Breastfeeding worries...

strawberryM2424 · Member

Breastfeeding worries...

Supafly · Guru

Thanks ladies! I think a lot this may depend on which mode of delivery I end up with-I think it will be far more of a struggle if I end up needing the 3rd c/s. But assuming I can go forward with the VBA2C, I think that will help a lot-I mean, if I feel better physically, I know I will have more patience for it in the beginning.

Crystal, you crack me up calling the bean the little GUY. Tee hee!!! Time will tell on that one!!! I think if I have a good supply this time, I would at some point pump and start offering bottles here and there. I really would like the baby to be used to bottles in case I should flare. I always need to be prepared for that since my flares get so severe so fast. And I would hate for my family to be struggling to get my child to eat while dealing with me being hospitalized or something. I guess we'll just wait and see, but I think it is definitely a good idea to establish things first, assuming my health is good. So I won't be bottle feeding right away, unless there is some sort of a major problem. But these things are good to know!! I think I will have to find a LLL meeting or something in my area.

tabatha · Senior Member

ditto what abh and others said re: supply. i only got 1-2 oz ea. when i first started pumping and rarely got more than 6oz total throughout the entire time i was pumping (which was 10mos, i think).

re: scheduling- i don't think nursing precludes a schedule. and it doesn't necessarily mean you'll never sleep again. c slept thru the night from 5wks on.

i'd give some thought to what tex asked- because its a great question. and you know i initially started off just wanting to do it to see if i could and bcuz it was better, etc and i was only going to nurse for 2wks. as it happened, it was sooo painful and worrisome initially and i think i stubbornly kept plugging away at how to fix it. once it wasn't painful, awkward or causing me other stress then i was ok. so if you feel like you want to do it to feel like you gave it your best effort, i absolutely understand that sentiment.

but if you find it very disruptive with your schedule or the act of nursing is a negative experience for you, then i don't know that its worth trying to sort of prove to yourself that you can do it. you simply do not have to and thats totally ok.

as an addendum to that, crystal also mentioned that nursing does not have to be an all or nothing effort. i feel like its easy sometimes for people to forget that. even if you only nursed once a day the baby still derives benefit from that. so maybe you might want to consider trying something like that although i think that is probably more difficult to do in the very early stages as there is an abundance of milk and it takes about 12wks for the supply to regulate itself and more closely match the demand.

i just wouldn't want you to think its all drudgery, because it isn't. i don't feel like it made things more difficult for me. the exception there is pumping, which is work if you aren't like abh (lol!) and i think of all the ways to feed a child, exclusively pumping is the hardest. its twice the work, literally.

whatever you decide, i think its most important to find something that makes YOU content.

Supafly · Guru

Thank you, Tab! I think a lot of how things go will depend on which mode of delivery I end up with. If I end up with another c/s, I really think it will be much more of a challenge. Of course, there are no guarantees, but having been through it twice with a lot of struggle, I know I am not a great c/s mom. I hope that I can do the VBA2C and have a easier recovery, and thus an easier time with starting off nursing. I just think that if I am feeling like a reasonable human being, I will be more apt to stick with it through the rough patches in the beginning.

For me thus far, it hasn't been fun. But I do realize that my situations post delivery didn't really allow for a normal experience. And I am sure that played a big role in how I felt about everything relating to baby care, including breastfeeding!

But I do appreciate your words. I feel like if I really give it a good shot this time, then whatever I decide, whether it is to keep nursing for a long time or give it up, I will feel good about it.