Don't want to breast feed, did anyone else go straight to bottle feed?

[Mariacbw]

I am 36 weeks pregnant and am really not keen on breast feeding. I have read lots of info but I still prefer not to. I could maybe bf for first couple of days but then if want to move on to bottle. Did anyone else do this?

I bf, but my friend went straight to ff without bfing first and had no problems.
In the first few days the baby will get colostrum, which is beneficial to them. But ultimately the choice is yours, don't feel pressurised into doing something you don't want to do.

I've got 2 happy and healthy teens, ff from birth, I've never even attempted to breast feed, chose not to.

Of course, lots of people start with BF then switch to bottles - there's no harm in trying it and seeing how you feel about it then, and your LO will get the benefit of colostrum. You might find you want to continue after the first couple of days, or you'll stick with your original plan and move to FF. Worth giving it a go anyway.

(I BF mine, so can't give you any personal experience of switching/dealing with milk coming in if you're not continuing, but I'm sure someone more experienced will be along in a minute!)

Have you thought of expressing it & giving in a bottle? Is it the idea of the baby being attached to you, or that you want to get back to normal more quickly & not feel like a milk bar for months? Or is it a privacy issue? Colostrum incredibly beneficial, but if you think you will hate doing it, it may do more harm than good as your relationship with baby may suffer if you force yourself. Breast is only best, if it's best for you BOTH.

Yes I did think of expressing but just the whole thing of bf makes me feel nauseous, which is ridiculous as it's one of the most natural things in the world, but my opinion just hasn't changed throughout the pregnancy. For those that went straight to FF or changed over after a few days did you get any negative experiences from mw or hv?

A lot of people do this, so am sure there will be posters with personal experience.

I was fairly ambivalent re feeding dd1, but she rooted straight for the breast and kind of made her own mind up. She never would take a bottle!

Colostrum is said to kick start their immune system, so you could express and syringe feed maybe?

Keep an open mind - you don't know how you will react when the baby is there, even so close to the birth. Take a few hours/days at a time and see how it goes.

Ooh OP I think I might join you and share your answers if you don't mind?! I have ages to decide, but I'm just not sure I want to. Yet I know it's the best thing for baby!

WRT the pp who suggested expressing - I did this for 6 weeks when my ds (now 13!) was born because he wouldn't latch. It felt like the best of both worlds to me, but it was time consuming, although he was the easiest baby you could wish for. Basically, I fed him from a bottle, winded him, let him sleep (was easy to out down!) then expressed for the same length of time while reading a book. I even did this in the middle of the night to ensure my supply was maintained. I was ok to miss an expressing session if we were out though - think I just expressed more at the next opportunity.

To be honest, it was great for us, but it's a big commitment of time. I suspect if I'd had a whingy baby I couldn't have managed.

None of this is meant to put you off! Just honest advice based on my experience.

Watching with interest ...

I agree the baby should get the colostrum so I will bf for that. I don't like the thought of expressing so will bf

Hi, I have got 2 teenagers ff both of those no probs, didn't even consider bf. I now have an 18 month old who was in scbu for 8 days when born very sick, was going to bottle feed but docs asked me to express so I did (he was tube fed for a few days). When we got how I continued to express (didn't last much longer though as milk dried up suddenly after about 3 weeks) which I am really glad I did and would defo do again if I had another 1. Wouldn't breast feed though I don't think.

Dd1 had to go straight to ff as She was too weak to latch on and I should probably have expressed but really couldn't have coped with that.

My dd2 took a full bottle of formula before they even finished stitching me up...
Only reaction I got was when doc in hospital was writing up some painkillers for me, turned to me and said "oh crap you aren't breast feeding are you" when I said no he said " oh thank god"

Hv was a bit snotty about it ( but then she was a bit snotty full stop).

My friends babies were all bottle fed from birth, mine were breast fed for 1 year. No discernable difference between them, as far as I can see. One friend hated the thought of bfing, but did 3 days for the colostorum. I think breastfeeding is quite hard to get the hang of at the beginning, so if you don't want to do it, it would make it quite hard to persevere, I would have thougt.

I ff ds1 from birth and intend to do so with ds2 when he is born in August. Although this time I'm going to try to give colostrum which I didn't do the first time.

The idea of bf just doesn't appeal to me and I had no problems with midwives or health visitors regarding my choice at all. The midwives after birth just asked what formula I wanted and that was it ( I think if they had asked me to try to bf though I would have....).

My advice is to just wait and see how you feel after the baby comes and don't worry about what other people think, professional or otherwise.

I would give it a go for the colostrum. I bf all mine but the oldest only for just over a week and youngest for 11 months. I am so glad I did the first week with DC1 though as I think that is the most important. I was nervy about it with DD1 I was a teenager and never seen anyone bf as well as being very shy around midwives etc. Still it being best for baby convinced me to try. Good luck.

I was very scared and unsure about bf. DS was a 36 weeker and unable to latch, so had formula on advice from the mws for blood sugar. I was unable to express any colostrum and didn't want to properly express so he has never had a drop of breast milk.
He is a very healthy, robust, crawling babbling delightful 9 month old now. If you don't want to bf, don't, your baby will be just fine on formula.

Don't forget bf is free. You can try it and it won't cost anything. Establishing bf isn't easy because being a first time mum isn't easy. However, it doesn't mean that bf will necessarily be hard either.

I wish you well in your journey to meet your DC for the first time. It will be magic to look in his/her eyes for the first time.

I formula fed all 3 of my children from birth. Had no problems with it and am happy with my choice.

If ff is what you want to do it will be fine you might feel very uncomfortable when your milk comes in.

Just to let you know my experience with dc1 I completely did not want to bf. was 100% sure of it it made me feel a bit weird. She was a bit early and in scbu so I expressed for a week then went onto ff. by the time I got to spend any time with her and actually bond with her it was too late to change my mind. But I did and I regret it now so so much. So I would just say keep an open mind. With dc2 I decided I would try it and if it wasn't for me I would stop. Still enjoying it at 19 weeks

Congratulations on your pregnancy not long now!

I BF but one friend FF from 3 days and SIL FF totally. I can honestly say neither have has more/less problems than us, and we all have happy, healthy babies. Do what feels best for you.