Friday
Mar062009
Please vote in poll on breastfeeding!
Friday, March 6, 2009
I need some input for a post I'm working on and would love if you could answer the poll over there on the right. I'm trying to get a sense of whether people had a rough time breastfeeding or not and whether it was resolved by the two week mark or not. Please vote and if you want to add any comments or details or if you have posted on your rough start with breastfeeding, decision to quit or to keep going, or how smoothly things went, then please add a link to your post in the comments as well.
Thank you for your input!
Please note: The poll is now closed. You can view the results in my follow-up post and read the comments below.
Thank you for your input!
Please note: The poll is now closed. You can view the results in my follow-up post and read the comments below.
Reader Comments (54)
PhD, as you know, I'm part of the growing group of mothers who exclusively pumped. It certainly wasn't by choice - I still hate that I failed to directly breastfeed. In hindsight, I can see that it was a combination of an early release from the hospital, new mom fear, and my own modesty that caused me to exclusively pump.
I feel that next time, I will know what's coming and I will be able to ask/demand for what I need. I am very grateful that I was able to feed Madeline breastmilk for nearly 10 months through a pump.
My story, summarized: http://bessieviola.wordpress.com/2008/08/08/doesnt-that-hurt/
P.S. I love that you're continuing this conversation. More new moms need to know that it's not easy, but that it will GET easier as you go. Too many expect that it will be effortless, and that makes it all the more difficult when there are bumps in the road.
I would say it took 6-8 weeks to get things going smoothly, but I never used formula. I'm so happy for sticking to my guns!
With each of my three children, I struggled at first. I think if I hadn't felt so absolutely strongly that it was imperative to breastfeed, I would have given up.
I now tell my doula clients that it really takes 2-3 months to feel like things have sort of leveled out a bit. By that time you know your baby, your letdown is probably not so frequent (and publicly embarrassing!), and you become more adept and comfortable with it.
I know that seems like a long time to most people, but I find that if you know it will get better, and that there is nothing wrong with you if you aren't perfect at it after a couple of weeks, it makes it easier to continue and not get as discouraged.
Great topic, as always!
Hi. This is my first comment, though I've been reading this blog for a while (I found you from a link on Kellymom).
By about 2 weeks we had worked through a couple of problems with her sleepiness, my engorgement, and lazy latch on the right side. There are still times that I haved to refocus on her latch on the right side (right now is one of them because she's working on her top teeth!), but it's been pretty smooth since then and she is 8 months old. I had some help in the hospital with her sleepiness and her latch; the engorgement I worked through on my own. I had read A LOT before she was born, so I was armed with information.
I love our nursing relationship!
I'm the loner who has selected easy thus far. I attribute it to my daughter having a good natural ability to latch on and also I had a lot of confidence going into it. I'm very comfortable with my body and did a lot of research beforehand. Also, I was prepared for how demanding it is. Two of my friends gave up within a month and turned to formula because they didn't realize how much of a committment it is. I look forward to the results!
I selected "yes, but by the week two mark everything was going smoothly." However, that's really only true for my second child - Gracie. We had thrush early on, but it didn't take much to clear it up. However, she also had a teeny tiny mouth, and I have large breasts, so latching was miserable until about the 2 week mark, when my production settled down and I wasn't as engorged all the time.
With my other kids, it was pretty easy from the start - no major issues, so I wouldn't call it a "rough start." Always did seem to take about 2 weeks to really feel like we were in a groove, though.
My major issue with feeding to start with was that I couldn't get my son very interested in the boob - no problems with latch or engorgement or anything. I was misadvised by a midwife to wake him every 2 hours - day AND night for feeding, which was like a waking nightmare. Trying to force a baby to eat, every 2 hours? It would take an hour to get him to latch on.
Once we stopped that ludicrous waking (it was only actually about 2 days that this went on - it felt like such a long time though) things were much easier. I voted 'it took longer than 2 weeks' because we have had other problems along the way (lack of weight gain, not feeding for very long, fussing..) and I didn't feel very confident about it for much longer than 2 weeks. Just about getting there now at 4 months to be honest!!
Looking forward to your post on this, xx
PS: I too have always felt that bf'ing was imperative. In those early days, I never thought that formula was an option... Which, to be honest, might have helped me to relax a bit. I wouldn't want to ff my baby but the 'all or nothing' mentality I had to start off with made me feel under so much pressure that I don't think it was particularly healthy. Glad that I didn't give up though.
I voted no problems, but maybe I am too relaxed in my thought process. Of course I had the occasional issue - a cracked nipple here or there, slight engorgement with one child, sore nipples the first few weeks - but overall none of these problems were major issues nor hindrances for me. I've been nursing three children for over five years now, so in the big picture I'd say no problems!!
I selected yes, for the first two weeks, but by "rough" all I mean is very sore and a bit of bleeding. Because I had expected those things and was convinced of the importance of breastfeeding, I was able to grin and bear it until my nipples adjusted.
I voted no problems. I was very lucky to have an easy time breast feeding my daughter. She latched right away in the hospital - most likely due to the fact that I insisted that they didn't take her away from me right away. I had the typical soreness/scabbed nipples for the first few weeks, but then all of a sudden everything stopped hurting and we're still nursing at 24 months with no end in sight - and I'm 24 weeks pregnant! This time we're planning a home birth, so I'm expecting another good nurser! :)
I voted for my middle child. With my first, I had no information or support and quit after 2-3 weeks, with horrible, horrible pain. I only learned years later it was probably a yeast infection. With my second, I knew it might be difficult, and it was, but I struggled to learn everything I could, read books, get online. We finally figured it out by 8 weeks. My last was a UC baby and she latched on perfectly the very first time. It has been a dream, and now we are 8 months going strong.
the obligatory other: we had no problems after the first few days with latch and the physical act... we did have problems with getting my milk supply up enough, combined with the rookie mistake of not having him on the breast as much as i probably should have... we supplemented for a week around the 6 week point and by 4 months i had weaned off my aides (Motilium, fenugreek, blessed thistle)...
I said by two weeks the problem were pretty much over. My DD refused (spit out the nipple) if there was a bad latch. This means I never dealt with blisters or cracked nipples, but it did mean it would take 30/45 minutes to get her to latch on because I had a hard time trying to maneuver my breast into a floppy baby's mouth. And in the middle of the night, half an hour is an eternity. There were tears from both parties. But by week 2 we got a nightlight and I learned how to nurse lying down, so getting up in the night was easier- I didn't have to turn on a light or even sit up. Lots more rest at that point and by 3 weeks I felt that we were old pros. Of course I ran into things later (mastitis at 3 months) and I still at 11 months have overactive letdown- You should have seen me at church last week! My milk was just dripping from my breast THROUGH my dress- not just the usual seeping circle of wetness- drops were coming through the fabric and splattering in my lap. I thought it was hilarious. :)
It took us about 6 weeks to get it sorted out. I had supply issues. I took Domperidone, blessed thistle and fenugreek. Even with all of that (as well as the increased water, feeding from both sides, etc), I also had to supplement my daughter with formula. I understand the all-or-nothing mentality as well, and having that mentality is what made it so difficult for me. I would fight and fight and fight, and she'd gain a bit, but then not gain enough. She wasn't crying from hunger though (the nurses called this "content to starve" - good lord, just what a new mother needs to hear). Once I accepted that I could do both - breastfeed and supplement with formula, as a long term solution instead of only a means to get her weight up, I relaxed significantly and enjoyed the time that we did have for breastfeeding.
Now, she's 13 months old, and I still nurse her when she wakes up in the morning, and before she goes to bed. It's been a challenge with being back at work at times, but I fought so hard for this, I'm not ready to give it up!
With my first child, I spent the first two months of her life at the breastfeeding clinic. We had every problem you could imagine. I refused to give up, and after two months, we finally got the hang of it. She ended up nursing for 14 months. With the second baby, I finally knew what I was doing, so I didn't have any troubles at all.
With my first child, we had issues for the first 2.5 months. During that time, DD was "addicted" to the nipple shield, and I couldn't nurse with out it. It was very stressful, and I cried so many nights, wondering what was wrong with me/my daughter. Finally, after all that time of flat-out refusing to nurse directly from the breast, one day she just latched on. (And continued to nurse until she self-weaned at over 2.5yo).
My second child had a beautiful latch, yet didn't seem to like nursing, as odd as that sounds. He would hold both hands out, pushing my breast away, while nursing. He also never nursed for comfort. We did make it to age 14m, which was WAY too early in my opinion, but he went on a nursing strike, and I was newly-pregnant at that time, and my milk supply didn't survive.
With my current nursling, I would say it took right around 2 weeks for engorgement and cracked nipples to ease up. He's 8m now and still exclusively breastfed. I have had to cut out dairy completely, though, which in hindsight, may have been #2's issue with "not liking" to nurse.
Call me lucky but I had zero issues breastfeeding. All 3 of my kids took to the breast within hours of birth and I had no issues of any kind... other than engorgement occassionally.
I answeredfor my first baby only. Took us over two weeks to solve her problems and get her nursing well. With the other three kids, it was easy. None of mine ever had formula.
I have insufficient glandular tissue, which leads to low supply. With my first child, she was literally starving but was also "content to starve" like someone else mentioned. She would nurse but get next to nothing, and then sleep and sleep. She lost way too much weight, had horrible jaundice, and ended up on formula before two weeks. Because she was so content, and I believed that pumps are not a true indicator of supply, I assumed that I had enough milk.
Subsequent babies typically bring more glandular development and therefore more milk. I did experience engorgement with my second child, and leaking. I could get more than drops out of the pump (maybe 1 to 2 oz at a time). Despite the improvements, he still needed more milk and was supplemented with formula from about 10 days onward. We combo fed until about 5 months, when I became horribly ill with a bacterial infection and my supply just stopped.
I plan to try again with my next baby. My hope is that increased glandular tissue will make exclusive BFing possible, but the likelihood will be more supplementing. I am fine with that, though.
I just want to say I had a really rough start with my first, who was premature and had nipple confusion. And I seem to be in the majority based on the poll results. But with my second it was smooth sailing. So it's not always hard, and you can learn from your struggles.
Thanks for making this poll. It's SO important for moms (both new and experienced) to see that it is not always easy for everyone. In fact, according to your poll nearly half the women who breastfe(e)d took more than two weeks to get it going. SO IMPORTANT to know. Thank you!!!!
Thankfully when I was a totally clueless, unsupported first time mum at 20 I had no problems, until my GP told me to stop to take painkillers (which I now know were fine to nurse on) when my son was 4 months. I didn't know to question her then.
By the time I had number 2 I knew much better. With number 3 I did have a very minor small mouth latching issue, minor for me anyway, had I been that clueless first time mum with no help I'm certain he'd been bottlefed.
I had a rough start with my daughter. It took five days for my milk to come in so when they came to weigh her on day six, she had lost some weight and they pressured me to supplement with formula to prevent her being classed as failure to thrive and being readmitted to hospital. I had excruciating pain for the first three weeks, mastitis twice and low supply (though I'm not sure if I really had low supply or it that was a result of supplementing with formula). Things finally started to get a bit better at about 6 weeks and very good by 10 weeks. I got her off the formula supplements by 12 weeks and she nursed until she was 17 months with no further problems.
With my son, we had absolutely no problems. He took to the breast straight away, I had zero nipple pain, plentiful supply and he latched well, even with a severe tongue tie. After the difficult time I had with my daughter I was so incredibly relieved and pleased to have it so easy with him.
My little guy had no trouble latching on, he was already latching on before I left the hospital. I nursed him through his jaundice and he continued to nurse until about 11 months when he decided he was done but by then he was eating solids. I felt like it was pure luck because my bestfriend's son just 4 months older had a month of latching problems.
It took about 6 weeks for our issues to clear up. Mostly it was a supply problem, but unlike other commenters, my girl was not 'content to starve' She was on me all the time even though (because?) she wasn't getting much. There was a lot of pain and a touch of mastitis as well. We also supplemented an ounce or two a day for 6 weeks.
Then suddenly one day, the sun came out, I had enough milk and it stopped hurting. She's 18mos now and still nurses at night. We haven't had any problems since.
Great topic! Breastfeeding was really much more difficult than I expected it to be with my first child. I didn't take a class, b/c I thought "natural" meant simple. I didn't even know how to un-latch my baby when I knew she wasn't on right. Boy did that hurt!
Thank goodness we had a doula present at our birth and so I had someone with experience to call. Someone who had already seen enough of me (during birth) that I wasn't as modest/embarrassed as I felt with the super-nice moms in LLL. Now the LLL moms are my friends, but back then... I was afraid of them. :-)
Totally worth the tough times, but it was difficult for about three + weeks during our learning curve. The second baby? No problems- very brief learning curve for baby. But I had the tricks and skills to guide her that I didn't have the first time.
That I was unable to breastfeed is, still, the greatest regret of my life. I wrote a little about it here - http://www.feelslikehomeblog.com/2009/01/graces-kitchen-starting-young-with-homemade-baby-food/
I didn't give her pumped milk because I was so heartbroken and emotional. It seemed like everything worked against us. I was overwhelmed and defeated. Crushed.
Grace wouldn't latch on. She just wouldn't. She absolutely refused. I'd try for an hour to ninety minutes to force her to latch on, and she would scream until her face was purple. She wouldn't do it. And then I'd start all over because I was supposed to make her eat every hour to ninety minutes.
In the 24 hours before Grace was diagnosed with failure to thrive, I pumped every other hour and got a total of 2 ounces all day. My breasts were not making milk. My nipples were chafed from all of the pumping, but they were never solid and full. I was never, ever engorged. I never felt a let down - not ever.
I gave birth on a Saturday and no lactation consultant was available in the hospital until TUESDAY. I had taken a breastfeeding class and I had lots of books, but I had no help and no support when my actual infant was born. Every nurse who came into the room told me something different, and none of them was helpful. By Tuesday, when I finally saw the lactation consultant, my baby was beginning to starve, and her doctor insisted I give her formula. In my confused, emotional, devastated condition, I gave her a bottle gave up on my dream of breastfeeding.
I voted easy. I was pretty cool and laid back about breastfeeding and I never really gave it much thought. My female role models all breastfed and the prenatal classes we attended were very supportive and informative. I received great support at the hospital and all the nurses we had were very helpful with suggestions on getting the best latch. I thought I would be very modest about having strangers see or even touch my breasts, but after going through child birth and having so many people checking out my nether regions I was pretty open to it.
I feel really lucky to have had such an easy time with it.
I had a really difficult time with my son when he was born - he wouldn't latch and I ended up using a nipple shield. Everything was great - but it took about 3 weeks.
Wow- I am so amazed to see that it took most people more than 2 weeks to work out their b/f ing problems! My ds would NOT breastfeed for SIX weeks...only bottles of pumped milk. Then finally at 6 weeks, he latched right on & I nursed him for the whole year. After 8 mos old, he wouldn't even take a bottle. So wierd! :)
I chose it was easy, however, I am now nursing baby #3. The first time I tried to nurse it was hard, I say it was about 3 weeks before I finally had mastered it. I had my aunt come over and help me often, she found me in tears, frustrated because I could not get my daughter to latch on. Breastfeeding was so important to me, and I refused to quit. I must admit I was glad I never quit because I did quit after 8 wks with my 2nd born and he had nothing but health issues, now my third born is 7 months old {almost} and I refuse to stop until he is 12 months old. He has two teeth, which is a first for me, nursing a baby with teeth, but it has been really easy and the teeth don't bother me as much as I thought they would.
It is great you are doing this, I was actually going to start vlogging about breastfeeding and upload to newbaby.com So if you are there add me http://www.newbaby.com/brandyellen I would love for you to watch my vloogs as soon as I get them recorded and uploaded. Planning on part 1, 2 and 3 maybe even more than that. We will see where it goes!
I voted for easy, but we had a problems after the 2 month vaccine, a couple of weeks, so it wasn't just milk and honey :)
Breastfeeding was such a difficult issue for us... I think I developed postpartum depression just because of b/f problems. The hardest part was my baby's rejection of the breast, right from the beginning. In total, he had 3 nursing strikes, the last one was the longest and lasted almost 9 months (I could breastfeed him only when he was sleepy or asleep).
Also, we've been through poor latch, as a consequence - injuries in my nipples (we had to open the blisters with a needle 4 times!), poor milk supply, re-lactation, mastitis.
Now my child is 17 months old, he really loves to nurse and we both enjoy it very much.
But that was hard, really hard....
My little one latched on very well the first time in the delivery room. Many would say I was lucky/fortunate, but I really think it was all in the preparation. Since he was my first child, and since ALL I seemed to hear about breastfeeding was horror stories of frustration, pain, cracked/bleeding nipples, etc., etc. - I was determined to prevent that same thing from happening to me. Shortly after I found out I was pregnant, I began reading books specifically about breastfeeding and childbirth/parenting books that covered breastfeeding. My husband and I took a couple of parenting preparation classes that covered the topic, as well. I knew exactly what to expect and I truly feel like I was successful because of my determination. I returned to work when my child was 7 weeks old (unfortunately, the FMLA laws only apply to companies of 50 or more employees and I could only take 6... my time off ran into the Christmas holiday week, so I got lucky and took an additional week). I pump 3x a day, nurse him before work, and nurse him for all his evening feedings. He's 4 mos old this week and we're still doing well.
I'm so glad you asked this. I was terrified of breastfeeding. I mean I was committed to doing it but was prepared for a horrendous start. It was a snap. Didn't hurt at all, lots of milk, etc. I know this doesn't happen for everyone but I feel like I didn't know it happened to ANYONE! I'd love to get the word out that it isn't always a trial.
With my first, I gave up after a few days because we were both so frustrated. In hindsight, I wish I would have sought help and worked through the problems.
With my 2nd (9weeks), I encountered the same problems but this time I was committed and a lot more confident in my ability. I sought help and support through my family and friends and worked through our problems within a few days. I continue to breastfeed exclusively, although I've been pumping during the night for storage.
We had some challenges at the beginning... it hurt and I wanted to cry every time she would go to latch on for over 4 weeks because of the pain. But I knew it was the best thing for her and so we endured and it did get better. Another challenge was the frequency of nursing - I did not have a large supply and so she nursed at least every 2 hours for 30 to 60 minutes at a time. I am very thankful that I was able to stay at home with her because it would have been really hard to keep up with pumping. Fast forward and we are still nursing at 12 1/2 months and planning on continuing as long as she needs. She has never been sick except for teething symptoms even when she has been around sick people. I also love the bond that it created between us... so much that it makes me super sad for a neighbor and her baby boy due in May that is planning on formula feeding because I know what she will be missing out on (but I guess it isn't the same for everyone).
There doesn't seem to be any option for voting separately for separate children.
I voted for 'Other', which was meant to be for my first child but also, I suppose, reflects the fact that I had very different experiences with my two children. The 'Other' was meant to mean that I don't feel we ever really did get the early problems fully sorted out, and that then overlapped with all the hassle of pumping at work. By five or six months down the line things were pretty much... well, adequate is the best word, I suppose. But I somehow never quite got to a stage where I felt absolutely happy with the way things were going. I think that had as much to do with my new parent perfectionism as anything else, after a while. But ticking a box that implied that the problems were eventually sorted out just didn't quite seem to go with the way I felt about the business.
As for my second child, she was in the 'easy from the start' category, if you want to add that to your data.
For us it was easy, I think.
I read NOTHING before Maya was born. I think I was affraid to jinx something. She was born at midwifes, no medicines, no doctors. I just put her to the breast about 20min after she was born. And she latched on by herself and drank :) (I had colostrum coming in from about 7mos pregnant). Later she had some sleepy days (5, 7h straight) and I couldn`t wake her up, so for 2 days, when she was 5 and 6 days old I gave her BM in bottle if I couldn`t wake her up. I just watched the clock for 3h mark, then tried all I could to wake her up (getting naked, going out, even getting her wet) and if nothink worked I would sneak a bottle in her mouth. She didn`t like it but since the milk was coming in she swallowed. After not even 2 days she started waking up every 2,5-3h and she does untill now LOL
I had also some oversupply issues, but I was still happy it`s too much not the opposite. I had one massage to get the overstaying milk out, followed the advice about what to eat and what to avoid, drank some decreasing supply tea and kept cabbage leaves in my fridge for a while. And we went through it rather smoothly, I think :)
I think mine went to spam because it had too many links! LOL!
I voted that I didn't have a rough start. I kind of did, but it was only because the nurse in the hospital kept freaking me out, threatening to supplement him, and threatening to take him from me. Apparently, he was doing perfectly (as per my doctor), but the nurse freaked me out. Once we left the stress of the hospital we were great.
@ Sarah V - You're right. I forgot to allow different experiences. I was thinking mostly of a first child, but I did open it up for those that wanted to record votes for more than one. It won't allow you to add a vote now, since you already submitted yours though, so I added your additional vote to the tally manually.
@ Maria - Yup, your links were right there among all the Viagra and Cialis spam. I found them and approved your comment.
MUCH harder time with my first. Second was a perfect latcher but a big spitter. I was also much more engorged for much longer despite avoiding pumping. Now it's clear skies and he's a 17-pound 15-week-old.
Just wanted to mention that while my daughter did pretty well at breastfeeding from the start it was still painful for me as she was feeding 12hrs a day at first. We had supply issues when I went back to work at 4 months and I struggled with extreme pumping discomfort. She started biting me at about 10 months and we worked through that. I stopped pumping at 12 months when we added cows milk and thankfully, I did not lose my supply.
My point is that when you get breastfeeding established you may not be done with the problems, but perseverance and the belief that the benefits to your child far outweigh temporary setbacks can help see you through.
I voted "more than two weeks." I felt prepared that it would hurt at first, but everyone said two weeks, so I was worried when it still hurt after that time. By two months though, all was good. Supply seems okay, I pump four times per weekday and nurse nights and weekends. Only problem now is she's still up every 1-2 hours to nurse at night. We co- sleep, so we're not up long, but it gets tiring. I'm glad it's working though.
Thanks so much for doing this survey. I cannot say I am surprised by the comments. I have been surveying my classes for several years now and the results are quite similar. Despite an ever increasing number of lactation "experts" and mother-to-mother support, breastfeeding continues to be difficult for many women.
Breastfeeding is natural, but that does not necessarily mean it is easy. It is assumed the baby will know what to do after it is born because breastfeeding is intended by nature to sustain the infant post delivery and nurture him/her well beyond into toddlerhood. Whether it is the type of delivery, the birth setting, health of mother and/or baby, prematurity, etc. there are many variables that can interfere with nature taking its course.
The allied health profession of lactation consulting grew out of an awareness that there is a learning curve that can impact breastfeeding success. During my 6 years working in NICU, it was evident that human milk led to better outcomes for the sick or premature babies. What got lost a bit in the translation for the mothers in that intensive care environment was emphasis on learning the art of breastfeeding.
Throughout more than two decades as a lactation consultant and nurse, I have seen a steady increase in this medicalization of breastfeeding extend beyond the NICU.
The tug of war seems to be between those who insist on the baby doing it naturally no matter what that looks or feels like, and the experts micro-managing the process by emphasizing the use of gadgets and measurements to assess whether breastfeeding is successful.
What is often lost in the flurry of maternal hormones and well meaning encouragement from family and friends is the awareness that a positive breastfeeding experience will not always happen on automatic pilot.
It is a skill that needs to be learned, preferably not through painful trial and error. Pain should not be part of the process. Optimizing breastfeeding, rather than pumping is the way to empower mothers around their bodies.
We need to teach mothers how to latch-on their babies well; an excellant latch should be reinforced and repeated so that their babies will learn to breastfeed properly. We need to be move away from being satisfied with just getting a connection to focusing on achieving a deep and pain-free latch. Sadly, many mothers lose faith in their bodies and ability to nurture their baby through breastfeeding when too much emphasis is placed on the external measurements to the exclusion of their comfort. (Bear in mind, that these are greatly skewed by the mixture of approaches that come under the umbrella of breastfeeding.)
I am seeing an alarming increase in both new and seasoned lactation consultants foregoing finetuning the latch. I am reminded of the lost art of safe vaginal breech deliveries. Young doctors don't learn how to do it and have been taught that it is unsafe. In a similar fashion, there are an increasing number of lactation consultants who cannot assess a baby without a scale or a pump in tow. Worse yet they aren't even touching the baby or mother during a consultation, except to weigh the baby to "see" if he/she got "enough".
I am tired of hearing "it looks good, but...."
We must shift our attention back to helping mothers achieve a quality connection which is pain-free and transfers ample milk to their babies. It is through consistency in the latch-on that feedings can become optimized and many problems can be avoided or resolved.
The mother is the thinking partner and her baby feeding well drives the breastfeeding system and milk supply.
I just wanted to throw my experience in here... I am one of the few mamas who answered that I ended up exclusively pumping. We tried for 5 very long months to get the latch to work with many, many appointments with various lactation experts. We tried every trick in the book, and none of them worked. I began pumping when my daughter was a week old, and I'm still doing it now... 21 months later. In hindsight, I still wish I had been able to make the nursing work, it makes me a little sad and I wonder if I didn't try hard enough. I was so adamant that I would breastfeed, it didn't even occur to me before she was born that I wouldn't be able to.
I answered 'Yes, but took more than two weeks' Used this as an excuse to write up our breastfeeding story, something I've been meaning to do for a while: http://kickypants.wordpress.com/2009/03/07/my-breastfeeding-journey/