Does the thought of breast feeding make anyone eles feel weird?

[_riley_86]

Hello,
Im 35 weeks, and would love to breast feed once baby is here for the reasons of its better, free and you dont need to serialize bottles, but the thought of a baby sucking and feeding on my breast makes my tummy turn and my nipples feel weird.
Does any one eles feel this when they think about it?
I dont feel it if i see someone eles breast feeding,
The leaflets the health visitor left didnt help either, they freaked me out alot.
It would be a great reassurance to know im not the only one who feels this way?!?!

 

[Natalie8964]

I've got no experience of those feelings myself but I do hope to breastfeed my baby. Its definitely not for everyone and maybe the only way to know for sure will be when baby arrives and comes onto your chest. Hopefully someone else can give some insight but im pretty sure you won't be the only one!

 

[Helen88uk]

I havent got any experience with breast feeding. I'd planned to breastfeed my twins, but they ended up coming very early and were too small to latch, so I expressed and carried on expressing for 6 weeks before I couldnt keep up with it anymore.

Anyway, the reason I'm saying this is because it is a weird feeling. We attempted breastfeeding, and my twins would just sort of lick my nipples. When I expressed, the sucking motion of the pump can sometimes make you feel a bit aroused. Apparently it's similar to how it feels having a baby latched on. It isn't really spoken about because it sounds awful and embarrassing and a bit dirty considering you're feeding your child, but nipple stimulation can certainly cause arousal and if you google it, it's quite common! So just dont be surprised if you feel that way, cos it freaked me out at first x

 

[Mrsbridge17]

I wasn’t over keen on my first baby but did it anyway as the health benefits for me far outweighed how I felt about it. She was my tiny little human to protect and I really researched into it. Breast milk is absolutely incredible I think if you really educate yourself further you will most likely feel totally different when your baby arrives. Ask your HV if you can speak to a breastfeeding support worker prior to delivery that will help xx

 

[Mrsbridge17]

I have also now breast fed both my children I felt I should add that and I exclusively pumped for 10 weeks with my second as she had issues feeding xx

 

[Kitana]

I have a friend who also felt just like you, she would shiver if she thought about breastfeeding. She gave her daughter formula from the start and hasn't regretted it.
I formula fed my first and expressed for 8 weeks before giving up. The combo is just too much. But I have exclusively breastfed my second one. I would, hands down, breastfeed again if we had a third baby. It's just so easy! You always have it with you, it's always the right temperature and no need to bring along bottles, formula, water...
Like the others said, educate yourself on the subject and explain how you feel. Good luck!x

 

[Xsarahh]

I think it’s completely different to what you expect once baby is here. Prior to my first my nipples were a no go zone to the point where I wouldn’t even touch them myself so it freaked me out the thought of a baby latching. I was really worried about breastfeeding for the first time and it was horrendous at first but it’s the best thing I have ever done and I fed my daughter until she weaned herself. If you search on FB there are some really amazing support groups.

 

[Lucie12344]

I was completely freaked out and worried about breastfeeding my entire pregnancy! The thought of someone sucking on my boobs used to make me feel really funny but as soon as she was born for whatever reason all those feelings went away and it felt completely natural. Breastfeeding is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, make sure you get all the support you can because I think if I hadn’t had the support i had I would of given up by week 2, week 5 was when things really clicked into place and it became easier! Just do what’s best for you whether that’s breast feed, express feed or formula feed! Good luck x

 

[EmilyMaria]

I must admit that I am not looking forward to breast feeding at all! I do intend to do it and will persevere with it as much as I need to, to give bub the best start possible. Hopefully it all makes sense when bub is here!

 

[chattychar1990]

Yep this is me.
The thought of anyone coming near my boobs or nipples freaks me out hence the reason I have decided to formula feed.

 

[WinterWolf]

I thought that before giving birth to my first, but then I put her on the breast when she was born anyway and it really didn’t feel weird like I thought it would! You might feel differently once bub is in your arms.

 

[night owl]

The only thing you can do is try it and see how you feel, you’ve expressed the desire to at least try, so give it a go with an open mind, it is a bit weird at first to be honest, but you quickly get used to it, and quite quickly your boobs just become like milk bags to you lol, I didn’t think I would stick at it as I just did not fancy feeding in public, or even in front of any family or friends, the only person I’m comfortable feeding in front of is my partner, but I put my own feelings aside as I could see how settled and relaxed my little girl was as soon as I put her to my breast, I think this pandemic has bought it home to me exactly how important breastfeeding is, if it had been worse it could have severely affected the supply chain of formula and left many tiny babies without food, I seen a woman crying in the supermarket at the start of all of this as the baby supplies isle had been ransacked and she could not get any formula for her 8 week old, god knows what else is around the corner for the human race, it’s incredibly important that the ability to breastfeed is promoted and preserved, it is our superpower as a woman and I don’t mean that lightly - literally none of us would even be here right now if early stage human women had not breastfed, so give it a go and if you hate then then move onto formula, also the first colostrum is not called liquid gold for no reason, have a look at the benefits of the first colostrum and if you really don’t wanna put the baby to the breast then you could try expressing some colostrum into a syringe to give to the baby - this is basically the babies first ever immunisation, one which only you can make for them, and this could be a bit of middle ground between doing what is best for you by not breastfeeding and doing what is best for the baby by getting the colostrum to them
Sorry that was an essay ha ha, I just firmly believe informed is best!

 

[_riley_86]

Thanks everyone, its awesome to know that im not the only one who finds it abit odd.
Maybe my original message doesnt show it, but i have researched and educated myself on it all, just cant educate yourself on how i will feel once baby is out. Just wait and see i guess...untill then ill be taking comfort in knowing that im not alone with these weird feelings and try not to worry about it so much.
Thank you all once again.