Breastfeeding

[EmmaAM]

So my baby will be six weeks old on Thursday and has been EBF the entire time. She latched really easily from the beginning with no issues which has also meant she has been happily gaining weight since birth. My only issue is that it really isn't something that I enjoy 😔 I do it because I know it's the best thing for her but I'm getting more and more tempted to move to formula...which is daft when she is feeding so well! I wish I could put my finger on why I feel this way...maybe it's because I find it so exhausting? I just wondered if there were any other mums who have felt a similar way?

Mmn - the grass is always greener! If it's physical exhaustion you're talking about, you might find it helps to make sure you eat, drink and exercise well. Especially drinking - very easy to get dehydrated in this heat when you're breastfeeding too.

Most parents of six week old babies are exhausted, it comes with the territory. Breastfeeding is especially intense in the first few months when they seem glued to you, but over time there are fewer feeds and it's a bit less overwhelming. The main pro for me was being able to get my baby to quiet down easily, any time and place without faffing with bottles!

If it's more of a psychological thing, it's fine to decide breastfeeding is not for you. She will have benefitted from all the good stuff in your milk already. You don't need to feel guilty about stopping. I'd avoid thinking it's necessarily a solution to being exhausted though.

It’s fine to decide bf is not for you. Ff is not necessarily easier. I’ve done both ebf and ff, I’ve often thought combi feeding must be the ideal.

If it's not working for you, there is absolutely nothing wrong with changing.

If you would like to continue, I think I found 6 weeks the hardest both times - that growth spurt it brutal, and you're just so exhausted. By the time we got to 8 weeks I found it much easier, and my supply had regulated so I was much more comfortable (you don't get engorged before every feed).

Regardless of what you decide, remember to eat and drink plenty, and to ensure your partner is pulling their weight with housework, cooking, laundry, nappy changes etc. It's very very tough at that age but it will settle soon.

Are you anemic? I was both times and iron tablets really helped.

You're at the hardest time. And it's hot and they're on you all the time. I'd try and push through until September. Remember FF comes with the faff of bottles and sterilising and the dread of running out of formula and you have to cart it all around with you. With my bf babies I go out with 1 nappy and 1 wipe in my normal bag and that's it.

I really don’t like breastfeeding. I’m now seven months in, and I’ll probably stick with it for the full year (because it’s free, it’s convenient, he is having far fewer feeds now anyway and it’s a little better for him) but I really don’t enjoy it even though he feeds well and we have no issues. I’ve never been one of those mothers who sees it as a wonderful, beautiful thing. It’s always been a chore to me. I am glad to have done it, but I have not loved it.

What I would say is this - YOU MATTER TOO. If breastfeeding is making you miserable you don’t have to do it. The benefit to your baby is not so great that it’s worth you feeling miserable over. There is a balance between you both - your needs don’t always have to be overlooked.

Nothing wrong with trying to introduce bottles if you want to. Personally one of the reasons I was delighted bf worked out was that it seemed easier. I never had to figure out how to make up formula correctly or worry about how to do that out and about or wash loads of bottles or it be one more thing to have to remember to pack.

It doesn't sound like you are hating it so if it's just that it's a bit of a chore then all the formula faffing might just be a chore too.

ZOMBIE THREAD!!!

@MrsArchchancellorRidcully

ZOMBIE THREAD!!!

Oh bugger. Think that's the first time I've missed it being a zombie in all my years. Pah.

I was the same, I introduced formula early on as I didn't enjoy bf especially with other people around. Combi feeding has worked really well for me. Im still mainly bf but just takes the pressure off a bit! It feels really flexible