[**mumto4**]

Yeah i do. i feel sad for my other kids who were bottlefed and i feel sad for other kids who don't really get a chance or a choice.

This post has been edited by **mumto4**: 24/01/2007, 03:26 PM

[zande]

however .... I do feel really really sorry and sad for babies that are bottlefed because their mothers simply 'didnt want to' for 'selfish' reasons and didnt even give it a go

Same here.

[funnyfarm4]

Yep, i think if i had of had some support i would have been able to bf.
But i did the best i could

[Twitchy]

I used to when I first started BFing DS (as we had a big stuggle to do so) but now I don't, each to their own. Not sure why I feel differently now, maybe because I no longer feel that it would have been the end of the world if DS hadn't breastfed. I do feel that some people take an easy cop out when they never even try to BF, but who am I to judge. You do what is right for yourself and your baby. Hell, I was induced and they called it for 'social' reasons because I had told my Ob I hadn't wanted to go more than a week overdue. I was embarrassed and felt guilty when I heard that. Why do we feel the need to lay guilt on other people's choices?! Each to their own

ETA - I am still BFing at the 2yr mark, but I don't in the least feel that eveyone else should BF with me to 2yrs of age........we do what works for us, not what other people think you should or shouldn't do I feel lucky to have been able to BF for this long. My fertility has paid for it, though.

This post has been edited by Sunflower~Sue: 24/01/2007, 04:36 PM

[CJsMum]

No, not at all.

I think we all do the best we can and being a mother is bloody hard work. We need support, not pity if we fail to meet other peoples expectations of what a good parent is.

I also persisted through 3 months of cracked and bleeding nipples with DD1 and managed to successfully feed her for 1 year but had I decided to end the pain and bottle feed, I'm sure my guilt would have been punishment enough

I just get a hideous wave of tiredness when my daughter starts feeding that just makes me want to fall asleep on the spot.

Me too .

[gonzi]

I do feel sad...but not specifically for that particular Mum and baby. I mostly feel sad remembering how I ended up bottle feeding my first baby, and how disappointing and frustrating my first breastfeeding experience was. Actually, I wonder if the mum I'm looking at had problems BF too, and so I feel a bit of sympathy for her. Knowing how hard it can be, I am hardly one to judge...even tho I am so happy that DD2 & I are BF succesfully.

[KatCL]

Does feeling sad mean that we are judging non breastfeeding mums? I hope not. For me, it's just sadness, my own sadness for that baby and the mum. I don't put it on to the mum, and rarely discuss it with them (unless, as I said before, she is my friend and is sad, too).

I really don't think that because we are feeling sad we are putting guilt onto the bottle feeding population. It is just because some of us found bfing to be so wonderful we are sad others miss that (for whatever reason).

[Picasso]

^^^what she said

[jgal]

I do feel a bit like it's a shame for the baby, but at the same time, know that the mother made the right choice for her and her child as most mums want to give their child the best they can so choosing to bottle feed would have been thought about alot prior to doing it.Although, that said, some mums give up much quicker than others, maybe they were under the impression that it would be the easiest thing in the world, and when common things happen like engorgement, cracked nipples, difficult attachment etc. they think oh it's too hard and give up. I think it needs to be widely known that bfing is a learned activity for both mum and bub and if you persevere you can do it. It doesn't all happen perfectly straight away like many expect.

The more sad thing is that us bfing mums get judged so much more than bootle feeders. The older my son gets the more I am made to feel guilty for still bfing (He is 14m old today and I am too scared to feed in public now because of the bad response it got at anywhere from 10m on). Just because some Mum's can't or won't bfeed, why should WE feel guilty for their choice? I stopped expressing at work 2 weeks ago because I was sick of getting asked things like "HOW old is he?" and "Aren't you going to wean him now?". As a result my supply has rapidly dropped and I struggle to give DS the one night time feed before bed, that I was hoping to hang onto for at least a few more months.

[twinkle_twinkle]

nope, none of my business.