Hooray for boobies - a breastfeeding meme

I've been tagged by the lovely Jenny at Mummy Mishaps on this breastfeeding meme. I would never have thought I'd be able to write about this! Yay me! :)

1. Why did you choose boob over bottle?
I didn't manage to breastfeed Thomas. There were many factors involved, a lot of naivety and a ton of physical issues, and I felt guilty for a long time afterwards.  Training as a doula allowed me to explore the world of breastfeeding more and I learnt a lot! I come from a formula feeding family and I honestly had no idea what was really involved in breastfeeding. This time round I tried again because a) I'm stubborn (!), b) breast is best IF you can do it, and c) I really wanted to give it a go, knowing so much more than I did first time round.

2. How long did you breastfeed or are you planning to breastfeed?
Until Tyler wants to stop!

3. What is the best thing about breastfeeding?
Breastfeeding Tyler has healed me of the regret and guilt I felt over not managing to do it with Thomas. I haven't bonded better with Tyler and I definitely don't love Thomas any less for bottle feeding him. Breastfeeding has been really hard for me to establish and with the naivety and lack of family / friends / support system in place when I had Thomas, I'm not surprised it didn't work!


4. Did you have to overcome challenges on your breastfeeding journey?
Yes! It hurt a lot and he fed constantly for the first eight weeks. I needed a support pillow, two hands, Soothies, breast shields, Lansinoh, Motherlove nipple cream and Netflix to get me through!  Now he's only ten weeks and he still feeds a LOT. I'm just used to it now and it stopped hurting so it isn't so bad. Plus I think I've had it lucky really. Fingers crossed, I haven't had over-supply or under-supply (bar my milk not kicking in for four days), or anything like thrush or mastitis or blocked ducts, and Tyler isn't sensitive to anything I eat or drink. Some people have a really hard time!

5. Who supported you the most with breastfeeding?
My husband. He was, and still is, a rock. He tells me how brilliantly I'm doing and in those early weeks he gave me the boost I needed every time I got emotional and pissed off with the whole thing! I've also been really lucky to meet some lovely people here who I've been able to moan at / cry in front of when things have been tough.

6. How did you feel when you first breastfed in public?
Awkward and brilliant at the same time!

7. Have you been questioned for breastfeeding?
Not yet. Let someone try! I know my rights!

8. Has breastfeeding made you feel different about your body?
Not really, although my flat nipples are pretty impressive now! :D I'm still in the early days though and need to get over the postpartum wobbly phase before I really know what my body will look like!

9. What do you wish you had known before making the decision to breastfeed your baby?
That it's really really tough to find nice clothes which are amenable to breastfeeding without showing tons of saggy belly or masses of boob!

If anyone else wants to join in, click on the photo below! :)