Breastfeeding

no flames please

anyone regret breastfeeding? why?

i thought i would like it more, i did it half of the time with my first ( i had a low supply)which was perfect because i had such ease with the bottle as well but this LO loves the boob and i'm not sure i can or want to keep it up for too long.  what would the earliest you stop be? i stopped with#1 at about 6-7 months
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Re: no flames please

  • the earliest or latest has to do with personal comfort level and what fits your life.

    i don't have an earliest - but i do have a latest- I'd like to be done at 1 year.

    I pumped for dd#1 for 6 months and hated every single second of it. I hated pumping but I wanted her to have bm. I worked with an LC and there were just latch issues we could not resolve and I thought pumping would work for me. but it's a big commitment I treated myself to the more expensive RTF formula for the next 6 months- I earned it!

    ETA: I regret pumping. It took a huge amount of time. The baby was either in a bouncy screaming while i pumped, or someone else held her and gave her a bottle while i pumped and prepped/cleaned bottles. she was not particularly attached to me, and even today she is closer with dh, although i know she loves me too.

    dd#2 will be 6 months tomorrow and it's going well. she breastfeeds, so my weekends are super easy, and i am able to pump 3x a day at work. right now, this works for me.  she takes a bottle from daycare teachers, from my dad, once from dh, a cousin and even me the one time i offered it. so long as this kid is flexible, i'm willing to continue as long as she goes (up to a year) and pumping doesn't stress me out.

    she's a momma's girl, which i lacked last time - lol! but she's easy going with a lot of people too.

  • I do not regret breastfeeding;  but, I do look forward to being able to stop when I reach my personal end point, which is at 1 year.

    With my DD, I made mistakes early on and never got my supply established; I then compounded those mistakes by giving formula, and by 5 months she was 100% on formula.  With my DS, I was so totally determined not to repeat those mistakes - I have been successful so far, he is 6.5 months and exclusively BFing - and I do mean EXCLUSIVELY;  he has stopped taking a bottle now!  So now I am starting to worry about the opposite problem, how can I get him to take pumped milk once in a while so I can be away from him for more than a couple of hours?  And I am worried about weaning b/c I didn't really have to do anything with my DD, she stopped on her own since she wasn't getting enough, but I feel like DS is going to have a hard time with it.

    I don't really enjoy BFing - it is highly convenient, less expensive, and I am proud of being able to provide my baby with the benefits it offers, but I don't really love doing it like some women do.  I won't quit before a year unless forced to somehow, but that doesn't mean I don't look forward to getting to that goal.

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  • I was miserable BFing for the first month or so. It was so much work, took up so much time, and I wasn't getting anything back. Now I just love it. Now DD got to the point where she can look up at me with those big blue eyes--it's adorable! Every morning, she'll stop and smile at me then turtle snap/face plant back onto the boob, it makes me laugh every time.

    When I took my BFing class the LC said to give it at least 6 weeks. If you're still miserable, then at least you know you gave it a shot.

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  • GHBEAGHBEA member
    My goal has been for all three girls 1 year.  My first DD was 10ms she lost interest, second DD was 8m she got sick a lot and I was so stressed, and we will see with my third DD.
                                                 Mom to 4 wonderful daughters
                                 Breanna, Ellie and 
                                 our 2 rainbow babies.

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  • imagesaraboston:

    I was miserable BFing for the first month or so. It was so much work, took up so much time, and I wasn't getting anything back. Now I just love it. Now DD got to the point where she can look up at me with those big blue eyes--it's adorable! Every morning, she'll stop and smile at me then turtle snap/face plant back onto the boob, it makes me laugh every time.

    When I took my BFing class the LC said to give it at least 6 weeks. If you're still miserable, then at least you know you gave it a shot.

    This!! I absolutely love BFing. But there are pros and cons, I just feel that for me, there are more pros than cons. You do whatever makes you feel more comfortable.

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  • I defintely do not regret BF-ing and those first few weeks were the hardest weeks of my life. Now it's just easy and convenient.  I am a little worried about what happens when I return to work...even though it's PT and I won't miss many feedings. Sometimes I feel too tied to her, and a little trapped..I won't lie. Just trying to plan my birthday next month stresses me out. Can't go too far away for too long and I'd have to drag my pump to Atlantic City and pump in the car. So that part is kinda crappy. We are taking a family vacation in August so I am going to re-evaluate in mid-July if I Want to be BF-ing on vacation or not. 

    But then I remember the $ I am saving but not having to buy formula or buy & wash bottles,  and that helps. I definitely think everyone should give it a shot..It's not for every mom and every baby, but you don't know til you try! 

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  • No flames here.

    I wouldn't say I regret it at all- I can honestly say that I don't enjoy it that much- but i have a very difficult nurser. He is very active and very distractable- and he is a hitter and squirmer- and most times- it just isn't enjoyable at all. Some days (esp my rough days-) I wonder how i have lasted this long.

    After EPing with Gisele- i really wanted a special nursing experience. lol- maybe with #3

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  • imageMelanie2003:

    the earliest or latest has to do with personal comfort level and what fits your life.

    This.

    I don't regret it- but I love BF. I plan on just letting DS lose interest though if he isn't showing signs of self-weaning by this time next year, I'll start weaning him. 

  • In the very beginning, my goal was 6 months. I didn't like it one bit - it hurt, seemed so time consuming, I had no idea how much LO was eating...I thought I'd end up being and EPer. Then a little after 6 weeks, we got into our groove. Now, I love the convenience, the time it saves, knowing LO's getting the best milk available, and like PP said - he looks up at me with those big blue eyes, smiles with my nip half hanging out of his mouth, and says "Thanks Mommy, I love you" with that face. Melts my heart every time!

    New goal = 1 year. I'll try to wean then if he doesn't do it himself. Although, if the teeth really hurt I may quit sooner! I'm nervous about that!

    Negatives = I do feel tied to LO and am bad at pumping when he gets a bottle. I'm not too smooth when I NIP although I've done it a few times. I still don't like not knowing how much he's eating!! But positives far outweigh negatives!! 

  • I have definitely had my moments. It was SO hard at first and there were times I just wanted to quit. Nora was a little early and we had some latch issues, and it was really rough. Once we got past that, I still felt like I was doing nothing but nursing. By 6 weeks, it got easier, but it still wasn't *easy*. I was at least able to have a hand free and she had gotten much better about latching without too much guidance. By 3 months or so, it was easy. If I get her anywhere near the boob, she latches on perfectly, and I'm comfortable.

    Even so, I have had times where I just wanted to throw in the towel. It usually happens during a growth spurt or an especially needy time (like when she decided she only wanted to nap on the boob). I feel like my body is not really my own anymore sometimes, and it's frustrating to be a human pacifier. That said, there are so many things I love about BF. The boob is almost a universal cure-all for fussiness, so I'm glad I have that tool in my arsenal. I love the benefits she gets from BM and the closeness we have because of that relationship. But thank goodness she also take a bottle, or I'd pull my hair out!

      norathe girlsamelia
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  • I don't regret breastfeeding, but I've already thought about stopping. I even told our pedi I wanted to switch to formula full time, that was two weeks ago and she's still on the boob. She does get some formula sometimes, but over half her meals are bm. We are at the point now where she latches pretty easily and it doesn't hurt lol and I agree when she looks at me with her big pretty eyes I could sit there and bf for days, its soo sweet. My personal goal is 6 months, and thats because with my personality I know I will never be comfy nip. and would rather cuddle with her than pump.
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  • thank you ladies, you make me feel better about my situation. i will definitely keep it up for the time being. i want to give it at least another month or so before making my decision. it doesn't hurt the way it used to and she latches really well. Luckily i can stay home for now. we'll see how the next little bit goes
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