Breastfeeding Tips

Here is the thing with breastfeeding. Now this comes from my personal experience of breastfeeding 4 babies. I breastfed my first one for 4 months. (I should have kept going!) When I brought this kid home from the hospital he was being a stinker about latching on. I thought he would starve, so I gave him a bottle. Then the next time I wanted to breastfeed him it was even harder, and again gave another bottle! It was horrible, my size B cup breasts turned into hard, huge, watermelons! It was insane and so painful. I was miserable, my husband was clueless, and my mother was no help. (she had her kids in the 60's and no one was breastfeeding then. She tried, but was told I wasn't gaining enough weight, so her Peditrician made her quit. After a few years she realized I was just a small person. I mean I graduated from high school weighing 98lbs. I also started my first pregancy at 100 lbs. I am much older now, but only weigh 112 lbs.skinny genes.) OK, so back to the stinker of a firstborn. This kid figured out that he could get the bottle if he refused the breast! This 3 day old baby was smarter than his 25 year old mother. I thought I would just quit breastfeeding. But, I called a lactation nurse and cried to her about how horrible and miserable it was. I also had a fever from being so engorged. She said, "Kathy, throw all the bottles away. Put that baby skin to skin on your chest. Offer him the breast every 15 minutes. Eventually, he will latch on. He will not let himself starve." I thought, "OK, I will give it a shot. One last shot." Sure as Sh*t he latched in less than 2 hours of doing this! He latched and ate like a little piggy. Never gave him another bottle for a couple of months and he breastfeed without another issue. Funny thing is, we again tried bottles at about 3 months old so we could go to the movies and my mother could feed him. Guess what? He refused the bottle the same why he refused the breast at 3 days old! My poor mother couldn't wait for us to get home from the movies. That son of mine is now 25 years old. I don't even think he knows this story.