Need affirmation

[idieva]

@saxonity Fed is best Darling.

Don't be too hard on yourself. I started breastfeeding baby and stopped at 4 months. She's healthy and never hungry

 

[imwrongyourrightyouwin]

@saxonity Not at all! There are formulas like kendamil which I swear by that are great for babies! You have to be healthy so baby will be healthy

 

[baothy2201]

@saxonity Are you saying your paediatrician said you have to formula feed because of the tramadol because that’s absolutely untrue. I breastfed while recovering and on tramadol? There’s absolutely no problem with formula feeding (I am doing both and thinking I’ll stop pumping just to formula feed - baby is 6 weeks old) but that’s crazy if that’s the reason you can’t BF! Just saying

 

[saxonity]

@baothy2201 i was told by my lactation consultant, the doctor who prescribed it, and poison control that it would be fine. but he wasn’t sleeping half as good as he is now on formula. pediatrician said absolutely not. so i started formula right then and there (after a meltdown of course ). it seems like it definitely was a problem for my baby specifically for some reason.

 

[bornagain69]

@saxonity You doing the right thing by taking care of your own health and wellbeing. And if baby is sleeping better on formula, I say HALLELUJAH! BRING ON THE FORMULA! Because that will absolutely help your mental health to get better sleep. You are a good mama. Keep doing what you're doing!

 

[steinem27]

@saxonity NO YOU ARE NOT A BAD MOM - full stop!!! You did what you needed to do to take care of yourself so you could heal to take care of your child. I chose to end my breastfeeding journey after 17 days because I got gnarly mastitis and the pain was honestly worse than labor and delivery. I was bummed things didn’t work out the way I thought they would, but our baby is fed and happy and growing so so well. We went with Bobbie formula because we like the ingredients and mission statement.

 

[steinem27]

Check out @theformulafairy on IG, too!

 

[outofplace_christian]

@saxonity I was unable to breastfeed due to low supply, and it was devastating to me because I’m a pretty healthy granola hippie type and just assumed I would be able to. But the more I read about formula feeding compared to breast milk, the less worried I am. It seems most of the benefits are from the kind of households where women are able to breastfeed—parental leave or stay at home mom, educated, upper middle class, two parent household, access to lactation consultant, good health insurance…I definitely don’t think you need those things to be a good parent, but of course financial security, knowledge of best parenting practices, and time to spend with baby are beneficial.

There are so many choices for formula available now, too. We use Bobbie organic, which has a “clean” certification for no heavy metals, plastics, gmos, etc. There are also studies that grass fed dairy naturally contains higher levels of vitamin d and other nutrients, so I would suspect the grass fed dairy base of Bobbie and byheart also has more naturally occurring (not just supplement) vitamins. Besides we are now just starting solids so there are many more options to help baby’s microbiome and nutrition.

 

[emersonboi]

@saxonity You are 100% not selfish or a bad mom.

If feeding breastmilk is something you are really feeling strongly about, see if you can find a donor! There are several Facebook groups for donating breastmilk (I think the largest is Human Milk 4 Human Babies)

Otherwise know that your baby is fed and has a mother that is taking care of herself so that she can take care of him - that is of the highest importance.

 

[saxonity]

@emersonboi this is exactly what i needed. thank you.

 

[thebigfinalepostapocolyps]

@saxonity I notice the OP getting down voted for stating fears and asking questions a lot of us have had. One of the cores of a supportive community is being a place these questions can be asked and fears can be addressed positively.

OP, fed is best. Take care of yourself and you'll be a better mom to your kid and your bond will reflect that. Another benefit we saw was my spouse had way more bonding with our daughter because he could help with feeding, too, and get that time and experience with her.

 

[adam56]

@saxonity You could be unmedicated and give the breast milk that you think is better. But would other areas be better? Would you be able to be the present parent you want to be? As long as he’s fed and you’re both happy, you’re making the best choice. Take care of yourself so you can take care of him. You can ask your pediatrician for recommendations on formula. I have given generic versions to both children. Both are hitting milestones on time with no worries on development from either parent or doctor.

 

[busola48]

@saxonity To take care of your baby… you need to take care of yourself. You are by no means a bad mom for doing what you need to do to stay present

 

[skilleon]

@saxonity I wanted to breast feed but developed DVT (blood clot) at 32 weeks and had to be put on blood thinners. I could’ve kept taking the blood thinners by injections but it was really doing a number on my mental health because they were incredibly painful and caused a lot of bruising. My belly hurt to touch anything and it was rough. I couldn’t switch to a pill blood thinner and breast feed so I went to formula. I wish I could have breast fed, like the stars would’ve aligned or something. But he’s actually on the same formula I was on as a baby and he’s doing fantastic. Life is going to do life things and a lot of the time you can only do the best you can do. Not to mention.. the longer I’m a mom I really do realize there is ALWAYS something to feel guilty about. Someone else actually just said to me the guilt never goes away. You’re guilty if you do something and you’re guilty if you don’t do the same thing there’s just always guilt. You don’t get to escape it so just know, if you were breast feeding and not taking the tramidol you’d probably feel guilty for not being able to take care of him to the best of your ability that way too! Pick your guilt.

 

[rhodesponting]

@saxonity I’m also a single mom and my LO is 3 weeks old. I originally planned to exclusively breastfeed but she wasn’t getting enough I don’t think because her diapers were consistently barely wet at all. I chanted to combo feeding with pumping and formula and I felt awful at first, like I was doing something wrong by “giving up” and formula feeding. She is thriving now! I’ve switched to completely formula fed because pumping was taking a lot out of me and I could barely keep up with her, plus my milk was watery and wouldn’t satisfy her much at all. She’s gaining weight amazingly and peeing and pooping right on track. Formula is definitely what was best for us. Please know you don’t have to feel ashamed! Fed is best and formula can be a much better option for certain families!

 

[izzazzo]

@saxonity There are already microplastics inside of our bloodstream and in our brains and even supposedly inside of the fetuses we bear before they are even born. There is no escaping the microplastics. I’m sure there is microplastic in breastmilk. The most important thing about caring for ur baby is making sure they are fed well and cleaned and cuddled. That’s all ur baby cares about. Baby is not worried about the microplastics and there’s nothing we can do to eliminate them at the moment. Please do not worry so much and cherish the time u have with ur sweet boy. He will never be mad at u for not breastfeeding. He will be thankful he had a momma who cares so much about his wellbeing as it is obvious u do by ur worries. Take care of urself so u can take care of ur baby. Bless!