So.... why do you think so many women choose not to?? - Page 4

[ferraroX3]

I am new here and have read this thread and agree with many of the reasons. I am a first time mother to a wonderful 4 month old child. I decided to breastfeed from the start...my family, nurses etc. thought diff. They kept telling me he needed to sleep through the night and if I'd only give him formula then I would not be so tired. I told them to stop tempting me with sleep!!! Finally I never told anyone how many hours I got of sleep and they stoped telling me to formula feed him at night. We just went for my son's 4 month check up and I told of doc he slept more than he did jsut to keep him from telling me how much my son needed forumla or cereal.

short story..I think young moms are tempted with sleep! But I can't sleep knowing my son is sleeping longer only because his stomach can't digest the food I gave him. How horrible does that sound?

[IntoTheRoseGarden]

My sister is 16, and she had never seen a single person bf until I had dd. Last year we were a the beach and I was NIP (which she hates, but too bad!), and she said to my mom "I'm so glad you didn't do that to me!"

At the hospital, I was having a bit of trouble getting dd latched, and my mother thought I was crazy because I didn't "just give her a bottle"

Thankfully, I have always questioned everything, and sought out the truth for myself. It could very easily have gone the other way.

[rareimer]

Originally Posted by byronssister74

My sister is 16, and she had never seen a single person bf until I had dd. Last year we were a the beach and I was NIP (which she hates, but too bad!), and she said to my mom "I'm so glad you didn't do that to me!"

how SAD IS THAT?!

[bec]

Originally Posted by byronssister74

My sister is 16, and she had never seen a single person bf until I had dd. Last year we were a the beach and I was NIP (which she hates, but too bad!), and she said to my mom "I'm so glad you didn't do that to me!"

Well, she's still young. You have time to educate by example.

I knew I was breastfed for almost a year, but had never seen a baby nursing until my SIL had her first (I was 24)! I was already pro BF in general, so it was more exciting to me to finally see it done!

Other than my mother, I think my family was pretty ambivalent to BF before I got pregnant the first time. They were vaguely pro-BF, and I don't think my brother even thought about it. It just didn't cross his radar, if you kwim?

They are now all very aware, educated and supportive. I've never been given an ounce of grief about it, or about still nursing my 3yo. They see how sweet, healthy and wonderful she is. I also think they are a little frightened of what I would say to them if they ever did say something. :LOL

The one I am most proud of, however, is my 14 yo bil. He was 11 when Katie was born, and was just starting to understand that women even had breasts! He now just assumes that women should breastfeed, and is quite the little lactivist when I tell him about anti-breastfeeding policies that stores/restaurants or other people have.

I really love educating and widening the horizons of those near me.



Bec

[HoneymoonBaby]

nak

Having just come home from the hospital after having my son, I can totally understand why people formula feed. By the time Ian was born via unplanned Cesarean after a looooong labor, I hadn't slept in about 36 hours. If I had let the nurses bottle feed him, I could have had a six- or eight-hour stretch of sleep to help wih my recovery and my sanity. But since I'm bfing, he stayed in my room and I dealt with the stress and physical pain of learning to bf while totally sleep deprived and in major post-surgery pain. Meanwhile, the nurses kept telling me it was okay to "just let him have one bottle, it won't hurt him and you can get some sleep." They weren't trying to undermine nursing . . . they were just more concerned with my immediate well-being than Ian's long-term well-being. That was their job -- to attend to my immediate well-being. My job was to worry about my son. So I did it the hard way and breastfed. I'm glad I did. But I can totally understand why a mom in my position wouldn't -- that first night was HARD.

[IntoTheRoseGarden]

bec - I know, I have to keep telling myself "she just doesn't know, it's my job to teach her" over and over to keep from screaming!

honeymoonbaby - I felt exactly the same way. It didn't help that the put me in a room with an experienced mother who was ff. It seemed so much easier for her! Of course, once we got it down I felt sorry for that woman, having to walk down to the kitchen and make bottles in the middle of the night!

ETA Congratulations on your brand new baby!

[UrbanPlanter]

HoneymoonBaby, congratulations!!! And I'm very impressed by the strength of your conviction to bf, given the tremendous hurdles you met on the very first day!