Did you/do you exclusively breastfeed?

Just curious after that banning thread, I'm just curious up to 6 months if you exclusively breastfed (no formula at all).

 

I managed to feed my son for 7 months, he just wasn't interested after that (otherwise i would have gone longer).
Eldest daughter, only for 8 weeks, cos she wasn't interested either and my youngest daughter for 3 1/2 months, cos i wasn't producing enough milk at that point for some reason.

 

My son will be a year old on the 21st. I breast fed him exclusively for the first 6 months. I went back to work when he was 3 months old. I pumped before work, at work, at lunch, when I got home from work and before I went to bed at night. I froze the extra milk I pumped. I am no longer pumping, as I am now working nights, so am only gone for 5 hours, and being almost a year old, he is eatting solids as well as drinking water.

Mandred breast feeds in the morning, before his nap in the afternoon, when he wakes from his nap and usually once during the night. He is a comfort sucker, and at night it is usually just a suck or two before he falls back to sleep. I plan to breastfeed as long as he wants/need it.

 

No children of my own, but back in the day I was exclusively breastfed [not even expressed milk, because I hated bottle teats] until I was 11 months old. As was my younger brother.

 

Both of my kiddies were exclusively breastfed for 9-10 months, and ate table foods while breastfed until 26-28 months. I think either I or my body was pump-incompatible, so neither one used a bottle.
love,
mom

 

My first was totally bottle fed. I feel like I made all my mistakes with him. Horrible hospital birth, lots of drugs during labor, out with gas for the delivery. Bad experience. My second was breastfed exclusively for 8 months. He got tired of it and quit. Used a sippy after that. Third was breastfed for one year. He woke up the morning of his birthday, took two sucks, and never wanted to nurse again. They both started solid foods at about 6 months. Number four was exclusively breastfed for 3.5 months. Had a major life trauma. Milk dried up immediately. That was the end of it. And the beginning of a six month struggle to find formula that she could hold down. Number five breastfed for 3.5 months as well. No trauma, no problems, but milk totally dried up at this point. My doctor said it was cellular memory. My body remembered the trauma and responded in the same way. Number six was adopted and formula fed.

Kathi

 

Moire was almost exclusively formula-fed, though I tried desperately to breastfeed her for 7 weeks. I also looked for breastmilk donations and possible wet-nurses. This society just doesn't support that. So my daughter is formula-fed.

The reason I couldn't breastfeed is called hypoplastic breast, where there is little to no breast tissue. I made 2ccs of breastmilk in BOTH breasts at the height of our brief breastfeeding relationship.

 

Yes, I exculsively breastfed all 7 of mine for the first six months. They were all breastfed until they were at least 2.5 years old.

I supplemented pumped milk with formula when I was working after my 5th and 7th were six months old. With my 5th, because I was pregnant again, and pumping enough was difficult, and with my seventh, I was working 2 jobs and ran out of pumped milk quite often.

 

i breastfed my son exclusively until right around six months when he became interested in table foods...i still breastfeed him (he's nine months) exclusively in the sense that he has never had any formula....i do not ever plan on giving him formula...

 

i breastfed my eldest son until he was 20 months i was 4 months pregnant my ob had told me that i had to stop nursing due to my history of miscarriages the nursing could have brought on contractions and lose the baby all together. so i stopped. now with my new baby i was supplementing formula and breastfeeding for 2 weeks then i stopped formula feeding him. i plan to nurse gabriel for at least a year longer if he wants.

 

I breast-fed my first daughter until she was 21 months and my milk dried up because i was pregnant again. I am breast-feeding my second daughter also. She is 4 months and I plan to go for as long as she wants. Ive never used formula and never will.

 

I exclusively breastfed DD until she was about 11 months or so. I started giving her bits of my food at that age while continuing to breastfeed.

She is 18 months now, eats tons of solids (no meat) and still nurses all the time. I never gave her formula and I tried a bottle with her once. She hated it.

 

Wow, I'm very impressed with the results!! I really didn't think that so many exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months....way to go Mamas!!

 

I'm impressed too. It's not easy to start a breastfeeding relationship when you give birth in a hospital. I was offered formula so many time that I lost count, and DD had a perfect latch and no complications. I finally yelled at the nurses to leave me alone and quit offering the formula. There really isn't much support for breastfeeding mothers.

 

i think the support might vary depending on the region? I gave birth in the hospital and had the complete support of all the nurses. Also, Mandred was in my room, next to my bed from the moment I came out of recovery, but I am sure that that is different in other hospitals.

 

I have to agree that it totally depends on the hospital. With my son, I was asked once if I wanted formula because he was screaming. I said no and it was never pushed on me. For my daughter, they asked how I planned to feed during registration and I was never asked if I wanted formula during my stay. Both hospitals were very supportive and offered lactation consultants and breastfeeding support groups after you had the baby. Where i live, it is very pro-breastfeeding and we have laws to protect us in public. I actually feel like the minority here because my daughter has weaned at 10 months.

I also had a c-section and my daughter never left my side, from operating room to recovery to my room, she stayed in my arms. It was a wonderful experience.

 

i am still nursing my little one who is now 17 months old.. she never had formula and we are still going strong!