Giving up after 6 months

[EmmaFTM]

Lily has been exclusively bf since she was born and I am still loving bfing her but I'm going on holiday in May and am trying to decide whether it would be best to wean her off at 6 months; or not. She will be 8 months old when we go on holiday- what would be easier bf or formula???

I am going with my hubby and my family and am not confident feeding baby in public. I plan to introduce solids at 6 months (self-wean). Has anyone been on holiday and found either formula or bf easier? How many feeds a day should she be on by then?

Thanks in advance.

 

[ashley2pink]

Well, bf would be easier for sure. Mixing bottles, toting formula, warming up water etc vs. just putting her to your breast. I had a hard time nursing in public with my first nurser. I just made myself do it. It wasnt hard after doing it a few times. This isnt to sound rude, but I dont think going on holiday is good reason to switch over to formula. Only because I think you will regret it afterwards. I bet if you just make yourself feed in public, you will be a lot more pleased with your decision. Another option would be pumping for outings.

 

[Sam Pearson]

I've had one bottle fed bub and two breastfed bubs and there's no way I'd want to be on holidays and having to fuss with bottles. If you aren't comfortable feeding in public could you just bring a light cloth to drape over you for privacy?

I found the more I fed in public the more comfortable I was and when I felt a hostile audience when feeing out and about I looked to my child - made eye contct with her and ignored everything else around me.

Sometimes I went with the "fake it until you make it" if I ever felt insecure feeding in public I'd pretend I wasn't and hold my head high and smile bigtime looking at everybody around me with full eye contact and eventually I really did feel proud of feeding wherever I was.

I hope you have a nice holiday.

Sam in Sydney

 

[ablacketer]

we did a 9 day trip to disney, universal studios and seaworld when rylan was 4 months. I cant imagine trying to do bottles. boob is easy. just the right temp, always there, and I dont need to fill my bag with gobs of crap.

no offense but wanting to wean due to your holiday is a bit selfish imho

 

[lisaf]

I think BFing is sooo much easier too... I don't know where you are going on holiday but that might be one thing to consider.

They don't usually eat as often by then and its not so immediate demand etc so you can go and find a quite/private place. I would find it a lot easier to nurse without a cover if I was on holiday though! Lol! I wouldn't be seeing those people again so it wouldn't bother me as much!

 

[EmmaFTM]

I was always going to try to get to 6 months and so am really asking whether I should carry on for the holiday- everyone is saying stop the bf and enjoy yourself on holiday (I take it very seriously and don't drink etc)- so far from "selfish" if you ask me!!!! I don't have any experience of ff so was looking for advice on how easy/difficult it might be.

 

[loopy82]

Personally, I'd stick with bfing. Depending on where you're going you'll have to worry about the water supply, probably need to take your own kettle and you'll need to take enough formula to last. You may also find that your lo doesn't want to wean onto bottles! You can still have one or two drinks while bfing and by the time you go lo will probably be going longer between feeds by then too. If you switch to formula you will get the benefit of other people being able to help but I recon that's about it. Lo and I went on a trip down south for nearly 3 weeks a few months ago to see family and I was so glad to be bfing, for a start I had no space in my bag to carry any bottles or anything!

 

[EmmaFTM]

Personally, I'd stick with bfing. Depending on where you're going you'll have to worry about the water supply, probably need to take your own kettle and you'll need to take enough formula to last. You may also find that your lo doesn't want to wean onto bottles! You can still have one or two drinks while bfing and by the time you go lo will probably be going longer between feeds by then too. If you switch to formula you will get the benefit of other people being able to help but I recon that's about it. Lo and I went on a trip down south for nearly 3 weeks a few months ago to see family and I was so glad to be bfing, for a start I had no space in my bag to carry any bottles or anything!

Thanks for your reply. I did think that it would be the easier option to bf- it is good to hear from people who have been away themselves. X

 

[midori1999]

I've been on holiday with a FF 6 month and 12 month old and despite taking ready made formula, it was a right faff tbh.

One of the bonuses of still BF is that if your LO did get sick then you could still carry on BF as normal.

As for drinking, well, that's up to you obviously, but all the evidence says that a drink or two occasionally is not at all harmful to your baby and with an 8 month old it is more than realistic to plan any alcohol around feeds so that by the time you feed your LO then there's no alcohol in your system anyway.

Everyone's different, but I think I'd enjoy my holiday far more if BF, what better parenting tool is there for a baby that might be over tired and fussy due to being away from home?

 

[janey1975]

I don't have anything to add really but just wanted to say that I don't think you are being selfish at all. Instead, I think you are just trying to plan ahead. You've done so well to breastfeed as long as you have and if you want to switch to formula then I think that's fine. After all, don't the guidelines say 6 months, which by then you would have comfortably done. I think you are more than entitled to think about the impact on yourself and your baby. A happy mum = happy baby, which is good for everyone.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do. And please do not feel guilty if you decide to stop breastfeeding x

 

[EmmaFTM]

If baby starts solids at 6 months- how many feeds/meals might she be having at 8 months? Xx

 

[EmmaFTM]

I don't have anything to add really but just wanted to say that I don't think you are being selfish at all. Instead, I think you are just trying to plan ahead. You've done so well to breastfeed as long as you have and if you want to switch to formula then I think that's fine. After all, don't the guidelines say 6 months, which by then you would have comfortably done. I think you are more than entitled to think about the impact on yourself and your baby. A happy mum = happy baby, which is good for everyone.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do. And please do not feel guilty if you decide to stop breastfeeding x

Thank you- I don't want to sound selfish but when you listen to everyone (friends and family) telling you that you deserve to let your hair down and let others help when on holiday, it makes you think. X

 

[Ozzieshunni]

BFing all the way! Why faff about with formula and bottles and worrying about customs and security? I'll be BFing Alex in June when we go to California and he'll be one then

 

[midori1999]

Just for the record, no guidelines say to BF for 6 months, they say to exclusively BF for 6 months. The WHO guidelines say to BF for at least two years and then beyond.

Of course, they're only guidelines, everyone has to do what's right for them.

I personally don't find BF very restrictive and my 6 month old rarely feeds between around 10am and 6pm now anyway, she'll have one 'big feed' to get to sleep in that time, maybe two, and several quick drinks. Then she has a feed before bed, feed around midnight/1am, feed at around 5am, 7-8am and then sometimes again at around 9am. It looks a lot written down, but I feel like I hardly ever feed her these days and her feeds very rarely last longer than 5-10 minutes.

 

[shinona]

Another vote for bf-ing on hols from me - purely for the convenience factor. It is much easier to just bf on the plane (v good for take off and landing to prevent sore ears) and less hassle when out and about. At 8 months my son slept through the night so I could have a few drinks of an evening and know that it would be gone by the morning. He maybe had 4-5 feeds during the day too.

If you wanted to have a lie in some mornings and let someone else do the first feed then you could always take one or two bottles and some sterilising tablets and express a feed the day before. I tried this a couple of times but I would always wake up when I heard ds anyway and it would be easier to feed.

Good luck with what you decide.

xx

 

[Itsychik]

Don't worry hun--you're not being selfish at all! Good for you for bf'ing at all and for coming on here to ask for advice on your questions.

My LO is 6 months old and we've been on "vacation" with him twice (8 hour plane ride, 6 hour timezone difference... plus time at airport, traveling to/from, etc). I combi-feed so have experience both FF and BF. If you want to offer formula, you do have more to bring with you (bottles, formula, and I always have a thermos with hot water to be able to make up a bottle anytime). However, once you're used to it then it's not much of a hassle. For me, being able to give LO a bottle whenever I need to is very useful and worth and additional 'hassle' that bringing the formula might cause. However, bf'ing is also really handy because it's a pretty easy, immediate way to calm a screaming, hungry baby!

So I would make a couple of suggestions. Depending on where you're traveling, you need to keep in mind whether you'll be able to use the water there? Will you be in a hotel, or in an apartment where you'll have access to something to heat water and possibly boil/sterilize bottles? If yes, then formula could be an option. You could also consider combi-feeding. You could bf when it works for you, and give formula or expressed milk at the other times when you're out. Then I would suggest bringing a pump to use as well (it sounds like a lot but I did this on both of our vacations and it was much less of a hassle than I expected) unless you prefer to hand express. That way you wouldn't have to give up bf'ing entirely if you don't want to.

We just recently started weaning my 6-month old so I don't know exactly how many feeds your LO would have at 8 months, but my LO now is having milk (bf or bottle) 5 times a day (once when waking up, after breakfast, twice after lunch, and once before bed). But that's more because I offer than because he's asking for it. I think by 8 months he'll be down to 2 - 3 feeds (once morning and night, and maybe sometime between lunch/dinner). Also, depending on where you go you might need to bring food/snacks for your LO while you're out so that's something else to consider.

So all in all, it's up to you! You don't have to make a decision now... you can get to 6 months and see how you feel about it then. 6 months was my goal as well, and now that I've reached it I'm just taking it one month at a time. I'm not ready to stop, and you may or may not be either If you decide to combi-feed or switch to formula, that might be a good time to start introducing bottles (if you haven't already) to help your LO get used to it.

Good luck and have fun on your holiday!

 

[midori1999]

Just to add, at 8 months you could easily lay in without even having to give LO a bottle. I've laid in every day this week, often till midday, but until 10am at the earliest. My husband has just taken LO down after her first feed, given her breakfast mid morning and then woken me when she needs another BF so I can get up.

 

[feeble]

I think you'd be fine having a few drinks! Only after two does it affect baby and if your having a whole night on it then either feed formula for that one night and pump and dump of you feel full up til the morning (which is what I would do at that age) or pump breastmilk and store it (which sounds like a total faff to me and as an 8 month old is starting to have solids anyway, one night of drinking formula is not going to hurt!

Your not selfish, your bloody marvellous feeding your kiddie for that long with a few insecurities about it, many with those insecurities dont bother, I think you've done a fab job but I wouldnt quit for your holiday, maybe just use formula when you think youll be drinking!

Enjoy yourself! You've had a long time of being mummy and now you can enjoy your self as an adult again x

 

[summer rain]

I don't have anything to add really but just wanted to say that I don't think you are being selfish at all. Instead, I think you are just trying to plan ahead. You've done so well to breastfeed as long as you have and if you want to switch to formula then I think that's fine. After all, don't the guidelines say 6 months, which by then you would have comfortably done. I think you are more than entitled to think about the impact on yourself and your baby. A happy mum = happy baby, which is good for everyone.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do. And please do not feel guilty if you decide to stop breastfeeding x

Guidelines don't say to BF for 6 months only, instead guidelines say to EBF for 6 months before introducing any other foods or drinks and then ideally to continue BF for up to 2 years or even more.

Personally I would prefer to BF on holiday and screw everyone else-faffing around with bottles and formula on holiday is a big stress. There are more restrictions on carrying liquids etc out of the UK than there are in other countries. When we went to the middle east a few years ago my then youngest had just recently stopped BFing at over one year, and he had a severe milk allergy, in the UK non-dairy alternatives were widely available but over there we had to buy a specialist soya formula which was very pricey, as there were absolutely no other non-dairy products available-not even in Holland and Barratt etc! I know he had special dietary needs so its a bit different but I wish he hadn't quit BF a few weeks before-would have made life that bit easier xx

 

[EmmaFTM]

Thank you so much everyone- your comments have really been so helpful. Some of you have taken a lot of time to answer my questions, without judging me, and I am very grateful.

I think I have decided to continue with bf past six months and on holiday. Isychik- your post was really helpful as was midori's telling me how many feeds I should expect by 8 months. I am so enjoying our bf time and am actually chuffed that I can feed her for longer than I planned. Thank you all. Xxx