Non breastfed guilt

I wasn’t able to breastfeed my son for various reasons…he was formula fed since day 3 and I exclusively pumped and bottle fed him as much breastmilk as I could get for 2 months before switching fully to formula.

My son is now 10 months old, and I still feel guilty nearly every day that I wasn’t able to bf him for longer. The time that I was bf / pumping for him was some of the darkest days for me mentally…I felt like a failure, like I wasn’t cut out to be a mom, like I was letting him down and compromising how he may grow up. I wish more than anything that I was able to breastfeed, to have that closeness and bond with him, to give him the absolute best. I keep thinking that if I’m lucky enough to have another baby, I would do everything in my power to make it work.

Not really sure what the point of this post is. I guess if anyone else has gone through or felt anything similar - know that you’re not alone in these feelings.

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The fact you did two months in itself is amazing! Speaking from experience, I found expressing way more challenging than bf. You’ve done really well.

We put so much pressure on ourselves as mums. Always striving for better. Try not to be so hard on yourself. Look at what you’ve achieved! You’ve kept your little boy safe and healthy and that’s what matters 💛

I still do not like expressing. But you did it for 2 months. That shows a lot of love and resilience ❤️.

Bond with your baby is built by the love you have for him and time devoted to caring for him, not just by breastfeeding. The fact that you have written this shows how much you love him and are willing to do all that you can x.

I could have written this myself. You’re not alone in feeling this way x

As said above, just reading this makes one understand how much you care about your little one and that you did the best you could!! I have been breastfeeding since baby was born and I find pumping really really hard. I wanted to build a proper stash but I just couldn't. So you have my admiration that you perservered for 2 months! Every drop counts and you gave your baby the best start providing colostrum and taylor made nutrition, stem cells and imunoglobin ♥️ No matter how long you breastfeed/pump it is always emotional and sad when it comes to an end, I am in the process and feel guilty a lot. But my mental health is fucked, energy non existent, I need a surgery so I have to stop now.
Give yourself a big grace!

in our community

Can someone pls help i keep making this post and nobody is responding

My boyfriend booked a trip for us to go to mexico for a week as my push present. I have severe anxiety leaving my 7 month old with my mom. I know she will be in good hands but she’s exclusively breast fed for the most part but accepts bottles just fine. i have all my pumping parts packed and will pump when baby normally eats but i don’t want baby to forget me or have latch issues when i return!! any mommas ever experience this?

Postpartum

I’m only 3 days postpartum (FTM) and already have extremely bad anxiety. I’m crying every night, as I think of another night of no sleep. My baby will not settle in his cot, he cries every moment we put him down unless in his chair rocker. So me and my partner are having to alternate after 3/4 hours of being awake with him downstairs. I’m trying everything to get him to settle. It’s a load of overwhelming stress. I’m 23, I was desperate for a baby and now I have one and feel completely useless. I miss it just being me and my partner.

When does it get better?

I was crying on the phone with the perinatal mental health team today and the lovely lady, bless her, kept assuring me that it gets better. I kept telling her I hope so because people have been saying that since having my LO and it just feels like it keeps getting worse. She assured me it gets better....

Night time routine

Heya, my 3 week old daughter is currently exclusively breastfed and I’m not pumping. Can anyone recommend the best way to share the load with my partner? At the moment I’m doing all the feeds/burbs/settling and my partner is sleeping through which obviously isn’t sustainable, I’m trying to work out the best way to get him involved. Any advice very much appreciated!

Rant/WWYD

My sister (youngest, 24) has two kids, 4 & 1, and i (oldest, 30) just have my one who’s 6mo old right now, so i ask her for advice or call her to vent about things sometimes. Well im tired of her turning around and telling my other family members that I’m “losing my sh*t.” Literally have not lost my sh*t nor have i ever freaked out to her about my baby, i just call her to talk and tell her what stage my baby is in or talk through how im feeling, but she chooses to tell people that im like a complete nutcase or something which worries me that my family is going to start being judgmental about me as a mother or looking at me funny like I’m some fragile ticking time bomb.

What would you do in this situation? I’m already pretty much decided that I’ll stop telling her anything about my struggles, but I’m almost at the point where i feel like it should be confronted because she, of all people, should understand what I’m going through.

Can someone speak on drug screening and c section?

I smoked all through my first pregnancy and tested positive didn’t have any issues a social worker came in and spoke to me and hubby and that was it but this time I’m having an elective c section and wondering did they drug test you there?