Is Breastfeeding Really Worth It?

[Anonymous]

I know there have been a ton of breastfeeding posts just like this over the years but I really need advice. I’m struggling to breastfeed my newborn and it’s just a a lot of stress. I want to give my baby the best nutrition and will continue to struggle through if it’s what’s best, but I would love to switch to formula if it isn’t. We have so many issues - latch, pain, weight gain issues, etc., that it’s taken a big toll on my body and every breastfeeding session has become filled with pain and stress. I feel like a failure if I give up and switch to formula, but I have started to hate feeding him because there are so many issues. Is breastfeeding really this amazing nutrition that makes the first couple of months worth it?

[Anonymous]

Honestly I don’t really think that matters. You sound miserable and I think you should switch to formula. This does not sound healthy and I worry that you will develop PPD. I advise you to talk to someone and switch to formula. Ask your spouse of there is one to do some of the night feedings so you can get some sleep.

[Anonymous]

If its making you miserable its not worth it. We had latch issues and i wore a nipple shield for 10 weeks and then kiddo figured it out and it was great and easy. We did supplement with ready to feed in the first week and like 3-4th as we had other medical things needing her to not be at breast.
BUT if there are weight gain issues i would supplement asap and see how it goes for a week and then make a decision and go formula and not look back if that made sense.
How old is your newborn? Under 4 weeks it sucks for everyone with various degrees of pain. And its ok stop then too if its not working. After that most kids sort out latch etc.
if you want to keep trying i recommend a lactation consultant to come over and do a weighted feed and general help. Metropolitan breastfeeding was great.

[Anonymous]

How old is your baby?

What weight issues?

[Anonymous]

It is worth it if you enjoy it. If you’re having weight gain issues on top of the rest, then switch. Fed is best.

Fed is best.

Your mental, emotional, and physical health matter. Mom being healthy is just as important as baby being healthy.

If you want to switch, it is OK to switch.

[Anonymous]

I think it is worth it but it sounds like you need some help. Get a lactation consultant immediately. And definitely supplement with formula if your baby needs it.

How old is your baby?

[Anonymous]

How old is your baby? It took a little while for me and my child to get it working smoothly but once we did, it lasted a long time and was just such a great thing overall. I was so glad we stuck with it.

[Anonymous]

My baby wasn't latching and I just started pumping my milk and gave the milk to my baby from the bottle- it was just perfect and everybody was happy. I did it for 2.5 months and then I had to go to work, so I stopped breastfeeding. I had some frozen breast milk stored which lasted about 1 month. Then it was formula- I bought the best organic formula I could get though ( don't settle on cheap ones).

[Anonymous]

I think it’s overrated in importance. Most of the pressure I felt was from other women, not my doctors. If I had to do it over again, I would have not put so much effort into it. Maybe even skip it all together. My kids are healthy but I don't think it's from my milk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it is worth it but it sounds like you need some help. Get a lactation consultant immediately. And definitely supplement with formula if your baby needs it.

How old is your baby?

This. Agree. See if you can see an LC or get to a group meeting. It’s ok to not BF if that’s right for you, peer support can be immensely helpful either way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How old is your baby?

What weight issues?

OP here. He is about to turn 3 weeks old. He did not have a good latch and we had issues with getting enough. He failed to regain his birth weight at his two week appointment. We worked with a lactation consultant and his latch has been corrected.

[Anonymous]

Nope, none. Why don't you start with supplementing with formula and then decide for yourself?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My baby wasn't latching and I just started pumping my milk and gave the milk to my baby from the bottle- it was just perfect and everybody was happy. I did it for 2.5 months and then I had to go to work, so I stopped breastfeeding. I had some frozen breast milk stored which lasted about 1 month. Then it was formula- I bought the best organic formula I could get though ( don't settle on cheap ones).

OP here. I have been pumping days to be able to bottle feed him after nursing but it is a lot of work. I don’t think I want to exclusively pump.

What is a good formula? Please note that I do not want imported formula.

[Anonymous]

I will say that while it gets easier at 6ish weeks, it will get difficult again during periods of growth. But you’ll hopefully be more rested and further along on postpartum recovery. It gets incrementally easier over the first few months.

What helped me more than LC was having a friend that was nursing to text/email when things were difficult. She knew what it all felt like. Bonus age was a la leche leader so had answers to a lot of questing. Like handling blebs and plugged ducts - we had a rough start.

[Anonymous]

Not if it makes you miserable.

I EP'ed for 7 mos with my first and then switched to formula. Basically, I had many of the issues you are describing (unable to latch, weight gain issues, etc). EP'ing is so far my biggest regret of parenting. I wasted so much of DC1's infancy attached to a pump! Formula was so much better...and it really doesn't matter what you use. I thought it did, and I used Baby's Only (which is technically a toddler formula, due to how it's certified) because I also didn't want to deal with imported formulas. But it truly doesn't matter. If I did it again, I'd just use Similac or Enfamil or whatever. They are all regulated to be the same.

DC2 nursed very easily, and I EBF'ed him for 13mos (I WAH, so I didn't even need to pump much, mostly just nursed). The first few weeks when he was small and nursed for seemingly ever were kind of difficult, but nothing at all like DC1. I finally understood what the "it gets better at 6-8 weeks" people meant, and I understood that those people had no idea what it's like to have a truly terrible breastfeeding experience.

In your case, I'd switch to formula and not look back. Weight gain issues are really scary and emotionally taxing...formula will take a lot of that stress away. If it matters, my FF kid is basically never sick, while my EBF kid gets sick all the time. So my kids didn't even get the one best-supported benefit of BF'ing.