Hi Kate
Thanks for sharing your opinions - but maybe your opinions are better based as a new thread where all mothers can express their thoughts on what their experiences have been like and not attacking one due date thread in particular. It's a bit rude and to be honest how did you think you wouldn't offend anyone especially when there are women out there who just cannot breastfeed because they cannot produce milk.
I breastfed exclusively and painfully for 3 weeks, I had amples of milk but extremely cracked nipples and I engorged really fast. My ds didn't stop feeding from the few days after he was born and his 2 week growth spurt never ended, and I then started running out of milk so my midwife suggested to do formula top ups. I never ONCE felt guilty about giving my ds anything that wasn't from me, it actually worked really well my dh would feed him and I got an earlier nights rest and they had their own bonding experience which my dh loved. I continued to breastfeed with formula feeds throughout the night and it worked completely fine with us.
And to clear things up, when people get stared at weird for breastfeeding in public it is the same for those who bottle feed too. Mothers aren't in any way failures because they don't breastfeed even if it is a mixture, as long as their baby is growing happily and healthily then what the hell is the matter whether it is by bottle or by breast? For all you know those that are bottle feeding in public are giving breast milk because THEY feel uncomfortable by biased people judging them and would rather take the flack of bottle feeding. I know plenty of women that bottle fed happily because they couldn't breastfeed at all. I stopped breastfeeding at 5 months because I ran out of milk and I felt great that I fed my baby for 5 months. I would have been happy for 1 day because at least I tried.
And no not all babies feed for a shorter amount of time on a bottle, some take an hour just like at the breast. Some can't latch on properly just like they can't latch onto a nipple.
And I LOVED that I could share feeding with my dh, because he went 9 months not knowing just exactly what I got to experience with my pregnancy, only able to hold my hand and encourage me through the most amazing thing of childbirth and then to watch as mother instincts took over once my baby was born. So giving him the option of bottle feeding, and getting up at 3am to see him holding ds fast asleep after a bottle and him just watching his son made every bottle absolutely worth it.
Sterilising takes a long time, even like sterilising your breast pumps. It takes preparation of boiling water then allowing to cool so that you can reheat safely for your baby to feed from at the right times, to make sure everything is so clean to minimise germs. Bottles are probably cleaner than our natural breastfeeding ways as we don't go washing our hands before and after.
Take a good hard think before you come and be "un-biased" to women who also haven't even had children yet and have enough to think about let alone thinking now that they will fail if they cannot breastfeed. And don't come in here again to upset the mothers who have had to bottle feed for any such reason. I take my hat off to all mothers who breast or bottle feed. Either way it's hard work and they are all doing an amazing job bringing up their children.
Sorry ladies I just get really ticked off by people shoving breastfeeding down others throats. I think RKA feels the same way.
Lozwatts I hope your scan went really well!! Is it definitely a boy?
