Do you feel judged for bottle feeding?

Does anyone else feel judged for bottle feeding? I am the only one in my antenatal group who has bottle fed from the start and I always feel like I am being judged. I wish they would realise that NOT everyone can breastfeed and it wasn't a choice I made for the sake of it!!! I am tempted not to go to get togethers anymore but for bubs sake I do (god help me if they knew I was a disposable nappy mum as well!!).

I've always been confident in my decision and have never even considered that others would be judging me because of it. Maybe thats not quite right, I just haven't let it effect me. I could probably breast feed really well, my babies would have done well with my milk but it wasn't for me.

Well that sucks! I tried breastfeeding with no 1 and it did not work for us , I have exclusively bottle fed both my no 2 when she was able to she was a 30 weeker premmie and my no 3 is 6 weeks old and he is bottle fed from birth as well, hugs and if they are gonna judge you then maybe find another group that is more accepting

I did when I had Andrew, but I think half my problem was I was 22 and suffering PND and not admitting it. I learnt to hold my head high and not worry about it and when I was questioned I just said it is better for the health of both of us.

People are always judgmental, not matter what choices you make. I'm breast-feeding, and just a few days ago I was feeding in a public place (discreetly, you couldn't see a thing, but it was obvious what I was doing all the same)...at the park where I had taken my 3 year old to play. There weren't even any other people, except for a few walkers by...some woman walked by, looked at my baby (what you could see of her) and gave me a dirty look and muttered under her breath, shaking her head.

You breast-feed-people think it's gross.
You formula feed-people think it's not good for the baby.

Breast feed too long...breast feed not long enough... give them this kind of milk...or that kind of milk... cloth nappies are better and disposables are bad for the environment...cloth nappies give babies nappy rash...vaccinate...don't vaccinate...pro co-sleeping...anti co-sleeping...

What to do with babies/children is one of things people never agree on, and their way is ALWAYS right of course. My advice, if they're willing to judge when you're just trying to do your best...they're not worth the effort. Screw em.

Bubnumber2 wrote: You breast-feed-people think it's gross. You formula feed-people think it's not good for the baby. Breast feed too long...breast feed not long enough... give them this kind of milk...or that kind of milk... cloth nappies are better and disposables are bad for the environment...cloth nappies give babies nappy rash...vaccinate...don't vaccinate...pro co-sleeping...anti co-sleeping... What to do with babies/children is one of things people never agree on, and their way is ALWAYS right of course. My advice, if they're willing to judge when you're just trying to do your best...they're not worth the effort. Screw em.

Yup I'm still breastfeeding my wee chap (23 months old, starting to try and wean now ut oh so hard in summer when he just wants to drink 24/7 ) - People can get rather nasty with snarky comments if it comes up in a conversation 'Oh he's too big for that, he's going to end up a mummies boy' ....'thats a bad habit, i'd hit it on the head now while you still can' etc etc. I've only found Plunket supportive when it comes to breastfeeding, my Dr doesn't seem phased.

It's your baby, so your decision. At the end of the day only you know what is best for you and YOUR baby. No one else should get a say, although half the time they'd like to think they're entitled to it

Your job is to feed your baby ,your'e doing that, its nobody elses business how, just so long as you are .
At the end of the day , you are the one who will be there as your baby grows and becomes the person they will be.The only opinion that matters, is your own .
Hold your head up high, your doing what a mum is supposed to , I can think of plenty worse you could be doing

When BF did not work for me and my family I switched to the bottle...i felt guilty but no one has made me feel guilty or made me think I was a bad mum...Everyone (including PN) applauded me for recognising things were not working out the way we wanted them to and for making the tough dessision to bottle feed. Such a happier family for doing so :o)

Oooh I did. It was terrible! i tried feeding Thomas myself, it didnt work and even my husband was very pushy and wanted me to keep BFing. Thomas would have starved to death if id kept going. It really bloody pisses me off.
And i tell you another thing (in a BAD mood this evening hehe) WHY dont they educate people about how to bottle feed correctly!!!!! Goodness me. its all this 'breast is best' , which is true, but those who CANT BF or choose not to should be able to learn how to feed their babies properly with a bottle.
When I was in recovery after having Thomas, a nurse at the hospital suggested we give him a bottle as he was obviously hungry and i wasnt able to give him enough had to show me how to feed bubba properly. i had no idea how to mix the stuff, hold the bottle properly, stop half way and burp bla bla bla.
Next time i'll try with the BF again, but this time i'll know if it's working sooner or not.