Help! I Don't Want to Breastfeed!

[lismom2]

I found this article to be wonderful!!! I have breastfed both of my children, and honestly have a hard time reminding myself that many women have many barriers (many that they don't even know about) when it comes to breastfeeding. This was a really neat article validating a woman's feelings about not wanting to breastfeed and things to consider before really making that decision. Hope you enjoy!
http://www.bestforbabes.com/help-i-dont-want-to-breastfeed/

[freckles]

That website is probably the best breastfeeding website I have ever seen! Right off the bat it acknkowleges the FEELINGS of mothers and does not judge. Wonderful.

When I first read about BF vs. bottle, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I chose BFing. I signed up for a BF class and when I arrived, the AC was out. I went home. BIG MISTAKE! I had a hard time getting started after the birth of my daughter. I stuck with it. Fortunately, I have BF all three of my children for a year and then some. I consider it one of the great accomplishments of my life.

I have discussed BFing with my friends that are becoming new mothers. I have stressed to them "It is NORMAL and absolutely OK to want to stop. Even if you continue to BF or stop, you should not feel guilty about ANY emotions that come up."

***I WISH I had someone to support my feelings like that.***

This felt really good to share, thanks Lismom. It is very important to validate new mothers feelings. BTW I hate the terms "quit" or "give up." Why not "choice" or "decide?"

[lismom2]

I agree! I really hope that this approach will encourage many moms to breastfeed and validate their feelings about nursing in general. After the awful Hannah Rosin article, I really feel like this is a site that addresses where Ms. Rosin was coming from without bashing breastfeeding. I also hope that it will help other bf-ing moms like myself be more understanding of the feelings of moms who don't want to bf. I just really like this site and thought it was important for others to see it too!

[freckles]

If I remember Hannah Rosin correctly, she wrote an article that did not sit right with me either. I left her a comment. There was one little sentence that hit me wrong.

It is the sad old story of a person trying to make themself feel better about it by putting others down. I am going to look it up.

Did you leave her a comment? I hope so.

[freckles]

Yeah she is the one. I realize that I added a comment on here, Parenting, not her article.

[lismom2]

I didn't comment, because I felt she was entitled to her opinion. But I was really disappointed in that article. It didn't set right with me either and I spent a LOT of time defending my choice to bf to family because of the uprising that article spawned in the media.

[freckles]

She is entitled, you are right. Did your family make you feel uncomfortable?

[lismom2]

Not everyone. My mom and grandma are the biggest cheering section you could possibly hope for. Grandma's always asking Harrison if he's ready for a 'titty bump'. Apparently that's what they called it in her day. My in-laws are pretty hands off with most of our parenting choices, but are always disappointed that they don't get to feed these grandchildren (all their others are ff) and how they are clingy with me in the first year and that they'll be glad when I finish *that*. I also have 2 really good friends that don't understand why I bf and that article just gave them more courage to re-open the topic. It hasn't swayed me, but it's frustrating.

[freckles]

Titty bump? LOL Does your grandma hail from the south? That is crazy girl. My MIL was the best. She BF. My husband left the room because he could not stand her talking about her boobs! lol

I was visiting my inlaws a long time ago when my daughter was still BFing. I announced "Who's bed shall I lactate on?" They all went "ehhhhhh" and "uhhhh." in a bad way. I just laughed. I think I just shocked them.

[Bec caV]

That was a very good article. I poked around the site as well and I have to say kudos to them!
I also read the Hannah Rosin article and had to hold back my fingers for typing a nasty response on that one. Yeah she's entitled to her opinion, but as much as people complain about pushy breast feeding advocates, she was just as bad. No one should push a mother either way, no one should make anyone feel bad for their choices, but there should be as much information for both ways out there as possible.

Thanks for posting the link! Hopefully that will help on the fence soon to be moms :)

[eniese]

I read the article and didn't care for it. It pretended to be balanced. And the suggestions if you choose not to breastfeed-find a surrogate nurser!? Quite frankly I thought the Hannah Rosin article was substantially more unbiased particularly in light of the fact that SHE WAS STILL NURSING HER BABY when she wrote it. I didn't necessarily agree with all her conclusions, but I found it to at least acknowledge that there are ramifications for the mother (and the family) in the choice to breastfeed that were definitely not acknowledged in this article.

[Bec caV]

They offered more suggestions than just cross nursing. There were several (pumping, donated milk, organic formula, and giving it a shot for a bit to see if works for you).