Contact your local La leche League, you should be able to find mums there who breastfeed, and can support you. You could also try posting in the UK area of Find Your Tribe, to see if there are any mums near where you are, who you perhaps could call and talk to in real life?
Right now, don't think about nursing for years, just take it one feed at a time. I was determined to breastfeed, but in the early days, all I could cope with was the here and now. Do your best to muddle through now, and aim for at least 6 weeks (40 days) "trial period". When you get there, 3 months may be a good next goal, then 6 months... and after that I really stopped worrying at all!
By 6 weeks it should definitely have stopped hurting (unless there's a problem with the latch). By 3 months breastfeeding should be easy (we had to supplement, and it is a pain in the neck!). By 6 months, well I felt like a pro!
Breastfeeding won't stop you from being away from your baby at times (there are a lot of mums here who work and exclusively breastfeed and pump). But I would wait until you've got breastfeeding established before leaving you're LO with someone else to bottlefeed, to prevent nipple confusion. Also, in a while your LO may not feed as often, and you may very well be able to be away for a couple of hours without needing bottles.
Also, remember there are growth spurts (roughly at 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months), when your little one may seem starving for a couple of days and eat all the time - it doesn't mean you don't have enough milk, it is just a request for more milk to be produced by your body!
Good luck!
Right now, don't think about nursing for years, just take it one feed at a time. I was determined to breastfeed, but in the early days, all I could cope with was the here and now. Do your best to muddle through now, and aim for at least 6 weeks (40 days) "trial period". When you get there, 3 months may be a good next goal, then 6 months... and after that I really stopped worrying at all!
By 6 weeks it should definitely have stopped hurting (unless there's a problem with the latch). By 3 months breastfeeding should be easy (we had to supplement, and it is a pain in the neck!). By 6 months, well I felt like a pro!
Breastfeeding won't stop you from being away from your baby at times (there are a lot of mums here who work and exclusively breastfeed and pump). But I would wait until you've got breastfeeding established before leaving you're LO with someone else to bottlefeed, to prevent nipple confusion. Also, in a while your LO may not feed as often, and you may very well be able to be away for a couple of hours without needing bottles.
Also, remember there are growth spurts (roughly at 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months), when your little one may seem starving for a couple of days and eat all the time - it doesn't mean you don't have enough milk, it is just a request for more milk to be produced by your body!
Good luck!
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