did your mama nurse you? - Page 13

[april77]

My mom nursed me for three days, then the doctor convinced her that she did not have enough milk and was starving me. This was 1977. Here are the instructions she was sent home with - I found them in my baby book:

"Offer the breast for 15 to 20 minutes. If the baby still shows signs of hunger after 15 or 20 minutes at the breast he should be offered a bottle of formula. If he consistently wants as much as three ounces after each breast feeding, his mother is simply not able to produce enough milk for him, and discontinuation of breast feeding is desireable."

I wish any of my daughter's feedings had only been 15 to 20 minutes in the beginning. My mom believes that she did not have milk, because she never leaked or got engorged when she quit bf. However, the doctor convinced her not to even try with my brother (1980) and her milk came in full force. But he'd been bottlefeed since birth and she had no one to help her get him on the breast. It's something she wishes she had been able to do and she's been super-suportive through all my bfing problems!

april
mom to madeline
born 2-20-2003

[vein]

I was born in 79 and was bf for 2 years 3 months and my brother who was born in 82 was bf for 2 years 4 months. My mom said after 2 neither of us were realy interested in it and she was getting annoyed with us not being interested in it.

Considering she had no support, no LLL locally, and nothing in writing that really promoted bf'ing, I consider both of us really really lucky.

I'd have hated to see what I would have ended up like had she not nursed me for so long - I was the queen of ear infections and still have horrible sinus problems and allergies.

[QueeTheBean]

These posts are so sad--I want to cry for all the mamas that wanted to nurse, or started to nurse and were told they couldn't.

My mom had 5 kids ('63, '64 '65, '67, '68) and didn't nurse any of us. Her MIL was an OB nurse & a big advocate of nursing. My mom tells me now that she thinks she DIDN'T nurse just to spite her MIL!

Funny, becuase I think I am such a big nurser for the same reason--my own MIL was opposed!

Sadly, she at least DID try to nurse DH ('64) --either 3 weeks to 3 months. Her hubby made her give it up.

[Melaniee]

Until my mama's milk came in...then it made me sick. She switched to formula & pumped, I was fine. Switched back to BM, I was sick again. So...I guess probably a few days would be my answer?

[Sustainer]

I'm wondering what exists in breastmilk, that doesn't exist in formula, that a baby (that has some kind of condition, I'm assuming?) could have a problem tolerating :

[sadean]

My mom nursed all five of us ('61, '64, '68, '72, '76), but for very short periods of time My brother ('76) got nursed the longest, 6 months. She stopped because he kept biting her...doesn't surprise me...he was a "spirited" child

[Mama2ABCD]

i was never breastfed. i was born in 1967 and i had juandice. the doctor said that breastmilk caused the juandice and therefore i was put on formula.

i never knew this until i got pregant with my first child. my dad told me the awful truth. i just assumed i was breastfed as my mother was an advocate for breastfeeding. she died when i was 14, but her views made quite an impact in a short time. i was never sure i'd wanted children, but if i did i knew for certain they would be breastfed. she would be so proud of me today.

[C99]

I was born in 1974 (also in a Naval hospital!) and my mom nursed me for 6 months. She was the first person in her family to breastfeed. Her mother bottlefed her and her sisters both bottlefed their children. I was weaned at 6 months so that my mom could go out of the country for 2 weeks. With my brother (born in 1980) and sister (born in 1989) she nursed for 2 years or so each.

My MIL also nursed her three sons (born in 1969, 1971, 1973), although I don't know how long she nursed them.

It was great not to have to fight any stereotypes about breastfeeding with our families. All of my friends breastfed their babies as well and many of them did not have the same level of support for breastfeeding in their own families.

[Sustainer]

Originally posted by kirstie
the doctor said that breastmilk caused the juandice and therefore i was put on formula.

The irony. Breastfeeding is the best CURE for jaundice (along with exposure to natural sunlight).

[Mama2ABCD]

yes, it is ironic because both my boys became juandiced after their births. i nursed them frequently and when possible, nursed them outside in the sunshine!

[Sustainer]

And the jaundice went away, right?

[Mama2ABCD]

of course!!

but, i know several people who've had to use blue beds (ultraviolet light) because their doctors said to feed their babies (in addition to breastmilk) water to help flush the juandice. my doctor said that, but i did not believe her and just stuck with breastmilk.

and heaven forbid if they knew i sat outside (in the sun, too)with my newborn!!!

[IdentityCrisisMama]

1974
My mother nursed me for about a year. She also said she carried me everywhere and we did everything together.

[Jilian]

My mom did not nurse me or my sister. I was born in '79, sis was born is '83. Not only did my mom not nurse, but not ONE woman in my family nursed their children ! And I have a very large family 8 aunts (with children) in all . They all seem to think I am some sort of earth mama because I nurse my DS. : Hopefully I am starting a family trend and my sis will nuse her babies too. I just don't understand why a woman who is perfectly capable of nursing wouldn't at least give it a try :

[Peppamint]

Originally posted by AidenMatthewsMom
My mom did not nurse me or my sister. I was born in '79, sis was born is '83. Not only did my mom not nurse, but not ONE woman in my family nursed their children ! And I have a very large family 8 aunts (with children) in all . They all seem to think I am some sort of earth mama because I nurse my DS. : Hopefully I am starting a family trend and my sis will nuse her babies too. I just don't understand why a woman who is perfectly capable of nursing wouldn't at least give it a try :

Someone has to be first... WTG for changing the tide and hopefully starting a new trend!

[brooklyngirl]

I was born in '71 and I was never nursed. I went straight to formula and I was a very sickly child. My mother follwed the Dr.'s instructions exactly. From waht I was told there was a time that I cried and cried unconsolably. My grandmother (who had breastfed all her children) was taking care of me of the time and she kept telling my mother, "This baby is not getting enough." Well this went on for a few days before my mother reluctantly disobeyed the Dr.'s orders. According, to her I drank about twice the amount the Dr. had perscribed. She felt terrible about it.

My brother was born in '77 and my mother was considered an older mother for that time. (She was forty.) The pregnancy was already embarrasing to her because of her age. I remember my father encouraging her to breastfeed and my mother being adamant that she was not going to risk leaking milk on her work clothes for eveyone to see. My brother was a high needs baby but he was not as physically ill as I was.

[Mamasquared]

I was born in 1971, was one of the first Lamaze babies at the hospital in Illinois where I was born, and my mom nursed both me and my younger sister until we self-weaned. I nursed until 2 and a half, when my mom was pregnant with my younger sister and my sister, who had no interest in booby, nursed until 9 months. We also were not introduced any solids at all until 6 months.

Since this is what I was raised with, I always thought breastfeeding was normal and never realized that my mom was revolutionary or that people even considered formula.

Even now, with a 6 week old, all the mommies I know from prenatal yoga, childbirth class, and new mom support groups breastfeed and most of them do it exclusively. Maybe it's because there's so much support for it where I live in California, but I don't know anyone who even considered formula or early weaning.

Despite how long my sister and I breastfed, we were still both got sick fairly regularly. I developed asthma at 4 and had my tonsils and adenoids removed and ear tubes put in that same year (I'm not sure which came first.) And my sister had all the same done when she was 3. I plan to breastfeed my daughter exclusively until at least 6 months and will probably take her lead on weaning, but I don't see it as a gauruntee against illnesses.

[Jilian]

I talked to DH's grandmother today (she's 85) and she never nursed any of her 8 babies past 3 months. Her doctor told her that mother's milk "goes bad" after 3 mos! Isn't it interesting that human milk was thought to have "gone bad" after 3 mos but cow's milk was fine?

With one of her babies her nipples became cracked and they bled. Her pedi told her to stop breastfeeding immediately. Her baby was only a few days old. My how the times have changed!

I was also a sick baby, my mom never nursed me and I had more ear infections than you can imagine. I had to have tubes put in my ears. Then when I got a little older I had strept throat several times. One year I got strept throat over 10 times, they threatened to take my tonsils out.

MY DS is 4.5 months and has never been sick. I am convinced that BF babies are much healthier!

[liam's mom]

Yep. My wonderful mama nursed me (born in '75). When she was having difficulties (I wasn't eating enough and was losing weight), and the ped told her to supplement w/formula, she went to LLL for a second opinion. They gave her suggestions which she followed and she overcame the problems--I gained lots of weight. When she went back to the ped, he said "oh, I see the formula was working!" And my mom said "I never gave her formula! She gained on breastmilk alone." I love my mom!!!

I don't know exactly when I stopped nursing, but I'm pretty sure I self-weaned. She nursed my brother ('78) and sister ('80) as well, and I know she let my sister self-wean, as she was still nursing at age 4.

My mother is an excellent source of inspiration for me in this respect. I also never thought bfing was anything except the norm, and I really have my mother to thank for that.

[adrum1234]

My Mama nursed me for about three months or so, at that time she listeened to the docs advise and suplemented, and I quickly weaned to the bottle!

But she nursed both my lil brother and sister for over 2 years.