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Breastfeeding
cara117
member
Reasons for quitting
cara117
member
For those of you with goals to make it to 3, 6, or 9 months, what is your reason for quitting at that time? Easier to leave LO? A pain to pump at work? I am almost at 4 months, and would like to get to a year but sometimes I think it would be nice to switch to formula earlier than that, or supplement, but my reasons feel selfish to me. Like it would be nice to be able to spend a day away from DS and not have to worry about pumping, or pump at work, or have a beer or two or sometimes 3 after work this summer and not feel guilty. For some reason though I feel those are not good enough reasons. Kind of an odd question but I'm just curious what anyone else thinks.
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Re: Reasons for quitting
I have fell like that 1,000 times. But I always took the advise of never making the decision to quit on a bad day. With that being said, I have never supplemented and I even have donated over 500+oz of BM and my DD will be 1 in 2 weeks which is when I will finally stop pumping at work and I will nurse her just morning and night and see where that take us...
I work FT without an office and no pumping room, I pump in the conference room every day. AF came back when DD was 6.5m and every time since then when I get my period my supply goes down for a week. I had mastitis when she was 5m. I also had thrush. I went tru 2 nursing strikes that lasted a week. I took a one week vacation and BFed in amusement parks....lol...worried about breastfeeding in public with a baby that would not stay still...but I made it. And a week ago I took a road trip with DH (he asked to go with him) for 2 days and I spent pumping all day in the car with a cooler and bags of ice....and so many other things(the friends and family comments, the looks at work, etc)...I have thought of quitting 1,000 times, but I haven't and that makes me very proud....all worthy when I see her cuddling against me and rolling her eyes of pleasure when she is nursing....all worthy when I know I'm giving her the best....
So you are not alone...just hang in there!!! It won't last forever...You can do it!!!
Edited: grammar
Holy cow dianadvargas, you are one amazing mom!
Lately I have been thinking about stopping. But we are so close.... It's the pumping that brings me down. So much extra effort. I can't wait to take a real lunch break at work.
LOL....thank you! we are all good mommies!!!
Just like you I can't wait to take a real lunch break or to be able to go have lunch with my co-workers... I'm missing on all the gossip....lol...I can't wait to ditch the pump bag....
Just so you know, you can have a beer. Just drink it right after you nurse (really the best time is while you nurse but that might look a litte iffy) and wait till you don't feel the effects anymore before you nurse again.
Cause we all need a little treat now and then!
Also, eventually you won't have to pump as often, especially if you build a stash. I am cutting back to 2 sessions this week (but my guy is still nursing at night).
Plus, we really really can't afford formula and don't qualify for WIC (which I am grateful for) so that keeps me going. But I feel that after 6 months if you decide that you don't want to go anymore I think that you shouldn't feel guilty about your choice. Whatever you choose, don't do it because other people are guilting you into it. It should be because it is the best thing for you and your baby. Hopefully that will mean continuing to BF!
I wanted to make it to 6 months and now that I have I just feel like I should keep going because it seems so easy now (except the pumping). And now leaving him with DC or friends during the day isn't so bad because I can leave them with solids and finger foods to make up for the amount I don't pump.
I completely and totally agree with this!
I don't think you are selfish! I think to be a good mom you need a break every now & then, you need "me" time! If that means spending a day alone, or having a beer then there is NOTHING wrong with that! My DD was EFF because she came 7wks early & my milk never came in with her...she is PERFECT! She is so smart & healthy. Not to mention if your pumping schedule is stressing you out that is not good either! Not going to lie, my main reason for BF is selfish- I am over weight, I would like to lose 30lbs & I have heard that BFing makes the weight melt off! (Which I have yet to experience!! lol). But everyone is different, so don't let anyone guilt you into making a decision about YOUR life, YOUR schedule, YOUR family & YOUR child!
On that note, I have been debating quitting. My original goal was until 6mo then see how it went from there, but I feel like I am too stressed out! Between the issues we have had keeping him latched, to thinking he is always hungry, & also feeling guilty about spending time away from him. I just feel like I am doing everything wrong & all the blame is on me since I am a stay at home mom, & I am the primary one to feed him..Idk, just stressed!
I don't think you are selfish, I wouldn't judge a mom for a choice like this because it is very personal. I will say this though, with my first DD BFing didn't work - FF wasn't any easier. To me, BFing is way easier which is why I am continuing with DD2 since I have now seen both sides even though it is hard at times.
The first year flies by. In the moment it may seem like an endless stream of tedious things and you are just looking for relief anywhere, but really, it won't be like this for long. Nursing (or bottle feeding) and holding that little baby is something you should try to cherish as hard as it sounds because soon they will be running around and not interested in too many cuddles.
I agree with this. You can have beer though. I am not a beer person, but I still enjoy a glass of wine on a regular basis. And even if I did have to give up all wine for a year or so, I would not to have to wash more dishes. LOL!
Oh yes, I do indulge in my wine a couple times a week! Happy hour is difficult though because DS usually is ready to eat when I would normally get him home and I'd rather just BF him than go to HH and have to pump later. I hate pumping!
I would love to nurse to 1 yr (and beyond), but pumping is really wearing me down. It's a huge time commitment and there's so much pressure to produce enough. We will also be traveling a bit this summer and the logistics of pumping while traveling are really stressing me out.
At this point, we'll definitely make it to 6 months EBF, but at that point I'm going to re-evaluate and possibly drop a pumping session during the day. I haven't decided yet. I'm not ready to give up nursing DD, so I'm afraid of what it might do to my supply.
I bf for one year with my first 2 DC. DD #1 almost never got formula and I pumped. (Working full time) With DS, I pumped for like a week, and he got formula while I was at work, then nursed 3x/day. Now, with DD#2, she has been EBF for 6 weeks and we are going to introduce a bottle soon. I'm not sure if I will supplement or pump - it's hard to pump with 3 kids!
As others said, you CAN have a beer! Have 2 or 3!! Just don't bf right away while you are still feeling effects. You can also leave baby, supplement, pump and leave a bottle, etc. The first couple of months are the hardest with any newborn, because they eat all of the time, and it's hard to leave them! (As another poster said, it can be hard regardless of whether you bf or ff!!! It's the newborn thing!)
Yes, your reasons may seem a little selfish to you - but we've all been there! I've had those exact same feelings! I feel one formula bottle here and there is not going to "ruin" baby.
Good luck
My goal was 6 months and we are almost there!
I wanted to go at least this long because it is the minimum recommended period, for a number of reasons. The highest anitbody levels are before six months, then they begin to drop off. Also after six months BM is no longer considered a sole source food, the baby needs to start receiving extra of certain nutrients elsewhere, particularly iron.
That's not to say I'm just going to turn off the faucet in a week and a half. My plan was to fight to get to six months, but if anything happened after that I wasn't going to kill myself trying to keep going. So if the baby starts rejecting nursing or I start losing my supply or whatever else, I'm just going to let nature take its course and be satisfied that I got as far as I did. I'm also planning to drop one of my three work pumping sessions and start giving him either frozen milk or a bottle of formula in its place. Just to give me a *little* bit of a life back. Having time for a lunch break again will be nice.
You are not selfish. I don't know a mom out there who is. You need to be happy and healthy for your baby to be happy and healthy PERIOD.
I'd also like to point out that there are pros and cons to everything, including breastfeeding vs. formula feeding. Sometimes FF is easier and sometimes BF is easier. Do what you want. Don't worry about anyone else.
I'm seriously conflicted about quitting. Right now my goal is to make it to 9 months. I'll probably reevaluate then.
I have 9 months in mind because I hope to get pregnant again next fall/after my son turns a year old and would really like to have a few months of having my body back to myself before having another child.
This is my thought too. In those early days, I thought I could never make it to three months, and now I'm here, so I feel like we can get to a year and then start working on weaning.
April 2011: Metformin 1500mg + Clomid 100mg + Ovidrel + Prometrium = BFP!
Beta #1 at 14DPO: 197 Beta #2 at 18DPO: 1296
At 40w6d, our Team Green surprise came by unplanned C-section and changed our lives forever!
I have felt those exact same things and I am only 3 months in. I won't stop for a variety of reasons, but I do get tempted from time to time.
Just the other day I was talking about how awesome it will be to go out for a day and not worry about nursing/pumping/storing milk for a change.
My goal was 6 months as I think they get the most benefit from it by then. I just found this article that breaks down the benefits by months:
https://www.breastfeedingbasics.com/articles/breastfeeding-benefits-how-they-add-up
Also, I agree that you can still have drinks fairly often if you would like. An occasional beer might even boost your supply. Even my "What to Expect the First Year" says a drink is fine but avoid feeding LO for about an hour afterwards. Or, you can give them a bottle. No need to pump & dump since alcohol metabolizes in breast milk the same as it does in your blood. If you're worried you can buy the breast milk test strips from Target:)
My original goal was 6 months, although I hope to make it to a year. If I don't make it to 1 year, my reason will be because pumping at work is burdensome. But I'm sure I will make it to 1 year, just because I will feel guilty otherwise. I KNOW there's no reason to feel guilty about feeding your child formula, but I would feel selfish doing so if I'm perfectly capable of BFing for one year.
MMC 3.30.16
I like this thread- it's interesting to hear everyone's plans/reasons.
I'm only two months in, and my goal is to give him BM until he's a year. However, I'm trying to build up my freezer stash because I like to think that maybe I can quit before a year and still give him BM from my stockpile.
My reasons for wanting to quit-- I hate worrying that he's not getting enough and not knowing how much he actually ate, I'm still in pain/discomfort off and on (thanks mostly to vasospasm), I wish DH could do night duty so I could sleep for 6-8 solid hours.
I actually don't mind pumping, but LO doesn't really follow any eating schedule and napping is unpredictable (and often on my lap or it only last 30 minutes), so I don't have enough time to pump as much as I'd like.