how many of us DIDNT have any problems BF

[mthomas]

I read abt lot of issues in the getting started forum. Some minor and common, and some mama's I just have to tip my hat to for all the effort they are putting forth to overcome major issues! That being said, I was curious how many of us havent experianced any or very little "problems". I, so far, have had a very "easy" experiance w/bfing. No latching problems, no mastitus, no biting (lower teeth only so far, so we'll see), no weight gain worries.
So, what abt you.

[Mama K]

No problems here! Praise the Lord!

[Colorful~Mama]

with my first...zero problems
with my second... some thrush at 4mos old but that was it
with my last - he does some biting, but otherwise at 11.5mos we've had no issues

all latched on from birth like pros (tho the 2nd dd did have a bit harder time cuz of emergency cesarean and lots of meds)

bf'ing has been pretty easy for me

[Elphaba]

I haven't had any problems in almost 3 years of nursing.

[jessemoon]

easy peasy!
I feel very lucky!

[Teensy]

No problems with my two - they both latched on well from right after birth and kept on going well.

I did get mastitis once with each baby, but a dose of antibiotics and I felt much better within 24 hours.

FWIW, I have an almost flat chest. They may be small, but they sure work well!

[joesmom]

i had no problems. joe was born by emergency csection & my best friend came to the hospital that evening; i had been completely under & was still out of it. she latched him on for me & he nursed right away. it was super easy from the beginning. my mom nursed us & i had been around some good friends who matter of factly nursed their kids. i was so lucky in that respect. joe got a little bit of thrush but it cleared up easily & did not interfere with nursing. i had a few clogged ducts but never close to fevers & mastitis. joe nursed at night until he was over 3 but i always slept through it!

all in all i could not have asked for a better nursing relationship!

[MamaAllNatural]

Remember though, a lot of bfing problems start w/the birth. BF problems are very, very rare. The use of medications, interventions, separating the baby and mom, giving bottles and pacifiers that cause nipple confusion etc. are the prime reasons for bfing problems. I just worry that many people think having problems is the norm. It really isn't. There are things like cleft palate that are obvious reasons that there will be bf issues. There truly are bfing problems sometimes but they are so, so rare. Probably less than 1%. I just worry about people accepting this as the norm. That's why I wanted to point this out.

As to answer your question I never had any bf problems. I had all natural childbirths w/no interventions, no separations from baby, fed on demand, never gave bottles or paci etc. This is not to say some women who do the same don't have problems. I'm just trying to get a point across that it is very, very rare. Breastfeeding almost always works.

[dawndup]

Do cracked, sore, bleeding nipples count as problems? If so, then I had problems! If not, then nope! no problems.

[phathui5]

Ds#1- The only problem we had was me not understanding that it's normal for newborns to try to sleep through their first couple days. I freaked out, thinking he was going to starve himself and gave him a bottle of my milk. We didn't have any problems after that.

Dd#2- I've had mastitis twice, but it's gone away without medical treatment, just rest and lots of nursing.

[Mom2baldie]

I have never really experienced any big problems with breastfeeding.

With my son, I had a cesarean and was seperated from him for several hours, also was only 19 years old, single and without support, so I do think that if I hadnt been so determined to nurse, it wouldnt have happened. We had latch problems at first because of flat nipples and the hospital nurses told me to use a nipple shield, then pretty much gave up on me and sent me home with lots of already prepared formula...but once DS and I were out of there we figured things out. I did have sore and cracked nipples for about a week before I figured out what I was doing wrong. He also was big on biting and I never really figured out what to do with about that, but thats not what I would consider a problem worth weaning for.

With DD, I didnt have any problems at all. Hoping that #3 is as easy to nurse as she was!

[clothcrazymom]

No big problems with any of my children bfing. All 3 were born by cesarean and nursed very quickly after birth. All fed on demand. None of them were ever given pacifiers, bottles, or supplements....I think that really helps prevent problems.

[Kats]

no major problems

I had a hard time with my first as he was a premie and so they tube fed him my milk for the first 2 weeks, I would still try to nurse him every feed, but he would take hardly anything and would get the rest via tube. But once he started nursing enough it was fine. I did pump a whole lot of milk and froze it, but ended up throwing out a lot of it cuz I was never too keen on giving a bottle. As for my second, no problems from the get go, he nursed well, and very quickly and it was great. I try not to judge, but I also thought problems that cannot be overcome are very rare. I personally think that some Moms don't really like it or want to do it, and instead of just saying so, say it did not work. There is no shame in trying it and feeling it is not for you. For myself I had decided that come hell or high water I was doing it. So even when I had some little bumps along the way I called the lactation consultant and asked for help, and went to LLL meetings for support etc... We can do anything we set our minds to!

[Meiri]

No real problems here, once we got past the stuck heads at birth...

Both latched well, though DD needed a bit of coaching to open wide enough. I had some chapping with DS, but cold coconut oil from the fridge solved that. With DD I experienced plugged ducts for the first time, but those were fixed pretty fast with a long soak in a big bowl of very warm water.

[edamommy]

I would say that I've

really had NO problems. Major ones anyway. I had a plugged duct once. my nipples hurt in the beginning. But Bay was 6-7 weeks early. In the nicu for 17 days and I didn't even see him for the first 48 hours... talk about being "set up" for problems! But, he latched right on and it's been really the only thing to go right for us!
Kimberley

[Camellia]

I had two complicated births which both led to bf problems. The first wasn't too major. I had PIH and a long hard medicated vaginal delivery. I was a mess for days and my ds lost too much weight, Ihad cracked bleeding nipples. etc... but we successfully bf'ed for 14 months (would have gone longer if I thought it was good for him, but didn't know at the time).

My second was a c-section. he first two days I was on so much morphine and vicadin I don't think I felt her bad latch. Once my milk came in my daughter wouldn't latch and was admitted to the hospital for dehydration. We ended up in the ER at midnight - it was so awful. She was on formula supplements for about 10 days. I had raynauds and more latch issues after the bottle - oh and supply issues too. I almost gave up so i had to nearly fully relactate. I saw an IBCLC twice to diagnose and treat the raynauds.

So, yeah problems. Thankfully we are nursing beautifully now. Thanks for the vent!

[mthomas]

Originally Posted by MamaAllNatural

There truly are bfing problems sometimes but they are so, so rare. Probably less than 1%. I just worry about people accepting this as the norm. That's why I wanted to point this out.

This is not to say some women who do the same don't have problems. I'm just trying to get a point across that it is very, very rare. Breastfeeding almost always works.

You're right! Maybe "problem" isnt the best way to phrase things. I suppose issues, or difficulties would be more approriate. I was just griping the other day abt a cosmo article making sore and cracked nipples seem like the norm and sounding rather discouraging if you ask me. Thanks for the reminder.

[MamaMonica]

I did have problems. When I went to LLL meeting about problems (that was the title of the meeting!) the leaders said with a laugh, well we can't talk about problems because we've never had any. I felt like a freak for having problems!

This is such a hard area for those of us who do. I lost too much weight breastfeeding and had a couple of plugged ducts as well as excessive fatigue. I had problems with dd twiddling and ds biting me.

There was no place to vent or talk about this or find solutions. I didn't have the internet with my first child.

[IdentityCrisisMama]

No problems at all (other than very minor pain for a few days).

[mthomas]

Originally Posted by monnie

This is such a hard area for those of us who do. I lost too much weight breastfeeding and had a couple of plugged ducts as well as excessive fatigue. I had problems with dd twiddling and ds biting me.

There was no place to vent or talk about this or find solutions. I didn't have the internet with my first child.

:HUG!! I'm sorry you had such a rough go! You are one of those wonderful mamas I was talking abt tho!
Thanks for chiming in!!