Feeling guilty - moved baby from breastmilk to formula

journeygirl3 · December 2015

I had a VERY hard time with breastfeeding...I got mastitis and was on antibiotics (had to go to the ER), thrush (was on antibiotics too), clogged ducts, and overall just achy boobs. I stopped giving her the boob around 4/5 weeks, and just stopped pumping this week. She is 8 weeks this Saturday. I know it's better me feeling well, but I feel guilty she's no longer going to get breastmilk at all. Anyone else going through this?

chein1 · December 2015

I've been formula from the start for no reason other than I'm selfish. Reading all these breastfeeding threads I admire every single one of you. She was breastfed for a month and that's more than either of my children had. Your health and sanity is important too. Don't feel guilty. You did great!

stefanirn06 · December 2015

Same here! Bad latch from the start, lazy eater and wasn't transferring milk from my breast. I only lasted 2 weeks breastfeeding though and am starting to wean from the pump at 6 weeks. I was on the brink of post partum depression. Crying every day and wishing I had never had her. That's when I knew I had to stop breastfeeding. Everyone is happier now that she is getting mostly formula. We have a decent amount of BM in the freezer so she can get 6-8 oz a day for a couple months probably. A full feeding of BM makes her spit up for hours so we have to mix it in her formula. It was definitely waaay harder than I expected, and I'm a labor and delivery nurse!!

beanie1977 · December 2015

I was terribly depressed and crying constantly because of my low supply. I finally came to grips with it and have been mostly formula feeding. I have been BFing for comfort, but he fusses a lot at my boob. Not enough milk or it's not fast enough. Not sure but the more often we BF the worse he gets- arching his back, turning his head, crying. Now I'm just nursing him to sleep at night and once in the morning. This is in addition to formula because he really just gets a few ml from me. He's better with that and will fall asleep. I'm going to let whatever supply I have dry up on its own.

KLHauck12 · December 2015

Be proud of what you did! And take comfort knowing that formula is not a bad thing! I only lasted 1 week nursing and I had always planned to be one of those people who did it for a full year. I had good supply but my LO had low blood sugar and we had to do a bottle feeding of pumped milk at every feeding to endure she was getting a certain amount. The stress of trying to get her to nurse then the time spent giving her a bottle and then pumping was too much for me! It was causing my baby blues to creep towards post partum depression and I was struggling to feel bonded to my baby because it was all just too much. Once I made the decision to switch to formula I have felt much better. Although I have had moments now that I'm further past that first stage where I feel a little sad that I didn't have that experience to bond with her. But I remind myself that I'm still very bonded with her and my decision helped me to feel better and make the transition to feeling like a mentally healthy mommy! And bottle feeding has allowed my husband to be very involved and develop his own great bond with her that I love watching!

mandala1107 · December 2015

Don't feel guilty! You are feeding your baby and that is all that matters! Even if you had never BF, all that matters is that baby has a full tummy and mommy is happy. Both feeding styles have their pros and cons but in the end, the outcome is the same-a happy, full baby.

Littlehummingbird · December 2015

Breastfeeding is hard! It's important that your baby has a happy mama and it sounds like breastfeeding was more pain and stress than it was worth. This is nothing to feel bad about!

koriemo · December 2015

I go back to work in 4 weeks, and I plan to make the switch then. It's such a hard decision to make, but we haven't gotten good at BF and I can't imagine that on top of the added stress of working. I have to do weight checks, nursig takes 45 minutes each time... So hard. Any advice for getting over the guilt?

meganariel08 · December 2015

I had an extremely hard time BF! I had low supply, I was pretty much starving my DD. one week old we had to start supplementing. So I BF for an hour, gave her a bottle after that 45 minutes, then Pumped 30 minutes ( never got more than 1 oz from both breasts in 24 hours).. It was literally our entire day! We were both miserable and cried. So I came to terms with it at 2.5 weeks that she and I were happier bottle feeding only. However, my baby is 7 weeks and I still feel guilty. She is colic and I feel if I could have produced more milk she wouldn't be in so much pain. The hardest thing for me that makes me feel guilty is when people ask you if you are nursing her. Because then I just feel like I really let her down.

but she is gaining weight now and wasn't when I was EBF! You just have to do what is best for you and your baby!

rflores1215 · December 2015

I have started work this week and feel the same way because I was pumping 4 times a day while at home. Now I only can pump 1 or 2 times a day which is not enough for my LO. So I was going to quit all together and just formula feed but after talking to my Breastfeeding support group on FB I have decided to just pump at least once a day and try to give him some breast milk while primarily formula feeding him. I felt so guilty about this but my group helped me realize that im bit the only one going through this and I did last 8 weeks.

ameares721 · December 2015

Never feel guilty about what works for you and your family's sanity! The important thing is that baby is being fed

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