Comments on: Deciding to Stop Breastfeeding

By: seaneen

seaneen — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:14:16 +0000

what a relief in findin this site. Am at my wits end! All i seem to get is peoples advice and support for continuing breast feeding most of whom have never bf so do not understand the pain, stress, guilt, exhaustion that goes with it and that list could go on! Anyway tried the weaning process and was doing well, 2 weeks in had substituted two daily feeds for formula successfully then things turned very sour. Baby decided to refuse formula and even expressed milk. Was advised to go cold turkey as baby would eventually feed when she was hungry. So i tried and baby refused to feed from a bottle for ten hours. She did not totally starve and took maybe an ounce on a few feeds. But for the whole duration cried sore as did i. In the end i gave in now am back to square one exclusively bf. All the enjoyment has gone out of bf and i feel depressed with being stuck at home all day not even having time to enjoy a bath as little one still deeds every two hours. My baby is now 12 weeks and already i am panicking about my return to work. A big thank you to everyone who has posted here it has been a great help and comfort to me

By: Tina

Tina — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 03:43:29 +0000

Here is a word of encouragement for mothers who want to continue to breastfeed but think that they can’t: You can do it even when you think you can’t go on.
I knew from the moment I was pregnant that I would breastfeed my son for as long as I could. I had no idea how difficult it would be but I kept telling myself that if I could just do it for three months then I would be okay with my effort. Three months rolled around and I told myself if I can just do it for another three months then things would be okay. I persevered. I had sore nipples, I constantly worried about my baby having enough to eat, I often felt like a milk cow, I had to deal with constant feedings and rarely being able to leave the house, etc, etc. I became either attached to my son or the brnastpump. I had to schedule my work and life around feedings or pumpimgs. At four months old we found out that our son had food allergies: dairy, wheat, eggs, and nuts. If I were to continue breastfeeding that would mean that I would not be able to eat any of those food items. I decided to go for it and made it to the 6 month goal. It was hell but I made it. At 6 months I decided to go for 12 months and I did it. At 13 months I have finally quit breast feeding. I had my first slice of cheese pizza in 9 months tonight. It was okay… I had dreamed of cheese and bread for several months but when I finally got it it was bit anti-climatic. I still regret quitting but I know that I gave it my all. My point is that breastfeeding is not easy but it is so worth it in the end. My kid began to get more colds when I began to supplement his breastmilk at 11 months. Again breastfeeding is not easy but it can be done with some sacrifices. You just need to commit.

By: Ania

Ania — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 10:50:53 +0000

Thank you so much for this blog, I felt like I was reading my own personal experience…I’m so happy I came across it, having just decided yesterday that I couldn’t go on breastfeeding anymore due to the time factor (i already have a toddler that needs looking after too, which seems impossible since I felt like I was sitting on the couch all day nursing!) the sore nipples and breasts (I too believe that my son was latching on properly as confirmed by visiting home nurses)and for me, it just didn’t feel like it came naturally – i dreaded getting caught out in public, having to feed him outside of the house, with leaking boobs and all!Your honesty has made me realise I’m not alone in this! Much love

By: Laurel

Laurel — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 00:34:17 +0000

Thank you all so, so much! My son is & weeks old and it has been a fight from day one. I’m a young mom, so i am already judged from the start; so, i was determined to prove that i was a good mom by breastfeeding Liam. However, a solid month of nipple shields, fussy feedings, and TWO cases of thrush made me dread the thought of the next feeding. We were supplimenting Liam with two to four ounces of formula after every feeding, due to him gaining weight very slowly. It didn’t take long for him to start favoring the bottle (even at the lowest flow possible) and resent breastfeeding. I hate the fight that it takes to get him to latch on and it breaks my heart seeing him so upset. I began to start having depression and weight loss from the stress of the whole ordeal. I would tell myself at least once a week “this is my last week of breastfeeding”, but then he would have such a good day that it would make me doubt myself. I loved the bonding of breastfeeding, but now i know that it is proving to be both unhealthy for me and the baby. Thank you all so much; your posts have given me the reassurence that I did the best i can and that i’m not a bad mother because i can’t breastfeed.

By: Meghan

Meghan — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 15:03:53 +0000

Same as you all, I am so grateful to have found this site and read all of your experiences. I had such a hard time breastfeeding in the beginning. I too cried during feedings, which was all the time. I was absolutely determined to feed my baby the absolute best, but feeding her was like torture. I saw a couple different lactation consultants but ultimately I ended up pumping and feeding exclusively breast milk for the first four months. It was exhausting!!!! I tried switching her back to the breast, but she wouldn’t have anything to do with it. Between pumping and feeding, there was very little time to actually enjoy my baby girl!! She is now 6 months and we have been feeding 1/2 breastmilk and 1/2 formula for the last 2 months, which requires me to pump 3 times day. All of you comments have encouraged me to give up this silly charade and finally enjoy my baby girl. I felt guilty just giving her 1/2 formula, but after I did, it didn’t seem as bad as I had made it out to be. I love the comment someone made that LOVE is the most important thing you can give your baby. All we can do is our best, and what our babies eat is just a very small factor influencing their development. I hope this page may help to comfort many other mothers who are struggling and feeling like failures for not being able to breastfeed.

By: tamara

tamara — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 19:55:22 +0000

i am so glad I found this article. every reason you stated are were I am today. I am 42 just had my fourth child. my other three are 18, 17 and 12… I nursed them all my 12 year old for 10 monhs. i was also an at home momn at that time..I am flat out exhausted, not sure if it’s age or the fact that my new born nurses every 2 hours around the clock. my breast are sore and yes she’s latching great. I cant se myself going back to work in 2 weeks exhausted like this and so sore. I also can’t seem to get ride of this feeling of gilt if I stop nursing her. any advise?

By: Sonja

Sonja — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:56:41 +0000

Thank you so much!!! I looked at my 7 week old yesterday and realized that not failing her was more important than feeling like a failure at breastfeeding! Her first 2 months of life were tortuous. My mom even said she’d never seen a baby so fussy. I knew she was latched on well but she still wanted to nurse often (ouch! sore, cracked nipples and I swear I have a yeast infection now!). I was never convinced that she was getting what she needed (the whole “supply and demand” thing doesn’t make sense if there are so many mothers out there with either an overproduction or underproduction of milk). She’s been diagnosed with reflux and I cut dairy out of my diet.
Now, she’s on formula and sleeps well (I do still breastfeed during the nighttime). Last night, she slept for 6 hours straight (and so did I!).
I had the help of my sister, who wants to be a lactation consultant and breastfed her babies for 1 year and 9 months so I knew I was doing everything right. I feel inadequate but it’s so good to know I’m not alone! I just felt I must’ve been doing something wrong if my nipples hurt so much all the time and my baby was so fussy.
Thank you so much for posting this and for all of everyone’s comments.

By: Tisha

Tisha — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 18:35:15 +0000

my baby is 10 days old and i am having such a hard time switching him to botle. I’m even willing to keep pumping a while longer and still feel sooo extremely guilty. My nipples are soo sore, I’m crying at feedings now and i just can’t take it. I breatfeed both my other 2 children for 3 months each and that makes me feel even more guilty for wanting to stop already with this one. My biggest guilt is feeling like im cheating him out of “comfort time” on the breast. My other 2 children who are 5 and 10 are so sad seeing me cry every day and my husband keeps reassuring me that my bond with my baby will be just the same, i just wish this wasn’t so difficult. I put him on a bottle of breastmilk this morning and right now when he gets up I’m not sure what to do. Why is this soo hard?

By: Sammy

Sammy — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 16:11:03 +0000

Just to update my little one is just over 4 weeks now and she is almost 7lb have been formula feeding for 2 weeks and we are both doing really well!! Let’s stop being so tough on ourselves and begin enjoying a little more sleep and pain free nipples !! Good luck to you all!!

By: Sarah

Sarah — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 17:22:02 +0000

I know this was an older post but it was SOOO helpful! I’m 2 months in and I have really been doing everything within my power to exclusively breastfeed- much of which you touched upon: time consumed days, 3 hours of sleep at night, sore and cracked nipples (everyday for 2 months I was taking ibprofin for the pain of my nipples!) -and yes he was latched “perfectly” as stated by 3 different lactation specialists! By mid day my output didn’t seem sufficient for my little guy- he was extremely fussy because he was never full and his latches would then begin to hurt as he tried to get everything he could out of my breasts. I know the more you nurse, the more you produce so I would nurse and pump and nurse- but it’s just not that easy when you are in these shoes all the while trying to “enjoy these moments” that you’ll never get back. So, in an effort to enjoy my time with my baby I knew something had to change but repeated info on the web, brought on guilt with placing a baby on formula, until I ran across this which was very supportive and nice to hear that many ladies are/were in the same predicament- and we all love our babies just as much as the mom who does and can breastfeed.