Not ready to give my baby formula…

Hi everyone! Just more of an offloading of feeling than anything and in no way am I trying to make anyone else feel guilty for their choices!! My first baby was formula fed from day 1. Basically long story short I’ve been exclusively breastfeeding my nearly 4 month old and although we have formula in the cupboard we’ve never used it. Well now I’ve got the WORST sickness bug and I’m dehydrated and struggling to pump. My partner has the baby so I can rest but I know he has to give him some formula and I just don’t feel ready. I know this is just one of those things and in actual fact my son won’t care one bit, but I just feel like all my effort is wasted ☹️ I’m sure many of you have been here before I just want to know how you felt once your baby actually had the formula??

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I was EBF for 7 months and a week and a half ago we started formula (he was teething and my supply dropped and I refuse to pump lol) initially felt terrible, guilty, all the feels. But he loves it and he is going longer between feeds now. Sleeping longer at night. Actually much less grizzly. I know how much he is getting and I know it’s nutritious. I also know for 7 months I gave him the best of the best & he’s a big boy hitting all his milestones so that in itself gave me comfort & reassurance that it was ok to switch over. Goodluck 🤍

@Sera Kay ✨ that’s amazing! I’m definitely feeling all the emotions. It’s like even though I know I’ve always done what’s best for him, can’t help feeling this way… Also don’t want him to catch my bug I would feel 100x worse about that than I will about giving him some formula x

@Beth what you’re feeling is super normal and I think everyone goes through it when they’ve been able to successfully BF! You got this mama 🤍

The fact that you’ve even been able to breastfeed for nearly 4 months is amazing. I wanted to BF and unfortunately had no milk with both my little ones. So, honestly how i ended up seeing it is, as long as baby is having some sort of milk, that’s what matters most, regardless if it’s breast or formula. I’m sure you’re a great mummy and you have done so well, so don’t let this put you down x

This is when the pressure put on mothers to exclusively breatsfeed is unhelpful and toxic. Try to understand where the guilt comes from and why you feel it is a failure or effort wasted. Your baby was fed for full 4 months, that is not a failure. You are not going to be sick forever and return to breastfeeding in a few days... or not and it is fine. That transition is still helpful when others take care of him.

You can do combination. Now when you are sick, give formula for every other feed. You can’t just stop breastfeeding on the spot. Your breast will fill up and get painful and you will want to breastfeed. When you feel better you switch to breast again and get your supply back up again and continue breastfeeding. Hope you feel better soon, mama!

Try to tell yourself that even if your baby has formula now, it's not the end of your journey if you don't want it to be. Your baby will be fed, you will recover and be able to replenish your fluids and that's what's important. It's hard, I get it but just keep repeating that Get some dioralyte to keep your hydration up and keep sipping in the meantime to recover yourself!

When I was sick my lactation specialist advised me to wear a mask and continue to breastfeed for the antibodies. I have twins and neither of them got sick. I have supplemented with Bubs goat formula (goat is the closest to breastmilk) and the twins liked it and stayed full longer.