Spinoff: who those who FF from the start

I have a bunch of reasons for not BF once I give birth

-First off and most importantly , I have to take a medication that passes into breastmilk and can cause bad side effects to the baby
-the idea of it makes me feel a little uncomfortable, I think bc society sexualizes breasts so much
-I want DH to be included in the feedings and feel a part of it
-I don't want to worry about going out w/o the baby and having to run home in a couple hours or bring my breastpump w/ me every time I go out w/o baby
-I saw my sister struggle w/ it and have the hardest time since she didn't produce enough milk
-Don't want my baby to be overly attached to only me and not want to accept a bottle from someone else if I'm ever not there or there's an emergency

These are just my reasons and the things that go through my mind when I think about it. Although, it's medically not an option for me regardless

Edited for spelling

Message edited 7/31/2012 9:28:03 PM.

Spinoff: who those who FF from the start

It wasn't something I was comfortable with or had a desire to do.

Message edited 7/31/2012 3:44:47 PM.

Spinoff: who those who FF from the start

I never wanted to.

First- I was/am extremely uncomfortable with the thought of my baby sucking on my boob. I KNOW it's what boobs are there for, it's natural, etc., etc., but it made me feel pervy and weird. I do NOT think that women who BF are perverts, please don't misinterpret. I praise women who BF because I could never do it. I always thought of my breasts as a sexual body part and I cannot separate the two in my mind.

Second- I wanted DH to be able to help me and he himself wanted to help me. I had a really traumatic birth with DD#1 and DH did all of the work for the first 2 weeks. If I was BFing I would've had a much harder time recuperating.

Third- Vanity. I was convinced my boobs would be destroyed and I had pretty nice knockers.
Turns out, pregnancy destroys them enough. LOL

I FF both of my girls without an ounce of guilt. DD2 is only 4months old, but my first DD is incredibly smart and very healthy.

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Message edited 7/31/2012 8:28:38 PM.

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I FF from day 1 - never felt any guilt of doing so, never had any desire to breastfeed. It just wasn't for me.

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I had a breast reduction and it severed my milk ducts, so I knew it would never happen. I always wished I could!!!

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I really wanted to BF and tried with DD but I never produced any milk. I was pretty upset, didn't even try with DS. My mom and grandmother both had problems with milk supply when they gave birth so I guess it shouldn't have been a surprise.

Spinoff: who those who FF from the start

Thanks for the replies. Very interesting.

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I pumped for the first two months only because DS was a preemie. I had every intention of FF from the start bc I knew i was going back to work and my dad would be watching him. I am a pre-k teacher and I knew I wouldn't be able to leave them during the day to go pump (I have an assistant but I wouldnt feel comfortable leaving them for too long while I pumped.) When I knew I was going back to work I started to wean off the pumping and I was so much happier. I hated being tied to that damn pump. I felt like a prisoner to the pump. I hated going anywhere bc I was afraid I wouldnt get back in time to pump and it was just very difficult for me. Plus my supply wasnt terrific so I knew it would be a matter of time before it dried up. DS has been on formula since he left the nicu and hes doing great on it! He's gaining weight and is healthy and happy!

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I was on the fence while pregnant about nursing.

With DS #1, I had some medical complications after my c-section that killed my milk supply. He was FF pretty much from the start.

I was made to feel guilty about not BFing him, so I vowed to try with my second DS born 2 years later.

I did nurse DS #2 for a month, didn't like it at all, and and went to formula. This time, I felt no guilt, offered no explanations or apologies to those who askied why I wasn't nursing! It was very liberating, LOL!

The reasons I didn't like it:

-DH and my parents loved feeding DS #1 his bottles. I hated that they missed out on feeding my second son while he was being nursed. I know a mother/child bond is important- but so it their bond with Daddy and other family members who love them!

- I had to take supplements and pump around the clock to keep my milk supply, and this made me tired and took time away from my toddler-who needed his Mommy too!!!

-I was not comfortable nursing in public, ever. I just wasn't. So I was not about to keep my 2 year old housebound and stir crazy in front of the TV while I fed his newborn brother. Not fair to him.

-I hated not knowing how much he ate. If he cried non-stop a half hour later, was he hungry? When I feed them a bottle, I know how much they ate.

-DH could share in nighttime feedings, giving me some much needed rest after my c-section. I also had more energy during the day when I slept at night to take the kids to the park, children's museum, etc.

- I know people claim that breastfeeding burns calories and you lose weight faster. Well, not in my case. With DS #1 I lost all of my weight within a month. When I nursed DS #2 I was ravenous, more so than when I was pregnant! I definitely ate more that whatever calories I burned. Plus, I had a layer of fat around my stomach. That went away after I stopped nursing. Then I lost my weight and had more energy to take care of my boys!

- I didn't feel magically more bonded to my second son while nursing any more than I felt feeding a bottle to my first son. I frankly didn't see what the big deal was.

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I wanted to try BF but I did not do nearly enough research on it to be prepared for when the baby came.

I labored for 30 hours and ended up with a c-section. DD was born at 8:18am.

I held my baby for the first time 2 hours later in recovery where I asked my nurse to help me breastfeed. She showed me how to hold her and she latched no problem. I made it known that I wanted to breast feed my baby and not to give her a bottle, to bring her to me to feed. They did just that the whole day.

At around 12:30 AM I was woken from sleep not by the bassinet but by this evil resident who was coming by to check my stats and scar. Apparently my O2 was low so she ordered a CAT scan and a chest x-ray. Besides those two things being TORTUROUS mere hours after abdominal surgery, I was told at 3am while I was waiting with transport outside of the CAT scan room that they are giving me the blue dye and that I could not breastfeed for the 24 hours. I was devastated. I was alone. And I was tired. I laid in the hallway and cried. I was told I'd have to pump and dump the following day. So that was it. We started using the nursettes. I pumped and dumped the following day but DD never latched on again.

When we got home, I started supplementing. We did 1/2 formula and 1/2 BM. It wasn't what I wanted but it was better than nothing. I did this successfully for 3 weeks until I got sick and my doctor put me on an antibiotic that required P&D. Well, I was sick and got lazy and didn't pump enough and dried up.

I was SO surprised at how disappointed I was when it was over. I wished I had done more research before the baby came so that I could be better prepared and educated on how to keep my supply up.

All of that said, I liked formula. I didn't like the cost though and I couldn't wait until we could switch to milk but being a FTWM at a job where they couldn't give 2 shits less about providing a comfortable place to pump (you can use the bathroom! um no), formula worked for us.

Every mommy is different. Every baby is different. Everyone has different needs. Do what YOU have to do for YOUR baby.

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With DS #1 i tried, but he wouldn't latch to one of my boobs. Then I tried to pump and I felt like a cow being pumped. Couple that with c-section discomfort, and bad baby blues I decided to FF feed him. I wsa much happier and felt like a weight lifted off my shoulders once I decided.

With Ds #2 i had no desire to go through what I went through with DS #1 and I went straight to FF. No regrets. It acutally worked out considereing I was re-hospitalized 10 days after I had him with a c-section infection.

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