Why breastfeeding failed

[tiredbuthappy]

This poll is only for those who chose to breastfeed (it is not intended to be a debate about breastfeeding!) In order to help me become a stronger CL, I would like to get a realistic picture of some of the reasons why breastfeeding "fails." Feel free to answer the poll anonymously, or to post your story. . Choose why you feel you had to stop sooner than you would have liked. Since I could only add 8 options, but could think of many more, please feel free to elaborate or add your own. Thank you in advance for your help

[julianovak]

I felt awful as well, It was hard for 5 months to try your best, and then just fail, on top of it, Bella was gaining weight, but not 3 lb/a month, more like the minimal 2lbs..... It was a mix of everything..... With my next child i SERIOUSLY hope he'll be one heck of a eater. And maybe my BBs will do better. The whole experiance was hard... I almost blame myself for BF for so long, and Bella not being a good eater.... But like i said she wasnt ever "hungry" she'd only eat when i had the reflex (milk coming).... and once that stopped she was done.....  Laurab78 Im sorry about that. One of my friends also had the same problem. She didnt produce a drop.

[Sarah61086]

i voted supply problems which is what i thought was the issue at the time
I wanted to breastfeed and got on with it really well, but being out first my husband wanted to feed the baby to, so i bought a pump. Pumping worked fine for a while, then hardly anything was coming out when i was pumping (still breastfeeding also) so i figured my milk supply had dried up and went on to powder, this was after 4 weeks.
No one told me that it wasnt an issue with my milk, it was just that the milk pump wasnt strong enough to collect much milk.
Had i known this i would have been able to carry on.
I was very dissapointed, but i know better for next time.

[LauraB78]

I was unable to breastfeed at all. It wasn't my choice. I produced NO milk, I pumped, and put Jaxson to my breast in between pumping, and obviously was feeding him formula because I wasn't producing. I pumped for one week every 2-3 hours and produced NOTHING.. Not one single solitary drop of milk... I guess it just wasn't meant to be for me.My breasts were one giant, bloody, scabby mess. I couldn't wear a shirt in the midst of this disaster for 2 days.. (TMI?) It was heartbreaking for me. I felt like a failure as a new, first time Mom, and like my body had failed me. Breastfeeding is a fabulous "option", but I get aggravated at times because it seems many people don't understand how devastating this can be when it actually ISN'T EVEN AN OPTION for some women because they just don't produce AT ALL.. That's my experience.

[alaysha]

If I had quit breastfeeding the first time around it would have been because of the pain and aggravation. In the very beginning I couldn't get her latch properly and thought she was going to starve. I actually cried myself to sleep the night I came home from the hospital because she had hardly eaten all day and I honestly thought she was going to die. Then once she got the hang of it my nipples hurt so bad I was sure they were going to fall off. After a while it ended up being fine and not hurting anymore but those first couple weeks were killer. I honestly had to force myself to continue.

[smjmekg]

Found that right after I asked, LOL.

[Clysta]

She's one of the CL in the breastfeeding forum. :)