Trying Again

Hi ladies!

Let me apologize in advance, this might be a long post! So I’m currently 33w with baby #2. I tried breastfeeding my daughter and.... it didn’t work out. I have inverted nipples and it was extremely difficult for her to latch. The nipple shield would get knocked off and we would both get frustrated. I decided to exclusively pump, but even though my daughter was sleeping well, I would be getting up in the middle of the night to pump, and not getting much sleep. Even with all the pumping, I would only get a couple ounces at a time. My mental health started spiraling and looking back, I wasn’t happy at all. My husband finally pulled me aside and said “Stop. You’re not yourself. (Daughter) needs a happy, sane mama more than she needs breast milk. Let’s just switch to formula.” I agreed and almost immediately my mental health improved. When we found out I was expecting #2, I knew I wanted to go with formula from the start, but my husband lost his job in January and due to everything going on, hasn’t been able to get a new one. Luckily, we were approved for WIC, but they want me to give breastfeeding another go before approving formula for me. Part of me thinks “Why not give it another go?” the other part is just full of anxiety over failing again and my mental health declining again. Has anyone out there been in a similar situation? I guess I’m just looking for advice. I’m really starting to get anxious about the whole situation.

Thank you anyone who read all this!