there is a medication you can get right after delivery. i received it. i have medical issues with that prevents me from breastfeeding. for me the pain from not breastfeeding was terrible. i requested the medication the second time around here in switzerland and it made a world of difference.

To get back on topic I'd just like to say due to this thread and the knowledgeable ladies who posted plus a very lovely member/contributor who emailed me and supported me whilst I was in hospital I managed to breast feed after being told by 2 lactation nurses that they were very sorry but I was unlikely able to breast feed

I remember reading posts by Jot, musicchick and others where they advised every woman can and has the ability to breast feed and to express and pump regular to help the supply. So with me having a section 4 weeks early it did make things difficult and I think it took about ten days before I was producing more than 10ml of milk from each breast, due to this the nurses were giving up on me, but my amazing midwife gave me hope on day 4, she ordered a pump from the nurses and told me to 'pump, pump, pump' day and night without fail if I was serious about wanting to breast feed, I was so upset at the thought of not being able to breast feed that I did exactly as she told me, and hey presto after three weeks I was able to fully feed my son

So thanks informative ladies, I did read and take note and proved those nurses wrong

So happy it is working out for you two. I remember seeing a documentary on mothers who had adopted babies who actually managed to breastfeed. Initially with a tube and formula, taped next to the nipple- then the sucking action and hormones did the rest. Amazing.

Wow, I am so happy to hear that you went throw it and made it! You are a strong woman, Nicky! You have to be very stubborn to not listen the nurses. What a great midwife you got!

Breast feeding?

I'm with this fellow:



Why aye!

I know I saw it I know the body is amazing, but it kind of creeped me out!

This thread has been going for 20 pages and I think we have heard every possible argument several times. It makes me feel a bit like Jehova's witnesses or people trying to force you into a magazine subscription at your doorstep.
Some years ago I put up a sign at my door saying:

1. No, I don't want to subscribe to your magazines, I am happy with the ones I have.

2. Please refrain from saving my soul for I like to be a sinner and will happily go to hell.

3. No, I do not want to discuss the Bible today.

4. I don't need anything as far as household gadgets are concernend.

and now I feel like adding:

5. No, I did never and will never want to breastfeed. It's pointless trying to preach or give me a bad conscience to make me change my mind.

Why the heck should some one have to justify "I can't" . I couldn't with my second and there is no way I should have to substantiate the reason why; in fact as someone who tried dammed hard to do it and failed I find others needing me to give reasons quite insulting. Medical reasons don't mean "I won't" it means "I can't" and in many cases I would really like to.

Funny enough! I asked this questions yesterday in the forum support section. Someone did take the time to merge this question with the same old thread but didn't feel the need to answer it nor to put his head around it to think!

Great job Mod! NOT

I had the same idea- the thread should be split, but please don't knock the mods they mod out of the goodness of their hearts- I wouldn't take the job!

I wouldn't never do that! Just on the 1 who didn't take anytime at all to look at it, think about it and especially answer to it...

I used to refuse to believe that there were women who couldn't breastfeed. I said it couldn't happen, I asked ' what would happen before bottles if a woman couldn't breastfeed' my mother answered 'another woman would feed it-that's why there were wet nurses' it is pretty common still in some cultures.

Now if you are on medication then of course that is understandable. I will strongly encourage my daughter to breastfeed, but if she doesn't want to then what is the good in pushing it? The more worked up she gets about it, the more it could interfere with the let-down reflex (happy cows produce bountiful yields) plus I would mess up my relationship with her and her relationship with the baby. Could you imagine me telling my daughter-in -law what to do with her breasts, her baby? My friend's baby was raised after 3 months on formula- she's a healthy genius so I won't sweat about it too much.

I still don't understand this 'let down' thing? What is it and what does it feel like? I don't get any feelings or sensations when feeding

For me it was a sensation of tiggeling just before the milk came out.

Not everyone feels let-down, especially after the first few weeks (when you might not notice it with the pain of cracks etc distracting you (nice!)). I occasionally notice a bit of tingling when my milk lets down but more often than not I can't feel it.

I suppose we all feel it differently, to me it felt like a sting then the breasts would swell. It was more if I had a longer than usual gap between feeding. A bit like the feeling of imagine sucking lemons then you start to salivate.
All I know is that once the baby started feeding I would try to be on my own and enjoy the total relaxation feeling of letting go. Feeding while arguing is so agitating like an annoying sound when you are trying to sleep, not at all compatible.

My husband would get so jealous when I was feeding he almost resorted to getting the 'Meet the Fockers' Robert de Niro type strap on feeding apparatus.

My sister got me to stop breastfeeding when my son started doing this:

It sounds nice and simple to say 'bottle feeding here'; 'breast feeding there'. Until someone says, 'my baby still seems hungry after breast feeding, can anyone recommend a milk...?' What on earth does a mod do? Split the post in the middle? Basically it is feeding a baby. The discussion, like most on here, goes round in circles. The two themes go together to a certain extent whether we like it or not.

Regarding answering posts in Forum Support. Maybe the Mod who did the job didn't see it. Maybe they thought the job was done now anyway. Maybe they just didn't want one more thread with two conflicting opinions going round in circles...
Later: I think I misunderstood this bit of Nil's post. Reading it again, the Mod concerned did read the post in Forum Support but moved it to this Thread without comment. Sorry Nil.

The rest of my post stands though. I once tried to separate a Thread on two subjects. After about 3/4 of an hour I gave up in despair.

__________________
Longbyt

Thanks Longbyt, we always have the greatest from you!

I wanted to have an answer which wasn't given to me. That was my post. I really appreciated your answer.

I also understand how difficult it might be for a mod to manage such a subject. I hope you do understand too, that this is such a hot topic who brings a lot of conflict.

For someone looking for information on Bottle Feeding, it is a big turn off to come on this thread to ask anything.

Nil

Too many people assume the problem is always with the mother, I could have fed an army of babies with the milk I could make.