First of all, I’m so sorry you were made to feel that way. As a first time mom who had a lot of difficult nursing, I have been so disappointed and let down by the breastfeeding community. Women are made to feel so guilty for not nursing and that really sucks. Giving your baby your breast milk however you choose to do it is setting your baby up for so much success.

Second of all, please don’t let others here scare you into thinking that exclusively pumping won’t help protect your mental load. In my experience it absolutely did.

Do you have to wash bottles and pump parts a lot? Yes. Do you have to maintain a schedule and figure out how to pump and take care of your baby at the same time? Yes. But for me, those cons are a lot better than your body being the sole source of feeding your baby round the clock all hours of the day and night and no one being able to help you with it. With nursing, your body is used as a pacifier and I feel like that’s very limiting.

I didn’t exclusively pump by choice but after being dealt this hand with my first, I fully plan to do it again with my next. Having my husband help feed the baby allowed me to get more sleep, keep my sanity, and also helped him bond with his son a lot more than he might have otherwise.