Angela

First of all it was really important to me to breastfeed he or she when they were born, because of the health benefits that breastfeeding gives to a baby, and also the emotional bond that you get with your baby.

One of the best pieces of advice I was given when I was having the latch-on problems, and attachment and things like that, and just generally lacking in confidence, cos it is all about confidence, was when one of the mums said to me “forget the manuals, it’s how it feels” and as soon as she said that to me I just thought “right, let’s close the books, get the pillows, get the cushions, get comfortable and me and Aila will sit down and let’s really just see how this feels”.

It did still take a few days, but as soon as I felt comfortable I thought “this is it” you know, and something just clicks, and it’s like “we’ve done it”. I think if I hadn’t had that support and that advice, and when things weren’t going so well had given up, I would have regretted it.

To fully establish breastfeeding you have to allow yourself at least 6-8 weeks if not longer. If you’re lucky you might establish it before then, I mean there’s no set guidelines, there’s no set “you should be established by this time”.

At first it hurts, and I think if someone had told me that it would have been a lot more helpful, because you read the manuals and they tell you “breast-feeding shouldn’t be sore, it should be comfortable”, and all of a sudden after having your child to the breast two or three times you think “hang on, this doesn’t feel comfortable”.

Looking back, it took me approximately eight weeks to really fully feel comfortable with breast-feeding, and establish it where I felt comfortable and Aila was comfortable too, and I think what’s amazing about breast-fed babies is that they know their own appetite, and you’re not having to work out “oh I need so many ounces of milk”, because who says that’s what that baby needs. With a breastfed baby they know what they need.

I’m going back to work in three weeks time - which is a daunting prospect - but I still fully intend to carry on with the breastfeeding. At eight and a half months Aila’s now been weaned, she’s getting breakfast, lunch and dinner, and snacks in between if she needs them, she’s drinking cool boiled water, so from that point of view that makes things a bit easier because she’s not so dependent on breast-milk, so I’m not having to think about leaving five or six expressed bottles of milk.

However, what I will be doing is I’ve actually started to express milk now and freezing it, so I’ve started preparing by doing that, and certainly when I’m at my work, for comfort reasons, I’ll be having to express off some milk which I intend to do through lunch breaks and things like that.

The advice I’d give mums who are thinking about breastfeeding is “try it”. There’s no harm in trying it, it’s like anything, unless you try, you’ll never know. I’m not saying you’re going to take to it and love it at first – it’s difficult, but I think the main thing is to have determination and to keep at the forefront of your mind that this is the best thing for you and your baby.