Breast feeding or bottle feeding??? How do you decide?

[LizSpain]

I know i'm probably worrying about this way too early but I like to at least mentally prepare myself for these things!

I'm 25 weeks pregnant and I'd like to at least try breat feeding. I know my friend tried it and was really uncomfortable so went to bottle but my biggest problem is my boyfriend.

He is completely against me breast feeding as I have a large chest & he thinks it will ruin them.

How do I get him to understand that I want to or is it best to stick to bottle feeding?

FWIW my DH bonded better with dd despite me breast feeding. I was to exhausted to pay much attention to her unless I was feeding her, DH did all the fun playing stuff at first.

Thanks everyone I only heard about mumsnet today and already I feel like theres always someone to talk to! I have been stressing my way through so many things mainly because i'm in Spain and away from friends and family and although i'm desperately learning i'm still struggling with the language barrier.

Everyones opinions have been great and the ones about my bf have made me chuckle I know he's being selfish but ultimately he won't get the last word trust me! I think I wanna give bf a go and make my own mind up and like you say it helps get your figure back and I will definately need help with that!

Thanks x

Glad you came back, was a bit concerned that you might be put off by the harsh way we've spoken about your bf!
BTW Spain is very relaxed about bfing, my dad is Spanish and I have asked him about it, for when I go over with DH and DS in the Summer.
Where abouts in Spain are you?

It'll take more than that to scare me off!!! I'm moving house next week so have been busy packing, great fun!

I'm near Marbella and I've seen plenty of people bfing so I know theres no major issues, this is my 1st pregnancy & as I was always told it was impossible for me to conceive I think i've struggled to accept it until now and i've gone into over drive with worries & questions!

Really appreciate the support i've been looking for this kind of info network for a while but saw the founders of mumsnet on tv this morning and couldn't wait to get stuck in!

I bfed both my children and my boobs have changed slightly,but hey thats life! I was back in my jeans 1wk after ds and 2wks after dd,within 5mins of dcs waking in the night for nappy change then feed they were v.quite and settled on me,and they both woke once in night for feed and selpt through from 10wk.

My friend choose to ff,never bf,and what a faff she had in the night making bottles up!

My dp did/does all the bathtimes in our house,so that was great for the bonding and gives you 20-30mins for yourself.

good luck and take care x

Hi, I'm in Granada. Give us a shout if you're up this way.

Hi Liz. Lucy5 is in Estepona - just down the road from you.

Thanks Gingerbear

Just to say welcome to MN and congrats on the pregnancy!

As an antidote to those stories of agonising pain and endless hard work, after an uncomfortable couple of weeks I found BFing easy. OInce you get over the psychological thing - "I should be hoovering/washing/cleaning" and relax with the tv remote and a tin of biscuits then everything falls into place. Long lazy days cuddled up with your baby, feeding and reading and watching daytime TV - bliss!

You should try to inform your BF of the reasons to BF - it really is much healthier for the baby, and for you, and he gets extra sleep! If he really wants to share feeding, he can give bottles of expressed breastmilk after a few weeks. I suggest if he likes this idea you delegate some night feeds

And as others have said, pregnancy does the damage, not breastfeeding (although I have to say after 6 months of feeding DS my boobs look quite divine ).

Good luck!

THIS PDF booklet might be helpful - it's issued to mothers in Scotland and Northern Ireland and it covers the basics really well.

Click on the link under 'Other Formats' 3/4 down the page to open it - you'll need Adobe