Regarding Feeding problem

Being a child birth instructor, you are the one who seem to be biased. If you have read the replies carefully, which you did not seem to have done, each and every mother here advised her to seek assistance from lactation consultant and gave her tips about increasing milksupply. If nothing works, what is she supposed to do? starve the child? Or say..."oh, formula is crap but since you are incapable of breastfeeding, your child is unfortunate and should be formula fed..."??

why tell her formula is OK? because it is ok!!! A lot of people opt for exclusive formula feeding and thats OK too! Its a personal choice. You are making it sound like formula feeding is some sort of a crime. If you argue saying that since Smagic wants to BF....then here is my answer again, ALL moms here are FOR BF and have given her tips to increase milk supply and HAVE asked her to go to a lactation consultant.

Please do not advocate saying that formula fed babies are loved any less than breastfed babies (yes, that is precisely how your reply sounds to me). Thank God...my circle of support was much more supportive than this guilt trip.

I am sure you are referring to me and Luna in this thread; so I chose to reply...even though, in future I will not be replying in this thread for your post.

 

Smagic, let me take a moment to tell you something personal. Postpartum is an extremely stressful period for most moms. If you have elders support at home, you are lucky in the sense that you get to relax a little. Most people drift into depression, from which they will eventually come out, if its not serious.

During this period, its important you take care of re-building your energies and focus on yourself, along with your baby. You will come across many challenges during this phase as everything is new. Its natural to freak out at the smallest thing and its perfectly fine to sit and cry. Sometimes crying works like a soothing balm and we fee better after it. Its OK to shed tears. Its OK to care about yourself beside your baby. Its ok to seek support.

Now, breastfeeding challenge is one of the most common problem women face. Its not easy. usually these days in hospitals, they hook us up to consultants who assist us in the hospital itself so that we know what we are doing before leaving the hospital. In India, perhaps thats not the case.

Breastfeeding is best for the baby and you should try all means to establish a supply. Having said this, if all else fails, its perfectly fine to formula feed too. There are plenty of moms who choose to formula feed exclusively and its not a crime. Stressing about not being able to breastfeed can actually cause adverse effects on supply. Try and relax a bit.

Try and get the right kind of support who works ALONG with your beliefs and not as per their beliefs. A simple example, a professional should be able to make you calm, comfortable and support you in the decisions you make...while making you aware of all your options. They should be able to support you comfort you and not push you further into despair. If thats happening to you, speak up. You have a right to be happy and healthy.

Every mom wants nothing but the best for their babies and BM is the best for babies. But thats not the end of it. Take care honey....you went through so much and I dont want you to be stressed, when you needn't be.

 

I would post my own reply, but that seems pretty much perfect.

So....

What she said!

 

Thank you, Shiva, Rakhii and Luna, for truly supporting a new mother, instead of just pushing your own agenda, or blindly advocating what worked for you. It's refreshing to see sensitive, considerate responses to this usually contentious issue, as opposed to militant rhetoric that just aggravates an already tricky situation.

SSSMagic, you would do well to listen to these wise ladies, and yourself, too. As mothers, all we need is a little reliable help and educated support to make the right decisions for us, and our babies. There is no one-size-fits-all solution for any of the many issues that will crop up. I wish you and your baby all the best.

 

Keep at it. You're doing great.

Do you have a breast pump? It at ease your formula struggle if you feed her some of your milk from a bottle in addition to formula. Pumping can also help increase your milk supply. Here's some more information n that:

http://kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/supply-worries/low-supply/