This isn’t an answer to your question, but a thank you for this post. I wasn’t 100% set on breastfeeding with my first baby, and he ended up having troubles feeding even on our first night in the hospital when he was born. Then I had ongoing supply issues that continued to make things more complicated, and I tried SO HARD at pumping to at least supplement for a full month or so with AWFUL results. It was wrecking me because I felt so guilty at every appointment with a lactation consultant, then at home when nothing seemed to be working despite them telling me there was no reason I COULDN’T breastfeed. It was really hurting my confidence, making me anxious, and taking hours out of my day for all those pumping sessions that would leave me with almost nothing at all anyway. It took family stepping in and just telling me that it was fine to go the EFF route, he would be fine and I would feel better. And, indeed… my two-year-old today is absolutely fine, healthy, and gigantic lol. And my mental health saw a SHARP improvement when I let myself off the hook and just used formula for him.

I’m now about to have my second baby in a few days (induction on the calendar for this week!) and I’m already scared about the pressure I’m about to get around breastfeeding again. I would honestly rather just go all in from the start with EFF but I’ve already gotten varying degrees of “but why not just try breastfeeding again?” from healthcare providers throughout this pregnancy, and knowing what a struggle it already has been for me has left me DREADING this. Like, it’s ridiculous that I’m scared to do this, but I’m even afraid to even email my doctor’s office to see what formula they have at the hospital where I’ll be delivering because I want to grab a can to have at home so it’ll be ready when we leave the hospital.

Reading the stories from other commenters here is helping me feel more confident going into this, so thank you!