S
Serene123
Guest
Well I've been pottering around giving people advice and telling them not to give their babies bottles if they wish to breast feed. I do not speak from a medical view, nor the view of someone who knows what they're talking about professionally. I can only talk from experience. I have absolutely nothing against bottle feeding. I believe everyone has a right to be comfortable with the way in which they feed, but if you really, strongly, truely want to breast feed, I would strongly protest you do not give a bottle to a breast fed baby unless you're willing to deal with what will/could happen. The "I'll just give her one a day," theory isn't going to work in most cases! If you give a baby a bottle he/she will get used to the flow and/or easy nature of the bottle. He/she will then begin to protest againt breast feeding (not in all cases but in most) and you will have the hugest fight on your hands to get all the way back to where you started. Which, I believe, is alot harder than sticking at it in the first place. I believe the key to acheiving breast feeding is reassurance and guidence. I don't believe the NHS is in any way good enough at promoting breast feeding. I guess this is where my story starts. After being so uninterested in breast feeding when I was pregnant, it was completely different when she was in my arms, nussling at me! I tried so hard to breast feed Caitlyn. I fought through nights in hospital with her screaming and keeping everyone awake when a midwife told me I should just give her a bottle to keep her quiet. Well, after days of being awake and no one telling me that things would get better, (and that she wouldn't starve,) I did it. I gave her a botle. I have never been so upset in my life. After that, she got more and more distressed with the breast. Soon enough I was ready to give up.. I couldn't though. My heart was in it. It took so much fighting, and she has been having formula and breast for a long time. She would favour one over the other at different times. I was lucky, she never started to reject my breast. Other people are not that lucky! She is now totally rejecting bottles and I have never been so happy, but it was hard! It was hard to see her favour a piece of plastic over what nature intended (for us, not everyone.) I know there are circumstances where it is best for a mother to subsitute feeds with a bottle but I really and truely want to stress that if you want to breast feed (I understand not everyone does) then please, please, do not set out to mix feed. It was truely heart breaking for me and I know a few more women on here are going through the same struggle.
Breast feeding can be hard, tiring and sometimes almost impossible but the battle is worth it. You can do it girls, you truely can!!
I hope I did not offend anyone when writing this. It was meant for reassurance and guidence to those that want to breast feed, not to push anyone into deciding to breast feed, nor put anyone down who does not wish to. I am pro-choice when it comes to this.
Breast feeding can be hard, tiring and sometimes almost impossible but the battle is worth it. You can do it girls, you truely can!!
I hope I did not offend anyone when writing this. It was meant for reassurance and guidence to those that want to breast feed, not to push anyone into deciding to breast feed, nor put anyone down who does not wish to. I am pro-choice when it comes to this.