As parents, we are continually testing ourselves. We question everything we do and we fear we are doing everything wrong. One thing that was brought to our attention from an early stage was the question “How are we going to feed our baby?”
At our twelve week check-up on our first, I told them that I would breastfeed. From that day, that question would haunt me, as it was continually brought up at my doctor’s appointments. I felt I had no choice to change my mind, even if I wanted to.
When our son was born via emergency C-Section, he had no problem feeding in the recovery room. We were delighted. The Midwives were a great help when I wasn’t too mobile at the start. It became apparent soon enough that without their assistance, he was a little bit lazy and wouldn’t feed well all of the time. While I persisted, I knew I needed to give in to formula after a few days when his sugar levels started dropping. I was still determined to try to crack the breastfeeding, so I expressed to keep up my supply. But, after about eight weeks of trying to keep up with breastfeeding, expressing and formula feeding, we agreed the best option for us was just to stick to formula feeding.
When our daughter was born, my breastfeeding experience was so different. She was born via C-Section too, and from the moment she began to feed there wasn’t a problem. She was great, so much so, for the first 24 hours she didn’t seem to want to stop. But I remember on my third day in the hospital as I sat in bed feeding her, all I could think was “I’m not enjoying this.” When I spoke with my husband he was okay with this, he wanted me to be comfortable and whatever was best for our family.
As parents, we knew the research and the benefits of breastfeeding, and still we made the decision to formula feed. Our son is nearly four and our daughter 15 months, and both are thankfully very healthy. They have gained weight as they should, they eat healthily, they have met every milestone.
I know there are those that don’t understand this, and, to be honest, that used to upset me. I received many ‘looks’ for our choices, and I think that is wrong. Being a parent is hard enough without others judging you for an informed decision you made that was right for you and your family. We all want to do our best for our children, and I think we should all respect what parents decide, even when we don’t agree, and it’s not for us.
Eimear Kelly is a proud wife and mum of two. As a Stay at Home Mum, I’m kept busy watching our family grow. You can follow her blog Chirpsfromalittleredhen.blogspot.ie.
We’re delighted to have Eimear on board as this week’s Guest Blogger. Watch this space for: 8 things I am not going to miss from the baby stage.
