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I found BF DD painful for the first few weeks and ended up with chapped nipples but once I figured out what a good latch felt like we did very well.

I still nurse her now at 15 mo and I don't want to give you any illusions. Ive had oversupply, undersupply, breast rejection and all sorts of typical new mom stuff. Overall through, I'm glad I've stuck with it. I'm having another baby in September and look forward to tandem nursing them.

Breastfeeding was very smooth for us. He latched well from the get-go and we had few issues with the actual breastfeeding part. I had some fast let-down issues, so he would gulp and cry and pop off a few times, but once I figured out that I could hand-express a bit before hand and then latch him, it was pretty smooth sailing. We were not without our bumps (a few clogged ducts, reflux, etc), but for the most part, our BF experience was wonderful. Good luck!

I had myself very worked up and worried about breastfeeding. Like you, I had read the many horror stories about cracked nipples, poor latches, low supply, etc. One relative, in particular, was full of "you just wait" comments - which continued after DD was born and successfully and bfing with no issues.

DD latched on easily from the beginning, my milk came in almost right away and we never looked back. I never had one cracked nipple and had next to zero problems with leaking. My only complication was two bouts of mastitis which resolved very quickly with a Rx for antibiotics. It was natural and SO convenient, right from the beginning. We weaned at 14 months without issue.

Just like labour, everyone is different. And I think every baby is different. The relative who had me scared out of my mind for bfing ended up having a very easy experience with her second LO. Ihope you have a great experience!

@2littlepumpkins: well I would say mine was definitely *relatively* easy! I am lucky to have never dealt with over or under supply, or mastitis. A few minor clogged ducts. I hope you have a relatively easy time of it this time.

My LO#1 latched within 15 minutes of being born, and I had no trouble with her whatsoever, except for some slight nipple soreness getting used to it. She's 22 months, and bfed through my pregnancy with LO#2 and now tandem nurses. LO #2 had a rough delivery, but still established bfing within an hour of being born, and I have had no problems whatsoever bfing her.

Both LO's had no latch issues and nursed right after delivery. I have no supply issued and so it's pretty easy. I still get stressed, newborns are unpredictable and you don't know how much they're getting...my 3 weeks old will nurse for like 10 minutes on just one side and will be done and that stresses me out sometimes because I don't know if that's "right". But i just try to let it go, let her do her thing and trust that it's all okay.

My baby is a champion breastfeeder. The success we've had I think was in huge part to how naturally he took to breastfeeding. I really feel like he taught me to nurse by learning himself so quickly and naturally.

-first hour after birth: I wanted to try to latch him on but I was so shell shocked I couldn't get it together to ask someone to show me. We did skin to skin though
-3-4h later they were about to transfer me to postpartum. I had a new l and d nurse who took the time to briefly show me how to latch and gave me advice in a clear easy to understand way. Baby didn't really get it l
-2 or so hours after that I tried again and he was amazing! He had figured it out so fast. However, his latch was painful and they mentioned he had a slight tongue tie
-I kept bringing him to the breast every 2h or more. They kept telling me to watch for hunger signs but he honestly did that stuff whenever he was awake. Lots of skin to skin time. I made myself try over and over to get the best latch even though I wanted to just let him go for it once he got started. It was painful even when he had a good latch but it slowly got better. I was never able to hand express any colostrum by the way, which worried me at the time
-we were in the hospital for a few days, and baby ended up losing more than 10% of his birth weight. They let us go home but we had to come back for two appointments for weight check. First day his weight was about the same, so they didn't make me start pumping/formula, but that was gonna be the next step. But luckily, he gained 5 oz in 1 day for the second appt!! I had them double check
-I could tell that second night home my milk had finally came in. I was very stressed transporting my tiny baby out to the pediatrician's. On New Year's Eve and New Year's Day no less! But once the milk came in, he was finally satisfied and I got to see a brief period of that sleepy newborn everyone talks about!
-I never pumped until he was almost 4 weeks old. I just did lots of skin to skin and I cuddled him all the time. I have a feeling that's what got my supply going best.
-now he's a healthy almost 5 m old! Nursing is painless, he's in love with it, and I wouldn't trade our cuddles and closeness for anything.
-we started bottles at 1 mo I think. He did great at first but then started having trouble. He's just really slow and gets frustrated at times. But with lots of practice he's gotten better and he'll figure it out when I go back to work in less than two weeks. (

Breastfeeding was pretty easy for us and I'm actually scared it won't be so smooth with #2. We used a nipple shield because of flat nipples and ended up using it the entire time (I tried weaning from it and gave up since it didn't bother me). We went to 13 months when he self-weaned after I became pregnant again and he was just uninterested most of the time. I never had any pain or supply issues and I really hope this time will be just as easy! I was pleasantly surprised too, because I'd read so much and assumed it would be difficult, but I know we were super lucky in that aspect of the baby days!

I had a c section and LO latched immediately when i got into the recovery room, and my milk came in (like whoa WAY too much milk) the next day! other than engorgement from the excessive production at first, she latched like a champ and i never really needed lanolin or anything. That part was easy. Not everything was easy, but the actual breastfeeding came so naturally for us. That said, the nursing relationship has been complicated over time. and for me, weaning is a heck of a lot harder than nursing ever was

I guess my advice would be not to read up too much on it, honestly, because EVERY nursing relationship is unique. Every mom's struggles are slightly different, because every baby's latch is different, and every woman's breasts are different, and babies are all different just generally. SO while i think it's great to try to mentally prepare yourself, you just kinda have to wing it on this one, and just try to relax and trust your body.

BFing was/is easy for us. LO latched immediately. I was only sore for a week or so. She comfort nursed a lot, but that's normal. It's really been a great experience for us. Now sleep is a different story...

Thank you for starting this thread! Sometimes hanging out on boards like these can get discouraging, because usually people only talk about things that are difficult (looking for help/commiseration) so you don't hear the many success stories. I'm nervous about BFing, because it's something I really want to do, but it's great to hear from ladies who have been able to make a go of it without a ton of trouble!

BFing can go incredibly smoothly. Everything was textbook with my right breast, LO ate like a champ even with a tongue tie. She never lost weight and we made it to 15 months even with me WOH. For the vast majority of the time I was a one sided nurser.

I'm 36 weeks with LO2 and had a phone consult with an LC this morning to try to prepare for any issues I might have with the one breast again. I bought a few things on amazon to help prepare myself and give it my best shot. However, this time if it doesn't work on the one side I am prepared to let it go and be much more relaxed about it. I realize now that just because I technically can nurse on both sides does not mean it is worth it for baby or for me. My comfort, sanity, and well being are important too.

I would say my breastfeeding journey was "relatively" easy. I had a bit of an issue at first because I broke my tailbone in labour, so I couldn't sit down comfortably for the first couple weeks, so I had to figure out how to nurse side lying or standing up right away. But I never had any irritation/soreness, latch or supply issues. I booked an appointment with a LC, and I think that was key, being shown how to do it pre-emptively rather than when things had already gotten distressing. But at the end of the day, I nursed for 14 months, with no supply issues, no chapped nipples, only one minor clog, and weaned slowly over the course of two months when LO stopped being super interested.

Breastfeeding went pretty well for me with DS. I did have mastitis during the first week (quickly resolved with antibiotics), but other than that, no major issues besides his reflux. I maybe had a slight oversupply, but in hindsight I think that was more the reflux than me. I didn't even really plan on breastfeeding at all but I have really enjoyed the experience so far! DS is 8.5 months and we're down to nursing morning/evening - I stopped pumping at work when he was 7.5 months old, he gets a combination of my freezer stash & formula during the day, but nursing when we're together is still going great! Pumping was another thing I was terrified of but really wasn't that bad at all - I just needed more time/freedom in my work schedule and he takes formula/combo fine so I didn't stress about it.

I just read this super interesting (and positive) story about breastfeeding beyond baby 1 and how our bodies remember and make it easier with subsequent babes...

http://evolutionaryparenting.com/epigenetics-and-breastfeeding/

Oh and bf with my 1st was pretty natural and textbook. Not easy persay but we had minimal issues. I used small goals - first one week, then a month, thb make it to 6 weeks because that's when they say supply is established. I had some issues with forceful letdown around 6 weeks so my next goal was 12 weeks because that's when most issues would resolve by. 15 months later and we are still going strong! You can do it! But be gentle on yourself if it doesn't work out. I'm sure Bf with another LO at home will have it's own set of challenges that aren't there when it's just you and your first. Good luck!