Breast feeding =(

[rani]

Barb,

A recent episode of Desperate Houswives had a mom bfeeding a 5 year old. It was hilarious! She only continued breastfeeding cos it helped her maintain her ideal weight. By the end of the show the child preferred chocolate milk and was weaned. The poor mom was so upset cos she didn't want to go back to the gym and start working out.

 

[LLL_Sarah]

In reply to Sleuth?s question, Is it possible to switch from breastfeeding to bottle feeding when the baby is older? The answer is ?yes?.

I would always be a little weary of anyone who says that something is definitely going to happen because the one thing I?ve learnt about babies is that all are different and it is not possible to predict the future.

I once knew of a mother with triplets. She managed to exclusively breastfeed them for three months but found that she had very little time for anything else. So she decided to introduce some bottles to ease her load. One of the babies refused to take a bottle and wanted to carry on breastfeeding, one of the babies was perfectly happy continuing to breastfeed and to take bottles too, and the last baby refused the breast and only wanted bottles from then on.

We recommend that you try to delay the introduction of bottles until you are feeling very confident with your breastfeeding. If you have had no problems this could be as early as 3 to 4 weeks but if you?ve had problems getting off to a good start it might be as late as 8 to 10 weeks. And, of course, there are some mothers who never give bottles at all but introduce the baby to a cup when she wants to add extra liquids.

But just like all breastfeeding problems there are solutions to be found if you want to switch to bottle feeding and the baby isn?t happy with the idea.

If you have any problems with breastfeeding please feel free to call one of the LLL Leaders,

Maggie 2817-7475
Margarita 2257-6757
Rochelle 2947-7147
Sarah 2548-7636
e-mail to: [email protected]

Best wishes,
SARAH

 

[spsmok]

Wow, that's a lot of positive feedback on bf. And I agree with all of them. Breastfeeding is the best thing for both the mother and baby. But I think one of the most important things is for the mother to be comfortable.

I started bf my baby at birth and within 2 weeks I had to introduce formula completely for 4 days. I was really worried my baby would prefer the bottle to the nipple. Luckily my baby was very adaptive and she was completely breastfed once again.

Then there's the problem with the qty and the time I needed to feed her. My husband has been supportive, but not quite in the way I expected. He just asked me to switch to formula so it's less tiring for me. In the end, I started adding formula in addition to bf. It certainly was not what I really wanted, but it was less stressful.

What I'm trying to say is, don't feel guilty for whatever you choose. The mother's mental health is just as important as the baby's health.

 

[barbwong_130]

A story like this last one really makes me feel sad. I don’t think a mother who turns to bottle feeding because she doesn’t have the confidence to continue should feel guilty. Rather I think she should feel angry that our society, and in particular our medical professionals, weren’t there to give her the support she needed at the time she needed it.

The time to talk to a lactation consultant or a La Leche League leader is at the moment you feel that lack of confidence. No baby ever came to any harm waiting an extra ten minutes for a bottle. But in those ten minutes if you are able to talk to a person who understands breastfeeding it can give you the confidence to know what to do. You need to talk to someone who will be able to explain that either you don’t have a problem and this is normal baby behaviour or that you do indeed have a problem and help you design the best solution for you and your baby.

If the person you turn to has only the solution of offering the bottle then you know that that person is not well informed about breastfeeding. For some problems offering a bottle may be a solution but it is never the only solution to a breastfeeding problem.

Please if you are considering breastfeeding find yourself someone knowledgeable about breastfeeding and normal infant behaviour to turn to when you begin to lose confidence. For me, that was one of the local LLL leaders. I liked that fact that she had successfully breastfed her own babies and so I knew she understood where my silly fears and questions were coming from.

Barb