Anyone regretted giving up breastfeeding?

[Raindrops0nRoses]

I have been breast feeding for 6 weeks now, and I am thinking about switching to formula, but I am worried I will regret it later on. Has anyone gone through anything similar?

Definitely learn how to feed in public. It's so rare now for anyone to say anything - I sat in the middle of a park today Bf my very wriggly (but desparate for milk after a beaker of cows milk, 4 falafels, cheese cubes, peas, an organix bag of crisps, and 3 mini cakes ) 16Mo DS today and I swear no one noticed. In 16 months of BF not one person has even batted an eyelid let alone expressed displeasure about me BF (and it's a good job because I'd be telling them to piss off!).

If you're confident with feeding out and about as long as you have a couple of nappies you never have to go home. I travel around a lot and it was so reassuring knowing that if I were to break down/get held up etc. I wouldn't have a screaming hungry baby on my hands.

The early days are hard because they do feed a lot, but I used it as an excuse to watch loads of box sets, read books etc. (hard if this isn't DC1) and if I was out and about, I used it as an excuse for a cup of tea and a chocolate bar every 2-3 hours.

It really won't be long until you're in town one day (this happened at about 16 weeks for me, but my supply was slower to build and establish) and you suddenly realise they haven't fed for 4 hours and they're still not screaming. It's at this point that you just feel so thankful for the extra £100 a month in your bank account and no sterilising to do.

Well done so far, and whatever you decide your baby will be fine :)

At 6 weeks my DD was still a bit fussy, bobbing on and off with her latch so I didn't feel confident to feed her in public. I still went out though! I fed in my car, Mothercare feeding room and the nice baby changing room at the shopping centre. You don't need to either feed in public or dash home for a feed, there are private feeding options out and about!

As she got bigger she has got easier to feed and I can feed her anywhere - she's 5 months and I've recently fed her on a boat, in a Burger King (classy) and on a bench at a theme park. I bfed next to my friend while chatting to her and she didn't even notice! Just commented on how easily DD had gone to sleep and looked surprised when I said I'd fed her to sleep.

Babies are really portable at this age, just take them with you (pop them in a sling and you can even forget they are there sometimes) and do what you want to do. When they want a feed, you just need to sit down!

Raindrops the 6 week mark is really really hard; but it should all start to get better from here. It is very likely to be a growth spurt with your baby clamouring and fussing at the breast to cause your milk production to increase. You would likely find your baby just as fussy and hungry if you gave a bottle.

My baby is now 4 months old. Bf has become much much easier. We just got back from a 10 day holiday in Spain. I bf on the plane both ways it was so easy and DS was as good as gold. During the holiday I didn't have to worry about sterilising or the water in a foreign country or keeping formula fresh in the heat or whether DS was getting enough fluids. We went on an impromptu 4 mile walk down to the coast. I even fed under a towel (to keep him out of the sun) in the back of a speed boat!

So to update you, I'm still bfing and I'm finding it so much easier now. However I have started to give one bottle of formula per day which has made a massive difference - helps give me more freedom, and has meant DH can be more involved too. But im not looking to increase the number of bottles he has at the moment - it does take a lot of organising even just to prepare one bottle! I also try to express so as not to mess up my milk supply, and to make sure I have some milk stored up incase of emergencies. So thanks for your encouragement - things are a lot better now!