Finding it sooo hard

[stargirl1701]

DD2 is 10 months. What do you tell yourself to stay motivated to continue? I would like to make it to 12 months but I am struggling.

[ApplesTheHare]

Aw it's hard it's it Well done for making it to 10 months! What makes you want to go on to 12 months? What is it you're struggling with in particular? (though I bet it's a mix of things)

I ask as somebody who struggled and did ebf for 6 months and felt an enormous amount of guilt over switching to ff but it's actually been one of the bets baby decisions I ever made. Not trying to push you in that direction at all if you want to carry on, but if you only want to carry on because you feel you 'should' then I can highly recommend switching.

[Sleepyhoglet]

What exactly are you finding tricky? My dd is 7 months and the pinching of my breasts is making is very uncomfortable at times. Currently though she is all sleepy and her adorable little satisfied face keeps me going. Plus I'm too lazy to make a bottle when I can feed her in bed.

[stargirl1701]

Thanks for responding.

It's just the relentlessness of it. Every feed, it's me. Every bedtime, it's me. I long for a night away.

She is CMPI so switching to formula would mean having to try different prescription formulas. It would've a total PITA for just 8 more weeks really.

She's teething. We're in the 8-10 month regression. DH is really busy at work. She did sleep better last night - just up 3 times. The previous 3 nights she was up every 30 minutes.

[TeddyBear2015]

My little boy is 6mths now and I would love to keep going but I think the pressure is going to make me switch to combi feeding. You should be so proud of getting so far and nothing at all should you feel bad about. Would your LO take a bottle of expressed milk so you can get a break? We are up hourly at night so I know how it feels.

Thè reason I'm giving up is public pressure. I've had a lot of opinion forced on me and called names. Anything from "disgusting" and "you should have more dignity in public" to being taken to the baby change toilets at the suggestion I would "be more comfortable in there" when my son was a month old. One woman even told me she had a called the police and was getting me arrested for indecent exposure because I was feeding in front of her husband and son.

I agree with comments here though. The thing I love is seeing how beautiful and happy my baby is and knowing I made that happen in every sense of the word (my OH just got lucky one night!). It's also a sense of serenity knowing you're doing exactly what nature intended and setting the little poppets up perfectly in life.

Just know that you have done an amazing job that so very very few have done that long. Whatever you decide to do just stay strong because you're amazing ????

[ThatsNotEvenAWord]

Teddy what awful experiences! They are all totally in the wrong and should be ashamed!! Idiots.

OP you've done an amazing job getting so far. No real advice but wanted to sympathise, I so so know what you mean about it being relentless and all on us to have to settle them. My DS is a year old soon; times like you're describing I just think well one more feed/night and see how I feel the next day. Doesn't help he totally refuses bottles either.

Your body, your choice - there'd be no shame in deciding you don't want to do every feed if you don't want to

[ThatsNotEvenAWord]

Sorry that my last sentence doesn't really make sense, hope you get the jist!

[stargirl1701]

Teddy Bear, that's just appalling! I'm incensed on your behalf! If you are also in Scotland, you can call the police. It is a criminal offence here to harass a bf women. Perpetrators will be arrested.

I need a wet nurse! I could express but she hasn't had a bottle since about 6 weeks. It's more for comfort overnight, I guess. My eldest was mix fed so it was easier but she developed serious food allergies which may be linked to formula as the environmental factor influencing a vulnerable gene group. Ah, the guilt over that!

I've dosed her on Calpol tonight for the teeth so fingers crossed!

[TeddyBear2015]

Thanks guys for being annoyed in my behalf. I'm still going to try and feed him as long as possible I just get embarrassed in public now so stay closer to home. Stargirl it was at the metro centre near Newcastle so I couldn't say anything back. I should have told her to pop into town a couple of hours later and she'd have seen plenty more exposed flesh than my left breast!

I think it's a cultural thing in some parts and as a first timer I just wasn't prepared enough for members of the uneducated public. Given my bear will scream like a banshee if you try to put a bottle in the same room as him I haven't had much choice. I bet in 16yrs time he'll be overjoyed to be offered a drink from a bottle! (Who am I kidding it'll be before then! ???? I'm putting bets on sneaky 14yr olds tasting beer from a bottle passed round them all and screwing their faces up at the taste. He's like that now with strawberry yoghurt!)