why did you not BF or stop BF early?

[scaredbuthappy]

I only breastfed for 1 week and then expressed up until a few days ago and now LO is nearly 8 weeks and completely formula fed. I couldnt breastfeed because i found it soooo painful and couldnt carry on and just wondered if anyone else couldnt breastfeed for whatever reason?
I feel like everyone else out there is breastfeeding for months like they are supposed to and i feel like a quitter and like im the only one who couldnt manage it. The nurse/midwife woman i saw at the doctors the other day practically told me women should be able to breastfeed for 6months-1 year and so basically made me feel like crap and that i shouldnt of 'given up'.
Is anyone elses baby still very young and only formula fed?

 

[Mik]

I think you did great you gave it a try and your baby got the important colustrum don't let anyone tell you otherwise! I was really lucky and found it easy but not every one does and at the end of the day you sacrificed your body and eating habits for 9 months baking your bean and if you don't feel you can or feel you don't want to breastfeed that is ok.
I think you should turn round look at your baby and feel proud at all you have done and not worry about the feeding. If you are happy baby s happy whatever type of milk he/she is getting.

 

[Snuggle]

You did great hun, I expressed for 2 weeks only as I just couldnt get enough off to feed Moo. I couldnt breastfeed her as she was poorly at birth and wouldnt latch. I tried constantly but it wasnt to be She was fully on formula at 2 weeks old and is a happy healthy baby so thats all that matters to me

 

[Squiglet]

You tried to bf'd and thats the most important thing... just giving those first few days of colostrum is like liquid gold and for that you should be congratulated and feel very proud of yourself...

 

[Jade&Evie]

you did great. the first few days are the most important.

I breast fed fr 10 days and then switched to formula- I wasn't happy; the pain was making me dread Evie's next feed and I couldn't bond with her while it was hurting so much!

Switching to formula was the best decison for us.

 

[JoAnn&Aimee]

I was wanting to BF but my psychiatrist was wanting me to go back on my anti-depressants once she was born and it would affect the milk. The last month of the pregnancy was the worst as my depression got worse and I had to face facts that I would still need medication to cope. Turns out I had no milk in my boobies anyway so even if it wasn't for going back on the medication I wouldn't have been able to BF. I did find it bizarre that my boobs didn't hurt at all during the pregnancy, now I know why.

 

[Bexie]

Don't let anyone make you feel guily . You did a fantastic job and gave it a real good shot , unfortunately some people struggle more than others and that does NOT make you a bad mother, just look at your baby and see how healthy they are and marvel at the little miracle you have created.

All too often at the early stages of becoming a mother people can make you feel guilty when you are at your most vunerable .

 

[Krystal]

Don't let anyone make you feel guily .

I don't think anyone tries to do this, the one who quits breastfeeding does it to themselves usually

 

[NIE]

I felt crap and like a failure because I couldn't BF. I never produced any milk or the fluid stuff at all. It's unusual...but I guess my boobies don't work that way. They weren't even sore/tender. xxx

 

[mum's the word]

I stopped breastfeeding my first son after 6 weeks for the same reasons as you, it was a horrendous experience but the only guilt was what I put on myself-nobody else expected me to carry on. I had a nice 8 year gap and sucessfully breastfed my second son for a year and the experience was the exact opposite, I loved it, found I slept more and wasn't stressed at all. I have no timescale planned for feeding next baby, I'll take each week as it comes, but one thing's for sure, I won't be worried about it like I was last time, I've learned so much.
Another thing I'd like to say is that my family weren't all supportive of breastfeeding, my mum and o/h's mum constantly moaned about not being able to feed the baby (wasn't a huge fan of expressing and he didn't take to a bottle great either). My mum got embarassed when I fed in public and let me know she wasn't happy, and several male members of the family left the room every time I fed even though made sure I was discreet. Basically you don't always get an easy ride whatever descision you make, but 99.9% of mums do what's best and if brestfeeding is making you feel unwell/stressed/too tired etc then baby will pick up on that.

 

[hennaly]

Anyone who gives it a go deserves a pat on the back in my books, its bloody hard work and unlike most woman i ddnt find it natural atall, i managed for 6 weeks with my eldest and had to give up asi had a huge abcess and couldnt manage from one side alone.
I really want to have a go this time but it does worry me that i wont like it.

 

[Sylvie]

I exclusively breastfed for 10 days, then we found out that Louis had lost too much weight (more than 10% of his birth weight). I was very upset because I was thinking that he was feeding well... the midwife watched him several times while he was feeding during the first week and every time she said he was latching on properly. We were sent to hospital to see a baby's doctor who said that I had to give him formula top-ups after each breastfeed because he was probably not getting enough. I managed to combine the two for three weeks but more and more breastfeeding was starting to become a real struggle as Louis obviously preferred the bottle... When he was five weeks old I completely stopped breastfeeding because he was screaming and screaming until I gave him a bottle (the advice of the midwife was "let him scream"!). No more weight issues since then so I don't regret my choice at all... I tried breastfeeding, it didn't work, there's nothing I could do about it so no need to feel guilty about anything

 

[Magic Monkey]

I breast fed for 3 days and hated every minute of it, I started formula the next day and have never looked back, don't let anyone make you feel guilty.

 

[Hazel]

I tried for 6 days but never had any milk come in despite sitting around with my boobs out for a lot of the time and having her crying as wasn't getting anything. She's now very happy on bottles and as long as she is happy that's the most important thing.

 

[poppy160]

Don't let anyone make you feel guily .

I don't think anyone tries to do this, the one who quits breastfeeding does it to themselves usually

Totally agree with this!

When I gave up breastfeeding after 6 weeks everyone supported my decision but I still felt so guilty, especially after reading about how some of the Mummys on here seem to breastfeed way past 6 months. I never came across anybody who judged me, they all said how fab it was that I exclusively breastfed for 6 weeks.

 

[Leese]

As everyone is saying, please don't feel guilty and please ignore anyone who tries to make you. I BF'd for 7 weeks, he had huge probs latching on, every midwife in the hospital tried to help but to no avail. Kept trying and trying when we got home, using nipple shields, expressing a bit etc, but the end came when, with formula top ups, he just kept on losing weight. This was when I thought we'd got it sorted, not sore anymore etc. So, moved to exclusive formula and he still lost weight - turns out he's just not too keen on milk! he's 8 months now, still doesn't like his milk, but eats for Scotland!

 

[daftscotslass]

I tried for 6 days but never had any milk come in despite sitting around with my boobs out for a lot of the time and having her crying as wasn't getting anything. She's now very happy on bottles and as long as she is happy that's the most important thing.

Pretty much the same here. Was a choice of feeding her with formula or watch her get more and more dehydrated because I wasn't producing anything. Tried again when I thought my milk had come in but it was the same story.

Nobody intentionally makes you feel bad about it, I agree about that, the person who makes you feel most guilty about it is yourself. But I felt (and still feel to a degree) that I was (am) constantly made (by a select few, not anybody on this forum) to justify my decision to bottlefeed.

 

[CoreysMummy]

I stoped after about 5 days as my DS has GERD so would projectile vomit everything he ate, then wanted more. But cudnt take more as it is painful to eat because of the stomach acid. You can imagine what that therefore did to my nipples!!! Ouch. And there was just not enough milk there to feed him constantly, have him throw up, then feed again...

I wil be BF my next one though. Unless the same problem occurs God I hope not!!

 

[mummysarah+co]

i had to stop due to me not producing enough to feed my little hungry bean! harvey is such a hungry baby! i tried to express but there was practically nothing for him!

 

[Misslarue]

I only breastfed for 1 week and then expressed up until a few days ago and now LO is nearly 8 weeks and completely formula fed. I couldnt breastfeed because i found it soooo painful and couldnt carry on and just wondered if anyone else couldnt breastfeed for whatever reason?
I feel like everyone else out there is breastfeeding for months like they are supposed to and i feel like a quitter and like im the only one who couldnt manage it. The nurse/midwife woman i saw at the doctors the other day practically told me women should be able to breastfeed for 6months-1 year and so basically made me feel like crap and that i shouldnt of 'given up'.
Is anyone elses baby still very young and only formula fed?

I know exactly how you feel
My son was born 4 weeks premature so had no sucking reflex. I pumped my breast for the first few days and feed him with a pipette. He developed low blood sugar and jaundice so I was encouraged to bottle feed him but also to continue to try to breast feed. After a week I took him home and kept trying.

At about 10 days old he was blue lighted back into hospital with breathing difficulties. He was placed in a oxygen box, put on a drip and diagnosed with bronchilitis. It was such an awful worrying time that I did not pump my breast for nearly a week.

By the time we got home my milk supply had dropped to almost nothing. I went to numerous breast feeding clinics. I took fenugreek. I brought an electric pump and I expressed my breasts 8 times a day as recommended but still there was little improvement. I just couldn't get him to feed by myself.

I felt like I had failed him completely and still feel guilt now. It got to the point where I dreaded him being hungry. I finally gave up mid April and my son was born on 3rd Jan. The only consultation I have is that he did have colostrum and I did managed to feed him quite a few times, but nothing to the levels that I had planned.