Repost from age board...bfeeding/formula feeding...meds??

Ardmhs83 · October 2012

Let me start by saying...I DON'T WANT TO OFFEND ANYBODY! I ALSO DO NOT WANT TO START A BREASTFEEDING/FORMULA DEBATE. Every momma does her own thing...whatever is best for momma and baby. I get it.

With that being said I am a HUGE advocate for breastfeeding. Even attend our local LLL meetings and all. I breastfed my son for 9 months and only quit then when I was put on 3 different meds for PPD/PPA. It was REALLY bad!! Thoughts of suicide bad. Welll, I am still on my meds and don't plan to get preggo for another 2 years...my son is 2 now. I am being overwhelmed with baby fever right now...everyone around me is either pregnant or having a baby.

Anyway, all 3 of my meds are considered class 3. First off...I'm fearful of possibly being pregnant on meds, but secondly I'm fearful of not being able to breastfeed my second baby. IT WOULD TOTALLY CRUSH ME and I, presonally, would feel like I failed my son/daughter, especially since I nursed my 1st for so long. I also think my mental health would be worse off if I didn't nurse. It is sooooooo important to me.

I know 2 years is a long time and a lot could happen. I'm pretty much weaned off one of my meds, but my other two I haven't even tried to wean and my shrink and therapist said not to right now. Donar milk is out of the question..can't afford it and plus I SO BADLY WANT to nurse my child myself. I guess my question is...has anybody gone through this?????

Has anyone had to give up and turn to formula instead?? How did you get over the guilt?? Trust me...I know LOTS about breastfeeding...and all I ever read is the stuff that could happen if you don't breastfeed, like more likely to die from SIDS, etc...it really gears my anxiety up! I mean I know it isn't poison or anything...I was formula fed and I'm just fine...college degree, high school teacher...I'm good. However, just not what I personally want for my baby. How do I get over this?? Somebody help me out?

If I am only on one med at the time...I will nurse, but I'm just not comfortable nursing on 3 different meds, but I'm not comfortable with formula feeding either...this blows!

Sorry for the long rant....

FirstSchatz · October 2012

I'm not on any medications (yet... I know I will be, though, once I see my doctor...), and I'm not breastfeeding, so I don't have any advice for you in that department. Your doctor should know what anti-depressants you can take while breastfeeding...

I do want to share my not-breastfeeding-guilt story, though.

When my son was born, I really, really, REALLY wanted to breastfeed. It was part of my perfect image of doing everything right for baby; breastfeeding baby, cloth diapering, homemade food... In the hospital, though, we ran into trouble. Logan was very slightly jaundice, but they wanted to keep us for a day or two just to be safe. Since he was so sleepy from that, he didn't really want to feed. When he did, I was having trouble getting him to latch on one side (it's a whole lot bigger than the other!), and I was getting such conflicting information from the nurses. I hoped that it would get easier when we got home... it was, for a couple days, and then... Logan started protesting the breast. I struggled and struggled to get him to take it. Most of the time he would, but sometimes not. At our first PP appointment, he'd lost too much weight, so the doc wanted him on some formula supplements. That right there was a huge mistake, I feel... right away, he wanted the bottle more than the breast. More and more he would refuse the breast, until finally, he wouldn't take it at all. He wouldn't even take breastmilk.

I felt so guilty and upset and frustrated that I wasn't breastfeeding. I still do sometimes. But, he's growing and thriving, and happy. I have to remind myself that his well-being all around is what is best for him, and if taking formula in a bottle over milk from my breast is working for him, I have to be thankful he's doing well!

I will definitely be armed with better info and support next time around, so maybe my breastfeeding dream can come true! I hope yours does, too, when you're ready for babe #2!

Ardmhs83 · October 2012

FirstSchatz:

I'm not on any medications (yet... I know I will be, though, once I see my doctor...), and I'm not breastfeeding, so I don't have any advice for you in that department. Your doctor should know what anti-depressants you can take while breastfeeding...

I do want to share my not-breastfeeding-guilt story, though.

When my son was born, I really, really, REALLY wanted to breastfeed. It was part of my perfect image of doing everything right for baby; breastfeeding baby, cloth diapering, homemade food... In the hospital, though, we ran into trouble. Logan was very slightly jaundice, but they wanted to keep us for a day or two just to be safe. Since he was so sleepy from that, he didn't really want to feed. When he did, I was having trouble getting him to latch on one side (it's a whole lot bigger than the other!), and I was getting such conflicting information from the nurses. I hoped that it would get easier when we got home... it was, for a couple days, and then... Logan started protesting the breast. I struggled and struggled to get him to take it. Most of the time he would, but sometimes not. At our first PP appointment, he'd lost too much weight, so the doc wanted him on some formula supplements. That right there was a huge mistake, I feel... right away, he wanted the bottle more than the breast. More and more he would refuse the breast, until finally, he wouldn't take it at all. He wouldn't even take breastmilk.

I felt so guilty and upset and frustrated that I wasn't breastfeeding. I still do sometimes. But, he's growing and thriving, and happy. I have to remind myself that his well-being all around is what is best for him, and if taking formula in a bottle over milk from my breast is working for him, I have to be thankful he's doing well!

I will definitely be armed with better info and support next time around, so maybe my breastfeeding dream can come true! I hope yours does, too, when you're ready for babe #2!

Thank you for sharing your story and I am sorry you were not able to nurse. I hope that you will one day be able to. Glad to hear your little man is doing well, thriving and happy. :-)

I also hope you get the help you need, if they do decide to put you on meds...they really do help. I am just to the point to where I WANT to be off of them, but my drs are saying, "not yet."

Thanks for sharing your formula story and I know deep in my heart if they have to play pharmacy on me after the birth of #2 and can't put me on bfeeding safe drugs, I won't have much of a choice and will have to formula feed as well. The guilt will be hard to get over, but I am sure I will be fine eventually. I guess I will just kinda feel like I am letting that child down b/c I EBF my son for 9 months. You know what I mean?

Anyway...lets just hope and pray we are both able to BF babe #2! :-)

IBackBevo · October 2012

I don't have any advice, but I am facing something similar. I am exclusively pumping and barely getting anything. LO was IUGR (intrauterine growth restriction) because I had IUGR and so was born at only 5 lbs. He had a short stay in the NICU and they had to start him on preemie formula for low blood sugar and weight gain. I didn't even see him for the first 14 hours of his life because I had a c-section and they took him off to the NICU right after birth and I was bed-bound due to the epidural. Then, my milk didn't come in for 6 days and he didn't have the strength to latch...so I was pumping. LO is now 6 weeks old and I've been constantly pumping and trying to get my supply up but I'm down to only getting about 8 ounces a day. Obviously, he has had to be supplemented. I've done everything to increase my milk supply...tried fenugreek but it just gave him gas.

Here is the thing - Honestly, for the amount of time I have to spend just to get 2 bottles and the stress it puts me on, it isn't worth it. On top of that, I also have the medication thing. I need to be on ADHD meds (which are stimulants so a huge no with breastfeedin)...and especially when I go back to work in a couple of weeks...But yet I feel so guilty when I think about stopping. I already feel so guilty because I can't breast feed and have supply issues, but I can at least rationalize that there isn't anything I can do about those issues...but when I think about stopping, I feel even worse because I feel like that is a choice and almost like I'm choosing not to do what is best for my baby. In some ways, I almost feel like society has overdone this breastfeeding thing and made us Mothers feel bad about ourselves if we can't or don't breastfeed.

So no great advice here. THe only thing I could think of would be to as your doctor if there is a similar medications to the ones you are on that would not be as dangerous for pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Ardmhs83 · October 2012

IBackBevo:

I don't have any advice, but I am facing something similar. I am exclusively pumping and barely getting anything. LO was IUGR (intrauterine growth restriction) because I had IUGR and so was born at only 5 lbs. He had a short stay in the NICU and they had to start him on preemie formula for low blood sugar and weight gain. I didn't even see him for the first 14 hours of his life because I had a c-section and they took him off to the NICU right after birth and I was bed-bound due to the epidural. Then, my milk didn't come in for 6 days and he didn't have the strength to latch...so I was pumping. LO is now 6 weeks old and I've been constantly pumping and trying to get my supply up but I'm down to only getting about 8 ounces a day. Obviously, he has had to be supplemented. I've done everything to increase my milk supply...tried fenugreek but it just gave him gas.

Here is the thing - Honestly, for the amount of time I have to spend just to get 2 bottles and the stress it puts me on, it isn't worth it. On top of that, I also have the medication thing. I need to be on ADHD meds (which are stimulants so a huge no with breastfeedin)...and especially when I go back to work in a couple of weeks...But yet I feel so guilty when I think about stopping. I already feel so guilty because I can't breast feed and have supply issues, but I can at least rationalize that there isn't anything I can do about those issues...but when I think about stopping, I feel even worse because I feel like that is a choice and almost like I'm choosing not to do what is best for my baby. In some ways, I almost feel like society has overdone this breastfeeding thing and made us Mothers feel bad about ourselves if we can't or don't breastfeed.

So no great advice here. THe only thing I could think of would be to as your doctor if there is a similar medications to the ones you are on that would not be as dangerous for pregnancy and breastfeeding.

First off...I am so sorry you had the experience that you did It def. didn't make breastfeeding easy on you by any means. I also had a c-section with my DS, but it was planned b/c he was breech. He did have to recieve some formula in the hospital b/c he became dehydrated b/c he wasn't latching right (tongue-tie that I was unaware of at the time). So I allowed formula...I had to...your baby can't be dehydrated. His breathing rate was really high and he was shaking. It was pretty scary...so formula was my only option. I did pump and was able to get my milk in and ebf him for 9 months, then I had to switch to formula b/c I was uncomfortable putting meds into his body when I went onto my PPD/PPA meds.

I will feel like I am letting baby #2 down if I can't nurse him/her. I am going to try my damndest to get off these meds so that I can be pregnant and nurse w/o them, but if I end up needing them...I gotta do what I gotta do.

Like you said, I know lots of people puts tons of breastfeeding stuff out there and I know it is out there b/c it is what is best for both baby and mom. I even consider myself a huge advocate...attending LLL meetings and all, but their is a point to where you never know a moms certain situation and why they choose what they choose. I guess I even feel bad by saying this, but with all the stuff out there I even worry I will be judged if I have to get my formula out of my bag to feed my baby. Like moms will be looking at me and judging away...not knowing my medical situation. It is already going to be hard enough b/c I know I will be hard on myself b/c I know breast is best and I was able to give it to my son. Ahhhh....nothing is easy.

*If I can't get off my meds...I will most DEF ask my doctor if their are safer ones to be preggo/nurse on. Just going to try not to worry about it until the time comes.

Thanks for sharing your story and giving advice back.

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Repost from age board...bfeeding/formula feeding...meds??

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