Breastfeeding or not?

[Justinel101]

I'm now 22 weeks and have been feeling him move around constantly for over a month which makes me so much more excited I was just curious as to how many of you decided to breastfeed and why you did or didn't.

 

[ClairAye]

My LO was FF from birth then fed a mix of formula and expressed breast milk from 5 days old for about 2 weeks until my milk dried up, my plan was to express for 6 months as I was being silly like 'Ehh I don't want a baby hanging off my boob ' but that didn't go to plan.. I plan on BFing this one and can't wait Although I also see no downside to FF as far as bonding, baby's health and development go

 

[newmommy21]

I plan on breastfeeding for my baby, I just like all the benefits especially one of them being its FREE!! but that being said if I can't BF for some reason I would FF for sure

 

[LavaPanda]

I've decided not to breastfeed and this has been after some loooong discussions. But we feel it's what's best.
I'll be getting a lot of help from people with baby sitting and what have you for the first six months of it's life (as I'll be in college etc) and formula would just be so much more practical as anyone can access it.
As for the breast pump three of the women in my family got mastitis from doing it and I'm not too keen- as much as my Grandmother is mortified at the idea of formula feeding.

 

[MiSS.M0MMY2BE]

I plan to breast feed, and also express for when I have to go back to work. The benefits for baby, the bonding, and the fact that its free are my main reasons for wanting to bf.

 

[lovingmumma]

I breast feed, the main reason I chose to do it in the first place was because of the nutritional benifits but now there is a tonnes of other reasons why I do it bf helped me bond so well with my baby, the little faces he pulls when feeding are priceless, he acts like there is nothing better then milk in the world haha. It's free and you never have to prepare anything or heat anything up, makes my nights really easy! I like that I am the only person who can feed him, It makes me feel like he will know I'm important more haha, it's silly. It was soooo hard to get started but I was yelling at OH at one Point to go buy formula cause I was so over it, but I got through it and its soo worth it now. But it was not easy getting here, if I had to return to work now I would switch to formula. If anyone has bf questions feel free to pm me

 

[MummyMana]

I planned on breastfeeding. But Imogen had other ideas...

 

[StephanieRose]

I plan on breastfeeding

 

[lizmageeful]

I expressed a lot of milk during the first 2 months just to freeze in case we ever cant afford formula, but Ive been formula feeding from the beginning (i know that sounds weird, but we had some latching problems and tbh i knew i wouldnt always be around and formula feeding would be easier, but i know there are some financial issues to deal with as well.)

 

[jozylynn896]

Same, I planned on breastfeeding but my body, and Noah had other plans.

 

[jesssika]

Plan on fighting tooth and nail to breastfeed, bonding, it's free, adjusts to time of day so it helps your LO sleep, adjusts as your LO grows, gives them antibodies to fight infections etc, no bottles or cleaning or heating etc. just so much easier in my opinion! If you can breastfeed it really is the best option for your baby and you

 

[kailynn]

For me breastfeeding is just the right decision, there's never a recall on breasts. We plan to breastfeed/pump, so the baby doesn't become reliant on the boob, and will take to bottles. I have the luxury of being a SAHM so it made sense to breastfeed, while SO will be home on the weekends (he works away during the week), and wantsto be able to feed the baby while he is home, that's where the pumping comes in.

 

[MommyGrim]

I breastfed DD until she was 9 months old, which I was very happy about but we had issues and had to switch to formula. This time around I'm going to be very adamant about exclusively BFing the twins. I found it to be a wonderful experience and I really couldn't imagine NOT BFing any of my children. Not to mention that it's free; it was really a shock to see how expensive formula was after not paying anything for so long.

 

[amygwen]

I planned to breastfeed from when I found out I was pregnant. I am pretty insecure about my body and was always uncomfortable BFing in public. But, I would pump for when we had to have outings, just so I felt comfortable. Also ~ I went back to work when my LO was 8 weeks old, so I had to continue pumping and thankfully we had no nipple confusion whatsoever. We continued to breastfeed until he was 16 months and self weaned. I completely support anyone who decides to breastfeed. It can be hard, but it is possible and with support - you can do it too!

 

[Otis]

I breastfed for a bit, but then ended up with mastisis. Ended up very allergic to the antibiotic, so from dealing with that my supply got messed up. Right now I'm pumping and supplementing until my supply gets back up! Also hoping to get LO back on next week (waited a while because I'm scared of going through the prior again), so hopefully we can make it work this time.

 

[mummyluv]

I've decided to Breastfeed exclusively for the first couple of weeks and then have a combination of breast milk and formula until I go back to college. Then just using formula. I would really like to breast feed but I really don't like the idea of using a breast pump, so it would just be impossible because she has to to be fed in the day. Also not to keen on breastfeeding in public. would be way to self conscious

 

[snowfia]

I'm going to breastfeed this one. I BF LO until 14/15 months. To me it's just natural and I couldn't cope with even more washing up and sorting bottles etc
Also, it's free and I liked the fact that no matter what was wrong, boob would fix it haha.

 

[Justinel101]

Thank you everyone for your replies! I really appreciate your feedback and experiences, it's helped me decide that I am going to try to breastfeed

 

[megrenade]

I was 19 when my son was born and he has been breastfeeding for 14 months now (yes, he was my first).

I'll be tandem nursing both babies if Jericho doesn't wean by then.

The KEY is to spend as much time with your baby as possible.. lots of skin to skin contact.. and offer the breast whenever your baby is fussy.

As soon as they get a bottle, you will start to lose your supply.. they have to nurse for you to make milk.

For example: Jericho would nurse for 5 minutes - an HOUR at a time the first few weeks, and I let him nurse constantly.. so after the first couple months, I never had to worry about supply.

It does take some effort, and you need A LOT of support and correct information.. but it is SO totally worth it and I'd breastfeed 10 more if I had to. It's wonderful and beneficial for baby AND mommy (decreases your risk of breast cancer, helps your uterus shrink back to normal size, etc.).

Good luck!

 

[x__amour]

I was very torn on breast feeding. Tried it, loved it. Didn't work out. Moved on.