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Absolutely. My son is three weeks old today and I still get a bit overwhelmed by it. What has made me feel better is that I have pumped a few times already and we tried a bottle with him on Saturday night- my husband feeding him of course. It went pretty well, so I am not quite as worried as i once was. We are going to wedding reception Saturday night and I am leaving him with my parents and a bottle of expressed milk. I hope it goes well. I think we will try the bottle again once or twice this week before Saturday, just to make sure he will take it. Now I am nervous that he will prefer the bottle over me! LOL!

It's absolutely normal to feel that way, and your husband and mom are most likely right. Don't worry, though, you're almost through it! The first 3 weeks are the hardest; but once you're done with the first 6 weeks, you'll be amazed at how easy it is!

Sounds like you need to get together with some other nursing moms. Find your local La Leche League group. They have monthly meetings where they discuss things just like tins. They also spend time sharing experiences. It's a great place to make new friends that are going through the same things as you are. Later you will know moms in your area with kids that are the same age as yours to play with. http://www.lalecheleague.org/ You are not alone in what you feel. Everything will be fine, it's just new to you.

Thanks for your help. I've had a great day with my mom getting a "plan" together for me. Christy - I'd really like to start pumping. How did you come up with a pumping schedule? Did you see a doctor/lactation consultant first? I don't want to start pumping and then just make too much milk - is that possible? How much do you feed at a time? I would like to pump to have some backup storage in the freezer (i'm not comfortable with my feeding skills to be able to do it in public yet so trips outside of the house are limited to an hour or two at most to be safe). Plus, like in your case, I'd like to be able to possibly be away from the babe for a few hours here and there. thanks!

I used to have the same problem. I Pumped first to relieve the pressure and froze the milk as back up. I haven't used it yet and have had to throw it away. (Make sure you dat it so you can keep track.) It doesn't matter to me that I never used it. It gave me sooo much peace of mind just to have it there in the freezer if it was needed. It really took the pressure off. As far as nursing in public, It will come very quickly if you just do it and don't worry about what other people think. I was nursind on a bench in the mall and an older Grandpa type came up to me and aske if he could see the babys face. I told him that the baby was busy nursing. He had no idea and said he was sorry for intruding. He never saw a thing. A little practice is all you need. Try it at home first where no one will see. Relax everything will work out as you become more comfortable with your new role.

I felt the same way! It can be very overwhelming. I had to keep reminding myself what a wonderful gift I was giving to my daughter, the absolute best thing for her was my milk. Just keep reminding yourself of that and you will eventually be a pro and doing great. Now my daughter is two months old and she has never once had any formula and I we are both excellent at it!

Another way to take some of the pressure off...hon, you are *not* failing if you give your baby a bottle of formula. The most important thing is that your baby is fed...yes, b___stmilk is more nutritious than formula, but that doesn't matter if you feel like you're losing your mind. I am a huge advocate of b___stfeeding, esp. since I myself got off to a very rocky start...I couldn't b___stfeed the first week of my daughter's life, because of medication I was on while in the hospital; then I had issues getting her to latch - I ended up using a nipple shield for 2 months before I could get her to latch. So, while in the hospital, my little love got formula - she didn't even get my colostrum. Now, she won't touch the stuff...but don't beat yourself up about it; it's not the end of the world if you have Dad or someone give your daughter a bottle of formula or expressed b___st milk, to give yourself a break. The most important thing is that you are feeding your child.

I just recently statyed to pump for occa__sional use, so I am still learning myself. Here is a link to a good article I found, though: http://www.mother-2-mother.com/pumping.htm The only hyphens that should remain are between mother-2-mother.

I felt this way too at first sometimes. I tried using a pump but my dd wouldn't take a bottle and she still doesn't at 3 months. Still every once in a while I get upset b/c I am the only who can feed her and I blame myself if she is not happy/fussy and I take it out on my husband. But it seems to keep keep getting better and better. I am so glad about my choice to b___stfeed. It feels so motherly to be the only one to nourish my baby! Hang in there!

Thanks ladies! I'm going to try some pumping tomorrow, see how it goes. I'm in the midst of some 'new mommy blues' right now too which isn't helping the cause! One minute I feel great about what I'm doing, the next minute I feel totally overwhelmed. From what I've read these feelings will pa__s. I hope they pa__s soon!!

I've heard that b___stfeeding prolongs your hormonal imbalance - is this true?

What do you mean by hormonal imbalance? If you mean PMS type hormonal, no, it's not true. But, hormones are what control milk production; those same hormones also tend to prevent ovulation and menstration.

Like if you're feeling really depressed because of postnatal hormones, will b___stfeeding make you depressed for longer?

I don't think so...

Tracy I felt like that too, but Jasmin is now 4 weeks and im used to it now and feel its s great i can feed anywhere anytime, no bottes no sterilser, in the middle of night if she wants milk i just pop her on, no hastle, but i sure felt overwhelmed at the start, a weird dread feeling, it goes, i started taking eve primrose oil tbts and that feeling went

- evening primrose tablets? i could pick that up at a health store, right? what do they do? thanks!