Feeding Options

CRich15 · January 2016

So I know it early but I suppose it's never too early to start thinking about how we are going to nourish our new bundles of love. I bottle fed my first two by choice. I'm not against breastfeeding and my milk did come in but I can't wrap my head around it psychologically. I know it sounds dumb and weird and no flames please. I'm 100% good with someone whipping a boob out and feeding their kid in front of me be I can't picture me doing it and the thought makes me feel odd. DH really a wants me to try this time and I'm warming up to it and feeling more confident about it. Anyone else who may be having these thoughts or feelings?

irishblessings916 · January 2016

I nursed DS until a few weeks after he turned 1. Then only nursed at bedtime for another few weeks. But I also had to incorporate formula into his feedings bc he was just a hungry baby.

I'm hoping to EBF this time around. But we'll see. DS had a difficulty with latching. I'm really hoping that's not the case this time since I had to use a shield for the first few week or 2. Then I ditched it bc it was annoying lol.

PSUBecky23 · January 2016

I did both. It was the best of both worlds. Weaned around 14m.

Edit to add - started just BF. Added formula because pumping was the worst.

RedMar · January 2016

For DS, I was able to do it exclusively for 5 mos and then I had to go back to work. My supply decreased immensely, so we needed to incorporate formula. I eventually stopped all together around 7m. As you know, formula is crazy expensive, so that took a toll on us for sure!

This time around, I plan to nurse LO for at least 12m bc I am going to take more time off from work. My husband is actually weirded out by this and thinks that's way too long to BF. He was also exclusively FF, so that could be where it stems from.
I'd recommend reading about it to make yourself feel more at ease. There are plenty of used books out there on amazon (The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, etc). I would read up on it and familiarize yourself beforehand. It's such an empowering thing to be the one to produce the food for your babe. I think that you'll fall in love with the bonding and convenience part of it! Good luck!

LeslieCHNC · January 2016

From my own experience its different with every child and you just need to do whats right for you and your family!
I've had three completely different experiences with of my children. NO matter how you feed your child it doesn't make you any less of a mother! Best advice my sister ever gave me, lol.
It never hurts to ask question and talk to a lactation consultant...they are amazingly supportive and have so many great tips and tricks. Breastfeeding is a learning processes for both mom and baby. You can even try and go to a local la leche meeting before baby comes and see what advice they have to offer, they can be a wonderful support too!

618mom22boys · January 2016

With DS1 I didn't BF. I was 18 and the thought of someone on my boobs freaked me out and made me sick.

Fast forward to DS2 and DS3 I was 26 and 28 and didn't give it a 2nd thought. I BF from the start. I also had low supply so they were both formula feed as well. I plan to do the same with this baby but hopefully strictly BFing.

backoffunicorn · January 2016

I breastfed my daughter till she was about 15mos. I will tell you it's one of the hardest things mentally I've ever done. From my pediatrician telling me she wasn't gaining enough (which I had to pump after every feeding at the beginning and get an LC) to not pumping enough at times. With that said, I will still breastfeed this LO as well.

One of my friends sounds similar to you. She couldn't get her head around breastfeeding and just thought it was weird. Fast forward to her daughter being born and she started breastfeeding. I was shocked since she was so opposed to it. I think her DD bf for a yr.

I have other friends that wanted to bf and couldn't so they chose formula. It's your LO so you get to choose what works for you. Like I said, breastfeeding is a very challenging journey with ups and downs. You can always try it and change your mind.

MoonsOverMySammy · January 2016

I was an exclusive pumper for my twins till around 12-13 months! It was freaking hard! I pumped at work, driving in the car, when visiting family, it was crazy. I was pumping between 50-60oz a day and was totally obsessed with pumpimg enough to avoid formula. Occasionally I did need to supplement but it was really important to me to get my kids as much breast milk as possible.

There's alot of things that suck about pumping but it's doable if you really want to provide breast milk but can't/wont directly. There was a variety of reasons why pumping ended up working better for me (twins, working, lack of help the first few months), but this time I hope to nurse the real way! I'd say exclusivly pumping is a good backup plan but certainly less than ideal.

CRich15 · January 2016

Thanks ladies for the help and support. I will do all the research I can and try to find some classes in my area. Thanks again! It means a lot

PSUBecky23 · January 2016

@backoffunicorn I had the same problem regarding weight gain. My daughter took a month to regain her birth weight and I was pumping and supplementing forever. She's now a healthy, thriving, "normal" sized almost three year old. Knowing what I know now about how weight gain isn't the only thing to watch for when building a BFing relationship, I wouldn't have been so hard on myself then.

PSUBecky23 · January 2016

@crich15 highly recommend going to a La Leche League meeting.

wlux · January 2016

I had a terrible experience BFing.

I promised my H that I'd try until shots then if it's not working out again then we are doing formula.

The guilt, pain and anxiety I felt was not worth it to me. It tainted my first weeks with DD.

camichael84 · January 2016

I ended up exclusively pumping for DD until she was one, after some supply issues in the beginning and her lack of weight gain. In the end, I regret my decision to stop BF. I feel like I was given bad advice (from my hospital's lactation consultants), and I didn't explore my options more as to how to make BF work for us. I plan to do anything I can to make a BF relationship work with this one.

sarahg8r · January 2016

Honestly, I hated breastfeeding. It was a stressful experience for me from the beginning because it took several days for my milk to come in, and even then, my supply was low. I had to start supplementing around 2 weeks, which of course, I felt awful about! Then my son started refusing to breastfeed around 4 months, so I spent another month pumping (about 4oz total a day!) before I decided that was for the birds.

This time around, I'm hoping my supply is better, but I'm going to try to lose the stress. If I have to (or chose to) supplement, so be it.

Not to mention, I hated being chained to me child (I know that sounds awful), but I really just wanted to be able to go somewhere for more than 3 or 4 hours without having to pump!

revlaurawittman · January 2016

I loved breastfeeding. It was obviously hard at first. But I really loved it. I nursed ds1 until 14 months and ds2 for 22 months. I can't wait to do it again! I'd say it's worth a shot to see how it goes, but if you hate it there's nothing wrong with bottle feeding again. A fed baby is a happy baby.

noelani42 · January 2016

I EBF my daughter until we slowly switched her over to WCM at 13 months...I honestly hated it...I felt stuck to my child (like @sarahg8r ) mentioned, had major anxiety because my daughter had MSPI and she wouldn't take a bottle of pumped milk from me when my nipples hurt so I was stuck...not to mention the comfort nursing 3-5 times a night between months 4-8....I will do it again but I'm not jazzed about it! Hopefully I have less anxiety this time around and don't struggle with supply...at least we will skip the 8 weeks of colic caused by MSPI until it was diagnosed...I will be ditching dairy and soy 2 weeks before LO's birth to prepare

StellaStan · January 2016

I found breastfeeding one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. It took over 6 weeks to get a decent latch so he wasn't taking chunks out of me. By 4 months I had enough and started supplementing with formula and by 6 months it was all formula. Mentally it was the best decision I could have made.
For this baby I do plan on trying but if doesn't work I won't be upset.

Thurstobertay · January 2016

I BF'ed and pumped during work for both of my boys (6 and 3 now) until they were 18 months. It was tough in the beginning and I had a few bouts of mastitis, but things got much better once I settled into a routine of pumping once in the morning and twice during the workday. I got to a point where I kinda looked forward to that designated slow-down time because I'd use it for reading a book, playing a game, watching something, etc. You learn to be ambidextrous!

I'll be doing it again this time around.

crispy11 · January 2016

Just feed the baby.

With my first I only lasted 17 days breastfeeding and it was a hellish experience with me crying most of the feeds. I felt like a failure switching to formula, but at the time it was the right choice for me. With my second I had a very different situation and I was able to fight through the difficulties and make it work. I'm still breastfeeding her now at 2.5. I love my girls both the same and no one would ever know that one mostly got formula and one got years of breastmilk.

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