Then quit.

I loathed pumping and seriously considered setting the pump on fire.

OP, fed is best. Go ahead and quit if you're ready to quit.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I’m quitting this weekend. I still feel guilty but it’s nice to know I’m not alone.

Never judge yourself by what other moms are or are not doing. Taking care of your well being is an important part of being a parent.

Anonymous wrote:I nursed both my kids till 1.5 years of age.

If I hated it at 4 months I would have stopped.

You can stop! No guilt. My kids are teens now—I have no clue which of their friends were breast or bottle fed—it doesn’t matter!

My kids were adopted so I have no dog in this fight but the rational of “it doesn’t matter because I can’t tell now” makes no sense.

First, you can never prove a negative. You can never say how much better off someone would have been if X happened.

Second, your statement assumes that this X would be known and directly correlate.

Third, what you observe in your kids contemporaries doesn’t take into account that you may not be the greatest observer.

I don’t mean to attack you, PP. It’s this rationale of “it doesn’t matter if you can’t tell when the kid is a teen” that is so pernicious on this forum.

I nursed both my kids till 1.5 years of age.

If I hated it at 4 months I would have stopped.

You can stop! No guilt. My kids are teens now—I have no clue which of their friends were breast or bottle fed—it doesn’t matter!

Girl, stop. You tried and it’s not for you. So stop and you don’t have to explain anything to anyone. Enjoy that baby.

With a 4 month old, your child has already benefited from breastfeeding in a lot of ways. In terms of your child's health and development, your choice to completely wean now or supplement with formula is one of the most insignificant choices you will make as a parent. Do what works for you and your family.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I’m quitting this weekend. I still feel guilty but it’s nice to know I’m not alone.

don’t feel guilty! I think back on the fact that I did NOT quit at 4 months and feel slightly queasy at how hard I made it on myself.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It wasn’t a love-fest with me either but I kept going. It really does get easier. But, bottom line, there are sacrifices we make as mothers for our children. It’s just the way life is. Don’t expect to love every aspect of motherhood and you’ll be better off in the long run.

But this is not a sacrifice this mom needs to make! You mommy martyrs are the worst.

Oh, God, Stop with the “mommy martyr” crap.

Simply accepting that you’re not going to love everything about being a mother is healthy and good advice.

No, it’s not good advice. There’s a perfectly healthy alternative that will significantly reduce OP’s burden. It’s not healthy and good to write that off.

OP, you should feel free to switch to formula. At 4 months you already provided almost all of the demonstrated benefit, and continuing to BF while working os a big additional burden on you.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I’m quitting this weekend. I still feel guilty but it’s nice to know I’m not alone.

I feel like 4 months is a long time and you’ve provided a lot of the benefits.

OP here. I’m quitting this weekend. I still feel guilty but it’s nice to know I’m not alone.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recall I really hated it with my first and couldn't wait to wean him down. But once we got to one year it wasnt bad at all, like a 2 or 3 5 min sessions a day. I ended up actually enjoying it by the time he was 18 months old and it was no bother to me to continue as it seemed important to him. I finally weaned at 2.5- way, way longer than I ever imagined.

OP here. I know many do it but I’m not interested in breastfeeding a toddler. A year has always been my end date.

Aim for a six month end date.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It wasn’t a love-fest with me either but I kept going. It really does get easier. But, bottom line, there are sacrifices we make as mothers for our children. It’s just the way life is. Don’t expect to love every aspect of motherhood and you’ll be better off in the long run.

But this is not a sacrifice this mom needs to make! You mommy martyrs are the worst.

Oh, God, Stop with the “mommy martyr” crap.

Simply accepting that you’re not going to love everything about being a mother is healthy and good advice.

Anonymous wrote:I recall I really hated it with my first and couldn't wait to wean him down. But once we got to one year it wasnt bad at all, like a 2 or 3 5 min sessions a day. I ended up actually enjoying it by the time he was 18 months old and it was no bother to me to continue as it seemed important to him. I finally weaned at 2.5- way, way longer than I ever imagined.

OP here. I know many do it but I’m not interested in breastfeeding a toddler. A year has always been my end date.

So, stop breastfeeding. Just because you can BF doesn't mean you should or have to. Especially, if you hate doing it.