Show your support
I wasn’t able to breast feed. My daughter wouldn’t latch and I didn’t get any help so we just had to give her formula. I would have loved to have breastfed but it just wouldn’t happen. I pumped for an about two weeks but only got 50ml a day and then milk stopped coming in. Formula feeding hasn’t been that bad it allows my boyfriend to feed our baby too. If you do formula feed I would recommend getting a rapid cool as it helps out so much with the night feeds when baby is screaming at you for milk
With my first I wasn’t able to breastfeed. I didn’t produce any colostrum or milk, my daughter was starved for 24 hours, she had an amazing latch but wasn’t receiving anything. Which then forced my into using formula, it honestly broke my heart and really affected my mental health as I thought there was something wrong with me not being able to produce nutrients for my baby. With my second, I chose to formula feed from birth as I didn’t even want to try & didn’t want to experience the heart ache I had the first time round. Turns out I would have been able to breastfeed but I still chose not to & my mental health second time round was great!
@Jasmine not being able to breastfeed affected my mental health and it made me think I didn’t have a bond with my daughter. I still get upset about not being able to breastfeed and she is 10 months old. If we have another baby I would love to breastfeed but also don’t know if I would be able to handle it mentally
I have never liked the thought of a baby on MY boobs, I also felt I’d become really over stimulated by it and just didn’t ever want the pressure. My closest friends breastfeed and it think it’s amazing (for them) and I say it like that because I love watching them feed their babies and think how lovely but for me it was something I never ever wanted to do xx
I tried and managed 4 days, her latch wasn’t great so it was very painful. It didn’t help that I was so engorged too. I was upset at first but my partner being able to help with feeds has been a god send. The pain passed after about a week of stopping and I felt 100x better
I tried breastfeeding for 13 days and cried at every feed so basically every 3 hours for two weeks. It took a huge toll on my mental health. Still does. I miss breastfeeding her and hate that we couldn't do it
I found breastfeeding my first 2 kids painful, so with my 3rd I always knew I'd formula feed, plus I wanted my partner to be able to help with feeding and to be able to give me some nights off
My first was breastfed for 8 weeks but she was constantly hungry and i had a low supply due to medical reasons and ended up having a breakdown and moving to formula. My second I fed in hospital and then switched to formula at home because my husband could help with feeds and I didn't want another repeat of what happened with my first.
For me, I have a very hungry baby started on 3-4 ounces from day one my breast milk didn’t come in to begin with and then when it did she refused to even touch it has loved her formula ever since, I also like to know what she’s had
I breast fed for 13 weeks and baby just started to refuse, so now I express and top up with formula
I did breastfeed for 18 days but my little one wasn't latching properly no matter what I tried although she was gaining weight and it was just to painful to continue. As the doctor said to me (because stopping led to mastitis), "Fed is best". I did express for a week or so but just formula now. It also means my fiance and dad can help out with feeds
Formula fed babies can sleep for longer intervals before needing to be fed. They don't cluster feed like ebf babies do. No one told me that in antenatal classes, I was expecting to be up for hours at a time in the night, but that doesn't happen with bottle fed babbas. I bonded so well with my first baby who was bottle fed. I'd feed him and then we would cuddle for hours at a time. We still have that special cuddle connection now and he's 6! I think the disadvantages of bottle feeding are sometimes overstated x
For me I feel really uncomfortable with the idea of breastfeeding to the extent where if I was told I HAD to breastfeed I wouldn’t have had a baby. Plus it’s meant my husband did the night feeds before she stopped her night feed and it meant I could have a relatively rested night ready for my day with her. I tried hand expressing a few days before birth and it really stressed me out and made me feel sick. Other people breastfeeding doesn’t weird me out, just me doing it weirds me out