Just need your advice please, ladies

All through pregnancy i was convinced i wanted to BF and now the time is coming (6 weeks left), i'm not so sure anymore.

BF at home probably wouldn't be a problem but because i'm not confident with my boobs (big and horrible basically ) i know for definite i wouldn't be happy with BF outside in public. I'm starting to warm to the idea of FF but i sort of feel everyone will think i'm a bad mum for doing so

Also, if i was to FF i guess OH and others (family etc) could do feeds and not just me?

I just don't know what to do! I know i've got 6 weeks to decide but everyone is asking me what i'm doing, even the Health Visitor when she came started badgering on to me about how BF is best etc

Any advice?

I don't have any advice, but I'm going through exactly the same thought process at the moment and also don't know what to do anymore xx

Hiya!

Whatever you chose BF or FF don't feel bad...what matters is a happy healthy baby and a happy mum = happy baby!

I chose to BF and did so exclusively for 4 months, we now FF!

No one can make the decision for you all I can do is offer my experiences. I enjoyed BF and loved that I was the only one who could feed LO! sounds selfish but I dunno I just enjoye the nice quiet cuddle time.

I went up to a size G when I was BF and I hated my boobs to, but I soon got used to feeding in public. There are so many ways that you can do it descretely. Half the time people don't even realise you are doing it.

If BF is public is the only thing that is putting you off tho have you thought about expressing and offering that while out? Just an idea. If you decide to FF and then later wish you had BF this is very hard to reverse. Where as you could always give BF a try and then swap to FF if it doesn't suit.

Both are time consuming, BF can feed often but you don't have to wash and sterilise bottles etc. Also BF is cheaper!

Whatever you decide tho be happy with your decision and don't feel presurred by anyone.

Have you looked in the BF forum... lots of advice and things in there.

Good luck with your LO

You just need to do what YOU feel comfortable with, sod everyone else.

Do not let anyone pressurise you into a decision you are not comfortable with. I never knew what I wanted to do, I honestly had to have a "wait and see how I feel at the time" attitude because I just could not make up my mind. Turned out I tried bf for 3 days but it didn't work out so we switched.

Only thing I feel guilty about is not switching sooner because I too, thought I was expected to bf and therefore did, even though it wasn't helping my baby.

There are other options when out and about in public and the ladies in the bf section can probably help most there! I always thought I'd be conscious but whilst in the hospital, I didn't care that the midwives were touching and moving my breasts about all over the place haha

You need to be comfortable with whatever you decide, otherwise your LO will pick up on it and will not enjoy feeds. I honestly feel that bf'ing stopped me bonding with Violet because feeding was sooo stressful. As soon as we switched, I was like another person and she was like another baby. Both of us so relaxed, content, enjoying each other and enjoying feeds. Breast was not best for us and I had to get the courage to make my own stand because round here, they're all very pro breastfeeding.

I was the same initially. Struggling to BF Ruby led to a struggle to bond with her. She was far more content on formula.

However - had my problems been overcome I'm sure she'd have been just as content on breastmilk and we'd be hundreds of pounds richer, lol.

My point is, I would give BF a try, as like Lucy says, you can always switch if you don't feel it's right for you, but if you start our FF, it's extremely difficult to switch to BF. Good luck whatever you choose!

I had planned on BF all through my pregnancy, but when i gave birth due to my diabetes, my LO was born with low blood sugars so had to have formula to bring it up.
I decided to carry on formula feeding. Im glad i did actually as my OH can do some of the night feeds etc.

All that matters really is that your baby is fed, whichever way you choose.

Hiya hun I felt the exact same as you when I was pregnant, I wanted to BF for all the right reasons but wasnt 100% comfortable with the thought of it! I was very selfconsious about my body and esp my boobs. I must have changed my mind a 100 times, but eventually just decided to wait and see how I felt when the baby arrived.

Long story short I gave BF a go and... I loved it!! My LO was a star and latched on great etc however the sleepless nights caught up with me and I started introducing formula at night @ 4 weeks and my LO started to prefer the bottle (he obviously realised that he got the milk out quicker) it became a real struggle to BF and he used to scream the house down till I gave him the bottle so we changed over completely to Formula. Looking back my only regret is that I didnt last longer but Im really proud of myself for lasting as long as I did. As for feeding in public, never done it, well apart from in the car

Anyway hun the choice is urs, like Lucy Lu says Happy mum = Happy baby!!

One thing I will say is that I assumed my LO would last longer on formula but he was still only going 2 hourly even when we completely switched over, I think this is a common misconception (?sp)

Good luck with whatever u decide xoxo

i was sure to bf been my first baby etc. i had the pump and everything but i did buy bottles aswell, when morgan was born id had to have a section and was in so much pain i cudnt have him laid on me and to be honest didnt even wana try, then as i was on the ward and the days went on (was there a wk ! ) im kinda glad i never as there were 3woman bf and they were always feeding aswel, in way im glad cos OH can do it and anyone eles and i dont feel ive lost any bond i love him to bits and they stil look at u when ur feeding them
in a ideal world tho i wuda loved to x

I'm about to move from full time breastfeeding to part-time. e.g. I currently breastfeed 5-6 times a day, and at first I'll be swapping one feed for formula, then in a few weeks another, then by six months I'll be breastfeeding morning and night and formula feeding three feeds during the day. You can combine breast and bottle (although what I've described above works better - i.e. you'll maintian your milk longer - if you exclusively breastfeed for the first 4-6 weeks, so you could always breastfeed for a month, then go part time combination). My main reason for this change now at four months is that my LO is terribly hard to feed (arms and legs everywhere, latch on/off every few minutes /bad reflux) so this will enable me to be out and about more during the day. I found breastfeeding very hard at first but it quickly gets easier. If you do decide to breastfeed, get lots of support (e.g. lactation consultant). If you decide to bottle feed, don't let others let you feel guilty about it - you're the mum, it's up to you! Do what feels right. If breastfeeding is going to make you miserable, that it might not be for you. Good luck

I always wanted to BF but when Joe was born, he wouldn't latch on and I also had a c-section which was painful and restricted my movement. I tried for 4 days to BF, while he was FF and in the end, we decided to FF. He feeds really well and it was the right decision for us.
The MW's in hospital and when I came home did encourage me to keep trying, but once OH and I had made our decision, we stuck to it. I would say do whatever feels right to you, but keep your options open. I hadn't even thought about FF until I couldn't BF and was upset that I couldn't, but it's worked out fine for us and Joe. And as you say, your OH can do feeds as well, which I know my OH loves as he always does the dreamfeed before bed