Were you breastfed?

[maisiemog]

I have been wondering recently whether part of the reason I have been bf'ing my ds, is because I was breastfed. It's like I just expected that I would do the same thing.
Do you think being breastfed yourself influenced your decision?
Another thing and this is crazy. I was thinking about all the effort I had to put in at the start - when it was very difficult - to bf my son, and I can't stand the thought that if he has children his partner will choose not to breastfeed. Like my efforts to ensure his best health will be scuppered. What's wrong with me?

I was breastfed and I think it must have influenced my decision to bf. My younger sisters were also breastfed so I will have seen it happening (although like you Spidermama, I can't really remember seeing it much). I never really had to think about whether i would bf or not, I always just assumed I would. I also knew I had the support and advice from my mum to back me up if I came across any problems.

don't know where that rogue '9' came from! dd1 is 4!

found out recently that one of my aunts breastfed her dd2 til she was about 4. now thats extended breatfeeding!

It sounds like there is an influence from parents, but there are more people who weren't bf'd who are now bfing, so perhaps its just as much to do with the prevailing culture. I was kind of thinking in terms of people following in the footsteps of their parents - careerwise etc.. wondering if bf was one of those things.
Colditz, you are bound to disagree with your mum on some issues of parenting, but at least you know the current climate seems to be getting more supportive, and your mum's views are out of sync and not very constructive. I hope you get through the hard part and come out the other end to the easy part.
You'll get loads of support here on Mumsnet though

I and all my siblings were breast fed and I always assumed I would bf my children. My dh was bottle fed and initally expressed some suprise/shock that I wanted to bf. When the time came though he was 110% behind me - although I now think he sussed that he would not need to do night feeds.
When I thought I'd have to switch to bottles, I dreaded telling my Mum but she was very supportive and I'm very grateful to her for that.

At least there were more people before I posted, then a million posts later that all changed.

But Rosehip syrup and carnation sound nice too.

just as a by-line to what you said about following footsteps career-wise, maisiemog: I didn't find out until adulthood that I have the same career as my birth mother and i was adopted at 8 weeks; hows that for a co-incidence?

I was breastfed for a few months in the early 60s, and my mother was considered a bit of a freak for breast-feeding on demand. Strangely enough she was one of the people who seemed desperate for me to stop breast-feeding dd - she sent me cartons of formula and disposable bottles, and was mosr disapproving that I demand-fed.

I can't say that it will worry me if my dd chooses to formula feed; it's an individual choice and not one that anyone else can make for any woman.

I was breastfed for about four months and my mum was one of the biggest supports to me when I was struggling with feeding DS in the early weeks. Went on to feed him till he self-weaned at nearly 17mo. Will breastfeed this one, as long as there's not some new-fangled way to do it since I had DS

DH was bottlefed, but his mum was very supportive of me breastfeeding - however, her DD didn't (not because she didn't try really, really hard to though).

Wasn't bf - but bf my 4 kids. Never got any words of encouragement from my mother who just let me get on with bf.

my mum bf me for a year & mil bf Dh for 3 -4 mths. I guess I automatically bf my DD & realise now I was lucky finding it easy.

I remember being 'astonished' when the HV at the prenatal class if anyone was going to use bottles ! I guess I was in a small world. When I went back with Dd & told them how BF was, one of the girls says she might consider it as I had started to get my figure back so soon.

I wasn't breastfed, but my mother was. She breastfed my brother until 8 months, which was a lot in the 70s. My mum was very supportive because she didn't feed me (because of very dodgy medical advice and us both being given lots of drugs/kept seperated etc.) She really wanted to "because we were so poor".

I stopped feeding ds at 2.5 and then we went on holiday, paid for by the money we had saved. Somehow getting a 2 week holiday seemed amazing compensation for those early weeks, a bout of mastitis etc.

Message withdrawn

I wasn't, and no, I don't remember being breast or bottled feed so my positive felings about breastfeeding came from the information I got, not through a sense of duty of giving back what I had received. However, one of the big drawbacks when I was through the painful phase of establishing bf were the comments of my mother asking me to give ds a bottle because it was hurting me so much. Before her comments I felt I was "bravely" bf DS through pain and tears but after those comments I felt she thought I was, just plainly and simply, stupid.I did keep trying though...

i was breastfed for 9 months, & my mum fed my brother for a bit longer. i think it did influence me - i knew that i'd been breastfed & just didn't consider that i wouldn't do it for my children. i breastfed ds for 6 months & am still breastfeeding dd who's 4 months. my mum was extremely supportive when i was struggling at the beginning with both of them. dp & his siblings were breastfed too, though not for very long i don't think. my mil was also supportive, but my sil found bf hard & mixed fed.

yes

I was and yes, think it might have contibuted to the assumption I would. Mind you, DH was bottle fed, but he still assumed I would breastfeed... (I think!)

I was bf until 18m (mum stopped then to conceive my sister ). Both of my sisters were also bf. DH was bottle fed, and he couldn't be a stronger supporter of me bfing. My MIL is also v.supportive, which is interesting as she is effectively saying what she did is wrong.

I'm bfing ds (now 19m), and hope to bf the next one (pg at the moment, so hoping ds will self-wean soon!)

yes i was. mom was working as well. she'd come back to feed me.
she bf big sis till threee months. well, she tried, but coz of complications at birth etc, she was mainly bottlefed as mom was too ill.
sister three was bottlefed
sis four was breastfed. mom was a t full time work from when she was six or seven months old.

but, when i was a teenager, everyone around me bottlefed.

Yes, and I didn't hear the end of it when I was growing up and particularly when pregnant. It was expected that I'd b/f. My mum's opinions really ramped up the pressure when I was having difficulties, which wasn't what I needed. Ulimately I failed to b/f.

I was and I did. Not sure whether it affected my decision, though. I don't think my mum ever talked to me about it. I've seen pictures of me breastfeeding though, but there are also pictures of me with bottles (must have been mixed-fed) - so it probably didn't influence me either way.