Breastfeeding

Also how hard is it to ween them off the boob? What age did you all wean off the book?

EBF both my boys, first baby took a bottle of pumped milk, no dramas. Second baby has outright refused from the very beginning and I had no success until he could drink from an open cup or straw cup. Pumping time, depends how much you want to get and if it’s in place of a feed or in addition to. I don’t find it takes long, 10mins. I do cosleep- but that’s not because I breastfeed (don’t think it’s a trap either though) Edited to add: didn’t have any trouble stopping feeding my first, but I did wait until he was kind of self weaning anyway. He was fully done at 18mo.

Neither of my babies would take a bottle. Weaned oldest at 20 months and second at 2y2m. Pumping takes 10-20 min but I find it's not worth the hassle. Plus to maintain supply, you'd have to pump at the same time dad gives a bottle so it doesn't make life easier.

Oh I did also cosleep, it's the biological norm ☺️

Coslept a little but mostly didnt. It’s not a requirement for a breastfed baby by any means but can be helpful to get some more sleep. Both my breastfed babies took a bottle of pumped milk at night with their dad so I could get a break. Honestly the best part of breastfeeding is not having so many bottle to wash plus it’s the right temp/ready always. Currently with my little one I pump 2x a day and I get enough for a night bottle plus extra for the freezer so I’m able to build a bit of a stash which is nice.

All 3 of my breastfed babies have had no trouble taking a bottle when needed. I cosleep I see it more as a hack than a trap lol. The only way to get sufficient sleep when breastfeeding in my experience.

You definitely don’t need to co sleep if you breastfeed. My babies sleep next to me in a bassinett. My daughter stopped taking a bottle at 6 months but that’s rare. Pumping is a pain but easier if you get a mobile pump that fits in your bra because then you can walk around and do other things while pumping. Pumping should take about 20 min not including the clean up. I weaned at 20 months but technically you can wean whenever you want. It’s easier to do when they are older and nursing less frequently. If you are down to 1-2 nursings a day by the time you wean it shouldn’t hurt your boobs to stop. But if you stop around 6 months I imagine you will need cabbage leaves or something to help dry you up so you don’t get mastitis. Breastfeeding is also nice bc it’s a panacea that almost always immediately solves all problems whether it’s hunger or comfort related.

My baby is EBF and she sleeps in a bassinet next to me. She's not had a night feed since she was a couple months old and even then I just had to whip a titty out rather than faff around with bottles. She's had 5 bottles of expressed milk as tests to make sure she'd take frozen milk in case I couldn't feed and she took it with no hassle. I used a size 1 tommee tippee teat to make sure she didnt develop a flow preference. Breastmilk not only contains antibodies and changes its calorie content to suit the baby but it also contains hormones to help with sleep and awakeness in the night and morning so you'd help their circadian rhythm too. Pumping is hit and miss, I can sometimes pump 5oz in 5 minutes, other times 20 minutes to get 1oz.

Each child is different, my first one I breastfed till she was 13 months old and she always hated the bottle, I’ve co-slept. When she stopped breastfeeding she accepted the formula in a sip cup without problem. My second one accepted the bottle till she was around 7 weeks old and then started to refuse it, I’ve tried all the baby bottles you can think even the most expensive one and still she refuses it, she hates formula all the formulas. We co-sleep and since last week I’ve started to ween her out, stopped with nights feed completely and she is ok with that, still refusing the formula and bottle and even my milk in a different recipient she makes vomit so I believe she won’t drink milk when I stop with the breastfeeding, now she is having the boobs 3 times a day, morning, noon and night.

My first was picky on nipples and flow. We introduced bottles a month or so in. My second, we used bottles before discharged, and we still use both. He's picky about temperature. We coslept/bedshare with both. My oldest was able to sleep in his crib alone at 3m but if you really don't want to cosleep have your husband get the baby, change, burp, put to sleep. Breastfeeding is a lot that's the least he could do. With my second I put him down as soon as he burps. My first we all held him all the time and contact nap were the only way we could get sleep.

I’ve been breastfeeding for 3 years continuously with both my babies and it’s had its challenges but I absolutely love it. So many benefits for baby and mum, it’s free, portable, easy (once latch has been established etc) and the bond is so special. Breastfeeding is more than food, it is comfort, and many situations can be eased by putting baby on the breast as it instantly soothes them and helps them sleep. My first baby had issues latching because of birth trauma but once established it went well and I fed him until he was 2.5 years (he naturally weaned which is what I wanted). He wouldn’t take a bottle but we only tried it once! His sleep was terrible (not necessarily because he was breastfed, I think a lot of it was residual effects of his birth) but when we moved him to his own room he slept much better. I’m currently breastfeeding my 7 month old and he latched on well from the start. He has been a better sleeper but this time I have partly co slept as well to save my sanity

I’ve only tried him with a bottle once when I went out and he took it fine (this was recently so he wanted to hold the bottle himself).

I've breast fed both my boys, my first took a bottle as I pumped so my partner was able to feed him. He never fully settled on the bottle though and from 8 weeks he was EBF. Second is EBF, he isn't used to latching whilst lying down as I usually feed him sitting up. Never pumped this time round as it takes too long and can be quite stressful as it's not an indication of how much milk you produce. I Co slept with my first from early on and it worked well into his toddler hood. I stopped night feeds first with my eldest and it was fairly simple, as long as I was still with him at night he got used to it quite quickly. When he was around 2, I set boundaries and only fed him in the house rather than out and about. That was a lot harder as he was a bit boob obsessed 😅 but we got there eventually. He's nearly 4 now and says he doesn't remember having 'milkies' which does make me a bit sad if I'm honest!

I struggled to breastfeed all 3 of my kids, not fun or easy experiences and each with each kid they were breastfed for shorter periods of time.

I thank god and my mum when i was juggling with baby weight and breastfeeding vs formula she told me that its easier to breastfeed at night than getting up and making a bottle and it was great advice and the milk got better faster as its more at night bottles looks easier but its not even outside

I pumped for 12 weeks and bottle fed, then switched to exclusive breast after his oral ties were resolved. He’s almost 9 months old now and we tried to give him a bottle the other day but he won’t take it anymore. He dropped the pacifier at 12 weeks as well and didn’t take one since🤷🏻‍♀️ My advice would be to keep giving a bottle here and there if you want the baby to be able to take one from dad.

We introduced boob, bottle and dummy from day 1 (I think the 6 week wait causes issues) we had phases where baby took more bottles (when my mum was in hospital) and then phases when she only had boob for a while. She was super flexible around it. We co-slept but I did that with all 3 of mine as I had sleep anxiety (biggest one had seizures and choked on her vomit alot due to reflux) we weaned around 6 months due to allergies but she was fine, she didn't care either way. Honestly I wish I'd done longer though x

I ebf both my children, the first I followed the guideline and waited 6 weeks to pump and he wouldnt take a bottle. My second I started on day 5 and she took to it no problem, I also made sure to continue to do it (dad did bedtime feed most nights) so that I didn’t leave a gap and have her go off it. Weaned first at 13m and second at 18m no issue just reduced daily feeds till we were at zero. I had a next to me, and then did a bit of co-sleeping when she grew out of it. Oh and re pumping I just pumped on the opposite side when doing a feed as it was easiest given my let down had already been triggered.

I breastfed both kids and honestly hated it but most people love it so it’s probably worth a try if you want to. My first took bottles but we waited for a month to introduce pumped milk in bottles. My second wouldn’t take bottles until 6 months and then decided bottles were better and wouldn’t nurse🤷‍♀️kept both in a crib next to my bed until 12-18 months. My husband didn’t help with the kid who wouldn’t take bottles because he just screamed nonstop in his arms lol. Breastfeeding is hard work but everyone’s journey is different. You might find it much easier than I did☺️

Still currently breast feeding my LG- refused bottle till she had to take it. I’m back to work and she started taking it from my mum.. then from nursery. When at home and I’m with her I still BF. We don’t co sleep never have done. I tried pumping but as she was refusing the bottle I gave up and just give her formula for her bottle. Second baby I’m going to combi feed. I want the help with the restless nights and to be able to have a few hours to myself here and there without worrying if they’d get hungry without me.