Constant Dilemma.. To BF or FF?!

[Kage76]

i think breastfeeding stories can fall into the same category as birth stories. There are people out there who have had good births and have established breastfeeding easily but they are rarely the stories you hear. Its much more "fun" to talk about horror stories. I won't lie establishing breastfeeding can be hard- but its one of those things that you have to do to see if it suits you. You may really like it and decide that its worth the discomfort- you may have the ideal baby and the latch and supply from the beginning works. Or on the other hand you may have difficulties or not like it and decide that FF is the way for you. My advice is to go into it with an open mind. The colostrum is great for the baby giving them a huge immune boost- use that time to experiment with BF and see if its to your liking.

 

[liz1985]

If your torn between the two, I would suggest trying breastfeeding first, it can't do harm, only good and you may find you love it. Try setting little targets, like you will defenatly give the first feed as a breastfeed, if you like that, then you will do the first 24hours, then 3 days, the a week etc. I tried breastfeeding, and like a few pp I didn't know enough about it, assumed it would be easy, which it wasn't and I gave up at 3 weeks. I don't beat myself up over it but I really want to try again next time.

My MW told me even if you only give one breastfeed( the first one after birth) you have already made a huge difference.

But also if you don't try or give up don't fill yourself with guilt, there's nothing to be guilty about and it will ruin your first weeks with LO x

 

[Saphira]

I remember I had so many plans when I was pregnant.. one of them was that I would definitely be breastfeeding. I set the bar so high for myself that when breastfeeding didn't work out I became depressed about it for months. Only recently have I started coming to terms with it. The thing is, breastfeeding isn't always a choice. It doesn't work out for all women unfortunately. I'm only trying to say that whatever you end up deciding it may end up a completely different way. Not many things can be planned they just happen as they do when baby arrives. I'd let it come naturally.

 

[HellBunny]

If you are undecided maybe try BF first? Its usually easier to change from BF to FF, rather than FF then to BF (but not always impossible)

 

[lozzy21]

Try BF, if it doesent work out you can switch to formula but it's a hell of a lot harder to switch from FF to BF. The idea of BF might seem odd now but when your baby is placed on your chest and starts rooting around it's the most natural instinct on earth.

I had to combi feed because of issues ( prem baby with trouble latching and I hated having to FF, it's expensive, it takes time having to wash and sterilise, you need try and prguess when baby wants feeding. It's honestly just a pain in the arse.

Even if you decide to FF your baby might still want feeding every two hours since their tummys are so tiny. There was a survey done not so long ago and it came out that breastfeeding mums overall get more sleep than FF ones.

 

[Maxy1]

Like everyone says, have an open mind and see how it goes. You honestly won't know how you feel until you have your wee LO in your arms. You may find that the thought of BFing is the most natural thing for you to do afterwards, or alternatively you may really enjoy the thought of FF with your OH helping.

Don't even think about it. Buy a couple bottles and view some BFing lessons just in case and just enjoy your pregnancy.