Has your opinion of breastfeeding changed since breastfeeding?

[Scooby12345]

Hi

I'm being really honest here so please dont jump on me. Before breastfeeding my daughter i used to think it was a bit weird when people carried on bf beyond say 6 months (i am embarrassed to admit this). Is anyone else like this or is it just me?

I'm now planning on letting LO self wean (unless it gets too bad with her teeth) and just love bf and am so sad that it will run its course and she wont want it anymore.

 

[freckleonear]

When I had my son I thought it was normal to feed for just over a year, as that's what my mum and midwife did with all their children. I did end up letting him self-wean, which happened at about 15 months, although at the time I probably wouldn't have wanted to feed longer than 2 years. Now I realise that the natural weaning age is usually much later. This article hugely changed the way I think. https://www.kidcityny.com/breastfeeding-in-the-land-of-genghis-khan/. I also came across this one recently: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-...i-still-breastfeed-my-fouryearold-400171.html.

 

[ljo1984]

i feel much more passionate about it now that i did before. i wanted to give it a go but really didnt think it would work out for me and was totally open to use formula. but it did work and was alot easier that i thought it would be (apart from the intitial pain!!) but imogen was quite good and feed every 4 hours from birth so wasnt as demanding, and ive learnt so much since so i know for next time if i do get a baby that feeds constantly its not because ive "not got enough milk" "its too hungry" etc. My OH's friends have had a baby she BF for 2 days and stopped stating these reasons and was suprised when OH piped up, thats what they do though, and when we left he started going on about BF and how im the only woman he knows whos actually stuck to it and cant understand why people dont persist etc, so the fact that his fellings on it have totally changed as he only saw it as a convenience before (cause i did the night feeds obviously ha ha) means alot to me.

 

[lynnikins]

i cant say it has really lol as i was there as a teen when my mum was BF my brother and youngest sister and most of my social circle growing up came from BF familys i actually had to spend time researching FF when we move ds1 on from BF lol so BF was a natural assumption for me and i knew that it wasnt all roses lol

 

[aob1013]

I feel even more amazed by it now that i am actually doing it. I would love to keep going until Leni is 2! x

 

[kerrie24]

Before I wasnt particularly bothered either way but since doing it myself,I want to run around telling people how wonderful it is and that they should try it (I dont though lol).My sister said many times,'theres nothing wrong with a bottle of sma'and she 'couldnt be bothered to breastfeed' and id like to change her mind,I wont put pressure on her though if the time comes and she does have kids.Im the only one in my whole family to do it and I think they think im wierd

 

[Celesse]

Having had problems and over come them I am even more passionate about breastfeeding than when I was pregnant. I'm waiting on doing my Peer Support training and probably wouldn't have thought of doing this if not for our problems.

 

[venusrockstar]

I used to think it was dumb when I'd hear of people BF'ing their kids until 2+ years old...but my view on it has completely changed since reading all the health benefits it brings to children. I plan to BF as long as Bella wants.

 

[Scooby12345]

Thanks for all the replies, makes me feel better i'm not the only one who now wants to make the world understand how wonderful bf is!

 

[Racheldigger]

I know not everybody drew a baby who latched on like a magnetic coupling and suckled like a four-inch pump while still on the delivery table and hasn't stopped since (17 months and counting!), but I can't believe women who say in advance that they're going to FF because it's easier and more efficient than BF! What's easy or efficient about staggering about the house in the middle of the night measuring out powder, checking temperatures and sterilising stuff, as opposed to settling down on something comfy and undoing your bra?

 

[cleckner04]

My views have completely changed on breastfeeding. Before Emma I always thought if I could breastfeed good, if not that's okay too. But now I realize I wouldn't have been satisfied with Emma having formula when breastfeeding is so amazing. I used to think 1 year would but the cut-off and that it'd be weird feeding a toddler but it's not at all!! In fact it's amazing because she has the independence from walking and wants to do everything on her own but when it comes time for some booby she's all mine still!

 

[Nimyra]

I'm with the rest of you all. Before I felt very - relaxed - about formula feeding vs breastfeeding. Honestly my main motivation for wanting to breastfeed was to help me lose the pregnancy weight. Now I feel like breastfeeding makes me and LO so bonded and I don't think I'd feel so close to her if I was bottle feeding. I get sad at the thought of *not* breastfeeding. We're going to go as long as LO wants to.

 

[bekkie]

my opinion has definitely changed - I never thought I would BF past 6 months - I thought it would be weird, and then I said "oh well once he has teeth we'll stop" well he has 2 now... and we're still going strong

 

[Seity]

My opinion has changed in a bit of a different way. I always assumed that I would be able to breastfeed for as long as he wanted it and so I never gave formula a second thought. I never realized that there were so many ladies who ran into problems or how many different kinds of problems were out there, so I admit I figured most ladies who gave formula just never gave breast feeding a fair chance. After suffering with low supply and having to combo feed, I have a new appreciation for breastfeeding and am a lot more accepting of those who use formula.

 

[teal]

When I was pregnant I always said I would try breastfeeding but it would be ok if it didn't work out. I also thought about breastfeeding until my son was 6 months or until he had teeth.

When I had my son we had a lot of problems in the start but I felt getting through them was something I had to do for my son. I felt this sort of guilt when my health visitor suggested formula to me. I never imagined feeling guilty about feeding before! Well we got through all the issues and it's wonderful.

As for 6 months - I now feel thinking that is in part due to all these follow on milk adverts! My son now has his two bottom teeth and I'm not put off. After cracked and bleeding nipples - teeth are nothing! xx

 

[Lu28]

When I was pregnant, I was of the opinion that I'd give bfing a shot and if it didn't work out then I wouldn't beat myself up over it and I certainly wouldn't go beyond 6 months because that was a bit weird

As it turns out, we had a very difficult start with LO latching on for the first day or so and then not again until 2.5 weeks old and I suddenly became determined not to give up. And once we got to 6 months, there was no way I was going to give up - I was actually gutted when LO self weaned at just over 12 months!

 

[sun]

I actually think it is much less of a big deal now than when I was pregnant. I used to go out of my way to be discreet and not really mention bf in case it made people uncomfortable, but now I see it as a totally normal thing. I know very few people who bottle fed though (actually I can only think of 1) so I see people bf all the time - it is no longer something weird and foreign to me. xx

 

[dougie]

i always wanted to breastfeed, it was just something that i really WANTED to do, i always thought i would give it my best shot but if it wasnt meant to be it wasnt meant to be. but i thought i would stop once he had teeth, that freaked me out a bit.
i was blessed to have such a good baby who is a complete natural feeder. he went straight on the boob and we have had virtually no problems.
now i am certain i want to feed until he self weans, i dont care if its when he is a big boy, i know that i might need to change the opinions of certain family members, but i am passionate about it. it is giving my boy the best start in life and the benefits are fabby.

 

[~RedLily~]

Same as everyone else. I wasn't overly worried if I couldn't do it but now I love it and will continue for longer than i thought I would although I think I will get some grief from some people.

 

[Laughing Girl]

I love breastfeeding - everything about it - the closeness, the health giving, the nourishment it gives us both - emotionally and physically, I can't think of anything I don't like about it. Before Isla was born, I knew that she would be a breastfed baby, but I didn't anticipate quite how passionately I would feel about what a wonderful thing it is to exclusively feed your own baby. I hope we can continue breastfeeding until Isla decides she is ready to stop.