Not breastfeeding

1st and 2nd babies I didn’t produce breast milk so it’s likely I won’t with this 1 either x

I didn’t produce much milk with my first and she ended up in hospital because of it. For me, it really affected my mental health and connection. I don’t want to go through that again

Didn’t produce enough milk first time around, my second baby I managed to exclusively breastfed for 16 months but honestly I hated it. I’m so proud I did it but I was touched out, exhausted from having to co sleep as my little boy wouldn’t sleep without being latched and I never got used to it, I felt like my whole life revolved around boob. I wanted to stop breastfeeding at 6 months but it just didn’t happen because I couldn’t get him to accept anything other than boob so it just felt like an endless cycle that I couldn’t get out of. I want to be able to enjoy the newborn bubble this time around without constantly worrying about if babies getting enough milk/gaining weight and maybe selfishly I want to be able to share the load with my husband (he also really struggled with feeling shut out of breastfeeding and wanting to be more helpful and be left alone with our son or take him out without him worrying about needing the boob) x

We opted for formula so my partner could share the nighttime duties.. especially when recovering from my c-section with my first. We also found that baby slept much better with formula and has hit every milestone and more. We plan to do the same again for our second as well.

First time round I was really hard on myself as I never produced enough milk so had to formula feed. Now having my second, I’ve come to appreciate formula feeding as it allowed other people to help more with feedings to give me a break. Also I want to be able to spend time with my eldest rather than be stuck on the boob for hours at a time.

Personally very sensitive in boob area and thought of breastfeeding put my teeth on edge a bit. Plus I had lots of friends who struggled with breastfeeding and I watched it seriously affect their mental health. I also wanted to be able to share the load with hubby (did consider combi feeding). Finally I had a traumatic birth first time and was too poorly to breastfeed and then didn’t produce enough anyway. Second time round my baby was preemie and was tube fed. I had the option to pump but with a toddler at home and a lack of experience in breastfeeding we opted for formula again. This time round I think we’ll go formula again because we know how it works and it suits our family. I hope this helps.

I wish I could have but I only got 2 oz and eventually it dried up. She also didn’t latch and I had to pump. Every time I pumped I had this weird feeling take over me (there is a medical name for it, I forgot) but i eventually stopped being able to pump anything out at all so I had to stop. I am sad that I had to stop giving my baby breast milk but I am also happy that I never have to feel the way I did when I pumped. I would think this may be one of the reasons a lot of moms stop?