Breastfeeding freak out

[jayne1384]

Hello, I'm pregnant with first due Christmas ,
The thought of breastfeeding freaking me out, I want to as I know it's good for the baby, but I honesty hate my boobs being touched, there sensitive and it just creeps me out, I've got friends that gave bf and bottle fed, and I want to just bottle feed from the start, hubby is supportive says happy mum happy baby ?

Help?

Xx

Do what you want. The benefits are described on a population level some none can say what difference breastmilk would make to your baby. You don't need permission. Formula is ok.

And I say that as a fairly extended breastfeeder having fed two for 1yr+

I was the same as you and in the end bottle fed from birth as worried so much about the birth I wanted to make it as smooth a ride as possible.
As it was I had a terrible birth anyway and think I would have really struggled to get milk at first so was happy with my choice, but now I feel I wish I would have at least tried it.
Might do for the next one.
My DD has been doing absolutely brilliantly on formula and it's actually nicer to be able to see how much they are taking x

Relax. That is the most important thing. You won't know and your baby won't know until she is born, so work it out then. Congratulations btw. It will all slot into place.

If you can, maybe give breastfeeding a go for a couple of weeks. If it doesn’t work, use formula. It is easier to try the two ways of feeding this way round.

Good luck whatever you choose. A fed baby and happy mum are the most important things.

Relax. Get some premade bottles for when the baby is born and see how you feel. Maybe read up a bit on breastfeeding so that you are confident that you've made an informed choice and then see how you feel once your baby is actually there.

Don't stress about it - just go into it with an open mind. You can get bottles and formula in so that you have it as an option and see how you go. Do your hospital run breastfeeding classes? Mine did, and I found it useful to prepare me. I would also mention your anxieties to your midwife so they are prepared to support you either way once baby arrives. With my last pregnancy, I told my midwives in advance I was planning to bf (they had to record it somewhere at one of my earlier antenatal appts) and then when DD was born I had lots of difficulty establishing feeding but felt the midwives were quite pushy and insistent that I persevere. I think if you said in advance that you were going to try bf but anticipated you might need to FF then you wouldn't get this pushiness (hopefully).

Of course - you don't have to try breastfeeding at all. It is entirely your decision and don't take on the guilt. Your DH is right .

I'm a super pro breastfeeder but if you don't want to do it then just don't. I wish I hadn't put myself through the stress of doing it with my first then maybe I'd have bonded better and easier and be less stressed (or just learned to do it properly from the get-go). Relax, feeding your baby should be a bonding experience and if you can't do it with your boobs then do it with a bottle. Maybe just try boobs and have formula ready just in case

Give it a go, but if you really don’t like it, stop and use a bottle. It’s your decision. It is however, entirely different when it’s a baby touching them than anyone else.

Try it and if it's not for you switch to formula.

I would recommend reading up on the practicalities of breastfeeding though. Cluster feeding etc so you're prepared.

I was adamant I wasn't breastfeeding as it freaked me out. I then thought I'd give it a go for two weeks so dc had colostrum and then move to formula. Ended up supplementing with formula occasionally and then moving to solely breastfeeding and I'm still going when dc is now one.

I continued because after a few weeks I didn't think I had tried hard enough and then at 6 weeks it became easier and has just kept getting easier. No sterilising, remembering to pack bottles going to the kitchen at night or getting off the sofa to feed.

However if it really upsets you don't do it. If you're unhappy then it isn't worth that cost to your emotional state, especially as you will have a lot of adjusting to do after birth anyway.

Id agree with pp about relaxing.

The hospital will have formula and every supermarket will have it, most also sell bottles/sterilisers.

I had the mindset with DC2 that I would just see how it went, he latched on after the birth and I thought I'd atleast give him the few days of colostrum then if it didn't work out switch to formula but still BF 15 months later!

And yes it does feel completely different and so far from freaky when it is your own baby.

There is an amazing feeling in nourishing and feeding your own baby with milk made especially for them. It also releases "happy hormones"

You could speak to your midwife about the possibility of expressing and storing some colostrum once you're at full term to take to the hospital with you, then if you still feel like you don't want to breastfeed once your baby arrives at least they could get that benefit?
I also second what PPs have said - we went to an infant feeding antenatal class which really helped me understand the realities of the different types of feeding, and it does feel totally different when it's a baby touching you

The thought of bf made me feel very uneasy, no idea why I have no issues around my boobs but I just couldn't face it - I think if there hasn't been an alternative I may not have had the dc.
Anyway, you might feel different when baby arrives ( I didn't) but if not it's fine to ff and baby will still be ok. Mine are 8 and 12 now and great

Also, if it IS making you so anxious and spoiling you looking forward to your baby then just totally take it off the table and prepare for ff.