Breastfeeding

I breastfed Andrew for 13 months. While I was pregnant with him, I read many, many books, webposts, articles on the subject. Some said that breastfeeding was the most natural, easy thing in the world, some said that while it is natural, it can be difficult. I was hoping to be able to breastfeed him, but in the back of my mind I was telling myself that it may be difficult. I was not expecting it to be as difficult as it was. Drew had jaundice. He went 36 hours (gasp!) without eating. At the time, I was a bit concerned, but had a nurse tell me it was normal, that it was just his "big sleep" after birth. I now know, that 36 hours without food is not healthy for a newborn. At the 37th hour of his life, a new nurse started on shift (thank goodness for her) and she induced a panic like no other on us. She told us that Drew had to eat, and had to eat now. I told her I really wanted to breastfeed, had been trying since he was born, and he just wouldn't latch on. She introduced us to the finger-feeding method. http://pediatrics.about.com/library/breastfeeding/blbreastfeedingi.htm
We finger-fed him formula every two hours, after which, I pumped. Once my milk came in, we started with breast-milk and then topped him up with formula. It took about a week (we were in the hospital for the entire time, he was being treated with light-therapy for jaundice) but he finally caught on. During that time, I had some wonderful support from some nurses. I also had some not so wonderful support for some nurses. I can remember one nurse pushing Drew onto my breast, him screaming, me crying, and her yelling at me that breast-feeding wasn't the only way to feed, and I should just give up. Lovely. Now, I should say that I'm not anti-formula. I totally understand that in some situations, breast-feeding is not possible, or mommy just doesn't want to/can't. To each her own. In my case, I really wanted to be able to do it, not only for the health benefits for Drew, but for the benefits to my families cash-flow....formula is expensive!
I had a similar, but different experience with Hunter. I had gestational diabetes with Hunter. Right after he was born, he had to have his sugar levels tested. In order for that to happen, he had to eat. I tried to breast-feed him, but he would not latch on. The nurse in the room immediately shoved a bottle in his mouth. I had asked her if I could finger-feed him the formula (remembering my experience with Drew) but she would not let me, said we had no time. Hunter was born at 6:30 at night, and that whole night I had to bottle feed him every 2 hours. Was told that finger feeding wasn't an option. I thought my window for breast-feeding was over.....in walked another nurse, who I swear made it possible for me to breast-feed. I asked her about finger feeding and she jumped on it, got me all the materials needed, and we said goodbye to bottles! Hunter also had jaundice, so we were in the hospital for a week with him too. It took a little longer for him to catch on to breast-feeding. It was very painful, I cried alot, had a case or two of thrush, pumped and finger fed for about 3 weeks before he caught on. I'm not gonna lie, it was hell. I probably should have quit, if not only for my sanity. I didn't though, mostly because of my hubby. He's now 6 months old and still feeding well.
If I were to recommend some items to help with the breastfeeding I would say, invest in a good pump. We use the Medela pump in style. Also, get a good "cover". We have the wonderful "hooter-hider". It reduces the wierdo looks/comments I recieve from strangers, and also reduces the amount of times I have to "whip it out" in public!