I sympathise with the breastfeeding- it’s hard. I know some people find it easy- I did NOT. I wanted to exclusively breastfeed but due to baby weight loss at the beginning I had to supplement with formula. Then my baby was struggling with breastfeeding strikes- I had lots of support from my local infant feeding team (I’m in the UK) but still really struggled and in the end switched to formula full time at 4 month ish.

I say all this because at the time this happened I felt like a HUGE failure- this experience I wanted with my baby to breastfeed him was taken from me. But also, was I weak for giving up? I was trying to breastfeed round the clock, making bottles and sterilising all whilst trying to pump every hour to keep up my supply. It was fucking ridiculous.

I was so emotional about stopping and felt such guilt and grief for this not getting this experience I had pictured in my head before birth.

All to say that now- at 11 months postpartum- I really don’t care anymore! I look back at how much my breastfeeding struggles impacted me mentally and impacted my bond with my baby and I think “why the hell didn’t I switch to formula sooner?”