I've officially poisoned our sweet little girl. This weekend, we gave Emily formula--twice, to make things worse! We decided to give her a bottle of formula once around lunch time and once before bed, just so I could keep up with her a little better. She seems to now be getting back into the habit of eating every 3 hours again, which has been a huge help for me. I've also seen an increase in my milk supply, so I can usually get a full 4 oz. feeding every time I pump now.
When we decided to introduce formula, my thought was that as long as I was still pumping as often, and Emily was still getting every drop of milk I can make, we're doing the right thing. That was until we tried to give her the bottle--she definitely knew the difference and did NOT want the formula at first! Of course, that made me feel like I was doing something wrong and I cried through the whole feeding. I talked to my sister in law, who told me the first time she gave my nephew formula, she felt like she was feeding him poison. I guess I'm not alone after all, and I feel like every other mother who just wants to do what's best for her baby.
Don't feel bad, Libby! You've done great with the breastfeeding - much better than I did :). You'll unfortunately second-guess just about every decision you'll make as a parent but only because, like you said, you want the best for the baby.
ReplyDeleteLibby, no one could say that you have not given your full effort to breastfeeding! Many Moms would have given up on it long before now. Lots of babies are formula fed and they thrive on it.
ReplyDelete