Re: did anyone dislike breastfeeding but do it anyway?

Re: did anyone dislike breastfeeding but do it anyway?

yes, looking back i hated it in the beginning. noone tells u how hard it will be. or that you will be on the couch every two hours. i was a slave to it and i wasnt prepared for that.
i continued because i said i would.
i gave 1-2 supplemental bottles when i mentally needed the break from bf.
one day we just clicked at it. we lasted 10months.im glad i kept at it.

you're doing great! cut yourself some slack :)

Re: did anyone dislike breastfeeding but do it anyway?

I didn't/don't hate it but I will say the first few weeks were very hard. It hurt a lot!!!! Showering hurt too. Then one day the pain just stopped. Once that happened I went from liking it to loving it. Pumping never bothered me. I think 3oz in 5mins is great!!!
I've been ebf and pumping for 5 months. The only thing that is starting to stress me is that she is eating more at daycare and I need to produce more for her. For me formula is not an option. I will do whatever it takes to give her bm.

That's what you need to remember dear. The "FOR ME" part. Do what's best for you and your babies. Stress is not good for you at all!!! This is the time when you should be enjoying your LO

YOU'RE DOING A GREAT JOB!!!

Re: did anyone dislike breastfeeding but do it anyway?

I think you are AMAZING for doing that with twins!!!

I tried BFing every one of my kids. With my first the lactation counselor made me feel sooo guilty for giving my DD formula that I swore I would never ever consider it. Then I wound up sick in the hospital with pnemonia and had not choice but to go to formula and once I got out my DD was doing so well on the formula I stopped beating myself up over it.

With my second I exclusively BF for the first 7 weeks, with bi-weekly appointments to the ped because my DD would not gain weight and was diagnosed with failure to thrive. I had no choice again to supplement with formula and by 4 months she was strickly FF.

With my 3 & 4 i BF and supplemented from the beginning giving them the benefit of the BM but also making sure they were eating enough to thrive.

It's been a long journey to find the right balance and what I would recommend is talking to your ped about your feelings and or/lacation counselor, they may be able to help you find the right balance for you.

did anyone dislike breastfeeding but do it anyway?

I did it for 8 weeks and ended up supplementing because I wasnt producing enough and I was completely miserable. I also had to cut dairy out of my diet which did not help with the misery.

I hated breastfeeding and I hated pumping even more. I like you felt guilty because I knew BM was better and to be honest I had an unsupportive husband. He wanted me to breastfeed for at least 6 months no matter how miserable I was. So he didnt help with the guilt factor. He made my guilt worse for a long time.

I know what your going through because it made me feel like I was being a bad mother, BUT what I realized what was REALLY making me a bad mother was the misery I was putting myself through and the fact that I wasnt really being there for my baby when I was so anxious and guilt ridden and miserable. A happy mommy truly equals a happy baby! THATS what you need to remind yourself.

Once I stopped and I was able to carry on a normal day without stopping to pump; eat what I want; drink coffee when I want! LOL Have other people feed my baby and get my body back to just being mine. I felt like ME again! And I started to LOVE being a mother more than anything. My post partum completely went away.

Try Playtex Nursers my baby only took to that bottle and it came recommended by my pediatrician. It mimics the breast and has a nice wide base like a breast. She did not take to Dr Browns AT ALL and I know those are so highly recommended. Plus all those small parts it was SOOO annoying to clean all the time.
I actually have more friends whose playtex than dr browns, their babies had the same issue with dr browns.

Playtex nursers uses bottle liners and its sterile every time and all you truly have to clean is the nipple and the base of the bottle. Great to travel with too cause you just need liners and nipples and not 100 bottles. LOL

Message edited 12/31/2012 11:22:31 AM.

Re: did anyone dislike breastfeeding but do it anyway?

First all I have to say what an amazing thing you are doing by trying to breast feed twins. I find trying to breast feed one is hard.

The first few weeks are so hard and I don't think any one really shares how hard it is. I was a slave to the couch with my daughter wanting to nurse for hours on end. The tears I cried over it would fill a swimming pool. In the first couple of weeks I wondering how any one could do this for a long term.

My goal is to feed DD for a year but right now I take it month by month and I am super excited to have gotten through the first month. With a strong support team I can make it one more month. For me its a day to day process. I do pump and every so often and I feed her formula. The most important thing it to make sure you are happy and baby is happy. There are times I just have no more breast milk to give her so she gets formula and it makes her so happy.

I feel bad giving her Formula but it makes us a little happier in the end and she gets the benefit of both worlds.

Keep up the good work and it does get easier. Like everyone says Happy Mommy Happy Baby. Just do what's best for you and your babies. The guilt does subside. There is no right or wrong.
Best of luck with whichever method you choose to feed your baby.

Re: did anyone dislike breastfeeding but do it anyway?

The first 6-8 weeks of BFing DS1 were really tough for me. He took 45-60 minutes to eat and had some latching issues. I cried a lot during the middle of the night feedings, but forced myself to continue. I really should've gotten some help when I was struggling with BFing either by going to LLL meetings or seeing a lactation consultant. It got a lot better after the first 2 months. I don't think I really started to enjoy it until he was 4 months old. He still took a long time to eat, but I had gotten used to it and it didn't seem to be as much of a burden. I ended up BFing until he self weaned at 15 months old.

FWIW, I didn't have any issues with DS2. BFing has gone really well and I've enjoyed it from the beginning. He's a much faster eater and started STTN much earlier. It has been a completely different experience. Good luck with whatever you decide.