I quit pumping. There, I said it. I made it six weeks and feel like I have given Jolie a good (enough) start and am ready to let Nestle take it from here. I know that breast is best, but formula ain’t a bad second choice.
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47 Comments
nooooooooooooooo!! keep going!! Ok, let’s make a deal. Do breast milk and formula 50/50, yeah? deal? ok, good! now hand over the diet coke and nobody gets hurt.
eh
you do what you can, you know?
you made it 6 weeks
6 weeks is better than 0 weeks
Good for you. I had a much harder time with babe number 2 and making the decision to quit was MUCH harder than actually doing it. Once we had moved on, we were all much happier.
Good for you lady! Don’t let people push ya around! Jolie will be great, and you sane, sooooo……
so we’ve been analyzing whether or not to quit breastfeeding. Due to a few variables Caleb doesn’t want to take from my boob anymore so what to do? pump or formula? Now, Micah was on formula at 6 weeks & he’s healthy & active so why not just quit? We’re cheap. I wanted to ask you where you got your pump & how much you paid for it.
Anyways, I’ve been hand pumping for 2 days now & there just doesn’t seem to be enough milk in there for him. Is it worth it to get an electric pump to stimulate my boobs more with less work to get more? What’s your advice Amanda?
Wish we could chat in person.
Good for you. 6 weeks is good, and I can tell ya, if I had to PUMP! exclusively for 6 weeks…. well, it wouldn’t happen!
Good luck with everything!
Bless you for saying this. I know breast is best and all, but ultimately everyone has to do what is best for their family. Moms fighting amongst themselves doesn’t help.
You have to do what is best for your family, period. And oh my word that Diet Coke literally made me DROOL.
Just to clarify, I meant best for your family as in what you’re already doing. It’s best for some women to breastfeed for a year, others not at all. It’s a choice, and you have to make it for yourself. We’re all supporting and encouraging you. You’re awesome.
because pumping is a nightmare
6 weeks of pumping is something to be proud of in my books!
Six weeks of breast milk is better than none!!
I think anyone who attempts it and does any of it is a friggin’ saint because I really hate it and it’s damn hard. So there. I just sainted both of us.
I have 3 kids. The first one nursed without a problem. Second one wouldn’t nurse to save her life. I pumped exclusively for 3 months or so. It wasn’t fun. I had a lot of guilt about quitting but it wasn’t working. I learned it’s not worth beating yourself up over something that’s just not working. Give them the most breast milk you can and then move on with life that’s what I say. So good for you for doing just that!
By the way, I prefer to breastfeed and baby number three (who is three months old) is nursing like a pro.
I pumped for seven weeks until it became apparent that I would die of insanity, exhaustion and guilt. Somehow I got over it. Avelyn is 6 months old, nearly 21-1/2 pounds and happy as a horse. GOOD FOR YOU! It’s better you be rested, and that baby fed.
I pumped for 6 weeks with my second boy. I only got 3 1/2 oz TOTAL in 6 pumps/per day. He was supplemented and still is with Good Start.
Congrats on 6 weeks!
Oh, and my second baby? He’s 6 months and 19 lbs.
Never feel guilty. There is no time. :)
No guilt, Amanda! Promise me that! I have been there, and I am PROUD that you quit. Proud! There! I said it! Because only those of us who have had to quit because we just couldn’t do it anymore know what it feels like, and the thought/guilt process that goes with it.
I’ll second that!
I am so proud of you (and amazed) that you went this long.
I also *know* you are not trash-talking Diet Coke ;)
Long time lurker and loyal reader here.
When you said you were going to pump for Jolie, I thought you were a super woman for pumping, take care of Avelyn and having Steve out with the apples. I admired your strength for doing it all. I admire you also for knowing the right time for you and your family to quit.
I pumped for 8 weeks with my 1 and only kiddo and man I thought it was going to kill me for sure.
Coming from someone who struggled endlessly with breast feeding, and lack of milk I know first hand how tough the struggle to change to formula is. But the truth of the matter is formula is a wonderful source of sustinance for your daughter. She’s happy, she’s healthy and if you’re giving her love then you are giving her exactly what she needs from you.
Way to go on surviving 6 weeks with your pump, now enjoy your diet coke!
I think you did really well lasting the time you have. Just wanted to mention to you to look around for ‘safe’ babies bottles. Bottles which are BPA free or even better glass. There are a few brands out there, I know that Green to Grow is a great brand they have glass and BPA free bottles. It is worth the investment!
six weeks of pumping is awesome becuase it is harder to do then just nursing the baby. good job.
Despite all my efforts I was not able to breast feed either of my girls and by choice my daughter chose not to breastfeed my grandson … all three of them were formula fed and they’ve turned out just fine. I agree that breast is best … but sometimes it just don’t work that way and there is totally nothing wrong with moving on to a bottle of formula.
Everything you read now (formula cans included) pushes breastfeeding. The nurses at the hospital push the breastfeeding, relatives, friends, etc. all want to know “are you going to breastfeed.” I think there is a lot of pressure. I have a friend who is very self-conscious of her body and just couldn’t bring herself to even try. She felt SO GUILTY with her first baby because she hadn’t done it. I don’t think it’s fair to guilt mothers into doing it. If formula feeding makes mommies a little more relaxed then go for it! I think the most important thing is having a happy mother, the baby benefits WAY more from that than from forcing yourself to do something your heart isn’t in right?
I couldn’t breastfeed because Bayley was 7 weeks early and 5lbs. She was too tiny and had to use a preemie nipple on a bottle. I am large chested so it was hard to even try. So I pumped for 4 weeks and was supplementing with formula. It was a hard decision to stop. I felt guilty, cried, and felt like a failure to my baby. But you know what? She’s doing great, very smart, sweet, and is catching up to other babies her age. I wish I could’ve gone longer, but I think the stress made it all worse.
So, my point is: do what’s best for YOU. Your baby will be fine either way with formula or breastmilk. She needs a happy, healthy mommy too!
Good for you for making it this long! We all know how hard it is and I can only imagine finding the time to pump and feed and deal with a toddler too. And six weeks was all I could take with my first. So, in my books your doing great.
I awarded you on my blog!
8 weeks! Great job!
Hey, you’re 6 is better than my 2. I felt kind of bad for pulling the breast and the sweet nectar inside but two weeks was enough for me.
Kudos to mothers who nurse for months.
nursing was a NIGHTMARE for me and my daughter! cracked nipples, engorgement, mastitis x2, thrush, yuck! i put so much pressure on myself to nurse, my mom being a leleche league leader back in the day- i felt i had to be all “granola-ey” too. i felt so horrible giving my daughter formula at 8 weeks- but it was SUCH a better situation for our family. whatever anyone says, nursing does NOT come naturally to everyone. my mantra is: happy mommy; happy baby. do what you gotta do.
ps- and pumping is practically double the amount of work so good for you for doing that for so long already.
Wow, you have great support here! I agree with everyone here. You inspired me to blog about my selfish reasons for nursing! Thanks…?
Good for you! And don’t let anyone make you feel guilty about it either!! Breast IS best, but if it doesn’t work out, then it doesn’t work out! It isn’t worth stressing about. :)
Besides, 6 weeks is admirable, compared to what some people can withstand. You’ve put in your time!!
Six weeks! Well done!
I am seaching for some idea to write in my blog… somehow come to your blog. best of luck. Eugene
I couldn’t breastfeed my daughter either. She was premature, had a poor sucking reflex and yet I felt pressured by the nurses in the hospital to pump so that my daughter could get the benefit of breastmilk. After ten hosptial days of gavage feedings (which took forty minutes or so), pumping for twenty minutes on each side, rushing back to my room to try and sleep for an hour if I could but being woken to have my fundus checked incessantly I thought I would have a complete meltdown from lack of sleep. When we were discharged we rented a hosptial grade pump and I struggled for the next eight weeks to provide breastmilk for my daughter. It didn’t work. All that pumping, a consultation with a lactation nurse and the max dose of domperidon to bring in my breastmilk resulted in me making a mere ounce or two a day. I gave up. When I did, the guilt and stress left instantly and I could finally relax and feel good about feeding my baby. We’ll see if I can breastfeed this time, but going into it with the experience of my first breastfeeding fiasco, I know now that I have the right to say no. Kudos to you Amanda, you’re a strong woman and an awesome mother.
You know what’s retarded, that even after nursing my second son for 9 months and dealing with the cracked nipples, engorgement, lack of supply, hour long feed sessions and eventually mastitis…I had to quit, and I STILL felt guilty. I don’t know if it’s all our society, our hormones or our mother instincts that tell us the whole Breast is Best (which I believe it is), but I find it funny that we feel so guilty when we quit! 6 days, 6 weeks, 6 months, it wouldn’t matter, most of us all get that guilty feeling when it’s over.
I formula fed the first from day one. Breastfed number 2 for 9 months then did breast/formula 50/50. Number 3 was breastfed for 8 months then formula. They’re all healthy and happy.
You are feeding your children and giving them love. THAT is the correct choice. :)
Hey, we’re coming out for a visit next week (wed-Mon) and would love to see you all and meet Jolie if you’re around.
if you want to dry yourself up – sage tea is the ticket! You can also drink parsley tea… but yuck… not as nice! I found this out from the health food store and it saved my bum when I was breastfeeding with over-supply. A health food/natural pharmacy store should be able to tell you more.
I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t just shove my boob in my kids’ mouths. I’m glad you are getting a lot of support, here. Good job, Amanda.
I think the diet coke is supposed to be for mommy!
While talking to a friend today about nursing (she is till nursing her 1 year old and I nursed until 1 year)- moms can get short chnaged no matter which route you take. If you dont breastfeed, you can be lynched for taking the easy way out. If you nurse for a few weeks (as in your case) some will say ‘What?? How could you stop? Dont quit!! Or as in my case and my friends, we felt so unsupported by people who said ‘What?? Your STILL nursing?’ as if it were a horrible crime.
People have too many opinions I think. Just wanted to share that.
GOOD FOR YOU. Seriously, you have to do what’s best. I also quit after a few months, and it was really a great decision, despite what a few Judgy McJudgersons have to say about it.
Good job! I pumped too and I felt like I was pumping and washing pumping supplies 24/7 and it was tough! Good for you!!!
Don’t you think that Coke Zero tastes so much better than Diet Coke?
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