Quitting Breastfeeding For Selfish Reasons

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's "selfish" of you to stop if that's what you want to do.
I am surprised though, that you think it will be easier to formula feed, if you've already made in to 4 months and you feel it's going well. I felt like breastfeeding, once established, was easier because I never had to wash a bottle. Never had to go to the store to buy formula. Never had to make up/warm up a bottle in the middle of the night.
It just seems like you already successfully completed the "hard part" of the first several weeks/establishing breastfeeding, why quit now?

OP here. The constant stress of worrying if he’s getting enough, if I’m making enough, if my supply will drop, etc., is not easy. Bottle feeding is easier in the sense that I know how much he is getting and I never have to worry about not making enough. We put the bottles in the dishwasher, order formula online, and he room temp bottles. We have done bottles before bed and a couple of times full days with bottles and he has slept better and ate less often on those days and nights.

[Anonymous]

Four months is when breastfeeding becomes faster (feeding times can cut in half or even less), easier, the flexibility kicks in (you can feed on the go - literally while on a hike, out and about, etc, nobody can tell, and no bottles to deal with) so your life becomes more flexible than if you were on formula.

Quitting at four months is putting in the investment and not reaping the rewards. Just my two cents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's "selfish" of you to stop if that's what you want to do.
I am surprised though, that you think it will be easier to formula feed, if you've already made in to 4 months and you feel it's going well. I felt like breastfeeding, once established, was easier because I never had to wash a bottle. Never had to go to the store to buy formula. Never had to make up/warm up a bottle in the middle of the night.
It just seems like you already successfully completed the "hard part" of the first several weeks/establishing breastfeeding, why quit now?

OP here. The constant stress of worrying if he’s getting enough, if I’m making enough, if my supply will drop, etc., is not easy. Bottle feeding is easier in the sense that I know how much he is getting and I never have to worry about not making enough. We put the bottles in the dishwasher, order formula online, and he room temp bottles. We have done bottles before bed and a couple of times full days with bottles and he has slept better and ate less often on those days and nights.

It sounds like you have a good thing going with formula and you should just give yourself permission to quit.

I would recommend keeping a little bit of breast milk in the freezer in reserve since it will keep frozen for a while and you may need it later

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's "selfish" of you to stop if that's what you want to do.
I am surprised though, that you think it will be easier to formula feed, if you've already made in to 4 months and you feel it's going well. I felt like breastfeeding, once established, was easier because I never had to wash a bottle. Never had to go to the store to buy formula. Never had to make up/warm up a bottle in the middle of the night.
It just seems like you already successfully completed the "hard part" of the first several weeks/establishing breastfeeding, why quit now?

OP here. The constant stress of worrying if he’s getting enough, if I’m making enough, if my supply will drop, etc., is not easy. Bottle feeding is easier in the sense that I know how much he is getting and I never have to worry about not making enough. We put the bottles in the dishwasher, order formula online, and he room temp bottles. We have done bottles before bed and a couple of times full days with bottles and he has slept better and ate less often on those days and nights.

It sounds like you have a good thing going with formula and you should just give yourself permission to quit.

I would recommend keeping a little bit of breast milk in the freezer in reserve since it will keep frozen for a while and you may need it later

OP here. I have a large freezer stash that I planned to use up with formula. Why do I need it for later?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Four months is when breastfeeding becomes faster (feeding times can cut in half or even less), easier, the flexibility kicks in (you can feed on the go - literally while on a hike, out and about, etc, nobody can tell, and no bottles to deal with) so your life becomes more flexible than if you were on formula.

Quitting at four months is putting in the investment and not reaping the rewards. Just my two cents.

No, not always. For me it stayed hard until I finally accepted that it was never going to work. Comments like yours made it harder to come to that decision. So to OP: you’ve done great, ignore people like this, switch to formula. Not worrying about this will make you a better parent.

[Anonymous]

I breast-fed for 6 weeks only then pump and formula. For each of my 3 kids. Never once thought of it as a selfish act.

I have never been one to succumb to social pressures.

[Anonymous]

Not selfish at all. My formula babies are happy and so am I! Don’t subscribe to old school stigmas. Be a happy mama for your babies!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Four months is when breastfeeding becomes faster (feeding times can cut in half or even less), easier, the flexibility kicks in (you can feed on the go - literally while on a hike, out and about, etc, nobody can tell, and no bottles to deal with) so your life becomes more flexible than if you were on formula.

Quitting at four months is putting in the investment and not reaping the rewards. Just my two cents.

This is not there for everyone. There are still babies at this age who struggle with latching or take forever to nurse. What about the moms who have low supply or baby has weight gain issues? The stress that goes into breastfeeding and worrying if you make enough is a lot to deal with. I tried hard to breastfeed with both of my kids but found bottle feeding so much easier. I would take washing bottles once a day and buying formula over the stress of worrying if my baby is getting enough to eat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Breastfeeding is not easy and I required a lot of support from my family and DH to do it successfully. Thankfully, our family really valued breastfeeding (and mothering), so my comfort was prioritized at home and both DH and I, were able to ease into parenthood fairly quickly. I am sure that this is not the case in many families.

I had all of that AND some. I had a FT nanny, husband and my mom for the first month. Stopped BF at 3 months. It had nothing to do with the help and support. Why would you assume OP does not have that? Do you actually believe BF is somehow superior? Seriously… go away

NP. All else equal, yes breastfeeding is superior.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Breastfeeding is not easy and I required a lot of support from my family and DH to do it successfully. Thankfully, our family really valued breastfeeding (and mothering), so my comfort was prioritized at home and both DH and I, were able to ease into parenthood fairly quickly. I am sure that this is not the case in many families.

OP here. I have plenty of family support. My husband took a month paternity leave and doted on me while I learned to breastfeed. My family were all really supportive and I had a ton of family help. My comfort is not my priority and that is why I’m choosing to quit breastfeeding. It’s no longer an enjoyable experience. Formula feeding doesn’t make you less or a mother.

Go ahead and quit, but FYI, a lot of parenting isn’t necessarily enjoyable. Eg engaging with a fractious toddler, packing school lunch every day. Are you just going to quit those? Put the toddler in front of an iPad, buy lunchables every day?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Four months is when breastfeeding becomes faster (feeding times can cut in half or even less), easier, the flexibility kicks in (you can feed on the go - literally while on a hike, out and about, etc, nobody can tell, and no bottles to deal with) so your life becomes more flexible than if you were on formula.

Quitting at four months is putting in the investment and not reaping the rewards. Just my two cents.

This is not there for everyone. There are still babies at this age who struggle with latching or take forever to nurse. What about the moms who have low supply or baby has weight gain issues? The stress that goes into breastfeeding and worrying if you make enough is a lot to deal with. I tried hard to breastfeed with both of my kids but found bottle feeding so much easier. I would take washing bottles once a day and buying formula over the stress of worrying if my baby is getting enough to eat.

Of course there are many reasons to switch to all formula. Those reasons don't just apply at the four month mark, either. It's still worth knowing that holding on for another week or two could mean big changes in the experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Four months is when breastfeeding becomes faster (feeding times can cut in half or even less), easier, the flexibility kicks in (you can feed on the go - literally while on a hike, out and about, etc, nobody can tell, and no bottles to deal with) so your life becomes more flexible than if you were on formula.

Quitting at four months is putting in the investment and not reaping the rewards. Just my two cents.

When you bottle feed, it becomes very easy. You can bottle feed any time, any place, with just minor preparation before leaving the house. Op might very well find everything about bottle feeding to be easier than breastfeeding. I know I did. And I never found dealing with bottles to be difficult. Never.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Breastfeeding is not easy and I required a lot of support from my family and DH to do it successfully. Thankfully, our family really valued breastfeeding (and mothering), so my comfort was prioritized at home and both DH and I, were able to ease into parenthood fairly quickly. I am sure that this is not the case in many families.

OP here. I have plenty of family support. My husband took a month paternity leave and doted on me while I learned to breastfeed. My family were all really supportive and I had a ton of family help. My comfort is not my priority and that is why I’m choosing to quit breastfeeding. It’s no longer an enjoyable experience. Formula feeding doesn’t make you less or a mother.

Go ahead and quit, but FYI, a lot of parenting isn’t necessarily enjoyable. Eg engaging with a fractious toddler, packing school lunch every day. Are you just going to quit those? Put the toddler in front of an iPad, buy lunchables every day?

Oh wow. Yep, op, be careful you might ruin everything about your child's life in the future by making the decision to quit. One day it's a bottle, the next it's LUNCHABLES. This is serious, op.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Breastfeeding is not easy and I required a lot of support from my family and DH to do it successfully. Thankfully, our family really valued breastfeeding (and mothering), so my comfort was prioritized at home and both DH and I, were able to ease into parenthood fairly quickly. I am sure that this is not the case in many families.

OP here. I have plenty of family support. My husband took a month paternity leave and doted on me while I learned to breastfeed. My family were all really supportive and I had a ton of family help. My comfort is not my priority and that is why I’m choosing to quit breastfeeding. It’s no longer an enjoyable experience. Formula feeding doesn’t make you less or a mother.

Go ahead and quit, but FYI, a lot of parenting isn’t necessarily enjoyable. Eg engaging with a fractious toddler, packing school lunch every day. Are you just going to quit those? Put the toddler in front of an iPad, buy lunchables every day?

Oh wow. Yep, op, be careful you might ruin everything about your child's life in the future by making the decision to quit. One day it's a bottle, the next it's LUNCHABLES. This is serious, op.

I’m not saying the decision to quit BF directly causes Lunchables. But the same underlying factors (selfishness, prioritizing own convenience above child’s, lazy parenting) could drive both. See thread about the DH who prioritized their workout over the safety of their newborn

[Anonymous]

“ I’m not saying the decision to quit BF directly causes Lunchables. But the same underlying factors (selfishness, prioritizing own convenience above child’s, lazy parenting) could drive both. See thread about the DH who prioritized their workout over the safety of their newborn”

You are really an awful person PP. And crazies like you are what give BF supporters a bad name.