Breast Feeding....

[AshleyMommyto2]

I was wondering if I am able to BF this time like I really want too. How did you girls go out about? I don't know if I could do this in public...

[Goosey]

I had issues. I didnt have much supply at all and it was a struggle.

I was able to do it more with my second child then my other two. I only did it 6 mths cuz it was hell to be frank.

As for doing it in public...I had a recieving blanket that I used but most of the time when it was necessary I was sitting in my car waiting on DH or something LOL. One time I got stuck in a traffic jam and had to feed him so that was interesting. I just used the blanket and fed him and in the middle of it I had a man tap on my window letting me know we were moving again so I quickly got Av back in his seat and headed home to finish up LOL.

Im not one who says breastfeed in public w/o a cover and if others dont like it they can look away. I covered myself because I was more comfortable doing that and, I felt it was respectful overall as well.

I hope you get to do breastfeeding this time around the way you wish!! Just do whats comfy for YOU when it comes to doing it in public or not.

[bettercowpatty]

Sometimes you have to when you are out and about, but you can buy a cover or use a blanket. Sometimes I would go out to my car and feed D, or find a quiet spot in someone's house. If you are really worried about public, you can always pump. It takes a few min (you can do it in your car or a restroom) and then you have the milk in a bottle...

[Jojo]

I feed Matt before I leave the house so I don't have to feed him as often in public. For myself, I'm just not really comfortable doing it but if it he has to eat he has to eat. There is no way around it.

I try to use my cover but it isn't easy. I think he's so used to eating without one that he doesn't want one covering him so trying to get him to eat in public with a cover on is hell. :hehe: He's just really nosy and needs to see what is going on around him. It's also not easy for me because I use the nipple shield and I have to situate that first but it's getting better.

So in the end--if the baby needs to eat you need to feed it! Honestly, I don't know why people stare at people when they're BFing...you'd think they had a dog on their laps that was BFing or something. So strange.

(my views on it have totally changed since becoming a BFing mom :thumb:)

[Elaine]

So in the end--if the baby needs to eat you need to feed it! Honestly, I don't know why people stare at people when they're BFing...you'd think they had a dog on their laps that was BFing or something. So strange.

(my views on it have totally changed since becoming a BFing mom :thumb:)
:hehe: and :twothumbs:

[AshleyMommyto2]

I had to use a shield too Jo, it sucked. But I don't care I would rather do breast this time. Eli had a terrible time with Formula but I just didn't have the supply... Hopefully this time I will...

[Jojo]

I had to use a shield too Jo, it sucked. But I don't care I would rather do breast this time. Eli had a terrible time with Formula but I just didn't have the supply... Hopefully this time I will...


I thought the shield sucked at first too but now it's second nature. As long as I situate it before he starts flailing around I'm good to go. And it's easier to situate under the shirt and then do a swift move of lift the shirt smash his face into it :hehe:

I think as they get older and you don't have to worry about latch it's easier. It's in the beginning of trying to get those teeny tiny mouths open. That's why I'm grateful for the pumping in the beginning :hehe:

[natalie]

I think as they get older and you don't have to worry about latch it's easier. It's in the beginning of trying to get those teeny tiny mouths open.

That's so true! It used to be so hard to get Emmelia to latch cause her mouth was so tiny. Now she opens as wide as she can and pants like a dog when she's hungry. :hehe:

I was really apprehensive about NIP in public too. I kind of got over it though. If she's hungry, she's gotta eat. I have a nursing cover, but it freaks her out. She does this weird latch, unlatch, latch, unlatch every 2 seconds thing when I try to cover her. So, I just try to find a quiet place and discreetly nurse her. If we are at a restaurant, I ask for an out of the way table. I am a breastfeeding ninja. I can get my nipple in her mouth before anyone has a chance to see anything. She covers my stomach and I make sure that my shirt is pulled down (as far as it can be and have her still latched on) so that nothing is really showing.

[Jojo]

I had issues. I didnt have much supply at all and it was a struggle.

I was able to do it more with my second child then my other two. I only did it 6 mths cuz it was hell to be frank.

As for doing it in public...I had a recieving blanket that I used but most of the time when it was necessary I was sitting in my car waiting on DH or something LOL. One time I got stuck in a traffic jam and had to feed him so that was interesting. I just used the blanket and fed him and in the middle of it I had a man tap on my window letting me know we were moving again so I quickly got Av back in his seat and headed home to finish up LOL.

Im not one who says breastfeed in public w/o a cover and if others dont like it they can look away. I covered myself because I was more comfortable doing that and, I felt it was respectful overall as well.

I hope you get to do breastfeeding this time around the way you wish!! Just do whats comfy for YOU when it comes to doing it in public or not.


I had to BF Matt to sleep while DH drove. I leaned as far as could over his carseat (while still sitting) and let him go to town. Have to say it's by far one of the weirdest things I have done since becoming a mom. :hehe: Thank Goodness it was dark out. :p

[AshleyMommyto2]

Natalie you are the breastfeeding ninja!!! :hula:
The reason I had to use the sheild is b/c I have tiny nipples and they don't stick out much I have to pinch them to get them to perk up! :blush: I can't believe I just told this! :blush:

Oh and is there any way to get your nipples to be tough like before baby gets her. I just remember the week I tried and tried. My nipples hurt and bleed soo bad. I think of that was b/c he was getting nothing and trying soo hard but I could be wrong... My milk finally came about 2 weeks after he was born and it stay for a day and it was hardly anything serious I didn't even leek!

[lilbunnygirl]

I don't know what I would have done with my lactation consultant & BFing support group. Cash had a weird latch and I was in miserable pain for the first week, but I couldn't figure out how to fix it. Thankfully I found a support group here & the lactation consultant showed me two tiny tiny adjustments that made all the difference in the world.

As far as supply, oatmeal for breakfast every morning and a cup of Mother's Milk tea in the evening gave me more than I knew what to do with (too much actually, this time I'm staying away from that darn tea unless I really need it!)

I didn't mind NIP with a cover ( http://www.uddercovers.com/ ) but it was easier to just time my journeys so that I could feed him at home before and after. Obviously with the new one I won't have that luxury as much, so I'm going to have to do it more!

Jo, there were a few times I almost tried to nurse Cash in the car because he was so upset on a long trip, but Sean talked me out of it!

[Jojo]

:ditto: on the mothers milk and oatmeal. I was taking 16 fenugreek and 6 or 8 goats rue a day. My jugs were...jugs :hehe: and also on an LC. She saved my life!

I have tiny nipples too hence the reason why I need the shield. There isn't much for him to latch on to hence the reason I thought my nipples were going to fall off from bleeding, cracking and bruising. The LC actually told me not to BF until they were healed...and so began the journey of me and my beloved pump :hehe:

[Andrea]

Jo :hehe: We gotta do what we gotta do. That would have never worked with me and my tiny boobs.:D


Ashley, I hope you have better luck this time!:))
I usually just BF Ava before we went anywhere, and pumped enough for a bottle to bring. She hated being covered while eating so I tried to avoid having to feed her in public. A few times I just sat in the car and BF, then one time I was shopping and she wouldn't take the bottle so I did it in a dressing room.;)

I wore those nursing tanks, I loved them! You can just unhook one side and your belly is still covered, then you just pull your shirt down a bit....no one can see anything.

[Meshell]

The only issues we had were with Will's tongue since he was tongue-tied. I don't know how we did it, we just did. My best advice is to ask for lots of help while you are in the hospital. The post partum and nursery nurses are there to help you! Without them I probably wouldn't have been able to do it.

As for nursing in public I made sure I planned trips as well as I could to where I could nurse before we left and hopefully not have to nurse until we got home. Otherwise I would nurse in the car if we were out shopping. If we were at a friend's house then I used a cover.

[bettercowpatty]

The lacation consultant helped us a ton too at the hospital to get D latched on. I have heard that nipple shields can sometimes effect your supply, so maybe that was part of the problem last time? I think your breasts are less stimulated through the shield to produce. An L.C. can definitely help with that. My nipples go from nice and litte pre-preggo to HUGE, so I def didn't have that problem! :hehe:

[Jojo]

The lacation consultant helped us a ton too at the hospital to get D latched on. I have heard that nipple shields can sometimes effect your supply, so maybe that was part of the problem last time? I think your breasts are less stimulated through the shield to produce. An L.C. can definitely help with that. My nipples go from nice and litte pre-preggo to HUGE, so I def didn't have that problem! :hehe:


Yes, if they are not the correct size they can do more damage then good :))

[Elaine]

My doctor told me I have great nipples. :hehe: Apparently Ben had a different idea with his latch though. :rolleyes:

I never had to NIP with Ben but that's because he didn't nurse for long so it wasn't something I had to do. Not that it would matter though. Nobody blinks an eye when you NIP here. :twothumbs: All you get are smiles from other moms (and dads too) and older ladies who give you that sweet, knowing look.

[Meshell]

I use dressing rooms sometimes too. And the nursing tanks at Target are great because they keep your tummy & back covered if you have to NIP.

[Leah]

I would also try and feed right before going anywhere. If I needed to feed him out I usually did it in the car or a dressing room. If necessary I would do it in public and use one of the Aden and Anais giant swaddling lightweight blankets to cover us up. At restaurants I also requested booths or somewhere slightly out of the way. After doing it a few times I got used to it. I found it pretty convient actually because you always have milk with you and ready to go; there is no bottles to pack or worrying about trying to find a place to heat it up. ;)

[Farah]

I would also try and feed right before going anywhere. If I needed to feed him out I usually did it in the car or a dressing room. If necessary I would do it in public and use one of the Aden and Anais giant swaddling lightweight blankets to cover us up. At restaurants I also requested booths or somewhere slightly out of the way. After doing it a few times I got used to it. I found it pretty convient actually because you always have milk with you and ready to go; there is no bottles to pack or worrying about trying to find a place to heat it up. ;)
That sounds like me! I always fed before we left and basically wasn't out for more than a 3 hr window at a time. If I was I found a nursing room or would go back to my car and nurse. I only nursed in a restaurant one time.

[lilbunnygirl]

I found it pretty convient actually because you always have milk with you and ready to go; there is no bottles to pack or worrying about trying to find a place to heat it up. ;)

Totally agree with this! Cash had maybe 20 bottles total in his life even though I had to pump every morning just because I was rarely away from him long enough where he'd need to eat and if I was with him it was just so much easier to whip out the tap than to give him a bottle!

[Ashley]

See, I guess I'm the oddity on Nip because I do it all the time. I think when it's the second, you don't have much of a choice! I didn't want to restrict Tyler's activities, and I was determined to nurse, so there we are. Sometimes it's in the car because it's easiest, sometimes it's in a restaurant booth, sometimes it's at the mall.. it just depends. If she's gotta eat, she's gotta eat, so tough. I do use a cover, and have had to use a shield, especially in the beginning. It took awhile to not have to and sometimes she still gets frustrated and I have to use it.

I think that it's the beginning that matters. Find the right support, LC, support groups, nurse, etc. to help you get going. After that, you'll do what works for you guys. Good luck!! :support:

[Jojo]

Just for the record we are here to cheer you on!

You can do it! And even if you decide you can't or don't want to we are still here to cheer you on regardless!! :support::support::support::support:

[Heather]

Just for the record we are here to cheer you on!

You can do it! And even if you decide you can't or don't want to we are still here to cheer you on regardless!! :support::support::support::support:
DITTO!!!

Between all of us, you will have boo-coodles of support!!! :support:

[AshleyMommyto2]

Aww thanks girls!:hula:Here is to hoping my milk comes this time!