Breastfeeding number two

I stopped breastfeeding my first at 3 weeks because I had mastitis in both
breasts and didn't think it would get better so I quit (regrettably)
I went on to nurse my next baby for 17 months, with no problem to speak of!
It went perfectly. Even in the beginning there was no problems! When she was
close to a year old, I got mastitis but I knew what to look for and took
care of it right in the beginning, and when she was getting her top teeth in
we had a couple of days of biting but we got through that also. Now I'm
nursing my third, she is 9 months. I've had a few more problems, and have
been through mastitis and the biting again but we're still going.
I feel that after the first baby, it's alot easier. There will be exceptions
of course, but that seems to be the norm. You've also breastfed before so
you do have *that* experience. And the knowledge you've acquired will be a
great help to you if problems do arise (if this child had been my first I
would have quit long ago, I didn't know much about it and didn't realize the
importance of breastfeeding, but I know now so I've kept on)
Marie

kereru wrote in message ...
Hello there, I am planning to breastfeed my second baby. It didn't go so
well with my first. We only made it until ten weeks because of my perceived
lack of supply.

My confidence is much higher this time and I know much more about the
mechanics of breastfeeding.

So my question is, what are your experiences of breastfeeding second time.
Were you more successful? I am especially interested in the experiences of
people who had a hard time first time but easier the second (funny that!)

Thanks in advance

Judy

In ,
kereru wrote:

*So my question is, what are your experiences of breastfeeding second time.
*Were you more successful? I am especially interested in the experiences of
*people who had a hard time first time but easier the second (funny that!)

OK, well, supply was never my problem, my problem was sore
nipples/ulcerated nipples/mastitis with number one (although it didn't
lead to weaning, it SUCKED and made life extremely difficult) (oh, hey,
sucked, ha ha ha ). So, with number two, I was lucky. Her latch was
better. I didn't have any problems except comparatively mild (still
significant, but much less than the first time) soreness which was
transient in any case. My daughter is 9 mos old and still nursing well.
Those family members who like to place bets on things like this are
betting that this baby will not self-wean by 13 mos as my son did.

--
hillary israeli vmd http://www.hillary.net
"uber vaccae in quattuor partes divisum est."
not-so-newly minted veterinarian-at-large

Hi -

I had trouble with BOTH babies. I sort of expected it with the first,
but was sore, tired, somewhat depressed ... We did eventually get
through it. The LC we used helped a lot.

With #2 it was even harder. Not only was I sore and tired, but he had
infant jaundice. He wasn't nursing very successfully so had to start
taking a bottle, as well as going under the bili. lights, for a few
days. By the time he was over that, he had a mild case of nipple
confusion. (And when he was jaundiced he went to the ER without me.)
Again, we had a good LC, lots of spously support, and got through it.

It wasn't so much determination on my part, as the assumption that I
WOULD breastfeed and formula wasn't an option. We did all kinds of
things that you're not supposed to do; both kids got topped off with a
bottle of EBM every night for several months, both kids wound up taking
bottles as well as nursing directly. But it never occured to me that
they could take more than one bottle of EBM a day until I started
spending time out of the house. Both got formula in a cup in the
hospital, too. (They were showing signs of dehydration before my milk
came in.)

I was surprised by how difficult it was to learn to nurse #2. I
foolishly though it would be easier than with #1, since I had succeeded
before and though I knew what I was doing. But in the end, it all
worked out.

Good luck to you,
--Beth Kevles

http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html -- a page for the milk-allergic
Disclaimer: Nothing in this message should be construed as medical
advice. Please consult with your own medical practicioner.