hi

i have 3 children and another on the way with my two girls i bottle fed and with my 3rd i expressed for only two weeks as he was prem at 32weeks now with this pregnancy im not sure if i should breast or bottle feed

i have had a few friends say that breast feeding makes your boobs really saggy after a time of doing so, was wondering if this was true do you find that if you do breast feed it makes you saggy or if it makes your boobs less saggy

i know breast is best but im really funny about my boobs anyway and dont want to make them look any worse than they are

thank you yas

Hi Yas.

Not spk to you in a while. Firstly congrats on baby no4!! when you due?

I have decided not to breast feed, purly becoz she did not latch on much and was making her very angry and upset. She is bottle fed now..and loving it. and at least a know how much she is having @ every feed. I have heard your boobs go very saggy after breast feeding....and to be honest I have hardly anthing up there so would prefer them to stay up were they are LOL.

xxxx

hi emma

congratulations on your daughter i have been keeping an eye on due oct

im due 29th may but consultant said to expect baby anytime after feb my son was due 14th feb and the told me at the time anytime after xmas and he came on the 28th dec so no idea when he/she will show up lol you are right though with bottle you know what there having and less demanding but would love to try and breast feed but dont want to if it means going south very confused

wonder if there are like exercises you can do to keep them north ?

I have heard if you put your arms level with your shoulders...elbows out.....and pull your arms bk and forth it strengthens the muscles. Like you have got chicken wings..insted of flapping them..pull them bk and forth! ha...best way I can describe it!

Thanks hun..she is a dream! Cant believe she is finally here!

xx

hi emma

lol i have just done what you said and ended up moving my head back and forth too laugh if hubby walked in as im walking round acting like some stupid chicken wife haaaa

Hi,

I'm breast feeding my 6 week old little girl so I can't give you first hand experience of what happens to my boobs when I stop but have been told by freinds who have and haven't breast fed that it is the pregnancy that does the damage!  My boobs grew 2 cup sizes while was pregnant and another 2 afterwards.  I really like breast feeding my little girl but it was tough for the first 3 weeks but I was lucky and had great support from midwives and bf consultant.  I know it's not for every one but I went into it with an open mind and I'm glad I'm still doing it.  good luck with no4 whatever you decide to do.

hi tara and gem thanks for replies but still a little not sure

when i had my girls and bottle fed i noticed no change after my boobs had gone back to normal then as i expressed will my 3rd i did notice one is bigger than the other not much bigger, and its not though expressing more on that side cause i did both equal and same time on each boob i dont know what to do maybe i will have a better idea a little later on

thank you anyway

yas x

hi yas

i breast fed for 9 months with my little one and it was the best thing ever. although not easy in the begining. my boobs are soooooo big anyway so they were gonna see the force of gravity eventually. but its not too bad. they just dont feel so full any more.

this isn't meaning to sound crude or as a scare tactic, but i understand that breast feeding can reduce the risk of many cancers including ovarian nad breast cancer. all i will say is if myrisk is reduced then io will be happy. i see it as being better having saggy boobs and healthy then having one pert and one removed due to cancer! but everyone is entitled to there own opinion and what ever you choose i am sure you will be a fab mother. and very brave having another!!! i hope baby dosnt appear too soon. take care xxx

p.s pls dont be offended by what i said. it is just one way of looking at it and not meaning to preech. xxx 

hi natty

im not offended in anyway thank you for your reply and im taking everything in x

Hi Yas,

I have heard the same as Gem that it is actually the pregnancy that does the damage to your boobs. I fed my son for just over a year and as eveyone has already mentioned it is very difficult for the first little while but after your milk has become more regulated it gets soooo much easier, and no warming up, cooling down time for your boobs needed!

I'm afraid I can't really comment on the sagginess of boobs because it feels like such a long time ago that I my boobs were my own that I can't actually remember what they used to be like! They more than like used to be a bit more pert but I wouldn't say they were overly saggy now, but then I am pregnant again so they probably will be different because of that.

All I can say is you've got to do what's right for you. If you've got 3 little ones already it may be worth combined feeding if you do decide to do some bf so you don't feel like you are spending so much time with the new baby. I will certainly be bf the next baby but if they are anywhere near as demanding as my little boy in the first few weeks/months I may add in a couple of bottles so someone else can do the feeding and I can spend some time with my son.

hi rach

thanks for your reply and congrats, i was talking to my hubby last night and he said that i could do with not breast as i already have my hands full and it will be harder for me he also said that he enjoys feeding the baby too and he wont be able to feed if im breast also hubby is good as when he is hear he feeds baby while i rest and if i want a sleep on weekend afternoon he takes over and looks after kids while i have a break and that wont be possible if i breast feed what i might do though is express for a few weeks like i did my son cause when he was in neo-natle they told me that the best milk from breast is the first few weeks of the milk so i can change to bottle after that two weeks and still have done my child good 

also midwife has said that even though breast is best a lot of children that have been breast fed come down with a lot more illnesses than bottle fed like colds etc and i can somewhat agree my girls (bottle fed) are never really ill but my son (expressed) has almost always got the sniffs or something so that again just confuses me even more  

sorry for going on yas

Hi Yas, i agree with the others i thinks its the pregnancy that does the damage as well as age. My boobs were just fine with babies 1 to 3, and even before "suprise" no 4 baby 9 years after my last i'm pretty sure the weight gain in pregancy is what affected my boobs which seem to have gone wide, their lovely and perky (well temporary) now but its hasnt put me of BF. I only ever BF for the first couple of weeks with mine and like Tara mixed the feeding which OH liked as he could do the formula bottles and i got a break.

To be honest 4th time around it wasnt my boobs i was too worried about i have been doing pelvic floor exercises for months, as right in the middle of my pregnancy i had to shut my legs tight when i sneezed for fear of an accident. Oh the joys!

Good luck hun what ever you decide to do.

sorry, but WTF are you worrying about - you're bragging about the number of children you have & the number you've BF / FF, yet you're on a website where women would die for just 1 baby - GET A GRIP  - SAGGY TITS ARE A BLESSING, NOT A CURSE if caused through child bearing - get over your self image & thank your personal religious deity for your fortune in fertility, rather than waste time whinging about the MINOR drawbacks of pg & BF

perhaps you need to think aout others before your own personal minor misadventures

hi yas

well i have 2 daughters my 1st i didnt breast feed as i didnt like the feel of it, my 2nd i tried to breast feed but she wouldnt take to my breast and prefured the bottle. im hoping with  baby no 3 on the way i will be able to breast feed as i want to give it a go and see. i dont think it matters wheather you breast feed or bottle feed as long as you are happy with the desision you have made.  it took me a while to get over my 2nd daughter not breast feeding as i thought it was me and something id done wrong.  i dont have to worry too much about saggy boobs as i have only every been a 32a and even now at 27wks im still only a 34b so once my body gets back to normal after having my little man i think ill have my little fried eggs back!!lol...........

anyways yas im sure what ever you decide will be the right choice for you take no notice of amandal at the end of the day this is a pregnacy forum for everyone and no matter what the question we are all here to give each other help and support not have a go at someone just because they are luck to have baby no4 on the way and r worried about things. xx

Amandal WTF are you on???? There was no need at all for them comments!! Its totally up to each individual what they wish to do. And if ppl dont want2 BF then that should be there coice for any reason!

I dont appreciate your comments on this thread. And to be honest your post could of has upset alot of ppl!

Thanks for that!

i agree with emma about amandal comment, i don't know what your situation is but this is a pregnancy and baby advice forum, and ppl should be able to seek that advice, if you don't like what has been said then you don't have to say anything.

anyway, i wouldn't worry yas, you do what you want, there's no rules of being a parent, that why ppl like us come on here, i am BF and i do enjoy it, as i know my little one likes it too, but it is very demanding, an tiring, and you feel like you are a milking machine, and thats how i feel after 2weeks!lol but i know that it is good for her, and i worry that she won't take to a bottle. it's alright when i'm at home, but i haven't yet needed to feed when out, because haven't been out long enough basically, the time will come i'm sure.

but what ever you decide will be right for you.

I have read a lot of breast feeding books (Out of boredom) and been to a couple of classes.

I was told that the sagging occurs due to poorly fitted bras in both pregnancy and breast feeding. I was told to get measured for nursing bras on the run up to giving birth (from 36 wks onward) then about a month later. The size changes are big over this period. I was told it also helps stop blocked milk ducts? I'm not sure as this is my first time but my teacher had 4 kids all breast fed.

As for Amandal's comments I understand peoples concern for sagging boobs, you want to see my aunties when I was little. She had 4 kids (non breast fed) and due to poorly fitting bras over maternity they were down by her belt (NO LIE!) and she was in her 30's!! Whats wrong with wanting to be a yummy mummy? I still want to be lusted after by my hubby after I have had a child and he loves boobs. They say that they find you attractive no matter what but you need to feel attractive too? it's all part of the proccess.

I really want to breast feed but no not one person who as managed it past a week (Maybe due to lack of support) and I keep getting told by my mother not to waste my time. It is really getting to me and I cried like a baby yesterday *Blush*.

Does anyone know to a online buddy scheme were you can chat with other breat feeding mums? (I Know there is here but I would like to get to know them like pen pals, I'm sad)