i don’t think I want to breast feed.. What should I do?

if you dont want to breastfeed then dont breastfeed. does it really matter what they say? honestly? in the long run…..no.

Don’t then. Don’t let anyone talk you into something you are not prepared for. It might just not work for you. Ask your doctor. Ask opinions of others but make up your own mind.

Breast feeding your baby would be you giving your baby the best to eat. Don’t you want the best for your baby?

Breast milk is the best for baby. It has all your immunities and it helps protect your baby. If you do not want to breast feed that is fine. Just breast feed for the first week so the baby gets the colostrum. It is important for baby. Lots of moms formula feed and there babies are fine. I try ed to breast feed my three and was unable to do it longer then 6 weeks. Do what is best for you!

Dont worry. Even strangers will come up to you at times and tell you how to raise your baby. I breastfed my daughter but its doesnt mean i will tell you to. I am pregnant again and the first thing my mom told me when I told her I was pregnant again was “well its your body, and your the one that will through with it” same thing. Its your body and you’re the one that will go through with it too. If your bf fam wants to talk or give you dirty looks who gives a flying bat. ignore them and move on because in the end you are the one raising that child and proving for him/her. let everyone elses comments go in one ear and come out the other )

I breastfed both of my children. It is best for the child. I think you should at least try it before you decide not to do it. That being said, if you are not comfortable after trying it or are having problems with it don’t let anyone put you down. It is your decision and no one else’s.

Breast is best! Babies who breast feed have fewer illnesses.

If you have a problem with doing it, I have a suggestion- get a breast pump. A breast pump will pump out the milk and put it into a container. You can then refrigerate the milk until baby needs it. Besides, formula can get expensive! LOL.

If nothing else, at least do it the first couple of weeks after the baby’s born.

I think you really need to educate yourself about the benefits of breastfeeding and then make your decision. You seem to know nothing about it so I suggest you do some research.

Kellymom.com is a great place to start. Also check out Dr. Sears.

It is your decision, but if you are able to breastfeed, I would.

It has been proven that breastfed babies have on average 10 points higher IQ, better immune systems and have such a great bond with their mom. I’m not even going to go into the cost of formula feeding!

Now, I can see why you felt awkward with that woman who “pulled it out” and started breastfeeding in front of you. Just because she would feed in public, doesn’t mean that you have to. I excuse myself from groups to find a quiet, private place to nurse because I’m not comfortable nursing in front of anyone except my husband.

It’s your choice, but I hope that you give breastfeeding a try. It’s not as weird as you think, and once you get the hang of it, it isn’t a hassle at all. Pumping when you return to work/school is a viable option.

The best thing you can do is find an OBGYN who supports your wishes that you would prefer to bottle feed. That was the first thing I said to my OBGYN and she said to me “I was bottlefed and look at me, I am smart!”. That really helped my confidence on this matter as well as feeling like I wasnt the ‘worst mom in the world’ and intentionally neglecting my childs nutritional needs.

After that I could take on anyones comments about oh breast is best (yes its best if it works for you! But it doesnt work for me, so back off!), and the la leche league links that people emailed me. And I even was able to tell my MIL to back off!

I have my own personal reasons, like minimal maternity leave, stress over feeling like a moo cow at work, not being able to pump when I need to, bad thoughts about my shirt streaming with milk, and I just decided to hell with it, bottle feeding it is!

I honestly set out to breastfeed my first daughter. I didnt even own a bottle when she was born. I had to have a c-section and my milk came in two weeks after she was born. So for the first couple days I kept having the lactation consultant come and tell me how “i was doing it wrong” and I had all these indiscriminate people touching my boobs, and they were purple and cracked and bloody and I got negative feelings towards my daughter, so I just threw in the towel and said nurse, bring me a bottle! And after that everything went perfectly and I adore my daughter!

So different strokes for different folks I say. Theres no right solution for everyone. Theres the one that makes YOU the happiest or makes the most sense to YOU. So just especially with your first baby, shut out all of the noise, the people giving you advice, and just follow your instincts. You will handle this situation well.

I dont know how you change other peoples perceptions on the problem, but honestly the proof is in the pudding, when your child grows up with no issues because he or she was bottle fed. They will get used to it and over it!

Good luck with the baby and enjoy being a mom!

Do what is going to be comfortable for you. I’m not too keen on the idea either, I’m still deciding on what to do. I think because of money wise I’m going to pump but bottle feed so the baby doesn’t become dependent more on me than my husband. If you don’t want to don’t. My mom didn’t. My sister didn’t. It’s all choice and its up to you. They all had a chance to raise their kids and now its yours. Just be strong, your a mom now. Time to take the reins and show them your word stands. No if ands or buts! Use your best Mom voice too.

Breastfeeding has been shown to be protective against many illnesses, including painful ear infections, upper and lower respiratory ailments, allergies, intestinal disorders, colds, viruses, staph, strep and e coli infections, diabetes, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, many childhood cancers, meningitis, pneumonia, urinary tract infections, salmonella, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome(SIDS) as well as lifetime protection from Crohn’s Disease, ulcerative colitis, some lymphomas, insulin dependent diabetes, and for girls, breast and ovarian cancer.

One way breast feeding protects your newborn from illnesses is the immune molecules, called antibodies, that are present in breast milk. Antibodies are made by your body’s immune system and are very specific molecules that help you fight each illness. When babies are born, their immune systems are very immature and they have less ability to fight illness-causing germs. Through your breast milk, you give your baby immunities to illnesses to which you are immune and also those to which you have been exposed. Nursing also allows your baby to give germs to you so that your immune system can respond and can synthesize antibodies! This means that if your baby has come in contact with something which you have not, (s)he will pass these germs to you at the next nursing; during that feeding, your body will start to manufacture antibodies for that particular germ. By the time the next feeding arrives, your entire immune system will be working to provide immunities for you and your baby. If you are exposed to any bacteria or viruses, your body will be making antibodies against them and these will be in your milk. Breast milk also contains a host of other immune molecules that also help protect your baby from germs. It’s an awesome system!

Research shows your child’s immune system will not be fully mature for many years. While it is developing, he will be protected by being breastfed. His own immune system also develops more rapidly than does baby who is fed formula.

Does this mean breastfed babies never get sick? No, they can and do. However, the illness is generally less severe and lengthy than if the baby were not receiving his mother’s milk.

Breastmilk is liquid gold, and it’s yours to give!

Benefits for Baby

Chapter 18 of THE WOMANLY ART OF BREASTFEEDING, 7th Revised Edition, “Human Milk for Human Babies ,” documents the benefits of breastfeeding such as the antibodies in it to protect the baby from illness. For example, a study in the Philippines showed that, “Deaths from respiratory infections and diarrhea were eight to ten times higher in babies who were artificially fed than in those who were even partiaully breastfed for six months ” (THE WOMANLY ART OF BREASTFEEDING, 7th Revised Edition, page 350). Breastfed babies have a decreased likelihood for allergies and dental caries. They also benefit from appropriate jaw, teeth and speech development as well as overall facial development. This means that people who were artificially fed may experience more trips to doctors and dentists
Benefits for Mother

Chapter 19 of THE WOMANLY ART OF BREASTFEEDING, “How Breastfeeding Affects a Mother,” describes some of the physical benefits of breastfeeding for the mother such as reduced rates of breast cancer and ovarian cancer. The time saved for mother is immense also. As a breastfeeding mother, you can feed your baby even during stressful times such as when normal supplies of food and water are not available.

If you feel that strongely about not doing it then don’t. Yes, they say that breastfeeding is better for the baby but that doesn’t mean that your baby isn’t going to be healthy because you bottle feed. None of my family breastfed. I was the first one that did and honestly I couldn’t do it. My nipples were inverted and my son had a hard time latching. The same thing happened to my mom when she first tried to do it. Just because you try it doesn’t necessarily mean your going to be able to do it. I want you to keep this in mind though. Breastfeeding is a lot cheaper. You could pump when you go back to school and that might make it easier and cheaper for you. It should also get your boyfriends family off your back. I say tell them your not sure what your going to do and look more into it. Don’t let anyone tell you that your a bad mom or your baby is going to die because you didn’t breastfeed.

it has tremendous benefits, but it’s your choice. I would do some research about it and then make your decision.

And it’s totally FREE…you don’t have to worry about mixing bottles, running out, and spending money on something that already comes from you.

I wouldn’t NOT do it just because all your relatives never did … thoughts and opinions on breastfeeding have changed one way or the other dramatically over the last 100 years. I wouldn’t even consider them when making a decision, but do what you think is best. My grandmother never breastfed, and my mom only nursed me for four months. But I nursed my children past a year and am glad I did.

First off, do what YOU want and what YOU think is best for yourself and your baby. Don’t let anyone – family, stranger, anyone! – tell you different. With a question like this, you’re going to get people from both sides saying that you should do one or the other, but do what you think is best.

Next, while breastmilk can’t be replaced, formula’s not bad at all! I breastfed my son at first, but there was never enough to keep him happy, so I started supplementing with formula. After 3 months of giving him both, I just stopped and switched to formula completely. It’s a LOT easier for me, although some will say breastfeeding is easier – it all depends on your situation.

I’m also a student, but I’m taking time off university to be with my son for the first few months of his life. If you aren’t going to be with your baby all the time, formula will likely be a lot easier for you. That way, anyone can feed him/her. You could still breastfeed if you wanted to, but it would be a lot harder and you’d probably have to pump while you’re away from baby, and that would be a huge hassle at school and work, I would think. I found it hard enough doing that at home! lol

Finally, even though it’s going to be hard, just ignore his family if they give you looks and say things about your choice. My boyfriend’s family is pretty overbearing as well – mostly his mother – and I just ignored all her “advice.” They may give up and let you raise your child the way you want, or they may be the types to keep bugging you about it, but either way, it’s up to you, NOT THEM. You (and hopefully your boyfriend along with you) can calmly explain to his family what you’re choosing and why. They may or may not leave you alone after that, but there’s not much you can do.

The only other thing I have to say is keep in mind that formula gets expensive! It sounds like you’re still young and babies get expensive quickly – diapers, formula, everything else. We lucked out big time and had most of the big stuff given to us, and haven’t even had to buy clothes on our own really… but diapers and formula add up! Breastmilk was definitely cheaper! And it does have added benefits that formula can’t duplicate, but there’s absolutely nothing wrong with choosing formula if that’s what’s right for you! It’s getting better all the time, and they’re making it as healthy as they can for babies.

It’s tough being a first time parent. I remember quite well how scary everything was when I was pregnant with my now 4 year old. I was well versed on the benefits of nursing, but was completely unsure of my ability to let him “use” my body that way. In the end I decided to give it a try. He nursed until he was 4mo. Then formula fed. Now he is a very smart 4 yo. I am still nursing his 13 mo brother.

There are many benfits to nursing that are sometimes over looked. One is that my period only just returned, where as with formula it returns 6 weeks postpartum. It lowers your chances for certain cancers. It lowers the child’s risk for childhood disease.

In the end all that matters is that the baby is fed. But here’s something to remember: it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. You could nurse until you return to school. You could nurse while you are in school, pumping in between classes. You could nurse after school, formula feed during school. You could nurse until you go back to work and completely formula feed then. It is better for you and baby.

Breast milk will NEVER be recalled, but formula is often recalled. Breast milk matches YOUR child, formula is one size fits all. Breast milk is free. Formula is VERY expensive (esp in comparison.) The only thing that really matters is this: Be confident with your decision, research both sides, and if you feel you need to, have something better than “My child, my choice” (i say this often to my mother. She’s pro everything I’m against….)

I did not want to breastfeed either, and did so because of peer pressure/knowing the health benefits. I really ended up enjoying it-it was SO much easier than making bottles-I looked forward to the weekend cause my son didn’t go to daycare and I didn’t have to make and clean bottles. I thought it would be weird but it was actually relaxing for both of us. Also you can sit on your cna and nurse while everyone esle takes care of the house early on, believe me its better. By contrast, some of my friends who really wanted to bf ended up hating it. So, I recommend just trying it-it is the ideal, and if it doesn’t work out, its not like you can’t quit and use formula.

I really want to support your thoughts here, but you didn’t really give a good reason not to breastfeed your baby. It sounds like you haven’t done any research on it at all – otherwise you would know that breast milk is THAT much better than formula. If it weren’t that great – why would our bodies produce it?

Just because the rest of your family hasn’t breastfed doesn’t mean you should automatically cancel it out.

I think if you took the time to research about breastfeeding and the AMAZING benefits it has for both YOU AND YOUR BABY, you might think twice about it.

P.S. Just because you have a busy schedule coming up, doesn’t mean you can’t breastfeed. Many women return to work full-time and still manage. It’s called “pumping.”

Good luck with your decision.

Breastfeeding does have its benefits; however, if you choose not to breastfeed, it is your personal choice. No one can change that decision and do not let them pressure you into breastfeeding. Your time with your baby should be something you both enjoy and if breastfeeding is not for you, why would you make yourself miserable? Your mood and behaviors does affect your interactions with your child.

My nieces and nephews are formula fed and they turned out perfectly fine.

As long as your baby is fed and content, no one should be complaining. Also, another added benefit is that daddy can take night shifts without waking you!!