Success Stories
Jo Rundle Albaston Conwall
I had a hospital birth after wanting to birth at home. I had little help in hospital as I appeared confident, but no one checked that I had my son latched properly. Subsequentley by the time he was 3 days old I was cracked and bleeding. I was then seen by my community midwife who checked my latch and adjusted my positioning slightly. After 3 more days my nipples were completely healed and feeding was at its most effective and my son thrived. I managed to feed my son for another 10 months before he decided he did not want me anymore, as I was already pregnant again and my milk had changed, without any more problems. So with a little help and some support breastfeeding is not only amazing and the best thing for your baby it can be easy.
My second child Yasmin was born at home in water. After 8 hours and relatively little problems She popped out. She had facial congestion and was purple. She screamed from birth and did not stop. She latched on 30 minutes after birth as soon as she was put to my breast. However she did not like the cradle position on my right side and I had to use the rugby ball method on this side. We had little or no problems apart from chronic Colic until she was about 10 weeks old. She had done nothing but cry since her birth but until now it had not interfered with her feeding. However she then started to refuse the breat and fuss badly when put to the breast. I had already consulted the health professionals regarding this and they said that it was her nature and not a lot I could do about it. A peer supporter at Callington Branch of Up Front suggested that I try a Cranial Ostepath. I took her and after her first session she was a different baby. She slept for 5 hours which she had not done before and then fed properly for the first time since she was about 2 weeks old. I was not really aware of how badly she had been feeding until she fed properly. She then fed with no problems until she did not want me anymore at 11 months old.
Natalie Utton Calstock
Having fed two babies and currently feeding my third, I have found breastfeeding to be the most rewarding thing I have ever done. It feels great to look at my kids and know that I have done the best thing for them in giving them a good start in life.
I fed my first two babies without any problems. I was so lucky, it just went well! I had lots of support in the early days and I made sure that I was doing it right each time I fed in the first few days. I made use of all the midwives knowledge and got them to check my positioning at each feed whilst in hospital, so by the time I got home I was confident in what I was doing. I fed my son for 15 months and my daughter for 23 months and loved every minute. After giving birth to my third baby by caesarean section I was determined to have the same experience as before with breastfeeding, but it didn’t go to plan. After not much help in hospital with feeding after a caesarean I came home with sore and cracked nipples. This was a first for me and a real shock! Once I was home I made a point of getting my positioning correct every time. I got midwives to check, phoned the association of breastfeeding mothers for advice and read books, but it just didn’t get better. It was soul destroying. I then remembered that tongue tie can sometimes be a problem, so I opened my baby’s mouth and had a good look. There it was, she had a tongue tie! This would have affected the way she fed and no matter how good my positioning was it would still hurt! I knew about a wonderful midwife at Penrice birthing centre in St’Austel who is an expert in tongue ties so I phoned them for help. The told me to get straight down there. Once there, my daughters tongue tie was snipped using a small pair of scissors, no crying, no blood, my positioning was checked and we were on our way home again. From then on things improved. My daughter was able to feed effectively, my nipples got better and we are now breastfeeding happily and she is nearly a year old. It just proves that everyone needs support and help at times with breastfeeding. Giving up was not an option for me, but I must confess to a couple of times in the middle of the night sitting up and sobbing at the situation I found myself in and the pain associated with sore nipples.
Errin Allen Grandpound Road Cornwall
My breast feeding story.
This is an honest and open account of my experiences at breast feeding, it may not sound an idyllic version, but I want to tell it like it was so that other mummies don’t panic like I did!
When they say “breastfeeding doesn’t hurt if you’re doing it properly” they are absolutely right - I can see that now, however, I was doing it properly but it did bloomin well hurt (for the first two weeks anyway!) what nobody mentioned (putting it bluntly) is that my nipples were delicate, soft wee things, that were simply not used to being sucked very hard every two hours for more than 40 minutes at a time!!
They needed to toughen up and fast!
Fraser and I had an excellent start, as soon as he was born he was lifted out of the water and put straight onto my chest for skin-skin contact and after a few minutes I got out of the pool for the final stages of labour while Fraser laid on my tummy and was encouraged to find my breast. He took to it really well and suckled happily on each side for ages. Our first night together Fraser was very tired and despite my best efforts to wake him every three hours to feed him, he was simply too exhausted. In kicked first-time-mother syndrome!
“What if he dehydrates?” “Is he getting enough?” “It’s sore - I must be getting it wrong!”
The next day my midwife came out to check how we all were. I explained my concern; “All the books and people say it shouldn’t hurt, but my nips are definitely sore and I think they are starting to bleed a bit. Will he be ok?”
She watched our technique and we had everything right – position was good, nipple to nose, lips were flanged and Fraser was taking good sucks. She and a breast feeding councillor later reassured me that it was perfectly normal for my nipples to become sore and they just needed time to get used to the new demands. Fraser was alert, satisfied after feeding, producing wet nappies and his soft spot was not inverted so all signs of being hydrated were good. Phew!
The next two weeks of feeding were not the easy natural experience I had expected/hoped for. My milk came through with no problems – my boobs became hot and huge literally overnight but otherwise uneventful. My nipples however, continued to give me grief. They cracked and bled and would scab over, only for Fraser to end up with bits of my skin and scabs on his lips! Latching on was literally toe curling and I had to give it all my concentration. I rubbed my nipples with my own milk, aired them as much as possible and used several different soothing creams. I didn’t need to use breast pads, but I found my bra was sticking and chaffing the raw skin, so I pulled out my ‘Lilypadz’ – these are rubbery pads that stick to the breast and were wonderful for relieving the discomfort.
After only two weeks my nipples were completely healed and Fraser and I really enjoy the breastfeeding experience. At his first weigh in Fraser had unusually gained 3lbs on his birth weight (often babies drop before gaining weight) so we were definitely doing something right! I’m so pleased I persevered, I was determined to give Fraser the best possible start and once I had been reassured that we were doing it right and that pain like mine was normal I was able to grit my teeth and bear it knowing that it would soon pass and that both of us would be reaping the rewards soon enough.
We now feed quite happily and latch on easily anywhere and everywhere! I haven’t had any complaints yet and I’m pretty inconsiderate to be honest – feeding Fraser in café windows, round the supermarket, walking down the street, in restaurants – in fact wherever we happen to be when he decides he’s hungry…it’s so convenient and feels perfectly natural and lovely.
Theresa Saltash Cornwall
I tried to feed my first three children and gave up due to a variety of reasons, lack of support being one of them and pressure from family members to put them on the bottle. When my fourth child was born she latched on almost immediately and fed really well so I carried on. I was lucky enough not to suffer from any soreness whatsoever although I did have to battle again with family members who made comments such 'you have done really well but don't you think it is time to feed her properly now'. I fed her exclusively until I went back to work and then she had some formular as I couldn't express very much at all. She was quite happy to switch between bottle and breast during this time. Atfer a year I stopped giving her a bottle and continued giving her breast milk. I thought she would naturally wean herself off my milk quite soon after but I am still waiting!! Consequently she is still feeding from me at 2years and 4 months and showing no signs of wanting to stop.