The great debate.... Breast feeding or Formula?

I am not going to make out I am an expert on this subject, I am far from it. In my opinion this is probably one of the biggest decisions a new mum has to make, well it has been for me anyway, I am sure there are those out there that know before they are even pregnant that they will breastfeed or formula feed their newborns, I unfortunately am not one of them. I have friends and family who have exclusively formula feed, some that have breastfed for the first 6 weeks and those like my sister who amazingly breastfed for the first year (twins!!) Sometimes at the same time, she needed some co-ordination to keep that up.

I am still undecided what I am going to do, at the moment I am leaning towards at least trying to breastfeed. I have a few of dilemmas with this so I am hoping for a few comments to offer advice. Firstly I think I will be shy about getting my breasts out in front of anyone other than my husband, I know it can be quite discreet but I am just not sure how I will feel about it, maybe my thoughts will change completely, who knows.

Secondly I am routine mad and judging by my friends that have formula fed it looks much easier to settle babies into a routine when you know how much they are eating (I am currently reading Gina Ford, controversial, I know but if her breastfeeding routines work then why not give it a go- I’ll let you know my thoughts when I’m finished)

Thirdly, expressing for me is not an option, I really think I would feel like a milking machine and I would rather my husband not see me ‘pumping.’

Lastly I am worried that if I tell my midwife/health visitor that I would like to try breastfeeding that I would be pressured into continuing even if I decided it really wasn’t going to work for me. I am such a pushover and will easily end up in a breastfeeding cafe before I know it. I have a tattoo that I hate, I knew I hated it when the stencil was on but me being me just said “yeah great, go for it” You know when you tell your hairdresser you like a cut but are really thinking “this better grow quick?” Well unlike that, this is permanent!! IDIOT!!!

To those breastfeeding advocates I am sure I sound very selfish, however I really believe that if you are a stressed mummy due to the pressures of breastfeeding this isn’t going to be good for you, which in turn will not be good for baby. Happy calm mum= Happy calm baby. No-one can argue breastfeeding is best, there have been hundreds of studies to prove this and in no way would I argue them to be wrong, I just don’t know if it’s best for me and my baby.

Breastfeeding does have a lot of positives, not only is it best for baby but it provides health benefits for mum also, such as reduced risk of cancer, helping the uterus to shrink quicker, and burning up to 500 calories a day, my sister swears that breastfeeding really helped her massive weight loss after birth (she lost a lot more weight than she put on) In all honestly with the twin girls there was no time to eat.

I have bought bottles and steriliser and I will also buy formula before baby arrives ( if i do decide to breastfeed, I will be introducing formula at some stage) I do want to try breast feeding, it could feel totally natural to me and baby might settle into a routine fairly quickly, however I am putting no pressure on myself, I have my 28 week midwife appointment next week so I am looking forward to discussing this with her.

Have you decided how you will be feeding your baby? Did you share any of my concerns? If so it would be great to hear how you dealt with them.