How long did you breastfeed?

Mom2EJA · Jan 26, 2006

I could never get my oldest son (now 7 years old) to latch correctly and ended up giving him breastmilk in a bottle for eight months when I became pregnant with #2. That meant pumping every three hours around the clock! :eek:

My younger son (now 6 years old) latched on in the delivery room and didn't stop until he was 20 months old.

My daughter (now three years old) nursed from the delivery room until 29 months. I loved nursing my children, it was so much more convenient than bottles. :)

stpauligirl · Jan 28, 2006

I could never get my oldest son (now 7 years old) to latch correctly and ended up giving him breastmilk in a bottle for eight months when I became pregnant with #2. That meant pumping every three hours around the clock!
My younger son (now 6 years old) latched on in the delivery room and didn't stop until he was 20 months old.
My daughter (now three years old) nursed from the delivery room until 29 months. I loved nursing my children, it was so much more convenient than bottles. :)

You deserve a medal for pumping for your first for eight month!

WannaBRN4 · Jan 28, 2006

I have all girls, 4 to be exact.

My first baby 12 months which was somewhat hard. I was a very young mother and was still in high school ,but I held out til she turned 1 yr.

My second daughter started to get teeth really earky and she was a biter. I was in school and my husbnd started to get a little jealous(lol).So, I lasted for about 9 months.

Shortly thereafter due to my hubbys' jealousy, I conceived twins and I nursed them for 10 months.

SBradshaw · Jan 31, 2006

All of you are so lucky. I was unable to breastfeed my son beause he could not tolerate the breast milk. He would just get sick and bring it all back up. We had to put him on a soy formula just to get him to keep it down. I was the same way when I was born. Luckily for me, my son has not had any ear infections or serious illnesses at this point. He will be 4 next month. He does have allergies, as do I. I plan to try breastfeeding when I have my next baby....that won't be for awhile though. Hopefully I'll have better luck the next time around.

--Stacey

spidermonkey · Jan 31, 2006

Otessa, BSN, RN · Feb 11, 2006

I breastfed my twins exclusively(no formula) for one year. That was while working four 8 hour evening shifts/week. I pumped at work, they have 2 pumping rooms at our hospital with hospital-grade pumps so we didn't have to bring our own , just the tubing.

stpauligirl · Feb 11, 2006

I breastfed my twins exclusively(no formula) for one year. That was while working four 8 hour evening shifts/week. I pumped at work, they have 2 pumping rooms at our hospital with hospital-grade pumps so we didn't have to bring our own , just the tubing.

You deserve an EXTRA large medal for nursing twins

bandas · Feb 22, 2006

#1- I breastfed exclusively for 2 weeks, because I went back to college 2 wks after having her, and supplemented formula and breastfed until she was 6 months old. We both got sick and she refused to nurse, I got dehydrated, and my milk supply dropped. By the time she was ready to start up again, I had nothing left. I was told that I could try pumping every 2 hours to re-establish supply but with school it was too much.

#2- She is almost 12 months and still going strong. I do not supplement formula, however she does eat table food. She was horrible to breastfeed at first and I had to have a lactation consultant and speech/motor therapist work with us. She was 2 months old and killing my nipples :eek: (she was a tongue thruster), I wanted to scream everytime she latched on. I think I actually cried a few times, my nipples were ripped to shreds. After a while we got the problem taken care of, and now she nurses like a champ. I was so close to giving up, but I stuck it out, and now I am glad/proud that I did. She has only been sick once so far. I would like to nurse her until she is 18 mos. or 2, not quite sure yet. I don't think she is complaining!

Rozy · Feb 22, 2006

Hello!

To my surprise, I breastfed my son for 2 years! I breastfed 1 year exclusively and then 1 year night feeds only (whole milk in cup in the daytime). He started off slow due to ABO Incompatibility jaundice (fell asleep at the breast alot) I had to syringe feed him the first 2 weeks of life. He got his first 2 teeth at 4 months and I thought that I would have to quit earlier, however, he had 20 teeth by time WE QUIT (No biting!) LOL. On the other hand I found out from this African lady that in Africa they put hot pepper paste on their nipples to get their babies to stop, SOOOOOOO I put CHIPOTLE TABASCO SAUCE on mine AND IT WORKED!!!!

kids · Feb 22, 2006

#1 - A few weeks. In the early 80s 16yo moms didn't get a lot of support.

#2- A little over 2 years.

#3- Not at all. He was tube fed for several weeks and needed a high density formula during and for a short time after the transition to oral feeds.

By the time he was on "regular" formula he wanted no part of bf. Again it was the early 80s and no one suggested pumping for him. Baby 2 & baby 3 were only 15mo apart, it really bothered me that big bro was still nursing while baby bro got a bottle.

work4choc · Feb 22, 2006

#1 - 25 mos. By the time I was done with him, I was fantasizing about never ever breastfeeding again.

#2 - 3 mos exclusively, then I became pg, tired, moving, etc...and did an additional 3 mos of bf and supplementing with formula then weaned a little after 6 mos.

#3 - completely done at 9 mos - not sure when he started supplementing but I just could not keep him latched on the breast, short of using duct tape. He was and is very active - had I had the time and energy to pump, I probably could have bottle fed him ebm, but I was just plain exhausted. Pumping more than 1/2 oz was really difficult for me, and the stress of trying to pump enough, combined with keeping 3 kids under 5 occupied for 30 min while I prayed for milk, was just too much. Frankly, I was burnt out on being pg or breastfeeding as I was pretty much one or the other from Feb 98 to Dec 03, with the exception of 6 months between weaning #1 and getting pg with #2.

Gabie Baby · Feb 22, 2006

Wow, I thought I was the only American who did it for more than 6 months. And I'd have been lost if it hadn't been for La Leche League.

With all 4 of my kids, I nursed at least 2 years apiece. They were exclusively breastfed for 6 months, then I introduced cereal and bananas, which they all hated and spit out! That told me to keep nursing. After a couple of months, I re-tried the foods and they were now ready. But they continued to nurse even after beginning foods, including meats and vegetables. But by 2, they self-weaned.

Damn these ignoramus doctors and others who try to discourage us and who think they know more than we and our babies and the good Lord Himself do.