I won't be breastfeeding, and i didn't with my 1st 2 babies either.

I have 2 reasons...

1...May irritate some people, but its a valid reason to me, and that is the idea of it really doesn't appeal to me.

But mainly no 2.....I have an illness which effects my immune system, and which the medical prefession know very little about. I'm not prepared to take the risk of passing this awful illness to any of my children. And feel they will get more benefit from formula milk, than the possible dangers that my breast milk could introduce.

I must admit that MW reactions to my choices really upset me with my first 2, they basically wiped their hands of me regarding feeding, with no thought of my reasoning. This time, i'm harder and stronger, and they can stuff their opinions up their bums! (Sorry, slight vent!)

I think each to their own, we are all Mums, who have the right to make these choices without other people making us feel guilty, whichever method we decide to go with.

Good luck to everyone who plans on BF, but also all those FF Mum's don't be made to feel guilty.

xxx

I totally agree with you, TTC4No3. With my son, I wanted to BF. I told myself that I was going to try it for as long as possible. It took us about a week to get it right, lol. He was a lazy feeder so he would get all warm and cozy next to me and just fall right to sleep instead of eat. But I BF him right up until i went back to work so for 2mo. With this one, I'm going to go for at least 6mo. My job now has a designated area for bf moms to pump.

It's a very personal choice. I was against bf up until I got pregnant and then my mind just changed. No on in my family bf, not my mom or aunts so I wasn't influenced by them. As a mom you have to do what works best for you and your baby. But I wouldn't rule anything out until you actually have that little one in your arms.

I'm with ya hun. Its anyone choice whether to do it or not. I just don't like it! The plusses like someone did say is that its free, healthier for babies*, no bottles. The bonding that might take place, but however I won't feel guilty not doing it, because I'm going to be bonding and loving my child either which way.

I read somewhere that u can't express til 6 weeks is that right? I'm not really fancying bfeeding tbh.... Freaks me out a bit xx

Some women's milk comes in within a day, whereas some women's milk takes a little longer. My milk came in within 3 days. LO wouldn't take from the breast and she wouldn't take expressed milk either, so she was FF throughout. This one will probably be FF as well.

After having DD I found out I needed medication that cannot be taken when BFing so even if she had taken to it, I would have had to stop.

You can express from much earlier than that. The general recommendation is that if you intend to BF, then BF exclusively for 4-6 weeks in order to let you and baby adjust and get the hang of it first.

My LO had an operation at 3 weeks and I had to express then. I had no problems. I started expressing from about 2 weeks onward to build up a stash.

As for mixing FF and BF, you can. Loads of ladies do it. Just be sure you understand that you will likely have milk supply problems at some point and have to rely more and more on FF until you are FF full time. But if you don't have a problem with that, then go for it.

For those that are thinking of expressing full time, make sure you research that and make an informed decision. It is absolutely the HARDEST route to go. Harder than BF and certainly harder than FF. It can be done, but takes super dedication. It is not a decision to be made lightly. TBH, the only ladies I have seen succeed at it were those that were determined to EBF from the start and had latch problems so couldn't. They wanted the BM for the babies so were willing to make the sacrifice to EP (exlclusively pump). You can learn more about it in the BF section.

BF vs. FF is a very personal choice! If you aren't comfortable BF, then babies will do just fine on FF. I look at it this way: I can never imagine doing anything but BF my babies. So, I can totally understand how someone would have to opposite view and only feel comfortable FF.

Have a nosey around both the FF and the BF forums on this site. No matter what you choose, it is always a good thing to be informed about both sides!

i'll be breastfeeding,
because i'm vegan, and my child will be also.
and there is only one brand of soya formula and its expensive.
so if i can, i will.

I really wanted to bf last time, and found it a real struggle. I managed 3 days and then moved to formula. I then suffered terrible guilt for months afterwards and wished I'd tried harder. I got next to no support in hospital and it just didn't come naturally like I thought it would (I ended up with cracked and bleeding nipples).
This time I am determined to give it a proper go, and will be much more insistent on support in hospital and afterwards too.

I agree with you, the way some MW's treat Mums who do not wish to breastfeed is disgusting!!

With DD1 the MW (in fact I don't think she even was the midwife, she was hospital staff who was supposed to be asking me which formula I wanted) tried to persuade me to breast feed, told me "go on just try it" and "oh you don't know what you are missing" "I cannot believe you won't even try it"

I found that very upsetting - had been in hospital for 4 days, had a difficult labour and just wanted to feed my baby the way I ha always intended to!

With DD2 - I was asked what formula I wanted, however it tooks hours to arrive, instead of someone chasing it up for me, I was told "just put her to your breast" In the end I did as I basically had no choice.

4 years on, 4 years older & a lot wiser, if I am spoken to like that again.........

I have absolutely no problem with other mums BF, it's just not form me so again this time I will be FF.

However what I really resent when people compare BF to FF, is when they make comments regarding the bonding between you and your baby. Whether a baby is bottle feed or breast feed they will gaze up into your eyes. I have never had any issues bonding with my babies & I find comments that suggest that FF feed babies do not bond with their mothers very upsetting.

Ok, rant over

I am sorry you had such trouble. That isn't very fair to you. No one should put off bringing you formula in an attempt to get you to try to BF. That is cruel to the baby and to you.


But! I don't think these bonding comments are meant to imply that FF babies don't bond with their parents. They do. There is no denying that. There is more to bonding than how a baby is fed. And a bottle fed baby can bond when fed a bottle. That is completely true.

But at the same time, the bond between a BF baby and mom is different to anything else. That is not to say it is better or stronger. Just different and special in its own way.

Just like you would rather not be made to feel that you won't bond with your baby because you FF, a BF mom doesn't want to be made to feel that the bond they feel isn't special. It is impossible to describe or understand this bond unless you have been there. We all have different things that make us feel close to our babies in different ways.

So, let's just accept that both FF and BF babies bond well to their mommies! The bond is different, but both are strong all the same.