For some reason unknown to me (because I have not looked into it), the polls for blogger (at least mine) are not working and haven’t been for about two months. I thought things would get fixed, but they aren’t, so I thought I would take this as a chance to try something new.
I thought it would be interesting instead of just seeing data to have a discussion going in the comments about the topic. We can get a clearer picture, AND we can get information on more than one child if you have more than one. In light of Hank’s guest post on breastfeeding a couple of weeks ago, I wanted to discuss that topic very first.
Here are my questions for you:
- Did you intend/want to breastfeed when your baby was born?
- Did you breastfeed for any length of time?
- If yes, for how long did you breastfeed (until what age)?
- When you stopped breastfeeding, what was the reason (your choice, baby’s choice, lack of milk…)?
- Share any other thoughts you think might be of interest.
Here are my answers:
Brayden
- yes
- yes
- until he was just past one year
- my goal was one year and I wanted to stop.
- I was also pregnant for four months during this breastfeeding.
Kaitlyn
- yes
- yes
- until one year
- again, my goal was one year. I would have considered going longer, but my husband and I were going out of town for a week right after she turned one so I wanted her easily taking milk/formula when we left.
- We breastfed through months of thrush.
McKenna
- yes
- yes
- until one year, then we weaned
- again, my choice.
- We breastfed through two rounds of thrush
Brinley
- yes
- yes
- she is 7 weeks old and I am still breastfeeding with no issues
- N/A
Your turn! Feel free to discuss further.
1. yes2. yes3. My son is 11 months old and I am still breastfeeding but I have started the weaning process.4. My plan was to stop when he turned one.5. I share some other thoughts on breastfeeding/pumping on my blog. Feel free to check it out!
1. yes2. yes3. 8 months4. I was working full time and with my job I was constantly going to my client's offices and it was beyond an inconvenience to pump on a toilet in someone else's building. If I had stayed at home, I would have gone to a year since we had no problems at all breastfeeding.5. People get scared when women talk about breastfeeding. It seems like lots of non-mothers think that it shouldn't be done in public nor be discussed in public (like on blogs). This is insane! It's a baby's source of nutrition…we shouldn't have to discuss it behind closed doors! We're all adults here…
DD #11. Yes2. Yes3. 4.5 Months (exclusively pumping for last 2 months)4. Reflux not under control. She associated eating with pain and tolerated formula much better.5. My supply couldn't keep up and I was with a doctor we didn't like…switched peds at 9 months.DD#21. Yes2. Yes3. Still at it…she is 6.5 months.4. N/A5. She has reflux too, but my Ped is wonderful. She put me on a no soy, no diary diet at 8 weeks and all is well! I plan to continue until a year.
1. yes2. yes3. Stopped just after 1 year4. Working full time and I hated pumping, plus he was getting too "aware" of it I guess? After I stopped I was so glad I did! He seemed so grown up and I did not want to be breastfeeding a toddler! 5. If anyone has success stories breastfeeding twins to 1 year I would love to hear it! I am pregnant with twins!!!
1. yes2. yes3. for about 8 weeks 4. we had to supplement formula starting at 2 weeks because baby lost a ton of weight. Turns out my milk didn't come in all the way. After nursing, pumping, reglan and fenugreek for about 6 weeks we decided to do formula only, since none of that helped me produce more milk.5. With the next baby I will start pumping in the hospital–hopefully nursing works with the next!
1. Yes2. Yes3. 1 month4. Lack of milk – tried taking supplements (blue thistle, domperidone etc.,) but just could not get supply up. I did pump and feed via bottle until 2.5 mo, but by this point, 1 hr+ of pumping each day was only yielding 4 oz. 5. One of the most difficult things emotionally I went through was having to stop breastfeeding. We had thrush, we had mastitis, but the worst part was my baby was literally starving because of lack of milk. I would give myself a lot more grace another time. Sometimes it just doesn't work. Once you give it your all, accept that fact that breastfeeding, or the lack thereof, does NOT define you as a mother.
1. Yes2. Yes3. 3 days (pumped for 2 weeks)4. My milk came in late and my baby was starving, so we had to supplement with bottles of formula. Once my milk did come in, my baby wanted absolutely nothing to do with breastfeeding.5. This is one of the most traumatic things I've ever experienced, because I wanted nothing more that to nurse my baby. I had no idea that some women's milk doesn't come in on day 3 like everyone says it's supposed to. I also had no clue some women just don't produce enough (I don't think that would've been my issue, as I was pumping enough). It's SO true that BF mom's need a TON of support, from their husbands and immediate family/community. I didn't have that, and just couldn't physically or emotionally keep up with the pumping even. I wish others knew that some FF moms don't have another choice, and it hurts when everything around you alludes to the fact that BF is best, because you feel like you're failing your baby by not giving him what's "best".
The Frosts: I totally agree with you about giving yourself grace when breastfeeding doesn't work out–I so wanted it to work but I had to make sure my baby got enough nutrition!
1. Yes2. Yes3. For about 2 weeks4. My body never produced a full supply of milk. I had a lot of trauma when my son was born, and everything the midwife had me try (pumping and domperidone) didn't work. I was having top my son up with formula… and he started to refuse the breast. Hubby helped me make the decision to go straight to formula.5. The breastfeeding midwife I worked with offered to help me get started next time so that hopefully I'll be more successful.
1. Yes2. Yes3. Still going at 16 months4. N/a but we cut back to 2x a day at 1 year, because I hated pumping at work5. I never thought I'd be a long-term nurser, but I gave myself points that I'd evaluate how it was going. First 6 months, then 1 year. He's not overly attached, so I keep expecting him to self-ween, but if he doesn't it will by ALL means be before he's 2.
Baby #11. Yes, I intended to breastfeed2. Yes…3. I nursed her until she was 15 months old, then started weaning. She was probably close to 16 months at her last nursing session4. I was only intending to nurse for the first year, but we were planning a trip to Argentina when she was 15 months old. I didn't know what milk would be available, if our hotel would have a fridge, etc., so I continued nursing to avoid the stress of finding her whole milk in Buenos Aires. I got pregnant around that time, too, so I couldn't have nursed much longer, anyway.Baby #21. Yes, I planned on nursing (again)2. Yes…3. She is six months old now and still nursing strong. In fact, she likes nursing so much she refuses to take a bottle. Thanks be to God that I can stay at home with her during the day and that local restaurants (we live in Paraguay, South America) don't open for dinner until 7; if we plan a date night, I can nurse her at 7 and still enjoy a night out without stressing over her refusal to take milk from a bottle4. The plan is to nurse until 12 months. 5. Nursing is the most inconvenient, convenient thing! Convenient in that you don't have to worry about formula, bottled water, clean bottles, etc., but for me, it also means that I can't leave her for more than four hours. Unless I plan some middle-of-the-night excursion while she's sleeping. I totally loved/love nursing, but I won't cry when I have to say good-bye to my nursing bras/tops and fill a sippy with whole milk.
1) Yes2) Yes3) 14.5 months4) Our (DH and my) choice; baby didn't want to wean 🙁
DD #11. Yes.2. Yes.3. 6 weeks.4. I started medication due to post-partum depression and did not want the medicine to pass to my daughter via breastmilk.DD#21. No.2. No.3. No.4. / 5. With prior experience with post-partum depression, I had no desire to breastfeed our second daughter. With our first, the demands of breastfeeding just intensified the anxiety/overwhelming/depressive nature of PPD. I did have two brief instances of regret for not breastfeeding out second…the first was the moments after she was born, because I first breastfed our oldest daughter at that time…and second was when we found out our second daughter had reflux and we had to go through the trial and error of different formulas.
1. yes2. yes3. 3 weeeks4. My milk supply never really came in. I was nursing and pumping from day 1 in the hospital. My baby liked to suck on her bottom lip which made it hard for her to latch on. I used a nipple shield, but still didn't have enough milk. The most I've ever gotten after pumping was a few MILLIMETERS. She lost almost 20% of her birth weight. I tried using a supplemental nursing system, which was a pain and very messy. I saw various lactation consultants and even took a few herbal supplements, but nothing helped produce enough milk to exclusively breastfeed. After 3 weeks, I decided to stop and go to strictly formula. I felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulders, but had a lot of guilt.5. I'm due with baby #2 in a few months and while I want to and will try to breastfeed, if it doesn't work I'll try not to be so hard on myself. It is something I want to experience so bad so I hope it does work.
DS #11. I had no plans. I thought if it worked, it worked and if it didn't, no big deal. 2. Yes3. 3 months – weaned in 4th month4. I went back to work and it was just easier to formula feed.5. Had mastitis once. DS #21. Yes2. Yes3. He is almost 4 months old.4. Still nursing. 5. Had mastitis once. My goal was 6 months before having him. We'll see. 🙂
1. Yes2. Yes3. Still going strong at nearly 4 months old4. The plan is a year5. I'm so happy to read all of these stories and to be able to share mine. We struggled with low milk supply, latching problems due to 38wk emerg c-section, and our LO losing weight for the first two months. We tried nipple shields and every postion possible. Our ped and lactation specialists implemented a nursing and pumping combo that pretty much took up the majority of our day/night. After 3 rounds of mastitis and a near breakdown, God answered our prayers and our baby boy is a champion nurser now! He can latch without assistance and is as happy and healthy as can be! We have counted our blessings and are so thankful for the friends and family that supported us through our "rough patch." To those struggling with issues now, hang in there as long as you can and don't be afraid to ask for help or just cry it out when you need to. If it doesn't work out then you are not any less of a mother. It can be a bumpy road…but one with a great destination!
1. Yes2. Yes3. Until 10.5 months4. She figured out straw cups and that was the end of her wanting to nurse…literally one day refused and never went back. 5. Thoughts on breastfeeding as birth control. Worked great for me, although I expected to get a period sometime after I stopped. I never did, but got pregnant again about 2 weeks after my last nursing!
DS1. yes2. yes3. 11mo4. Baby's lack of interest and my waning interest; my goal had been 12 months – close enough!DD11. yes2. yes3. 10mo4. Baby was willing to take a bottle and I was ready to be doneDD2I intend to breastfeed when she arrives in January 2013. My goal this time is 4-6 months. In my experience, bottle feeding is WAY more convenient than breastfeeding and my kids tend not to fully sttn until we've switched. I am not anti-formula. 5. I used to feel more judgmental about breast vs bottle, and now I really don't care that much. I think that, if a mom is willing at all, she would do well to try breastfeeding – it IS good for a baby! But if it doesn't work out for whatever reason, we are fortunate to have access to clean water and healthy formula in this country.
1. Yes2. Yes3. 4 months4. By choice, reluctantly. I was starting a new job at an office where the average employee's age was 23 (a company made up of mostly college aged interns) and I felt too uncomfortable pumping while at work there.5. I hope to breastfeed for the first year with my next child.
1. Yes2. Yes3. 14 1/2 months4. I really wanted to stop pumping at work, so we dropped several feedings when she turned 1. Then she just kinda got stopped one day & I didn't offer. 5. My husband was very supportive of my breastfeeding so I have to give him a lot of credit for making it that long…that & having a really good breastpump!
1. yes2. yes3. 6 weeks4. she was having diarrhea, a lot of pain and projectile vomit and none of my diet adjustments helped (we think it was soy) more on that here: http://katemcraig.blogspot.com/2012/01/our-switch-to-formula.html5. I had such a rough time with it and I was actually a little relieved when the doc suggested we stop. More on that here http://katemcraig.blogspot.com/2012/01/breastfeeding.html
1. Yes2. Yes3. 5 months4. The stress of returning to work full time compromised my supply and the idea of pumping at work discouraged me from putting in the extra effort to work at maintaining it. 5. Expecting baby #2 in Feb and my goal is 6 months. There are several moms who pump at work now so they have created a nice comfortable "mother's room".
1. yes2. yes3. still exclusively breast feeding at almost 6 months4. It's FREE milk. I'm not planning on stopping anytime soon 🙂
I did intend to nurse both of my kids, and I planned to do so until they could take cow mill safely at a year. I became pregnant when my son was 13 months old and wanted to stop soon after. He was fully weaned by 15 months. For my daughter I planned to nurse e same amount of time, but she became super independent and hated nursing at 10 months she had breast milk bottles and then soy formula.i was pregnant when se was 10 months old and suspect the milk didn't suit her. Other thought: it was not practical to do electric pump or second baby. My son was too into machines and puzzles and tried to assemble the pump and use it himself! Hand pump was effective and so much less interesting to him.
Girl #11. Yes2. Yes3. 13 Months4. Wanted to go about a year, 13 months was enough.5. I think she could of gone on for a long long time.Girl #21. Yes2. Yes3. 11 Months4. I couldn't keep up with my giant child in the evenings. I started having to supplement before bed and then my supply dwindled. 11 months is about a year so I still achieved my goal of about a year.Baby #3 (arriving in Spring)1. Yes2. Hopefully3. Goal is about a year.4. N/A5. N/A
DS1) Yes!2) yes3) a year4) working,pregnant, and he was a yr.5) I think BW is what saved my BFing relationship with him. DD1) yes2) yes3), 10 months so far and going4) I'm sure it will just be when her milk intolerance starts to heal and she can switch over to something else.5) Laney has multiple intolerances/reflux/feeding aversions and so I have been exclusively pumping since she was 6 months old.
DS #11. Yes2. Yes3. 12 months4. I became pregnant when DS was 9 months. After a week-long nursing strike the week I conceived, he was not as interested in nursing. We kept at it and he was weaned by a couple of weeks after his first birthday. 5. I had an oversupply for the first 3-4 months of nursing. DS #21. Yes2. Yes3. He is 8 weeks and we are still breastfeeding. My goal is at least 12 months. If I become pregnant again before then (which we hope to) then we will stop at 12 months. 4. N/A5.
1. Yes2. Yes3. Still breastfeeding, she is 6.5 months4. My plan is to make it to a year and then start weaning. My choice.5. We made it through using an SNS in the beginning because she didn't want to nurse. Though we never sought a medical reason for it, I assume it was due to her silent reflux. It was never a milk issue – I could pump enough per session that I knew she was getting some. Bottle feeding was very tempting. I'm not against it, I just know BFing is much better for a baby. After much persistence, it has become much easier as she has gotten older (this probably started around 4 months).
DD11. Yes2. Yes3. 8 months4. I chose to: she bit and drew blood once and I was planning to be pregnant again soon.5. Weaned over the course of a month, dropping one feeding each week. She was nursing 5 times each day when I started to wean her at 7 months. Once I went to just morning and night, I dried up really fast.DD21. Yes2. Yes3. 7 months4. I chose. She was so distracted during the day, I knew she wasn't getting very much and it was becoming a frustrating experience for me.5. I have always committed to nurse for at least 6 months and then just go as long as it is going well.DD31. Yes2. Yes3. 9 months4. She started to refuse to nurse during the day, so I decided it was just time to be done.5. We were at just 4 nursing sessions each day and though morning and night went well, she wouldn't latch on long enough for milk to let down during the day. She was eating a lot of solids to compensate. Once we switched to formula, I actually saw her interest in solids start to decrease.
1. Yes2. Yes3. 10 months4. My choice5. I tandem BF my twin boys for ten months. I stopped because they just got to be too active to tandem feed (hit each other in the face, etc) and I refused to feed them separately (because I'd be BF all day).
1. Yes2. Yes3. 13 months4. My choice…my goal was 1 year and then we went a little past that.5. We had latch issues, a very sleepy baby, and both of us had a hard time learning at the beginning. We got great help from the lactation consultant at our pediatrician's office when baby was 1 week old, but because he'd lost so much weight by then he wasn't strong enough to eat enough on his own so I had to pump my milk (in addition to nursing) and feed it to him using a SNS for a couple of months. We got back to just nursing though and the rest of the time things went great. I think our problems could have been prevented had we had good help earlier on. I would encourage new moms to go to la leche league meetings (or some other good support group) before baby is born and then meet with a lactation consultant in the first few days to make sure you get off to a great start and prevent problems. It should not hurt and your nipples should not crack or bleed if you are latched on right. I think more women could successfully breastfeed if they had better information and better support to help in overcoming challenges.Baby #2 due next month and planning to breastfeed 1 year again.
First Daughter1 Yes2 Yes3 6 mths4 My goal was 6 mths, baby was doing great on solids just seemed like a good time5 I used a nipple shield alomost exclusively for my two daughters. I dont think I would of lasted very long at all with out it!Second Daughter1 Yes2 Yes3 6 mths old, 4 6 mths was my goal, felt like my milk supply was not keeping upSon1 Yes2 Yes3 10 mths old4 Just wanted to wean by 1 yo, seemed like the right time5 For my son, I pnly used the nipple shield for a couple mths and then he did great with out it! Breastfeeding is one of the hardest most rewarding things I will do. It is so hard at first and so painful, and its time consuming. But it gets easier and is so rewarding. Not to mention all the one on one time you get with baby! 🙂
1. yes2. yes3. 9 months and still nursing4. my goal is at least 12 months5. We had a hard time in the beginning because she is very independent and refused to be taught to latch properly. She was getting enough, but it caused me a lot of pain. She also had reflux, and we got thrush in the beginning. Just found out we're expecting again, and I've noticed a really slow let down in the evenings, a middle of the night feeding or two, and an increase in solids.
1. yes2. yes3. 13 months4. We were both pretty much done. 5. I wanted to make it at least to one year, and when I was down to one feeding a day she bit me so we quit.6. I was a full time working mom the whole time, I went back to work when she was 6 weeks. So I pumped 3 times a day and had to walk through another man's office to get to the Mother's Room. So word to the weary: you can do it!!! I'm pulling for you! 🙂
1. Yes, but had said all along if I couldn't BF for whatever reason I wouldn't feel inadequate because of that (I ride horses, and a lot of my riding friends seemed to have issues with milk coming in and milk supply)2. Yes3. My daughter is 10.5w, still BF4. I had originally thought around 6mo, because that's when I go back to work, but I'm now thinking of extending my leave to 9mo, or go back part time, so I'll see. No longer than 12mo5. I had a lot of latching problems to start due to smallish nipples and she had a slightly high hard palate. I had a very hungry and unhappy baby in the first four days, and every time the LC came to see me the baby was asleep. After a very hard night a LC came to see me first thing when the baby was awake and gave me a nipple shield. We never looked back. I weaned her off the shield after 4w. The best thing was I never had any issues giving her bottles of expressed milk right from the start because she was so familiar with the 'feel' of the artificial nipple
1. yes2. yes3. 9 months (6 months was my goal – yeah!)4. Worked full time so pumped more and more and actual breast feeding less. By 9 months she preferred the bottle to me (sad face) and I grew to resent pumping at work and I just wasn't getting enough. It was time.5. I felt so liberated and happy to stop the pumping. Even mixed with a little sadness, it felt good to get my body back a bit.
1. Yes2. Yes3. 7 months, 2 weeks, 4 days4. My supply tanked when I went back to work FT at 5 months. I was pumping at 3 of her 4 feedings & I could not keep up my supply. I started to supplment with formula at 6 months once my once huge freezer stash was starting to go bye bye. I finally just weaned at 7 months & dropped one pump at a time. 5. I miss the close cuddle time but love the freedom I now have. Very proud of the time I was able to last but she did not miss a beat with the switch.
1. Yes2. Yes3. My goal was at least a year. 4. With my first two, I nursed until 14 months, and they easily self-weaned. My third is 13 months and is no longer interested in a noon feeding, but still has 3 a day. I'll let him go a bit longer but will wean him soon after 14 months if he doesn't himself.5. I just remember with my 1st, I didn't know much. All I ever had heard was how wonderful breastfeeding was and such a good bonding time with your baby. I did not expect it to be so hard, and that was very difficult for me. I was thankful for some more experienced friends who were able to encourage me through those first weeks and share their stories of how it's not easy at first!
1st child: 1. Yes2. Yes3. I breastfed him until 11.5 months, goal was a year but he self weaned when I was 8 weeks pregnant4. His choice to stop, but I was fine with it.5. He was a NICU baby so it took a lot of work to help him learn to nurse after having bottles for the start of his life. Thank you BW!2nd baby:1. Yes2. Yes3. planned to breastfeed for a year and she nursed until 14 months4. She was losing interest and I was ready to be done5. N/A3rd baby:1. Yes2. Yes3. Planned to nurse until a year. He is 12 months and still nursing twice day.4. We'll stop when he is losing interest and when I'm ready.5. N/A2. Yes
1. yes2. yes3. 8 months4. We were on vacation and she was incredibly distracted every time I tried to nurse her. She wouldn't eat. I decided I wasn't messing around with dehydration (we were in South Carolina in August) and did bottles while we were gone. I pumped and she wouldn't even latch on when we got back home. 5. She was 3 weeks early and we had terrible issues at the beginning. She wouldn't suck ANYTHING (bottle, breast, pacifier). Around 2 weeks, she started latching and eating. Then, around 4 months, she started to lose interest when my letdown slowed down and I started using an SNS (supplemental nursing system) to start each feeding until my letdown happened because otherwise she wouldn't stay latched on. There was a lot of trial and error involved in our breastfeeding experience. The best advice I was given was if one thing didn't work to get her to eat, try something else. Just keep trying until you and your baby "get it."
Twins:1. When I was pregnant I decided I would "give it a try." I was a little unsure about breastfeeding. Didn't think I would like it. And then nursing two babies? I was just going to give it a shot. :)2. Yes.3. I nursed my twins for 9.5 months.4. I weaned because DH and I had to go out of town without the babies to find a home. I was a little sad about it, but it was the right choice.5. I was amazed at how much I actually enjoyed nursing. I never thought I would, especially during those first few weeks. It was so hard!My next baby:1. Yes. I was excited to nurse again.2. Yes.3. Just over 12 months.4. I had wanted to go a little longer, 15-18 months, but I got pregnant again unexpectedly, and it was just too exhausting to nurse and be pregnant and take care of my three littles.Baby #4Really looking forward to nursing again. Hoping to go at least a year, maybe 15-18 months.
Twin boys1. No (we are a 2-dad family, so no choice here)2. No5. I feel that bottle feeding our twins really worked to our advantage, and our children's advantage because we were able to divide up the feedings so that both parents had time to spend with the children, and neither of the parents felt overly exhausted. Creating a workable schedule really allowed us to enjoy the first few months of our boys' lives.
#son:1. yes2. yes3. 7 months4. he was a very slow feeder, became unbearable to sit alone in a room with no distraction to feed him successfully once he became distracted by goings on around him.#daugher:1.yes2.yes3.7 months4. she was a much faster feeder but never loved the breast. Once she was eating 3 full meals a day, she lost interest on her own.5. I started feeding my babies solids early (4months) and it saved my sanity. 8-10 hr nights and happy babies. (I had 9 & 10 pounders at birth and they are hungry babies) For all the mums who are made to feel 'less than adequate' because you cant or wont breastfeed, remind yourself that we will ALL do many things 'imperfectly' throughout our children's lives so give yourselves a break 🙂
1st child:1. Yes!2. No – he was a NICU baby, born without sucking reflex. Attempted b-feeding until 3 months, but it never "worked" with him. 3. Pumped and fed breastmilk exclusively for 7 months.4. Stopped because I was going back to work full time & couldn't continue the pumping schedule.2nd child:1. Yes2. Yes3. Until one week before he turned one.4. I wanted to continue, but we made a major move at this time and the disruption was too much for baby.5. I couldn't believe how EASY b-feeding was for me when it just plain didn't happen with my 1st.3rd child:1. Yes2. Yes3. Still b-feeding and she just turned 15 months.5. I never thought I'd be an extended b-feeder, but it just works for us. Two feedings a day and she also drinks whole milk. We will probably stop in the next month or two as her interested is shifting.
1. Yes2. Yes3. 2 weeks : (4. My son wouldn't latch correctly and wasn't getting much when he nursed. He lost a significant amount of weight in the beginning days. I tried pumping and bottle-feeding breast milk, but that got to be exhausting, so I gave it up! : (5. Around six weeks we finally discovered that my son had (and at 22 months still has) acid reflux. Once we switched to formula (and finally found the formula that agreed with him the best) it turned out to be a blessing in disguise that I couldn't nurse… we could monitor exactly how much he was taking in, he sttn pretty early on, and my husband and I could divide up the feedings more evenly. While breastfeeding has many, many benefits, we have to do whats best for us and our family, or deal with whats handed to us as best we can, and if that means switching to formula, that is perfectly fine!… I agree with Katie (My Paisley Apron)… we are so fortunate to have clean water and a wide variety of very quality formulas in the US (even if some of them are pretty expensive!!!!! : ) )
Son#1:1. Yes, but I only planned on doing it a few months as I thought that was "normal"2. yes3. a little over 7 months.4. I went back to work after 6 months & teaching was not a good environment for pumping. My supply tanked & he completely lost interest. I decided to just be done and stop fighting because I had to take kids out of town for several days.5. I think the pump I borrowed from a family member didn't work properly which was why I had problems.Son #2:1. Yes 2. Yes – 7 months old and still going3. I hope to get to a year this time – have a HUGE freezer stash in case he loses interest that I think will easily get us through4. n/a right now!5. we had a much rougher start. birthing trauma (broken tailbone) made it so uncomofrtable for me to nurse and it messed up his perfect latch. If I hadn't had such a positive experience round 1 I would have quit but I knew it would get better. After 2 rounds of mastitis & thrush from the antibiotics we finally got into the swing of things around 2 months. A new pump also helped. And I have a different job which is much more conducive to pumping. I am interested in seeing how/when working moms start to cut back on pumping at work and still have enough to meet their goals. I hate pumping and have so much in the freezer but am scared I will run out!
Oops – I meant milliliters up on my comment. I was only pumping a few milliliters at a time.
Boy #11. Yes2. Yes3. 13 months4. My goal was at least 6 months, a year if possible. It was my choice to wean after his 1st birthday.5. Had issues with painful clogged ducts when weaning despite weaning slowly over a month.Boy #21. Yes2. Yes3. He is 7 weeks right now. Breastfeeding is going well. My goal is to make it a year.4. n/a5. n/a
1. Yes2. Yes3. 16 months and still going 2-3 times a day4. n/a5. I found it pretty easy to fit 1-2 pumpings into our routine a day. We used some of that milk so he would take a bottle if needed and that worked out until around 4-5 months. The rest I donated. I would really encourage people to donate milk if they can. There are a lot of moms who would love to give their babies breastmilk and can't. Many doulas can connect moms in need of milk with those that have it. There are also milk banks around the country. It was an incredible experience to be able to donate.
kye (now 3 1/2)1. at first i didn't plan to but once i learned how important it is i became on board, my husband was more all about it than i was at first!2. Yes…I weaned him from the breast at almost 10 months old, had enough stored milk for him to still have bm until 1 year3. My choice. My original goal was to go for 6 months4. I had mastitis twice with him and got it again when I weaned but all the hardships were SO WORTH IT!!!Brittlynn (currently 9 months old)1. Yes, I fully planned to. No questions asked!2. Yes…still nursing plan to go until she's 1 year old3. It will be my choice I'm sure. I just kinda feel 1 year old is the perfect amount of time. 4. I've also had mastitis with her and find myself dealing with a lot more feminine issues than i did while nursing him!www.journeyofparenthood.com
1- Yes2- Yes3- 5 months4- Mostly DD's choice – I just ended up going with it. We had a ton of issues in the beginning (latch, etc) and finally got those worked out w/ the help of a lactation consultant. Then, at 4 months, she was not interested in it anymore. Took too long for her (45 min breastfeeding, but 10-15 with a bottle). I kept at it for a month, and then decided to stop.5- I wanted to go a year, and would really like to with future children. I do not regret stopping though, I don't know how we would have gotten through 7 more months of it!
1) Yes2) Yes3) 13 Weeks and still going4) My goal is to stop between 1 year and 18 months5) My son was born 4 weeks early and wouldn't latch. I used a nipple shield for the first 6 weeks. Also, feeding was INCREDIBLY painful for the first few days.. I would cry at every feeding. But it is so worth it. I love it!
1) Yes2) Yes3) 13 months4) Reached 1-year goal and felt ready to have my freedom back. :)5) I used a nipple shield the first two weeks and it's the only reason she learned to nurse well.
I breastfed my daughter for one year, stopped because that was the goal, and never had any problems. With my 5 month old I'm breastfeeding and plan on going one year.I would feed from one side in the morning and pump and freeze the other side so the baby would have milk when I was away. My pumps have broken (two separate pumps, I'm not sure why they never last) so I'll probably supplement with a formula bottle here and there if I have to be out!
DD#11. Yes2. Yes3. 14 months4. I was pregnant and she was down to 2 feedings/ day and wasn't really that interested anyway.5. Had a very hard time at first, but it got easier after 6 weeks thanks to a wonderful lactation consultant. DD#21. Yes2. Yes3. 15 months4. I chose to wean because I was pregnant. We did it SLOWLY, and she didn't really have too much trouble, though I dealt with a bit of engorgement, which didn't happen at all when I weaned my first.DD#31. Yes2. Yes3. Still going at 7 months.All of my babies have had quite a growth plateau at around 6 months. I have read that this is normal for breastfed babies, though. I have never supplemented with formula, though, because we live in China and we cannot be sure that the formula here is safe. Imported formula is expensive and hard to get, so I am thankful I have never had to use it. That fact helped me get through the rough time with my first, because that was when babies first became ill and died because of tainted formula here.Oh, and breastfeeding as birth control works great for me. My cycle doesn't return until 1 year, long after baby is sleeping through the night. Lucky me, huh? 🙂
1. Yes2. Yes3. Started weaning at 12 months, completely done by 13 months, 1 week4. My choice, baby's choice, and lack of milk5. My plan was to BF until 12 months, but as the time grew closer I thought I would try to keep going through winter (another 3-5 months). At her 12 month check-up she had lost weight. The Dr. started her on Pediasure and I started weaning because I didn't see the point. I believe a new medication I started when she was 9 months is what caused my supply to tank. She was always 90+ %ile prior to that and was back up to that within a few weeks of starting Pediasure.
YesYesStil nursing (8 months)My son was born at 27 weeks so I had to pump to get and maintain my supply (pumped regularly for almost 6 months though ppd went down a lot after 4).
Baby #11. yes2. yes3. 3 months4. decreased milk production despite fenugreek and frequent pumping5. I was also under a great deal of stress at the time so I hoped it would be better with baby #2Baby #21. yes2. yes3. 5 months4. decreased milk production5. I desperately hoped my milk production would stay up with this baby but from his 2 month to his 4 month checkup he only gained 6 ounces. I knew my supply was down before we went to the doctor so I wasn't surprised. We decided to continue breastfeeding but to supplement him with formula after 3 of his 6 daily feedings. I tried fenugreek, blessed thistle, reglan, and even domperidone, but was only pumping about 3 ounces every 4 hours while I was at work. I was drinking plenty of water and eating more than enough calories. I finally gave up because it was just so depressing to try so hard but to not produce enough. They say it's rare for a mother to not be able to produce enough milk for her baby, so I guess I am one of the few. I finally got to a point where I knew I had done everything in my power to make it work, but it just didn't. At that point, I was at peace with stopping, but I am still so envious of mothers who can produce enough milk.
Thank you everyone for your comments so far!
1. yes2. yes3. 10 months4. I am a SAHM, but do some PRN work so pumped too. My initial goal was 6 months…we made it much further and I would have continued until 1 year but I had lost almost 15 lbs breastfeeding and was at a weight I hadn't seen since high school (my family was concerned). We wanted to start trying for baby #2 a few months after baby#1 turned 1, so I made the choice to transition to some formula to allow my body to recover. I was very fortunate to have a good stockpile of frozen breastmilk and we had to use very little formula. 5. For baby #2, I plan to breastfeed again and hope to pump and stockpile some milk again too!
The answers are the same for both kids:1. Yes2. Yes3. Shortly before second birthday4. Because they were only nursing 1-2x/day and didn't seem to care anymore; they were old enough for fortified rice milk; they could swallow vitamin capsules; my health was suffering (see 5).5. Both are allergic to everything but about ten foods, so they couldn't have formula even if I wasn't willing. I have some allergies, too, including to some of the only foods they could eat, so I developed some health issues. After I finally quit with my daughter, she started to get sick all the time and a cold is never just a cold anymore. My son is doing alright, so far. We'll see how the winter goes.
1. yes2. yes3. my son is 7 months and we're going strong still! i would love to go until 15-18 months. 4. i'm sure it will be my choice because children generally don't self-wean until 2-7 years old, and i don't intend to nurse that long.5. breastfeeding was SO hard for the first 4 months. we used a nipple shield to allow my nipples to heal from 10 days to 10 weeks, but i would have quit without it. then he lost weight when i went back to work at 8 weeks and i had to add in 2+ extra pumping sessions. then from 2-4 months he was on a bit of a nursing strike and refused to nurse unless we were in a dark room lying down. now, at 7 months, i've just been able to quit my job and become a SAHM. nursing is SO MUCH EASIER now! i love it so much. i never ever thought i would.
Thank you everyone for your comments! This is the point where I have collected all data for a post to be published October 24, 2012.