Hellobee Boards

@highwire: I hate washing bottles. I hate worrying if they are clean, if they have soap spots on them, if I have the right nipple size, if I have all the parts when I need to go somewhere. I hate it. The idea of getting up in the middle of the night and getting a bottle out gives me hives. This is probably one of the main reasons I still nurse! I also like not having to take anything with me to feed him. Yes, it is a pain to find a place to nurse in public but equally annoying to find water to put in a bottle, a place/way to warm it up.....ugh!

Bfing went pretty well for me for the first month and i was patting myself in the back and then something happened and it went all wrong at the second month. LO went on a nursing strike and refused to nurse etc. long story short, i was crying after every feeding attempt (every 2-3hrs) for 4 weeks before i called it quit. I kept telling myself one more day, one more day but i was completely miserable. I went to see a lc who thought i should call the mental health crisis hotline so i could talk to somebody. When i finally quit at 3.5 months, i felt like a rock has been lifted off my shoulders. The guilt was and is still there somewhat but looking back, i think the bfing issues really prevented me from bonding with my daughter. You need to do what is best for you and your little one and there is nothing wrong with formula. You gave it your best shot. Having a happy mommy will be best for your LO in the end too.

this is my 2nd child; i'm at the 2 week mark, and she was <6 lb, and had lost 10 oz in the hospital, and since bf was a lot of exercise for DD who would doze in the middle of a feed, i was told to supplement with my pumped bm. we at first used the syringe, but resorted to a bottle. i was happy that i got to give bf a break because it was so hard and painful. i've been pumping, and using formula, and i'm much happier than the stress i was putting on myself to bf. i went through the same stress with my 1st one (who is 2 now), and i just didn't enjoy her for 2 months. now with this one, i promised myself that i wouldn't stress myself out so much over bm/bf/formula, and to JUST enjoy her, so i've given up on bf'ing, i'm going to pump til' the end of the month, and then completely switch to formula. i'm so much happier with my decision, and instead of cringing when i see my baby, i can truly honestly love and enjoy her, and smile when i see her. and honestly, it's great that my husband feeds her, and i can get those breaks too, and i'm not the sole source of her nutrition.

i feel a wee bit of guilt, but really, for the most part, now that this is my 2nd baby, i know that she'll turn out just fine whether she's formula fed or breast fed, and I'm so much more relaxed and happier this time around. i don't see anything selfish in the act, because at the end of the day, you're doing what's best for you and for your baby, it's YOUR baby, it's YOUR body, it's YOUR sanity. and it's not like you are neglecting your baby, you're still waking up in the middle of the night to feed the baby, and doing all the things you know your baby needs to grow and flourish.