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I have a 6.5 month old and was dreading breastfeeding. My SIL gave me the advice to do everything necessary to make it work for the first month, then go from there. If pumping doesn't work, there's no harm in supplementing with formula. There's no harm in exclusively pumping so you're only pumping 4 times a day.
Also, focus on the positives. There's no bottles to wash, it's way easier to feed at night, and you burn tons of calories.
Our story is ever we had our challenges (food allergies and bottle refusal), but it has been really smooth. He's gaining great and we find it so much easier than bottle feeding. And pumping has been way less of a burden than I expected
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I started breastfeeding for the same reason- it's better for the baby according to medical advice. The women in my family all breastfeed and I did feel a little pressure from them to at least try. I secretly thought it was a little gross and invasive, as well as dreading being the only person who could feed DD (meaning the only person who would get up in the middle of the night). Well... I ended up nursing for 20 months and loved it!!! After I started, I thought of it as sweet and a nice way to bond with DD plus it calmed her down like nothing else would. I ended up supplementing formula when I went back to work- pumping was not successful for me. I found using a lot of bottles to be a total PITA.
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@DesertDreams88: Thanks for your update! I'd describe my thoughts about bf-ing similar to how you did pre-baby. I'm 36w (another ETA: 35 weeks not 36...haha!) and I'm preparing to bf, though more because I think I should than because I want to. I'm happy to hear that you and others found it to be a positive experience!
ETA--
caterw: Yes, "gross and invasive" is how I secretly think of it when it comes to my body. "Beautiful and natural" for everyone else! Glad it worked out for you! -
@Pollywog: this is good advice. I and others agree that for many women it doesn't just come naturally. It is/was HARD. Physically, emotionally, ugh. I set small goals for myself (one more week, one more month). That first month is draining in a myriad of ways. If I had set a lofty goal at day one of "breastfeeding until one year" I don't think I could have stuck with it, clawing towards that golden standard. I dealt with a lot of not fun crap associated with BF, did the best I could, and stopped when I just couldn't give any more. I'm happy I did it, fought for it, and had the experience but I'm also very happy I stopped when I needed to.
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I totally agree with Kemma's point about focusing on the fact that it's the biologically normal way to feed a human baby. I doubt anyone can say they loved every single moment of breastfeeding. It's a lot of work, can be painful, and it's emotionally draining. But if you go in not expecting every moment to be amazing, and knowing you are doing it because it's the way your body is meant to feed your baby, it's easier to deal when you hit challenges. I faced pretty much every challenge you can think of (flat nipples necessitating nipple shields, small babies with tiny mouths and painful shallow latch, food intolerances to everything under the sun and strict elimination diets, babies who never slept and only wanted the boob at night, pumping while working full time in a male dominated field, clogged ducts, mastitis, having to sacrifice using drugs that were helpful to me like Xanax and allergy meds) but my daughter was EBF until she switched to whole milk at 12 months and still nursed morning and night for a few more months after that, and my 9 month old is EBF at the moment and I plan to continue as long as my supply holds out. There are certainly parts about it that are great (less bottle washing, easy peasy to calm a fussy baby) but I do it for the sake of getting breastmilk to my kid, and that's what I focus on.
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Oh, and I know this will win me mother of the year, but whatever. After the first feeding LO cosleeps. He can roll over, lift my shirt, latch on, eat, and unlatch without waking me up. Compare that to going downstairs and making a bottle when the first month is hell
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@DesertDreams88: I'm so happy for you! Go mama! It's cool to get an update, and your experience sounds a lot like mine.
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I knew I wanted to breastfeed, but there were parts of it I was dreading, like having to be the sole provider of food, so I understand where you're coming from. DH and I had an agreement where he dealt with all of the diaper changes those early days, to try to at least make up for some of the inequality.
I will say that the first couple of months were difficult for me, but I'm so glad I kept at it. It turned into such a great experience. Nursing was so incredibly comforting to DD, and those moments together are some of my favorite memories.
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