I have been a breastfeeding mother for almost three months now. Before I had Logan, I didn’t really have expectations about breastfeeding, but I wanted to try it because “breast is best.” There was no reason my body wouldn’t cooperate, and I had no reason not to do it, so because it’s best for baby, I wanted to do it.
I exclusively breastfed Logan for two months. I am very proud of that and amazed at what breast milk can do. Its benefits are incredible, and it is actually very easy. It’s always available, no bottles needed, it is free, always the perfect temperature, and the perfect food for baby. I had already nourished him for nine months in the womb, and if he needed my body for longer, it seemed logical. Why not do it?
After two months, I realized that breastfeeding is actually a lifestyle and more of a burden than I am willing to continue for the long term future. You have to literally sit with baby for an hour of every three (he’s a slow eater, it takes us a long time). I have to organize our schedule so that I’m home when he needs to eat, and it got very time consuming and limiting when I was ready to get out of the house. Because nursing in public isn’t really for me, I like to be home to feed him. That left very little time to get out of the house to run errands either with him, or by myself.
I did start using bottles daily for him so I could escape briefly and food was available for him at home. While bottles are a great alternative, it messes with my own body because the milk is ready for the taking, but baby isn’t there. Luckily, my milk supply is very strong and the only downside was that my boobs felt like they were about to explode (haha, that’s all). Bottles also take extra work of pumping and preparing them and planning for that.
Around Week 9, we introduced formula at the 7 p.m. feeding. I felt that Logan needed a little oomph to help him feel fuller and maybe it would help him sleep longer too. He would always be starving when he ate, no matter the time or how many ounces I could give him. He’s a hungry boy. I have a lot of motherly guilt on switching since breastmilk is working for him. He doesn’t seem to notice a difference, and happily takes whatever he is given, from whomever is holding a bottle.
Now I say he is 83% breastfed. I don’t know when I will wean him more by replacing another feeding with formula. I still really enjoy breastfeeding him and the time we spend together. It is much more special than I imagined. Even though it does take a long time, it’s actually a nice peaceful time where he is happy and I can relax too. Because I can’t decide what to do next, I think it means I’m not yet ready to wean more.
I don’t have a specific goal of how long I’ll continue to breastfeed. For me, I think when it becomes more frustrating and burdensome then I’ll wean more.
I do love breastfeeding but agree, it’s so much harder than I realised! 83% breast is great – lucky Logan!
Are you freezing your breastmilk when u pump? I’ve been pumping once a day to build up some stores for date nights and to get a head start on daycare. Whenever we need to make a bottle, we just run it under warm/hot water, pour it into a bottle and its ready to go! Easier than mixing formula (in my opinion). Whenever I ‘skip’ a feeding and my breast get engorged, I just pump to maintain our milk stores. The most annoying part of bf is all the leaking! Eeek!
I *hope* to exclusively breast feed for 6months, and to continue for 1-1.5years, but you never know what can happen… We are also cloth diapering and breast milk poo can go straight into the wash (water soluble), formula isn’t… so another reason (for me) to exclusively bf as long as possible.
Good luck with whatever you decide!
Oh, and do you have an ergo carrier? Its SUPER easy to brst feed while wearing one, and very discreet. My husband and I were walking on the beach the other day and he had no idea she was nursing until I told him. Just have to wear a nursing tank or some other top that is ‘easy to access’. The ergo also has a rain/sun hood that gives even more privacy… just a thought in case you ever needed to nurse in public
Breastfeeding is hard, and certainly more of a lifestyle for sure! I can tell you though that it does get easier! He will space out his feedings to give you more time and he will get more efficient at eating so that feedings are shorter. As far as nursing in public, you can always nurse in the car which is easy and discreet or bring a bottle of breastmilk and pump when you get back home. Good luck either way! Do what feels right for you
I feel this. Isla breastfeeds somewhere between 20-40 minutes every 1.5-2 hours. It takes up so much time, and if I weren’t willing to breastfeed outside of the house (thank god for my Bebe Au Lait cover!), we would never leave. As it is, it’s hard to get out when you have to feed a baby every hour and a half!
We started giving formula at bedtime so I could do a full pump to get my freezer stash going for when I returned to work at I think 4 or 5 weeks. Now that we’re trying to simulate my being back at work, I’ve been attempting to pump during the day while someone else gives her a bottle. No nursing between 8 and 5. I can only pump about half the amount of breastmilk she needs for the day. So we’re supplementing. That’s really frustrating and I’m worried about what’s going to happen to my supply after a few weeks of only pumping half of what Isla eats in a day.
I just keep trying not to guilt myself over the formula. It’s just not worth it. I still enjoy nursing most of the time, so I’m just going to try to focus on how much we both still get out of it when we can do it and not worry about it the rest of the time. I just want a full, thriving, happy little lady.