bubbalicious: the place for young parents

Iam very unsure i know it gives my baby the best start but its alot to think about

I'm 20 weeks pregnant and I definately plan on breastfeeding my little girl Nevaeh for at least the 1st 6 months of her life!

i tryed it i breast fed for 3 weeks but coiuldnt do it anymore i wasnt making as much as she needed!

Just a little bit lol. My son is 2 and a half and has never had formula (I know that's not possible for everyone but it's still something to be proud of), and is still nursing atleast 4 times a day and a couple of times a night. Breast Milk fixes everything - cuts, bumps, eye infections, ear infections, tantrums and broken hearts :) And I think it's very sad that a lot of girls have difficulty breastfeeding because of inadequate support or innaccurate information, which is why I trained as a breastfeeding supporter, and kind of jump on every breastfeeding question or concern. Because I want EVERY pregnant woman to know that if she CAN do it if she wants to :)

Im glad you like it Earthmummy. So by looks of it your definatly a BIG follower of breastfeedin?? x

shelleymarie - I saw that website a while ago - my teen mum group leader sent me the link when I started up my natural parents group. It's fab :D

@ali-bond - It is possible to breastfeed with bigger boobs, you just have to be careful to make sure baby is latched on right, and maybe support your breast with your hand. If the baby is positioned right, he should definately be able to breathe. I went up to a K cup when my milk came in, settling at a GG when my supply settled, and after a bit of practise it was actually ok.

i had my heart set on breastfeeding my son, bet he was born premature an his suckling reflex wasnt fully developed :( i was gutted as i had to feed him on the little bottles of milk for premature babies for the remainder of my hospital stay, i felt rejected as daft as it sounds!!!anyway when we got home an was in my comfort zone we had another go,an was sort of sussesful,although we did have to alternate with breast an formular,we did this untill liam being about 7/8 week, but on the other hand i am a f-cup which i didnt think helped as i was petrified that he couldnt breath,i am 15 week into this pregnancy an im not sure howim going to go about breastfeeding our new baby as my boobs r growing again :/ will prob have to express xx

I loved breastfeedin! I would recommend it too anyone! Its hard but its the best thing ever you could do for your child when they come into this world. I breastfed for 7 months and wish i didnt stop now but had to because of circumstances. I even did a breastfeeding campagin for Doncaster - South yorkshire for young mums to encourage them to breastfeed and to show that its brill! Take a look... www.beastar.org.uk

...Buys collestrum... Erw wierd Though Lol. But Its true... thats how precious it is. x

Breast Is Definatley Besttt........ For the people who thinks thats not true... did you know that Footballers

I was devastated that I was unable to breast-feed my son for as long as i would have liked to. The midwives in the hospital were absolutely appalling and gave me no support what so ever. Also, my little one was incredibly hungry, and liked the sensation so was latched onto me most of the time, and i ended up in tears! In my view even the antibodies he received in the first few days of his life were enough, but next time i will really try to go for the breast. far cheaper option too!

I wanted to breast feed my 1st daughter but my other half didnt want me to as he wanted to play a part in the feeds ect.. im planning my 2nd and am defo going to breast feed!

@MissAspey that's not strictly true as some women who cannot breast feed their child, for whatever reason, actually have, wet nurses i think they're called, who can feed their child for them. Or for another example if they send their baby to a child minder and she is able to produce milk, she may feed them while the mother is at work. Also people who have adopted are sometimes able to produce breastmilk and they're not the biological mother. I'm not meaning to make you sound wrong, just making sure the right info is there!

Yes, Formula milk does give them something to eat, but breast milk is so much more than that; it's a living fluid that adapts to each child's individual needs at any given time. I'm not saying formula is innately bad; yes is does have it's place when mum cant breastfeed, and it has saved lives in the past, but saying that it's the same as breastmilk is completely untrue. It has a completely different chemical make up. Even the formula milk companies say their product is NOT the same as breastmilk, so I can't understand where this information is coming from???

yes i agree that breast feeding is best for baby but formula is just as good, if like me you find that you feel you can't breastfeed or your milk never came in. formula milk does the exact same job as breast milk, it give baby something to eat.

People Do Say "Breast Is Best" This Is Because It Reduced Cot Death By 50%, It Reduce The Mother Of The Baby Of Getting Breast Cancer Later On In Life By 50%, The Milk Stored In Your Breast Is Especially For Your Baby, No Other Baby Could Have Your Milk, Its Made Just For Your Baby, It Has The Right Amount If Nutrients Needed To Give Your Child, It's Unique & No-one Has The Same Breast Milk. Some People Are Conscious About Their Figure, Breast Feeding Helps You Re-gain Your Figure Quicker. Breast Feeding Isn't Easy, But People Will Help You Learn. If You Don't Feel Like Breast Feeding You Can Always Express Your Milk :)

@Kittyboo - your baby gains immunity from breastmilk for as long as he continues to recieve it. The colostrum (first milk your boobs produce while you're pregnant) does have higher concentrations of anti-bodies in it, and breastfeeding after that keeps building on that. My DS is still nursing at 2.5years, and is still getting anti-bodies through :)

Erm, not wanting to start a fight or anything (and I completely agree that every mother has the right to choose how to feed her baby) but "Formula milk does not harm what so ever" is not true. World wide, 1.3million babies a year will die because they werent breastfed, which is one every 30seconds (UNICEF 2007). Risks associated with not breastfeeding include increased risks of diabetes, obesity and childhood cancer. FF babies are significantly more likely to be admitted to hospital within the first year of life, and to develop an illness requiring anti-biotics within the first year of life. FF babies are more likely to get chest infections and stomach infections. I dont have my BFN book to hand right now, but i cant check in later with the exact statistics if anyone wants them. Again, i havent done this to make anyone feel guilty, but this information NEEDS to be out there in order for mums to make their own educated decision.

I agree that breastfeeding is good for babies but formula does no harm what so ever, my cousin breast fed her son and he always seems to be full of a cold whereas i bottle fed my son and hes always happy and healthy, i think its wrong to put pressure on people who dont wont to breastfeed, its the mothers choice x

My baby is due in May and I am sure I want to breastfeed as they say "breast is best" and all that - however I have read that some people find it hard and as @Earthmummy said the help can be hard to get hold of. I suppose one of the benefits is that the Baby will gain immunity in the first few days of breastfeeding which it can't gain from formula milk. It also seems a lot quicker than having to sterilise, make and heat up a bottle.

I am really lucky. I managed to feed my daughter who is now 6 (7 in Feb) and my son who is 8months. Both of them took to the breast like a duck to water and when ever I tried to express so that someone else could do a feed they refused bottles point blank. My daughter weaned herself off the breast at just over a year old, I then got mastitis because she was no longer feeding. I have had the beginnings of imastitis (very hard, painful boobs) twice with my son but have managed to stop it getting worse by feeding and expressing like mad. I am so pleased that I managed to breastfeed as just sterilising his cup is a pain in the bum!! I shocked alot of people by deciding to breastfeed as I had my daughter when I was 16 so they all assumed I would just shove a bottle in her mouth!! My health visitor was amazed as she said I was a better and more natural mum than some mums in late 20, early 30's that she had at the time and some of them were 2nd or 3rd time mothers!! I was asked to help out at a local breastfeeding clinic which I did a few times but got a few nasty comments from other mothers so stopped going. They were all older than me and I was later told they were having real trouble with breastfeeding so were incredibly jealous of a 16 year old managing to breastfeed so easily!!! Ah well!!! I agree with earthmummy, there isn't enough support for breastfeeding at all, especially in the hospitals. Several of my friends gave up on breastfeeding as they had no help in hospital and one was actually told she wasn't producing enough milk so had to bottle feed!! They didn't even try to get her expressing or breastfeeding followed by a top up of bottle. That really irritated me as I had my son 8months later in the same hospital and if a midwife or nurse had spoken to me like that I would have gone nuts!!!

The breastfeeding support system in the UK can be difficult to access. In a lot of developed countries, there are phone lines etc you can call 24/7 for help with breastfeeding. In the less economically developed countries, new mums are surrounded by more experienced mums who can help them out. I think it's a disgrace that so many mums who want to breastfeed have to stop because they cant get anyone to help them. At hospital I was taught to breastfeed by the cleaner who came in to empty my bin! There are a lot of organisations out there who want to help. The breastfeeding network and la leche league both have phone lines which are open most of the time; not 24/7 because they are manned by mums with kids of their own, who have had special training. There are also breastfeeding specialists who can come to your home and help you one to one. Your midwife/HV should be able to give you the numbers.

I also tried to breastfeed but your made to feel as though ur doing it wrong cause it hurts, when infact it hurts full stop. And although there is support, it isnt there at 3am when lil one wont sleep and breastfeeding doesnt seem to be settling them! I did breastfeed for 3 days, then decided to try him on a bottle. However, my boobs hurt so much from being full of milk I decided to express a bit and discovered I could do it!!! Was so chuffed. So I expressed for 3 weeks until I caught mastitis (AGONY). I also realised it was taking me 20 mins per bottle, plus sterilising inbetween, and I was unable to sleep or do anything whilst my son was asleep apart from express. I was sad to stop, but it was the best thing for us, and I was pleased that at least my son got those important first few weeks of antibodies :) Dont think anyone should be made to feel bad though if they choose to bottle feed, sometimes its just for the best! xxx

With my first daughter I didn't even get the choice to breastfeed as i have hyperthyroidism and i had been taking the medication during the first 5 months of pregnancy - not realising i was pregnant (long story!) And the medicine would probably still have been in my system and harmful to my baby. Luckily she was born without side effects. With my 2nd i tried to breastfeed her but the only thing was she would literally stay on my breast all day and not really feed much. And after a few days she just refused it no matter how much i tried! :(