why do/did you breastfeed??

[bounty007]

Some people don't "get" BFing and it makes me cross!
My FIL for example thinks babies should all be formula fed
I asked him why women had boobs, which got him very embarassed. I then started to mention that breastmilk is free, readily avaiable and at the correct tempertaure...
as a mum of 2 small children my brain is slightly wrecked at the mo and I would love some more points to back my argument

good luck anonMum
You may not need the pump after all anyway - plenty of people never express

Sheer laziness I really admire FF mums, there is no way I could deal with getting up at 1am to faff with bottles.

Why did and do I breastfeed?

Laziness mostly- for the reasons you mention in your OP.

Also the fact that both sides of the family are very atopic and I wanted to avoid for my children the long-term gut problems that have plagued me all my adult life.

out of Spite- no really!
Just before ds1 was born the wicked witch MIL said BF was for the common set or third world countries and wasn't to be encouraged. Immediately put the formula in the back of the cupboard and brought maternity bras

PMSL waitwhat. Never heard that one - but as good as any!!

The common set? That's like someone who posted on here a few weeks ago saying their relative had said that BFing was "a modern fad".

Oh I'm SOOOOO common LOLOLOL

Although having stopped laughing I do think that's really, really sad and a great indicator of the effectiveness of formula marketing campaigns which back in the 70s were saying that formula was better than BM. :(

Even worse that at the time it was far inferior to what's available now. :(

And of course it was only made because there was a glut of skimmed milk powder and they needed a new market for the stuff, blah blah.

Yes of course I'm glad it's here and grateful to the companies who make it as it saves so many babies. I just wish they'd be more ethical about marketing it.

I BF because DD was prem and when she was in SCBU expressing seemed the only thing I could do for her.
Then when she came home she was still very small and I felt I wanted to 'protect' her by giving her breast milk. Can't really explain that, was just how I felt.

Then by the time she seemed a bit more sturdy, it was so easy that there didn't seem any point in stopping.

I agree it is magical. I can't believe I managed to grow such a beautiful little girl inside me (though I did fall a little short on that count...) and then produce what was needed to feed her and protect her from bugs etc.

bounty007, have you asked him why he thinks formula is better than BM?

I'd be genuinely interested to know what his answer is. Cos I bet he thinks formula is basically the same as breastmilk (I've come across this).

Then you can quickly correct him - BM is nutritionally better, and gives all kinds of immunological benefits that formula doesn't.

All other arguments are secondary, for me, at any rate.

Of course there are good reasons to FF, even where the mother is physically capable of BF-ing, but I bet you he won't come up with them.

Jus point out that if all babies were FF, as he says, there would be fewer healthy babies around. And he doesn't intend that, surely??

I did because it is there, it is free and its designed for the job! Why would you go out and pay money for something that is sitting right under your vest for nothing?! (I apprecaiate, of course, that not everyone CAN bf)

Also because I am terminally lazy, and once I got the hang of bf (hard couple of weeks at first!) it was easy. I could even doze or read a book while doing it.

Oh yeah, and all the health benefits etc etc (of course )

I never really made the decision, it's just the done thing in my family. I'm lucky really that I've had so many good role models (thank you, older cousins!).

But if I had to state reasons then-

It's the best thing for DD
It's good for me too!
And as other have said, sheer unadulterated laziness
You can eat extra cake

I didn't really choose to breastfeed - I did it for the same reason I gave birth to a baby instead of laying an egg, I'm a mammal

I didn't have a medical need to use formula, so why would I choose to when there are so many drawbacks? Expensive, difficult, worrying about sterilising things and making it up properly, worrying about overfeeding, running out of it, what to do when travelling or on holiday, heating bottles, health risks for both of us etc.

Lovely cuddles, and the gorgeous, milk-drunk expression on my DS's face when he comes off the boob. Knowing that it's something only I can do for him and enjoying the special bond that creates. The pride when I see him thriving and putting on weight, and knowing it's my milk that's doing that. And sheer laziness, as per previous posts.

I breastfed, I think, for two reasons. Firstly, my mum breastfed me and my sister, and most of the women I knew when I was growing up breastfed their babies, so when it came to me telling the mw what feeding choice I'd made, I hadn't really made a choice, as such. I'd just, I think, always assumed I would breastfeed, because that was really the only way I'd seen babies fed (oh and I remember breastfeeding my baby doll when I was little. She did have a bottle but I didn't use it).
The other reason was the convenience. It's just (once you've got past the awful early weeks) that much easier to just stick the baby on when they're hungry. Particularly at night. No sterilising, no bottles to make up. Although I didn't truly appreciate how much easier it is until I babysat a FF baby.
Nothing prepares you for how hard it can be in the early weeks though. Particularly with your first.

1. my mother breastfed me and my brothers. It never occurred to me pre dcs that I wouldn't breadtfeed.

1. In early days when I was tired and feeding all the time I had excellent support from my great aunt, ex midwife and health visitor. Just knowing that she was rooting for me spurred me on.

1. Convenience. No sterilising/heating and cooling and cleaning of bottles. No need to find kitchen/surface space for paraphernalia.

1)free
2) convenient
3) shown to be better for baby and me
4) i can eat more whilst doing it.

Interesting that so many here seem to be BF-ing because it was the norm within their families/social group.

Of course, the same applies to FF-ers. What the 'norm' is becomes 'natural'. I know that's making a blindingly obvious point, but a few times when I've had an odd response to me BF-ing DS (not a hostile response exactly, just comments that what I'm doing is very unusual, even a bit risky!) - I've reminded myself that in families where everyone has FF-ed, then they are just going to have a different attitude to BF-ing. There's just not the same commonality of experience.

But that's different from someone taking an actively hostile stance on BF-ing, which is what the OP is dealing with...

Some brilliant responses, thank you..
anonmum I hope this thread helps you to BF...it is blooming magical when it works!
barkfox my MIL ff all 4 of her DC's so FIL had no exposure to BFing.
My DF understands BFing and doesnt ever mention it....quite happy to sit and chat while I feed and express at the same time..FIL would have a heart attack at the thought...!
I don?t really get my FIL issues...spoke to my DH about it, and he blames the fact that his mother regularly told him he was an unwanted child . He also thinks that breasts are solely for male pleasure

Because I was lucky enough to be able to, and hope I will be a third time round.

Because it's the best possible start to give.

Because it's free.

Because I didn't have to buy/wash/sterilise/make up bottles.

Easier night feeds, easier feeding whilst out, easier all round

Gives me a warm fuzzy feeling which I can't wait to experience again.

Magical memories of sleepy dream feeds, instead of frantically making up a bottle and trying to cool it down in the middle of the night and waking the whole house whilst doing so.

An excuse to escape to the bedroom when we had a house full of ILs visitors.

An excuse to sit down and request biscuits/tea/cake from DH.

Could go on and on...

I did it because it made me feel very close to the baby and because I was much too disorganised to make up formula. Also it made me extraordinarily happy and relaxed every time I fed, like taking an oxytocin pill (not in the first weeks though

My main reason was the absence of any reason not to. Your FIL is a twat.

What Stickers and TruthSweet have already said. But also because of my eldest sister. She is a decade older so I grew up watching her breastfeed her children and it struck me as something wonderful.

Pre DS I never considered not bfing - me and my siblings were breastfed. When ds was born I had a really tough time and did a bit of ff for the first 10 days. I did loads of reading and became determined to persist with bf because of the health reasons, the convenience (we hated bottle feeding at night), the cost, and the fact that I didn't want formula companies to make money out of me. Reading 'The Politics of Breastfeeding' gave me loads of motivation and, even more importantly, confidence that I could do it. DS 14 weeks now and it's great (apart from mastitis). Love the milky grins

I wouldn't even bother to justify it to him. I come from a ff family and even now my mum comes out with things like "I'll have to give you a bottle soon" when she's cuddling DD.

My eyebrows look something like this .

TBH, I'd get your DH to have a word and tell him to keep his opinions and comments to himself.

Because it's a fabulous conversation starter

In response the the breasts for male pleasure comment the response is

"aaah I see, is that why you chose to grow such a fabulous pair?"