I haven't gone into too much detail on the blog about breast-feeding versus formula feeding, but I figured I'd give a brief summary of what we've done.
Hannah and I had trouble getting breast-feeding to go smoothly for a few reasons (she is such an active baby that it was taking both me and Dan to get her to latch on and not flail around; I wasn't making enough milk to feed her completely and she had lost weight initially; and a few other things that I won't go into), so I ended up pumping regularly and we fed it to her from a bottle.
The Medela Symphony breast pump that we rented from Isis Parenting was a life-saver, and made it possible for us to feed her in this way. Unfortunately, I still wasn't making enough milk to feed her completely, so we supplemented with Enfamil. I was able to double my supply during the time I was pumping (through pumping more frequently, eating oatmeal every morning, and taking Fenugreek supplements), and I'm happy that I was able to give her as much breast milk as I did.
About a month and a half ago, I realized that it was getting too difficult and stressful for me to fit in the 5 or 6 pumping sessions a day (including one in the middle of the night), especially because it was taking away valuable time that I wanted to have with Hannah. The pump had come with us on weekends away, and I'd even pumped multiple times in the backseat of the car under one of Hannah's blankets while Dan drove! It was starting to be too overwhelming.
It was tough for me to come to terms with the idea of weaning myself, and I went back and forth about the decision several times. Ultimately Dan and I decided that it was the right time for me to stop, and I did it very slowly (more slowly than much of what I had read as a "suggested" timeline). In the end, I was able to feed Hannah breast milk for her first 5 months of life, which is a LOT longer than I would have guessed after the first few days of trying.
Having gone through this experience, it's so interesting to hear other people's perspectives about breast-feeding and formula feeding. People are very opinionated about the topic, and it is quite easy for others to judge a mother's choice without realizing how difficult it may have been for her to make that decision.
It seems to me that the general message out there is that breastfeeding is easy and that everyone should do it. It's just not that way, and it makes me sad that new moms are made to feel bad about their decisions. I have friends who make too much milk, and friends who make virtually no milk at all, friends who want to breast-feed their child until age 2, and friends who never even tried to breastfeed. One friend of mine exclusively pumps to feed her child, and I know several moms whose 8 to 10-month-olds refuse to drink formula or take anything from a bottle because it's so foreign to them. Breastfeeding is a very personal thing and there's no right or wrong answer. It bothers me that even on the cans of formula it says "Breastfeeding is best!" Well, yes that may be true, but that's just not always possible!
I hope that with our future child(ren?) I'm able to breast-feed them, or at least provide the benefits of breast milk to them in the same way that I did with Hannah, but even if I can't, I am secure in the knowledge that I will have done the best that I could for them (and for Hannah)...
... And I'm really enjoying the extra time I have to play with her while she grows and learns new tricks!
Hannah and I had trouble getting breast-feeding to go smoothly for a few reasons (she is such an active baby that it was taking both me and Dan to get her to latch on and not flail around; I wasn't making enough milk to feed her completely and she had lost weight initially; and a few other things that I won't go into), so I ended up pumping regularly and we fed it to her from a bottle.
The Medela Symphony breast pump that we rented from Isis Parenting was a life-saver, and made it possible for us to feed her in this way. Unfortunately, I still wasn't making enough milk to feed her completely, so we supplemented with Enfamil. I was able to double my supply during the time I was pumping (through pumping more frequently, eating oatmeal every morning, and taking Fenugreek supplements), and I'm happy that I was able to give her as much breast milk as I did.
About a month and a half ago, I realized that it was getting too difficult and stressful for me to fit in the 5 or 6 pumping sessions a day (including one in the middle of the night), especially because it was taking away valuable time that I wanted to have with Hannah. The pump had come with us on weekends away, and I'd even pumped multiple times in the backseat of the car under one of Hannah's blankets while Dan drove! It was starting to be too overwhelming.
It was tough for me to come to terms with the idea of weaning myself, and I went back and forth about the decision several times. Ultimately Dan and I decided that it was the right time for me to stop, and I did it very slowly (more slowly than much of what I had read as a "suggested" timeline). In the end, I was able to feed Hannah breast milk for her first 5 months of life, which is a LOT longer than I would have guessed after the first few days of trying.
Having gone through this experience, it's so interesting to hear other people's perspectives about breast-feeding and formula feeding. People are very opinionated about the topic, and it is quite easy for others to judge a mother's choice without realizing how difficult it may have been for her to make that decision.
It seems to me that the general message out there is that breastfeeding is easy and that everyone should do it. It's just not that way, and it makes me sad that new moms are made to feel bad about their decisions. I have friends who make too much milk, and friends who make virtually no milk at all, friends who want to breast-feed their child until age 2, and friends who never even tried to breastfeed. One friend of mine exclusively pumps to feed her child, and I know several moms whose 8 to 10-month-olds refuse to drink formula or take anything from a bottle because it's so foreign to them. Breastfeeding is a very personal thing and there's no right or wrong answer. It bothers me that even on the cans of formula it says "Breastfeeding is best!" Well, yes that may be true, but that's just not always possible!
I hope that with our future child(ren?) I'm able to breast-feed them, or at least provide the benefits of breast milk to them in the same way that I did with Hannah, but even if I can't, I am secure in the knowledge that I will have done the best that I could for them (and for Hannah)...
... And I'm really enjoying the extra time I have to play with her while she grows and learns new tricks!
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