I def wan to, now that i know i suffer from low supply and now that i am educated on how to increase my supply and that it doesnt have to be an all or nothing situation. im def gonna try my hardest to bf baby 2 and to give my toddler some breastmilk too.
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I think that I would try harder than I did for A. But it will also depend on work situations. I went back to work at 6 weeks PP. If I was able to take off longer, I think that I would have tried harder.
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I pretty much refused to not breastfeed P! I was told I had low supply with G and that my milk just wasn't enough for him..... I got educated & just dug my heels in this time!
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I had low supply / broken wrist and collarbone that physically made it hard for me to hold him and feed him anyway.... I still breastfed some for the first 3 months and then just stopped all together when I went back to work. I would definitely try again for baby number 2 ... but i would NOT feel guilty at all if I couldn't exclusively breastfeed until the next is six months. Doctors, the internet, other mothers... the world, passes around SO much guilt for not breastfeeding! It's a little ridiculous. I felt really guilty about it when I stopped... but in retrospect, I have definitely come to peace about it. There are many mothers who can't for many reasons and it's not something you should have to admit with guilt... my two cents anyways!
I definitely think it's awesome for those mamma's who have the opportunity to do it for six months or longer.... and it's NOT easy! I have lots of respect for them! -
@stargal: SAME!
I had supply issues and was too busy with a colicy newborn to learn my options well enough. I tried everything but when I did, it was too late (12w old).
This time, I am more educated and more eager to BF. I am also not going to stress if I have to supplement here and there.
I too am planning on pumping any extra milk into my toddler's (he will be a toddler by then) cereals and sippy cups.ETA: I will not have a "goal". Last time I thought I would never stop before the 1 year mark; that 12m mark was my goal. When I did stop before then, I felt tremendously guilty.
Next time, my mantra will just be: "try my best and do my best and go for as long as i'm able" -
@TurtleDoves: were in the same situation together! so glad im not the only one wanting to give their first lo breastmilk too!
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I wonder about this. Right now, I pump and do formula because LO clamped down too hard and had pulmonary hypertension and was in the hospital for a week. If the next baby doesn't act like a piranha and isn't sick, I'll BF but also pump so DH can help. We also do formula at night so I can start stocking the freezer early, which I like doing. And it's SO easy to take formula when we leave the house. I wouldn't be comfortable BFing in public
We'll see how it goes, basically!
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@blackbird: Haha - I joked that DD was a piranha baby too!
Yes, I am definitely going to try for LO #2. I know so much more now, and what to look out for to make sure my supply gets established early!
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I really want to, I'm going to give it my best shot. I had a terrible infection with LO, so if I can avoid that, BF might work out for us next round.
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I will try for as long as possible but I'll also try not to have such bad mommy guilt if I can't this time. I get really bad migraines and have to take meds for them, so the first bad migraine will be the end of my breastfeeding. I think it's more important for me to be healthy to take care of my LO then to breastfeed. It's just not realistic for me to say that I will be able to breastfeed.
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I gave her some amount of breast milk until 7 months old but she was only EBF until about 3 months. We had a few issues and she stopped wanting to nurse around 5.5 months or so. I definitely want to try for a year next time. I know a few different things that I could/should have done differently and I'm going to use that knowledge to my advantage.
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I only BF my first LO for 3 months. My supply took a major hit when I went back to work and TBH didn't really try hard enough to get it back up. With my next LO I will definitely try harder!
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I had a hard time feeding from the boob (tiny baby, reflux, oversupply, MSPI) so I exclusively pumped til 4.5 months post partum. With a toddler, though, I won't be able to exclusively pump next time around (I can't imagine having time) so I will be more persistent with BF. I'll also try to be better about a non-dairy diet if need be.
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yes! like so many other i had supply issues and just didn't know what to do to increase it. i feel a lot more educated now and will be more prepared. BUT if it works I will feel so guilty about not bfing lo #1, i like the idea of giving my (what will be then) toddler breast milk. would that be weird?
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I will try harder to do it longer with the next one, I think new momhood got to me this time. I had to exclusively pump and that made me look at formula much quicker than I would have had she been able to latch.
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I'll try with No. 2 but like others, won't be too hard on myself or my LO if it doesn't work out long-term. My first LO is happy, healthy and thriving on formula and I haven't seen any negative effects whatsoever (minus the annoying bottle washing for me!).
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I had pretty much the same issues and when I went back to work I didn't have a comfortable place to pump. I either had to kick my boss out if her office 2-3 times a day, use the public bathroom or go to my car. NOT ideal. Plus my job was Turbo stressful and I couldn't focus. I finally gave up.
Im now in a good job, private office with multiple places to go privately. I only wish I'd gotten this job a year ago
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I also want to mention that, at this piont, I don't have regrets about my formula choice - I'm at peace with it - and have a happy and healthy 1 year old that seems happy with the decision, too : )
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Nope. I decided I wasn't even going to try breastfeeding again after my first, and I was very happy to exclusively formula-feed my second from birth!
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I will definitely try again. I am proud that I did 3 months with M, but formula was the right choice for us in the end. Who knows what the situation will be like with a second? I was inspired to hear that my SIL BF for just a month or so with her first two boys and then a year with her third.
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I will definitely try, but I'm not going to beat myself up over it if it doesn't work out. I've also decided ahead of time I'm not going to do it if it means restricting my diet, except for alcohol. It'll be hard enough running after two LOs without not being able to eat what I want.
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@TurtleDoves: Amen, sister!!! I'm also going to try as best as I can (and try REALLY hard) but not be overcome by guilt if it doesn't work.
I'm very very determined to BF #2. However, if there are issues like there were with E and I can't do anything else about it (especially with a toddler) then I'll know that I tried my best.
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@artbee: I 100% agree with you.... you've got to be healthy and take care of LO first... that's definitely what I learned through the whole process!
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@artbee: agree with you completely, you have yo feel good and healthy to take care of your los.
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I'm definitely hoping it works next time around, but you know what? If it doesn't work out, I hope to be able to avoid so many of the guilty feelings I had first time around. Nursing is one component of raising a healthy, happy baby and contrary to what now seems to be popular belief, it is simply not the end all, be all.
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@meredithNYC: agreed. im still really really hard on myself about not breastfeeding P. i have alot of guilt that i am trying to get over. BUT I know that he is just as happy and healthy with formula and thats all that matters
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I breastfed until he was 8 months old until it became untenable for me and LO became less interested in it. I still struggle with the guilt of not going a full year with him. Managing work and pumping was a feat onto itself. I'm glad I did it as long as I could. I did have some relief when I no longer worried about pumping all of the time and if I would have enough for him. For me, I lost a lot socially with the pumping because I could barely plan around some professional meetings because it would require pumping. I'd love to try for a year again. Formula and bottles are finicky, but we're happy, so no issues here.
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Nope! I intended to breastfeed Sadie, but it didn't work out & made the first two weeks of her life so stressful. Formula really works for us. Like, @Honeybee, I don't think I'll even try with #2. I really have no desire to try to breastfeed while taking care of a toddler or preschooler.
I definitely think it's awesome for those mamma's who have the opportunity to do it for six months or longer.... and it's NOT easy! I have lots of respect for them! 
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