I am choosing not to breastfeed.

[Anonymous]

It's "feel bad" about their decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just had my first baby in March, and I had every intention of breastfeeding -- I had bought a Medela pump as well as nursing bras and tanks and tons of other BF supplies. My sister had just had her first baby 4 wks before me and she was BF and enjoying it. After I had the baby, though, I just couldn't do it. I did try for a day or two, so he got some colostrum, but emotionally I just could not do it. I was exhausted and I felt like my body had been held hostage for 9 months and I could not take one more day. We started giving the baby some formula on the second day because he was crying out of hunger, and after I gave him that first bottle I knew I did not want to BF. I was worried about telling DH, who is a pediatrician, that I did not want to BF. He was completely, 100% supportive, though. I did feel guilty, and I do feel like I will never know what it is like to BF which is sort of sad, but I would never change the decision I made. It was the right decision for me. Just to mention -- my baby has never been sick, and I have lost all of the 35 lbs that I gained in pregnancy, at 11 wks post-partum. If I were you I would not feel bad about it at all. If it's the right decision for you, then trust yourself and move on. Happy mom = happy baby!

What did you do about your milk when it came in? Always kind of curious about this now that women don't get those shots anymore to make the milk dry up.

not the pp but for me, it never came in. That I know of. Never got engorged or whatever. I never BF.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP,
Give it a try, if it doesn't work you can say you tried ...

why does she have to say she tried?

PP here, posting again. She already tried with her firstborn. She also replied to this thread and actually said she's been thinking about doing at least colostrum and maybe seeing how it goes. Don't pressure! This is exactly the kind of thing that ends up turning more people off breastfeeding than you realize.

Uh, excuse me, but I'm not pressuring. I think it is FINE to not BF. Even if you did BF the first. You're the one saying to try it so you "Can say you did."
That's pressure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Personally, I find it really sad, all these moms who don't want to BF.

I do too. I don't really get it.

Personally, I find it really sad that you two need to make other women feel badly about their decision.

Me too.

Me three. Get a life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's "feel bad" about their decision.

Thanks. The grammar police is better than the BF police. At least there is truly a right and wrong regarding grammar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Personally, I find it really sad, all these moms who don't want to BF.

I do too. I don't really get it.

Personally, I find it really sad that you two need to make other women feel badly about their decision.

Me too.

Me three. Get a life.

i understand where the first two posters are coming from. i completely understand not BF'g if you had a bad physical experience or you had a supply issue, but with all that's known about the benefits, i don't really understand the posters who don't want to even try it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I'm not the PP here-- just wondering-- how are your breasts? Just asking because I just have trouble believing that pregnancy, not nursing, is the reason my previous nice, full As are now sad, soft AAs.

PP here. My breasts seem to pretty much be normal -- like they were before I got pregnant. They definitely have not shrunken. I know people say that pregnancy, not nursing, causes the breast changes, but in my case I don't think that's true. My breasts never got engorged after I had my baby so they're pretty much the same as they always were.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Personally, I find it really sad, all these moms who don't want to BF.

Wait - I'm getting out my teeny tiny violin right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP,
Give it a try, if it doesn't work you can say you tried ...

why does she have to say she tried?

PP here, posting again. She already tried with her firstborn. She also replied to this thread and actually said she's been thinking about doing at least colostrum and maybe seeing how it goes. Don't pressure! This is exactly the kind of thing that ends up turning more people off breastfeeding than you realize.

Uh, excuse me, but I'm not pressuring. I think it is FINE to not BF. Even if you did BF the first. You're the one saying to try it so you "Can say you did."
That's pressure.

You misunderstood. I was agreeing with you and directing my comments at the person you quoted. Thought that should have been clear....but maybe not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Uh, excuse me, but I'm not pressuring. I think it is FINE to not BF. Even if you did BF the first. You're the one saying to try it so you "Can say you did."
That's pressure.

You misunderstood. I was agreeing with you and directing my comments at the person you quoted. Thought that should have been clear....but maybe not.

To clarify further, I'm not the poster who said "just try it." When I said "PP here" I just meant to say I'd already weighed in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I'm not the PP here-- just wondering-- how are your breasts? Just asking because I just have trouble believing that pregnancy, not nursing, is the reason my previous nice, full As are now sad, soft AAs.

PP here. My breasts seem to pretty much be normal -- like they were before I got pregnant. They definitely have not shrunken. I know people say that pregnancy, not nursing, causes the breast changes, but in my case I don't think that's true. My breasts never got engorged after I had my baby so they're pretty much the same as they always were.

Age is what kills breasts. No matter how many kids you have or don't have, nurse or don't nurse, gravity and age will get us all - so enjoy those perky boobs while you can.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Personally, I find it really sad, all these moms who don't want to BF.

I do too. I don't really get it.

Personally, I find it really sad that you two need to make other women feel badly about their decision.

Me too.

Me three. Get a life.

i understand where the first two posters are coming from. i completely understand not BF'g if you had a bad physical experience or you had a supply issue, but with all that's known about the benefits, i don't really understand the posters who don't want to even try it.

Nor do you need to. That's the point. Not your business. PLENTY of kids thrive w/o breastmilk.

It is great if you want to do so. But, comments like yours serve no purpose other than to be sanctimonious, preachy and self-righteous. I'm not even going to get into whether "the benefits" of breastfeeding are the golden ticket or not, as you seem to believe. It could cure every disease out there - which it doesn't- but it is not your decision. End of story. BF'ing is but ONE thing that contributes to the health and development of children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just had my first baby in March, and I had every intention of breastfeeding -- I had bought a Medela pump as well as nursing bras and tanks and tons of other BF supplies. My sister had just had her first baby 4 wks before me and she was BF and enjoying it. After I had the baby, though, I just couldn't do it. I did try for a day or two, so he got some colostrum, but emotionally I just could not do it. I was exhausted and I felt like my body had been held hostage for 9 months and I could not take one more day. We started giving the baby some formula on the second day because he was crying out of hunger, and after I gave him that first bottle I knew I did not want to BF. I was worried about telling DH, who is a pediatrician, that I did not want to BF. He was completely, 100% supportive, though. I did feel guilty, and I do feel like I will never know what it is like to BF which is sort of sad, but I would never change the decision I made. It was the right decision for me. Just to mention -- my baby has never been sick, and I have lost all of the 35 lbs that I gained in pregnancy, at 11 wks post-partum. If I were you I would not feel bad about it at all. If it's the right decision for you, then trust yourself and move on. Happy mom = happy baby!

What did you do about your milk when it came in? Always kind of curious about this now that women don't get those shots anymore to make the milk dry up.

not the pp but for me, it never came in. That I know of. Never got engorged or whatever. I never BF.



Wow. I really appreciate your honesty. Thank you for sharing. I felt like that, too, but made it a few more weeks before I stopped and turned to FF. I wish more people would be open about feeling this way post-birth. Not everyone feels all roses and rainbows, especially after a tough pregnancy, or a tough birth, or an emergency CS or anything that derails you psychologically and/or physically from what you imagined or planned your labor & delivery to be. Adding the intensity and time-consuming nature of nursing when you really want to get back to feeling like yourself and "normal"... it's a recipe for a very unhappy mom and a very unhappy newborn phase.

Best of luck, OP, with your decision.

[Anonymous]

I didn't breastfeed, but I also didn't seek out other people's opinions or comments on it. Whatever decision you make (about this, cloth vs. disposable diapers, whatever), there will be people who agree with you and people who disagree, and plenty on both sides who will volunteer their opinions - your opinion is the one that matters here, particularly if you've already made up your mind.

[Anonymous]

I have no intention of breast feeding. I do not feel at all insecure about it either, just annoyed with those who feel the need to judge me, or ask me in a judgy way to justify my reasoning. I see no difference between older children and adults who were or were not breast fed. None of the ff children or now adults I know of were sick any more than their bf peers. Nor are any of them less inteligent. I have a number of reasons I am choosing not to BF, and honestly they are no one else's business. I agree with pp who said there will always be people to judge your parenting decisions, so you just need to be comfortable with your own decisions. Being a mom is hard enough, I wish we didn't all judge each other so harshly for every decision out there.