feeling guilty about giving up bf

[booboobunny]

hi,
i have been bf for nearly 6 and a half months, and was 100% bf for the first 5 and a half as my baby wouldn't take a bottle. i was very keen to give up as i am going back to work and and keen not to have leaky, hurty, giant boobs when i do. she's been a pesky feeder durin the day for a while as there's just too much going on for her to focus on feedin for any length of time - ok for bottle feeding, bit annoying/embar for bf when you're in a restaurant!! but weirdly now i am feeling bad about it, as she's always been a frequent night time bfer. it's not too late to go back and carry on as we have only had one totally bottle fed day (v. hurty boobs today!!) and v fidgety night last night on a mix of formula and boiled water. logically i know that the length of time i ahve bfed my baby means she as had all the health related benefits she can have from bf, so if i carried on it would be to provide comfort. is this enough to carry on?? i have been looknig forward to giving up for a while as my boobs are just page3 proportions, and can't believe i am now feeling guilty. am i doing the right thing??

you have a lot of points in your post so it isn't easy to unpick them. one thing i would like to address first is that there are still numerous reasons to breastfeed past 6 months and even past a year. for example, the World Health Organisation recommends that all babies around the world receive some breastmilk till 2 yrs. I do not say this to make you feel even worse about giving up. i am saying it simply because you seem to have received erroneous information somewhere. Of course, any amt of bm is fantastic and that you have fed to six months is seen as incredible in the day age and country we live in. so a big pat on the back to you.

i think that you should phone one of the 4 bf helplines to speak to a counsellor about your underlying worries and options for going back to work and about feeding past 6 months. it doesn't have to be an all or nothing option about going back. babies who are in a nursery setting suffer fewer and less severe illnesses connected with group care than those who are wholly ff. so your baby, yourself, and your employer will benefit from a healthier baby.

if you search threads here about going back to work and feeding you will find lots of information from rl mums who continue to feed to one extent or another.