood and will be secreted onto other Type 1 mucosal surfaces. Colostrum also contains a variety of growth factors (IGfs).



Whew! That sure was a lot of typing!! :)
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282955 tn?1394730951
ashiepooh and ladies: hmmm no saggy boobs after stopping BF sounds really good to me let alone keeping my cup size now.. I know I know I am shallow.  sorry ladies but I love the cup size I have now hahaha.  

whitneylauren:  I guess practicing your breasts really helps produce more milk.  it is true then that the more you breast feed the more milk you get.  just like Ashiepooh's advice of pumping it a few days before right? to encourage milk production early?

jules:  My friend brings some bottles to keep in the staff fridge (of course camouflaged in a neat bottle bag so no one sees what it is)  and she pumps in the rest room during break time and lunch time. or anytime she is available.  sometimes it is not enough so she adds formula to it.  it cuts her costs for formula by half and the baby gets all good nutrients too.
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427382 tn?1298209586
I am planing on BF for at least 5 months till I ma back at school.  My job doesnt make it easy to pump when needed.  So we'll see how that goes.  BUt I am hoping it works for about 5-6months at least.
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Avatar universal
I plan on BF for a whole year... from what I have learned about BF it really is the best for the baby.  I was reading a study where when BF babies were compared to strickly formula fed babies, the BF babies IQs were a whole 10 points higher!  So, that pretty much sold me :)  And, our family has horrendous allergies and BF is really good for allergy prevention.  But, of course... I have never BF before so I don't know if it will work out.  I am assuming it will :)
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561451 tn?1257476350
I haven't been saggy!  My boobs actually stayed a cup bigger than before pregnancy ever happened!  And Usually they will encourage you to feed your baby as soon as he is cleaned off, they'll have him to you to get him to latch!  And there will be lactation nurses in the hospital to help you as well!!!



Evthing4reason -  With both of my kids, I did both breastfeeding and pumping, so hubby could feed them as well!  If you need any advice on pumping I can help you out with some info and advice!  Just pm me!
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Avatar universal
tea_berries:

If you do decide to nurse make sure to start within the first half hour after your baby is born. The only thing that babies are born knowing how to do is suck, and doing this will help her latch on and know where the food is coming from. Watch out, your nipples are going to be really sore for like a week because they have to become caloused. Not like they will become rough or anything, they just have to get used to someone sucking on them for long periods of time.

evthing4reason:

I am sorry that you do not like being pregnant.... it must be really hard to lose control over everything like that! I hate not have control too, which is why I had my son naturally & will have my next (due in early March) naturally as well. If I were you I would at least try nursing. There is nothing more beautiful about watching your sweet baby breastfeed. The one thing that I am looking forward to the most about having a new baby is the nursing! If you try it, and still don't like it, then you can stop, but at least you can say that you gave it a shot! :)
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282955 tn?1394730951
This will be my first so I guess I will just hope that I will be able to produce milk.  I am definitely trying Ashiepoo's advice and eat more protein then.
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414635 tn?1272217693
I haven't fully decieded is I will breastfeed or not. I am not a person who enjoys being pregnant. I hate the fact that I can't control what's happening to my body and can't do/eat certain things. I really belive that if I breastfeed I will be even more likely to get ppd, i have suffered from depression in the past and I think that being that tied down to the baby and being responsible for feedings 24/7 will make me lose it. I am thinking of trying to exculsivly pump...but its hard to find info on that. right now i'm not saying that i'm not, but i'm not saying that i am. if i do my goal will be 1month
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282955 tn?1394730951
That is a wonderful advice ashiepooh I am willing to try anything possible to get milk out of me.  Looks like I am leaning towards doing it full year now.  haha

one intimidating question though.  will it make my bbs look saggy if I do it full year?  I am not that blessed in the chest part I am only a B on normal days meaning non prego. LOL B- if there is such thing.  
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Avatar universal
I breastfed my first son for 17 months, and would have gone longer if he had not decided he was done! He slowly weened himself over the months- he would want to nurse less and less as he was eating more and more solids. By the time he was done he had only been nursing once a day.
I am currently pregnant (due in March) and am planning on nursing this baby. It is so much cheaper when you don't have to pay for formula & it is so much better for the baby!
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392430 tn?1382904781
I plan on BF as long as I can...I mean why pay for formula if nature provides right?
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561451 tn?1257476350
Well, I'm going for the full year again!  I did with both my others!  And that was 2 years straight!  LOL....

Formula is expensive,  and when they do suppliments in the hospital for my kids with formula they always have a bad reaction, hence my daughter is allergic to milk...My son had to be on alimentum ($25 a can more now) That was just in the hospital until my milk came in and suppliments to their due dates, 5 and 6 weeks....UGH!  But I'd rather skip all that cr ap and go for the boobie feeding!  LOL  Plus my husband seems to like the taste of breastmilk!  LMAO  He is weird.  

Oh hey, I wanted to give you a tip though, that my doctor and all the nurses reccomended...It'll take about 3 to 5 days for your milk to come in, and you'll wanna pump also to help it come in faster!  Well, what works even better, and I know this sounds weird, but have your man suck on you!  Since they can suck pretty dang hard, it'll get it to come in faster!  Like 10 minutes on each side!  We tried that once my daughter was born, and It came in the next day!  That was my daughter being 1 day old....The nurses were surprised!  =)  And when they get further along, and are eating constantly...Feed the baby, then pump after to make sure you got it all out, and you can once more have your man do the same so more milk comes in and baby will get more and not be feeding every hour lol...  =)

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506820 tn?1295051333
If possible I would love to breast feed for a year. Going back to work 5 months after he is born will make it a little more difficult but I will still try nonetheless. Though at this point I am a bit worried I may not produced any milk. My boobs have not grown at all. I am still wearing the same bras I was before I got pregnant. My stomach has offically out paced by boobs....and I was looking forward to being at least a couple sizes bigger for a while.
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