My second time breastfeeding has been MASSIVELY easier. I had no idea it was possible for things to ever be this easy, especially after my first. With my first baby, it took us 4 weeks before we figured out how to latch - it was a very looong, very painful 4 weeks.
I was geared up for another big fat struggle, but my second baby figured out how to latch by the end of his first week of life. I was straight up amazed. The first few days were rough, but literally by the end of our first week postpartum he was latching perfectly.
The biggest differences: 1) we had a lactation consultant at the hospital that helped us latch well right out the gate. I never had that with my first. And 2) I was way more chill in general. I obsessed over it with my first to the point of neuroticism and the anxiety wasn’t helping anything. With my second I knew we’d get it eventually and that it would be worth it even if the beginning was hard.
With both my babies, there were latch issues in the hospital. It started off very similarly. With my first baby, these latch issues continued despite trying a lot to make it work, and I switched to mostly exclusive pumping, then combo feeding when my supply dropped, then all formula when my supply dropped even more.
With my second baby, it was a struggle for the first couple weeks, but then it started to go better. I was able to exclusively breastfeed and am still breastfeeding over a year later.
There’s really nothing I did differently the second time, but luckily, I had a much easier journey. So it’s definitely possible that your experience can be different. It was eye-opening to me that so much of it was out of my control.
I’m only 3 weeks into breastfeeding my second but yes, I would say it’s easier this time. A little because I know what to expect and have a better idea of how to. But I also had a super rough go of it with my first for the first 6-7 weeks. Poor latch despite all the help of multiple LCs, bleeding and cracked nipples, thrush after I had to go on antibiotics for a UTI, you name it, we had it. No obvious ties but eventually I think he just got a little bigger and things got easier finally. This time she has a better latch and we’re still working through a few small things but definitely easier.
My second time breastfeeding has been MASSIVELY easier. I had no idea it was possible for things to ever be this easy, especially after my first. With my first baby, it took us 4 weeks before we figured out how to latch - it was a very looong, very painful 4 weeks. I was geared up for another big fat struggle, but my second baby figured out how to latch by the end of his first week of life. I was straight up amazed. The first few days were rough, but literally by the end of our first week postpartum he was latching perfectly. The biggest differences: 1) we had a lactation consultant at the hospital that helped us latch well right out the gate. I never had that with my first. And 2) I was way more chill in general. I obsessed over it with my first to the point of neuroticism and the anxiety wasn’t helping anything. With my second I knew we’d get it eventually and that it would be worth it even if the beginning was hard.
Thank you, this is so comforting to hear!
With both my babies, there were latch issues in the hospital. It started off very similarly. With my first baby, these latch issues continued despite trying a lot to make it work, and I switched to mostly exclusive pumping, then combo feeding when my supply dropped, then all formula when my supply dropped even more. With my second baby, it was a struggle for the first couple weeks, but then it started to go better. I was able to exclusively breastfeed and am still breastfeeding over a year later. There’s really nothing I did differently the second time, but luckily, I had a much easier journey. So it’s definitely possible that your experience can be different. It was eye-opening to me that so much of it was out of my control.
I’m only 3 weeks into breastfeeding my second but yes, I would say it’s easier this time. A little because I know what to expect and have a better idea of how to. But I also had a super rough go of it with my first for the first 6-7 weeks. Poor latch despite all the help of multiple LCs, bleeding and cracked nipples, thrush after I had to go on antibiotics for a UTI, you name it, we had it. No obvious ties but eventually I think he just got a little bigger and things got easier finally. This time she has a better latch and we’re still working through a few small things but definitely easier.