Just found out that a couple of my social circle are not attempting breastfeeding second time around, but will be going for bottles from day one. No medical problems/issues, just said it would be easier to have bottles and a toddler than breastfeed.
I didn't want to pry, and I respect their choice of course, but I'm really curious why you would not even express the colostrum to give your child - I thought it was soooo important for the immune system.
I admit I'm a bit biased as I still bfeed DD 22 months, and do use it as a parenting tool to a certain extent. We massively struggled at first as DD had a missed tongue tie that wasn't picked up til 5 months, so I know what it's like to have pain and struggle, and I remember from when our toddlers were little that these mums had to give up fairly quickly first time around and know how difficult it was. But why not express a bit of colostrum?
So please let me know so I can understand better?
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Infant feeding
Educate me: why would you not want your baby to have the colostrum if no medical reason?
RainbowsFriend · 21/04/2013 18:22
Hubba, your attack on women who choose to feed their kids a different way from you is so ridiculous I can't even begin to dignify it with an appropriate response.
OP, my mum says she didn't even try to BF because she didn't want her parents to see her boobs. Fair enough. I was fully FF and am strong as an ox. DD is EBF and it's been bloody hard going, before she was born I read way too many books and definitely judged people who didn't BF. Now I've seen just how difficult and emotive it is I totally understand why people chose to FF, I probabably would have myself if I hadn't spent so much money on nursing clothes.
Oh and FWIW, my boobs are tanned and perky 
Nice post Hubba 
.
OP, I'm a long-term feeder and currently tandem feeding a newborn and toddler, so I'm obviously pro-bf'ing.
However, I wanted to respond with two points. First and foremost, as a feminist I believe very strongly in women's bodily autonomy. It's a fundamental belief of mine that a woman must be able to chose what she does with her own body, and that includes the choice not to breastfeed.
Secondly, as someone who has hand expressed and syringe fed colostrum twice (two jaundiced and sleepy babies), I would say it's a fairly difficult and stressful route. Personally I felt the benefits outweighed the negatives, but I was lucky to have excellent family support and can see how someone else would have found it overwhelming. But that's by the by really, as point number one is really the only relevant one!
Rather than looking at why individual women make perfectly rational choices within their own family and social context, we should rather be looking to change our wider breastfeeding culture to be more supportive and positive.
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