To quit breastfeeding now?

[hipsalips]

I have a three month old and have been EBF, and while a lot of the time its nice to breastfeed I am getting a bit worn down from it.

I'm debating stopping but feel very conflicted. On one hand I like it (sometimes), I know its good for my DD.

On the other hand I hate the clothes I need to wear, I find all the nursing clothes well dowdy, and would feel more like me if I stopped.

I'm planning to wean her at 6 months, would it be worth swapping to formula until then or would you stick with it, or combination feed to get the best of both worlds?

Regardless of how you decide to feed, ditch anything now that you wore when pregnant. And ditch anything you associate with being pinned to the couch under a newborn with. I find clothes really help my mood. Go into H&M or somewhere cheap and buy a ton of stuff that you can use for a few months that you can feed in if you need to and before you lose weight or get used to your new weight- whichever.

For feeding I defo found it got easier, cluster feeding stopped, latch was easier, feeds got quicker and we fell into a bit of a routine.

The answer is - what ever you want OP.

Meh, formula is awesome imo. Perfect prep. Microwave steriliser. No bother at all. I got more sleep and both my babies thrived from day one. It worked really well for us.

I understand about the clothes so much! Bit as others said there is a way around it. Vests under normal stuff. Google ideas, honestly it can be done. I always think it better to not change anything major until I’m less conflicted about it so just take the time to decide and so what’s best for you and your sweet baby. Try not to stress either way. I did it for 12 months and am glad I was able to.

bit like a mummy pig just with one baby

And if that doesn’t sell it...

Do whatever suits you best OP and don't feel guilty. There will be people who will try and make you feel bad whatever you choose to do but they aren't worth paying any attention to.

Personally, I found it far less faff to breastfeed. I'm still breastfeeding my 20 month old (mornings and occasionally during an afternoon cuddle), and I never saw myself bf for this long, but I am going with a child-led approach and here we are.

I stopped wearing nursing clothes very quickly. I wear what I like and pull them up or down. I've fed at weddings in the loo with my entire dress round my thighs! I don't know how I'll ever go back to my pre-baby wired bras. My nursing bras are so comfortable.

We tried to introduce bottle feeding with expressed milk at 6 months, but I spent a lot of time sterilising bottles and worrying about temperature. Leaving the house was so easy with breastfeeding. Just pack boobs and nappies.

My son has dairy, egg and nut allergies (severe according to multiple skin prick tests and anaphylaxis hospitalisations) despite extended bf, so the benefits of feeding have only extended to an easier life for me and extended snuggly cuddles with my boy.

I’ve never worn nursing clothes and BF is the best comforter for teething, bumps and upsets.
FF is a major faff - all that sterilising nonsense and expense.
There’s no way I’d switch to FF if BF works.

We are still EBF at almost a year, it’s only a few feeds a day and is a doddle. Can’t imagine stopping.

You don't agree with formula? I'm sorry to hear that. What were you and the tin of Aptamil arguing about?

Sniggers 😂

There’s always one . .

I tried my hardest to bf my 3rd(8 weeks) but reluctantly went onto ff at 3 weeks, i really wish we got the hang of it. Do what you think is best, these hard nights won't last forever!

I would just wear normal clothes- tops that just lift up.
I would wean at 6 months and carry on breastfeeding until 1 year if you can. You could then offer cows milk.
Your feelings are normal, I did this at about 6 months but carried on feeding for 2 years.
Had a 2nd baby and fed for 4 years. It was soooo much easier second time around.
Try and stick with it Op

Just stop if you want to.

I FF my eldest, best decision for me at the time. I didn’t find it a faff either microwave steriliser and a perfect prep and your away to go.

Combination with my middle, in hindsight she was a really good easy feeder so if I could do it again I’d BF exclusively.

BF my youngest exclusively it was a nightmare from start to finish, extreme weight loss, tongue tie, rubbish shallow latch, constant mastitis etc. Switched to FF at 12 weeks and never looked back.

Moral of the story is do what’s right for you formula is a great alternative to breast milk and it’s your mental health and happiness that matters.

Fix the wardrobe situation before deciding on the breastfeeding one.
Ditch the dowdy stuff. Go through your old clothes and pull anything you can feed in/fit in, that feels like you. Then go treat yourself to a few bits to fill the gaps.
No need to buy feeding clothes but ASOS do some quite nice bits.

I’m sorry I haven’t got time to rtft but go on Facebook and search for the page “can I breastfeed in it?” It actually changed my life. Also, there are more and more bf friendly clothes in normal high street shops now.

I seriously apologise if this has been said already but I wanted to make sure you knew about it! Obviously if you want to stop, stop; but if not, the page is worth joining.

It’s absolutely a personal choice but I found it got so much easier around the 3-4 month mark as DD got less frequent and more efficient at feeding, no faffing with latching etc. I found what clothes worked for me (H&M nursing vests with normal clothes, or anything with buttons, or tops I can just pull up - nobody seems to mind!).
We never used a bottle but by 9 months she was good enough with a sippy cup for long days at nursery without me

@Positivitylieswithin
"missed breastfeeding so much when I stopped but it didn't hurt him to go to formula."
So why are you encouraging someone to bottlefeed when you missed breastfeeding and knew was better for your baby

I would advise you to make the decision based on what’s best for your mental health.

It’s your body, you’re going through it, you’re the one feeling what you are feeling and you’re the one who is breast feeding. You understand yourself the best.

I wanted to give up every other day because I found EBF so difficult. In the end I stayed with it for both children.

I EBF my first child until the age of 2 and Then stopped. After a month of no breastfeeding along came child number 2. I EBF child 2 for 2 and a half years. Again with child 2 I wanted to give up but more so with him than with his older sibling.

In hindsight, 2 years on, I feel like I’m still recovering from the lack of sleep. I feel like EBF exhausted my body. Though I am generally a low energy person.

I don’t regret EBF them. I love that I was able to do so however it was hard and I felt really miserable at times.

I ended up with mastitis several times during those 4 years of EBF, two of those times it was so bad I ended up in hospital.

Yes it’s great for the kids but you matter too. Whatever you chose to do, you’ll do what’s best for you and your child will benefit because you’ll be happier which is more fun to be around.

I agree, the clothes were annoying and I had to wear breast feeding friendly outfits which bothered me. When I finally stopped I did find a lot of joy in being able to dress up again. But the clothes were so drab and the bras were ugly.

Your feelings and thoughts are understandable.

Before children, I had breasts that were big but a small body frame. I looked like I had a boob job. No one would believe that my 30E frame was natural. It was annoying. Also really Affected my back.
After I finished EBF I burned through the fat in my breasts. I’m now what I consider a perfect size. 30D. So in that respect, I ended up with the perfect breast size thanks to breastfeeding. Yes they’re saggy, but it’s fat not muscle and breastfeeding burns fat. I don’t have a cleavage but I’ve always wanted the flat chested look. It suits my frame. I feel sexier now with a smaller chest than I did with a bigger chest. I really hated how huge my breasts got during breastfeeding.

Whilst I didn’t like EBF I now see what I’ve gained from it. If you choose you give up, you’ll see what you’ve gained from it. If you choose to carry on, you’ll see what you gained from it. Either way you’ll find a way to be happy with your decision.

It gets easier because older babies can be more efficient feeders. Also with weaning and them taking bits of water to drink, you might find it less wearing.
From around 5 - 6 months I started to wear LilyPadz and more normal clothes.
I’d carry on a bit longer if you can, in retrospect it is a short time to 6 months.

Do what's right for you but I agree that it does get easier - I guess because feeds get further apart and much quicker too. I also like that I can just go out and stay out for as long as I want without worrying that I have packed enough milk etc. DC3 is nearly 10 months and feeds for 2-5 mins a few times a day so really no time at all.

Re clothes, I just wear normal clothes. It helps that I like wearing clothes with a v neck that I can just pull down or dresses with a few buttons at the top. If I wear something with a high neck I'll put a vest underneath so pull the vest down and top/jumper up.

* perfect breast size for my body, I don’t deem 30D the perfect breast size for everyone. It’s what I felt most comfortable for me*

@ViciousJackdaw
"You don't agree with formula? I'm sorry to hear that. What were you and the tin of Aptamil arguing about?
Maybe the fact breastfeeding is better for your baby than milk made for calves🤷🏽‍♀️

I've been breastfeeding for the last couple of years and never needed to wear special clothes for it. I just lift my top up.
It's so much easier to get a boob out than prepare a bottle. It's also a good way to calm a baby, get them to nap, help their immunity etc etc