Breast feeding!

I have, and always have had, a real love/hate relationship with breast feeding! I don't like how people judge each other around the subject, I don't like the expectations that can be put in mothers to do it, i don't like the boxes that get checked as to whether you do or don't breast feed your child. In my opinion it doesn't make you a better mother either way. 

That being said, I love the convenience of it. I love the closeness it can bring (although bottle feeding can do that too I believe if a parent so wishes). 

I love that it's free and available to most people. 

I've three children and so far each breast feeding experience has been different. 

My first didn't take to it too well. He had no trouble latching on or anything he just didn't seen to like it very much and would only feed really quickly. That, amongst advice to feed only every three hours, gave him a bad start. In hindsight, I should have put him on bottles much earlier than I did. He ended up being 5 months old and gulped bottles down when offered. Although he never once took cows milk when he was old enough and hasn't had milk since except in cereal. Weird child ha! 

My second took to breast feeding like a duck to water. I fed him on demand. I struggled with a few bouts of mastitis which was horrid, but other than that, he fed well and we did it until 11 months when I returned to work. And then he made the transition to cows milk and bottles fine. 

So far with Evie she's a pickle. She struggles to latch on, she will feed all day 

and she then throws the majority of it up. 

I find myself in this position the majority of the day! It's hard work and it's only week four! 

But I've always said that I would give breast feeding a good try and that I would never feel bad if I swapped to bottles. I stand by that! It's hard work especially with two other children that need entertaining. But I know I would regret it if I didn't try, for my reasons, no one else's. 

One of the big pluses is the not having to get out of bed in the night. The above picture is Evie helping herself! It's also a good excuse to not pass your baby around if you don't want too :)

All in all, at the moment I'm hating it. But if it works I'll love it! There's still time...