Ive decided to do this because I just see so much argument and hatred/dislike between woman these days regarding their feeding choices- Formula feeders are snobs who don't care about their children while breastfeeding moms are hippy idiots who will psychologically mess up their child, both of these are absolute nonsense and woman really need to learn that what ever you choose to do is your choice and that advice is great but being an absolute cow about it isn't- its hard enough as I have said before being a mom and making all theses choices especially if you are a first time mom no one needs to be judged on top of it.
so in short for those who haven't read my previous blogs I am pro choice when it comes to both birth and feeding choices in moms- I believe that every mother needs to do what she feels is best for her and her baby as long as it doesn't negatively affect the health of the child or put that child at risk ie attempting a home birth in a high risk pregnancy.
In my case with Loghan, my eldest I managed to breastfeed for 4 months and to be honest I hated every minute of it- it was not this beautiful bonding experience I had envisioned through my pregnancy- I felt icky, it was extremely painful, I actually felt like meals on wheels like I was just a walking talking food truck and I didn't matter at all - Loghan also never latched properly which is something I only realized after having Jesse and eventually after struggling with nipple shields and him throwing up all the time from a lactose intolerance I gave in and switched to formula- from that moment onwards I had a very happy healthy baby and I was a very happy and relieved mom, I was judged quite severely by a few family members for this choice but I took it in my stride and carried on because quite frankly it was easier in a lot of ways so why struggle.
I will say that it didnt help that my mom never breast fed although she did encourage me to try she also didnt discourage me from stopping aside from the price of formula she said that she never breastfed so she wouldnt expect me to it was in no way her fault but it only added to me giving up so easily, I was also so young and I never bothered to seek out expert advice.
When I fell pregnant with Gabriel I tried again, again it was just a struggle although I did feel better about the process in general I didnt feel like my body was a milk truck and such, however I chose this time to seperate from my husband and the stress just caused a severe drop in my supply due to stress which was my own fault and I was only too quick to switch over to formula and I honestly attribute both this and the early introduction of solids to my middle sons aray of alergies and intolerances- it makes me really sad and angry to think that I am probably the cause of my sons issues and have made his life so difficult its done now and I cannot turn back the clock.... this is my opinion based on research and what the doctors have said and is a personal opinion I am not saying every child with allergies is like that because of formula or solids but in our case I believe it is.
3rd times the charm and with Jesse I went in determined to try my best and I succeeded.
It has not been easy it has been painful, exhausting and frustrating. Jesse went through a stage when he would cluster feed for days or even weeks through the day and night it was so hard not to give up or become despondent but I dug in my heels and I don't regret it for a moment, he has bitten me and I have gone through clogged ducts and mastitis but I'm still here and still going.
However while feeding Jesse at around 11pm last night I realized that I am reaching a point of agitation when it comes to feeding, I think I am reaching a point where I want my body back and I want to instill some independence in my extremely attached lil monkey.... it is so hard though because there are times when I just am so in love with this time we have, this time when he is all mine and we can just bond, but we have made it to 15 months and I think I may start weaning him within in the next month or so we will see, I never expected to get this far and I truly believe I have given it my all I may carry on for a bit longer just because Jesse isn't ready but I am happy with how far we have come together.
Its not going to be easy to wean and I think what I am most apprehensive about is what I switch over to as he is fine for cows milk now however with all the hormones that go into cows milk these days I am extremely apprehensive about it- formula just seems silly to me as it is so expensive so I am contemplating a dairy free milk or maybe even goats milk but we will see, we also don't keep full cream milk in the house so even if I did switch to cows milk he would be the only one drinking it and the milk would spoil before he finishes it, unless I buy 1litre cartons... anyhoo sorry just thinking aloud
To any mom trying to breastfeed my advice is keep at it, try and try again it is not easy but if you keep trying you will succeed and if you don't and you choose to stop or not breastfeed at all it doesnt make you a bad mother or mean that you love your child any less.
Personally I was never breastfed- I was a sickly baby but other than that I have never been a sickly child or adult, I do have some allergies and intolerance's but they seem to have shown up in my 20's and seem to be more of a reaction to environment as well as all the rubbish in our foods these days rather than possible formula feeding.
I have breastfed and formula fed I have experienced from both sides and I can personally say that both have their pros and cons and I have enjoyed and not enjoyed both.
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| This didn't come out well but the link for the page this is from is: http://themilkmeg.com/ingredients-in-breastmilk-versus-artificial-breastmilk-formula/ |
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