K
Keepercjr
Guest
I am still breastfeeding my son who is 2.5. I never had any doubt that I would breastfeed. For me, formula was not an option. I only gained about 18 lbs during pregnancy and within a week I had lost it all and then some -and am now 10 lbs lighter than I was pre-pregnancy. I am pancreatic sufficient so I'm sure that helps me keep from getting too thin but I think that if you are committed then keeping weight on shouldn't be an issue. It will just take a little bit extra work and some vigilance about your diet. I've never had a problem putting on weight but for the first year or so I did have to make sure I ate enough to keep me where I was.
I had a doula for my birth who was also a lactation consultant. She helped me A LOT and we did need to use a nipple shield for the first week or so because he didn't have a good latch and I was in a lot of pain. During that time I could see why women quit and switch to formula but again, that was never an option for me (self imposed) and after that week it got a lot better. I clearly remember the first time that nursing him didn't hurt. Nursing my son is one of the experiences of early motherhood that I will treasure the most. I still love it and my son still needs it so we'll keep going till he wants to stop. And nursing is great for soothing an older baby - plus its a sure fire way to knock them out for a nap or bedtime. When my son get sick, sometimes the only thing he'll do is nurse - he'll refuse any food or water and I've never been concerned about that because I know he gets what he needs from me. He's never been a big eater so even at a year I'm sure that 90% of his diet was still milk. At 18 months milk was probably about 60-70% of his diet. Now at 2.5 he just nurses to sleep and when he wakes up unless he's teething or sick then he nurses for comfort more through the day.
Bonnie - I just wanted to comment on what you said about pumping when you need a break - just keep in mind that if your breasts are used to being emptied every 2 hours and then you decide to have your DH feed your baby a bottle at feeding time, it will be another 2 hours till you empty your breasts again and let me tell you, it gets very uncomfortable if you miss a feeding. I am convinced I have a small storage capacity in my breasts so my son nursed every 2 hours till he was well over 8 months old (he would go 3-4 hours at night). So missing a feeding was actually pretty painful for me. So even if you feed a bottle of expressed milk, you will still want to empty your breasts to avoid a plugged duct or engorgement.
Lastly - I remember reading an article that said that even in severely malnourished mothers (not talking about CF) breastmilk remains pretty consistent in composition. So I wouldn't worry about your baby not getting enough of anything. And taking extra vitamins just to boost the breastmilk doesn't work either because it will still stay consistent.
I had a doula for my birth who was also a lactation consultant. She helped me A LOT and we did need to use a nipple shield for the first week or so because he didn't have a good latch and I was in a lot of pain. During that time I could see why women quit and switch to formula but again, that was never an option for me (self imposed) and after that week it got a lot better. I clearly remember the first time that nursing him didn't hurt. Nursing my son is one of the experiences of early motherhood that I will treasure the most. I still love it and my son still needs it so we'll keep going till he wants to stop. And nursing is great for soothing an older baby - plus its a sure fire way to knock them out for a nap or bedtime. When my son get sick, sometimes the only thing he'll do is nurse - he'll refuse any food or water and I've never been concerned about that because I know he gets what he needs from me. He's never been a big eater so even at a year I'm sure that 90% of his diet was still milk. At 18 months milk was probably about 60-70% of his diet. Now at 2.5 he just nurses to sleep and when he wakes up unless he's teething or sick then he nurses for comfort more through the day.
Bonnie - I just wanted to comment on what you said about pumping when you need a break - just keep in mind that if your breasts are used to being emptied every 2 hours and then you decide to have your DH feed your baby a bottle at feeding time, it will be another 2 hours till you empty your breasts again and let me tell you, it gets very uncomfortable if you miss a feeding. I am convinced I have a small storage capacity in my breasts so my son nursed every 2 hours till he was well over 8 months old (he would go 3-4 hours at night). So missing a feeding was actually pretty painful for me. So even if you feed a bottle of expressed milk, you will still want to empty your breasts to avoid a plugged duct or engorgement.
Lastly - I remember reading an article that said that even in severely malnourished mothers (not talking about CF) breastmilk remains pretty consistent in composition. So I wouldn't worry about your baby not getting enough of anything. And taking extra vitamins just to boost the breastmilk doesn't work either because it will still stay consistent.