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You wouldn't believe the amount of discouraging words I got when I was pregnant about breastfeeding. "It's not worth it, so and so couldn't do it so you won't be able to, it's messy and inconvenient", but my LO is now over 4 months old and is EBF. If you want to do it, even if you run into issues, it can be done. Please don't listen to other people. It's actually more rare to not be able to breastfeed.

Well that's encouragement for ya! Jeez...

I will say that it was more of a challenge than I ever thought it would be but before you actually breastfeed you don't really know what it's like and how it works. I'd definitely suggest reading a book before baby just so you know what to expect and to make sure your pediatrician supports breastfeeding.

You'll do great!

I am very lucky, other than getting mastitis once I've had no issues with BF. LO has a great latch and has gained well from the start and I didn't find it too painful other than letdown pain. LO is 6.5 months now and we are going strong.

With my first I wasn't successful.... Just didn't have the correct information &/or support (pedi gave me inaccurate advice)

With P we've overcome severe tongue tie, latch issues, oversupply issues that caused tummy issues, & protein intolerances to dairy, soy, egg, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, & coffee (caused a whole slew of symptoms). P was very high needs & was practically attached to me the first 5 months which caused me to be "touched out" & negatively effected my & DH's marriage..... It was quite trying for a number of months. With all that, things HAVE leveled out & we are still going strong bf'ing at 9 months! TBH, aside from extreme medical necessity formula wasn't an option for me.

I really wanted to breastfeed and it was the most mentally/emotionally challenging experience of my life in addition to the physical pain! I am so glad I stuck with it...at almost 14 months she still nurses 2x a day and has only been sick twice (after being in contact with sick kids)

We didn't have any problems with a latch. We did have reflux and food intolerance's. It sucked but was totally worth it we are still breastfeeding at 20 months and I am actively having to wean him. Oh and had supply problems because I put him on a schedule too early.

Yep so far so good at 6 weeks! We've had a great start and been lucky.

I definitely count myself as lucky because I've had a good milk supply for both. I nursed Wagon Jr. for 7 months (dried up by accident by taking a decongestant) and I nursed LMW for about 11 weeks, and now I'm exclusively pumping (she's now almost 6 months). I'm happy about it because I never loved nursing and I'm working almost full time anyway. Plus with two kids we can interchange who puts the baby to bed and who puts our 3 year old to bed. It's nice to have the flexibility.

I have a friend who tried for a couple of months but never produced more than an ounce or two of milk. She even rented a hospital grade pump and hired an LC but she just couldn't get her supply up no matter what she tried. I benefited because she has indefinitely loaned me her barely-used pump

I guess I am one of the few who have had no issues and we hit it off from the start (aside from the normal nipple pain). She is only 5 weeks, but EBF.

Yes, I wanted to and have been very lucky/grateful that I've had no pain or issues.

I think that if you are 100% committed and willing to endure anything to make it work - then (almost) anyone can do it - like 99% of moms. IF you're willing to go through anything for it.

I wanted to give up when we had a 3-month bout with thrush. It was soooo painful and I hated it but I pressed through and I'm glad I did. The only thing that got me through was telling myself there was no other option. It's been 10 months now and so worth it.

I was sort of able to breastfeed. Unfortunately the biggest roadblock was that my son hated the breast (despite skin-to-skin right after delivery etc.). It was truly awful trying to force my boob into his mouth while he screamed and I cried. I also had low supply so when he would latch, he wasn't getting enough and didn't gain weight. I took all the supplements, had a lactation consultant come to my home and pumped, but in the end I only lasted about 7 weeks, and most of that included supplementing with formula. It was heartbreaking to stop when I became overwhelmed with pumping (40 mins to get 1-3 oz, 6+ times a day), but ultimately it was more important to me that he be fed and happy (which he is, now!) than that I reach my breastfeeding goals.

I'm in a moms group of about 40 women and everyone seems to be EBF except me and the moms of twins, so it does seem rather rare to not be able to breastfeed. I was shocked to go to the first meeting and see everyone's babies happily latched, and mine crying his head off. I thought maybe everyone's did that!

Hopefully you'll have a smooth go of it and won't need this info, but just in case, I'd recommend reading up a bit on bottles and formula so you're not caught completely off guard like I was. I got the impression from Kellymom and La Leche League that you shouldn't even *learn* about formula or have any in the house because it could lead to "giving in" and supplementing, but I now think that's condescending and untrue. I think supplementing with formula helped me breastfeed as long as I did.

I was so stubborn about breast feeding. We went through every single problem imaginable: bad latch, LO wasn't gaining weight, milk took a week to come in, we battled thrush for 3 months straight, I had mastitis twice, etc, etc, etc, but I was determined to breast feed and at 10.5 months, we're still going strong. It was probably the single most difficult thing I've ever done, and I'm beyond proud of myself for sticking through with it. I know I'll make my goal of a year, and if anything, we'll probably go longer.

I heard a lot of what you heard and I was worried too! But I have successfully breastfed two kids now - the first for 18 straight months and the second for three months and going strong. No supplementing. You can do it! The odds are in your favor

I'm a no. I tried, but after a long list of problems starting with my milk not coming in on time I realized I couldn't do it anyway. After having lo my migraines were awful and I needed major meds, so breastfeeding was out.

That is SO obnoxious that people would try to discourage you. 99% of people who want to breastfeed can, it's mostly a matter of getting the help you need. A good lactation consultant, supportive friends and family, and the la leche league will all be helpful. I'd just remove the negative voices, personally. You don't need that kind of discouraging talk.

I went into it just assuming that I'd be able to do it, knowing how important that was. Failure wasn't on my radar. Then my baby had a hard birth, went into the nicu, and wouldn't latch or suck. We got help, I pumped, and I figured it would come with time. I just knew it would happen, even if it wasn't perfect or immediate.

It's true that the vast majority of women *can* breastfeed successfully if they keep at it and work their very hardest to overcome any hurdles. However, I was one of the women who did absolutely everything and was ultimately not able to breastfeed. I produced almost no milk. My milk *never* really came in at all. It was heartbreaking and awful, since I had been planning on exclusively breastfeeding, and I had been told that as long as you try hard enough, you will be able to BF. While my case is rare, it does happen. I was completely unprepared for the possibility that I might not be able to breastfeed, and letting go of my dream of BFing DD was extremely traumatic for me. I wish I had known that, yes, there is a possibility that you might not be able to breastfeed.

In any case though, good luck! I'm sure things will go fine for you, but if they don't, please don't beat yourself up over it.

I wanted to breastfeed and am doing so. I had a c-section and my milk came in a little late, so I had to supplement with formula and pumped milk in bottles for a few days because he lost too much weight. He gained it back quickly once my milk came in and we're so far so good.