Breast Feeding

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I was just randomly thinking about the topic of breast feeding. I was thinking that someday I might want to have children but I'm really not sure if I want to breast feed my children or not. I know that the pros outweigh the cons and there are health benefits and stuff. I admire women who breast feed, I was breast fed as a baby as well. I just don't know if I'd be able to do it, it just seems kind of awkward picturing myself deciding to breast feed my children. First of all, I'm very self conscious about my body and just the thought of even my husband seeing me breast feeding is an awkward thought. I can't picture myself plopping down somewhere and to start breast feeding. I don't know..I know there's nothing to be ashamed of but I can't really picture myself doing it and I don't know if it's related to the way I handle my emotions or what. What do you guys think?

I've nursed all three of mine. The two who have weaned were 4.5 years old when they weaned and my "baby" is still nursing at 2yo. Sometimes my sensory issues are problematic, but my husband was always willing to take the baby and for some reason my own babies (especially when they're tiny) don't set off my sensory issues as much as someone else would. When they get to be older they're easily distractable too.

As for nursing as long as I did... you certainly don't have to! I just kind of kept on going. My kids all stopped nursing when they were ready and I was definitely ready. If I'd been really *done* before they had been done I would've been more proactive about weaning and at the point when they weaned they were maybe nursing once a week or so at most which wasn't much at all.

And truly... even if you can only manage a month or two, the benefits are really amazing. Every day that you breastfeed is a day that your baby gets antibodies for illnesses and milk that's specific for their age and needs.

So, do what you can and don't sweat it if you aren't able to for very long or at all. There are nursing covers you could buy and use if that would help with the self-consciousness. I've never been able to use covers (sensory issues), but I know a lot of women who do. I've never cared what people thought about what I do so that wasn't an issue for me, but I know it is for a lot of other women.

Oh, and one thing that a much more experienced mom told me when I was expecting my first was that if you can get through the first 2 weeks of nursing that it gets *much* easier after that. My experiences certainly meshed with her advice and the first 2 weeks can be really discouraging, but for me it got so much easier after that!

The pros definitely out weigh the cons. You don't have to display yourself while doing it. There are plenty of shawls and similar things out there that you can drape around yourself to cover you over while nursing. If you have skin sensitivities, just test different fabrics out until you find one that's easy to stand, and then get shawls or other cover-ups in that fabric. That should be possible. After all, I assume you do wear clothes, so there are fabrics you can tolerate.

I nursed my last three, which were born at home and bottle fed the first. I really didn't want to try to breast feed, because it grossed me out but when I tried it I thought completely differently about it. It really makes you feel closer to your baby, in my opinion. It's also a whole lot easier than bottle feeding.

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I'm giving it another shot. We will see.
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I find breast feeding to be a lot easier than formula feeding. You don't have to get up and make a bottle at night. You just undo your top and pull your boob out and your baby takes it. After my nephew was born, I saw how often he ate and it looked annoying to have to make a bottle every time and it take about five minutes because they would heat it up using a bottle warmer. I cannot imagine doing that at night. Then you have to wash them every time you use them so you won't run out of clean bottles. It was awkward nursing out in public but no one pays attention nor says a word so I felt comfortable doing it.

Oh yeah don't count on covering up because when your baby gets to five or six months, they start to pull the cover down or not eat at all and they will cry and scream if you hold it over them. Plus they will wriggle to get their head out from under there. Just pull your shirt down to your boob and no one will see a thing and your arm would be covering up your boob and your baby's head would also be covering it.

As for nursing tops, don't bother, you can wear your regular tops and just pull it up when you feed. But don't wear dresses that aren't for nursing unless you are at home. But I would definitely get a nursing bra and you can find them in regular stores in the bra section or buy them at Motherhood. Nursing bras make it a lot easier when you feed. They may be expensive but they are worth it.


Nursing will be hard for the first month but it gets easier after that. Plus you will be engorged after your baby is born because the milk will be coming in but after about three days your body figures out how much to make and your boobs being engorged will go away.

I breastfed my three for about a year each. My last one I stopped breastfeeding at 13 months because when he was upset he would start screaming "I want a booby" at top volume, in shops, anywhere! I live in a country where its not common to breastfeed even at the start, my mum didn't, neither did my sister, so they had more freedom, but I found it better.

My ASD means I am really bad at switching from one activity or frame of mind to another, so when the baby was simply always with me, I got used to the constancy of it, no-one else could insist on anything because I was allowed to put myself and my baby first. It put me in control as well as helping me bond properly. I felt like a lioness, or any other mammal, closely bonded with my natural instincts, and the hormones/endorphins released with every feed may not be felt by everyone, but if you have sensory issues then that is a positive one you will like. Thats what helps the bonding, just like with pavlovs dogs you get to assossiate feeding your baby with the lovely warm "relief" feelings.

I could also get out of social situations I didn't fancy by going to another room to feed the baby

In the end I was so used to it I even fed infront of my older children's friends running in and out of the house, you can't see anything much once the baby is latched on anyway.

Thanks for the advice everyone! Much appreciated!

I never breastfed in public. I always found a place even if it was a bathroom stall at the mall or the car while at a ballgame. My baby hummed as she nursed too which we still joke about. I had no support and sadly, I had so much BS given too me when I tried to nurse my first, that I gave up after a week. The second I was determined to do it. I got a book with tons of tips and read that to deal with the pain and after two weeks it was gone and became routine. Formula is expensive to say the least. You definitely get more sleep. I would say, make sure you wear pattern shirts to desquise the leaks now and then. If you do pump, you don't have to get the expensive ones. I had a cheap one that worked fine. She gradually weaned after a year and that was one race I know I finished.

You can buy breast pads and they go in your bra. You can also find cloth ones online that are hand made. But when your baby starts solids, you may find you won't have to wear them anymore because you stop leaking milk.

Just a guys perspective, my wife breastfed our two, and also expressed milk which we stored in the fridge and freezer, that meant I could do some of the night feeds using breastmilk from a bottle to let my wife get a longer sleep, and also I could take the baby out places and be able to feed them. That worked pretty well, and I quite enjoyed being responsible for baby care.
I think they were both weaned about a year or a little later, kinda when biting started and also some solids came on board. We did a bit of formulae feeding then as my wife went back to work, and expressing there and storage got fiddly.

I breast and bottle fed, exclusively breast for about a month and then started to mix feed for the next 4 months (then just bottle after that). I only breast fed around the house and took bottles out with me and my husband was able to bottle feed her as well which meant we only had to get up once each at night.

I have no idea how pumping and then taking it with you works because my son liked it warm and breast milk gets old when you leave it out for so long. Plus he wouldn't take the bottle, he did when he was newborn but after a while he preferred my boobs.

Plus how do you not dry up when you use bottles and not breast feed when you are out of the house? Breast pump?

I'm due to have a baby in a week and I am going to try and breastfeed. It is the best thing for the baby and you don't spent money on formula.

I breastfed my daughter for 18 months and only stopped because we were about to start fertility treatment (which never worked out). I won't say it was easy, in fact, in the early days, it was very difficult. She was permanently attached, or so it seemed, had reflux, so threw most of it up again and failed to put on much weight. But, after about 4 months, it was just perfect. I'm so glad I kept on going, despite everything being against me. After a few months, I started to express each morning, so I had enough for her night feed, which my husband could give her. I was able to breastfeed her when we were out and about too. After the first few months, especially once she was on solids, I hardly needed to feed her outside at all. She got a very good milk feed in the morning and one at bedtime, but the daytime feeds trailed off and she never looked for anything. I've seen toddlers demanding a suckle, but my daughter never did this beyond 9 months. But, if I had my time back, I would have bought a dummy (pacifier). She did use me as sensory stimulation (we know now that this was the first sign of sensory issues) and started to need less suckling once she found her thumb.

(and Good luck YoshiPikachu)

Thank you!

Anyone that wasnt successful?