Breastfeeding
Guilt in advance...
Hey everyone my original plan is to EBF up to six months well I am 16 weeks in and doing just great more then half way there. I am thinking about going longer and supplementing every now and then till she is 1. Im already feeling mass amounts if guilt for thinking this and its still months away!! I dont know why as Im gonna most likley keep going longer then intended. Why do we get guilt when so many mommies start with formula and never BF? Anyone else feeling guilty about possibly stopping or supplementing??
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Re: Guilt in advance...
Easy way to not feel guilt? Don't do what makes you feel guilty.
I'm a huge BFing nut though, so don't look at me. I understand that you have to balance what's best for you, which sometimes might include formula, with what we know is best for the baby, which is breastfeeding.
You might hit your 6 month mark, go "WOW, this isn't so bad! I think I can keep going!" and just keep pushing through and pushing through and all the sudden you're at 12 months and you've kept it up the whole time.
Regardless, any amount of BM is better than none at all, so congrats on making it this far!
I don't think you need to make this decision until you get closer to your goal. BFing needs change so much with time - I'm busy worrying about what to do at a year, but really, my baby will be so different by then. I need to chill out and just let things happen and take one day at a time.
You have to make your own decisions and balance your needs against your baby's needs. I haven't found breastfeeding to be a burden, so it's never really crossed my mind to quit or supplement. To me, it's working so I won't mess with it.
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Seriously i could have written this post! Ugh...I just started supplementing this past week. I felt so guilty! Which i dont understand because i only planned on BFing for 6 months like you. But now since im enjoying it so much i would love to go to a year. Its just been so difficult and stressful! I have EBF since DS was born, so the thought of adding something else just made my stomach turn 
And its not like im against formula bc i had to switch to formula with DD at 4 months...Its just weird. But i do feel better now that i started supplementing. Its just getting over that hump to do it. It takes the added stress off keeping up with my supply as well!! Its so much nicer! My husband enjoys it too bc im not pumping every spare second i have!! LOL. and i get to sleep longer at night bc DH can take over a whole feeding! double bonus!
But yes, there is definitely guilt, but its DEFINITELY getting better! I feel almost like a normal person instead of a crazed BFing mommy! GL!
I think the reason women feel guilt is because it is pounded in our heads the breastmilk is best. I would agree with that for the beginning but as your LO starts to eat solids, develops more to where she's interested in other things around her, you start to realize that breastfeeding isn't as important as just making sure they get ounces of something!
The breastfeeding hormones make you nuts and I think you feel a lot of unnecessary guilt, anxiety, worry etc because of it. So, I tend to not overthink these things.
I'm just starting to wean off my 9 month old. I was so sad and confused leading up to the decision but now that I've made the decision I'm like "whew! I'm ready to be done".