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gave up breastfeeding

hey guys i gave up breastfeeding about 3 weeks ago. i fed my lo for 20weeks. i feel like im a hormonal wreak, i cant understand why, i just feel different and dont really understand it. part of me feels like it might be postnal depression but i dont think it is if you get me??

has anyone else breast fed and stopped then felt stressed, a bit down ect?? i did stop cold turkey tho because people noticed it started taking its toll on me and helped me get my lo to have a bottle so it was bit rushed and felt i was pushed into it a bit, might this be a reason??

i would love to see what peoples experiences of giving up is. yet again another thing people dont tell you grrr.

oh and im losing my bloody hair.... thats enough stress in its self lmao



cheers guys

xx

Replies

  • Hiya, when I was breastfeeding my DS2, I used to get this really horrible feeling of doom everytime he was due to feed. Literally everytime I felt that "tingle", I felt really depressed, trapped, drained and full of dread. Not good! I googled it and found a few women like me, but everything seemed to be coming up about feeling dpressed once breatfeeding has stopped. I think it's the shift in hormones, so I think you are completely normal. I would try not to worry, but if you are concerned, please see your HV or GP.

    Do you feel guilty for stopping breastfeeding? Is it that? I felt guilty because I wasn't producing enough milk. I spent ??50 on 2 breast pumps when I was pregnant. They were rubbish so I bought the Medela Swing, and even bought Fenugreek tablets to increase my supply but all that did was make me smell like stale curry! So I was committed to b/fing, I just felt it would be easier for me to express feed as I have a 3yo and because it didn't work out that way, I felt really guilty for "failing", guilty for spending so much money on pumps, on top of the hormonal let-down reflex I was experiencing. It took about 2 weeks for the tingle doom feeling to stop, but in the last week or so I have felt amazing and no longer feel guilty. Hopefully your hormones will settle down soon and you will feel much happier.

    I know I'm rambling but another point you made was about it taking it out of you. Are you anaemic? I had 2 IV iron transfusions in my pregnancy, and my Hb dropped again after birth so my milk probably didn;t have much iron in it but it was draining a lot of the iron I had so I felt really knackered. And your hair loss. I know this is common as I found out 4/5 months after my DS1 my hair fell out at the temples and I had an "m" hairline like a man! It grew back like 2 devil horns so I had to buy one of those hairbands that are like scarves! :S So I definitely feel your pain there. I'm getting married in 2 months, my DS2 is 2 months so I will probably be balding on my wedding day!! Are you getting enough B vitamins? I take a B complex supplement because I was a veggie for 17 years and still don't eat much meat, a selenium with vits A,C+E, and a zinc supplement, when I remember to take them, which isn't often! :S

    Anyway, cos I've probably typed a load of crap, if you felt fine during breastfeeding then hopefully it's not PND just a bit of baby blues that will pass. But like I said, if it doesn't pass, get worse, etc, then please speak to someone cos PND is poo. If you feel guilty, then please don't. Your baby is still getting fed, and you need to be healthy too and if it's taking it's toll on you then that's not good. If you felt rushed, is there anyway you could back track a bit if you feel better? Do you express?

    Hope you get it all sorted and feel better soon image xx
  • Sorry for gatecrashing but could it be PMT? I had the worst ever the first time after DD.
  • hey guys dont know why but just felt better today then have in two weeks strange. i started to bleed today as well. i was on mini pill and bleed all the time but changed pill now so this might actually be a real period and with all my hormones changing i think my body didnt know what was going on. lol. yeah i do missing feeding my daughter loads but i had to stop i couldnt eat what she needed and was just doing me in. i could be anemic beacuse of the mount of bleeding i had beacuse of the stuiped mini pill. have to go and see but i didnt get it in pregnancy, but you never know. well thanks for your help guys just another one of them things in it. no more kids for me lmao only joking image xxx
  • breastfeeding releases oxytocin which is a feel good hormone, which actually helps prevent PND so by stopping you have stopped that hormone which may help explain what you were feeling.



    that and being pushed into it would be enough to feel crappy"
  • "I'm on my way to the breastfeeding clinic. Again." she sighed to me over the phone yesterday,"But I'm ready to lop off my left breast and throw it out the window. The pain is unbelievable."



    She's been breastfeeding her baby for more than two months now, enduring shocking pain every time the baby feeds. She's gone to breastfeeding classes, consulted with experts. The baby has a perfect latch; no one understands why she experiences appalling torment whenever she feeds her baby.



    Her guilt is excruciating. She wanted a no-med childbirth, she was adamant about breastfeeding for at least a year. And she persists through her pain, feeling the guilt of the mantra she's so often heard: 'Breast is best, breastfeed your baby, there are so many advantages to breastfeeding." :x



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