If you’ve had trouble producing enough milk, you’re not alone! Tina Fey has revealed in her new memoir, Bossypants, that she sunk into a “deep depression” in 2005 after giving up breastfeeding, and feeding formula to her daughter, Alice.
She says: “I chose to pump every two hours while watching the HBO series 'Entourage'. I was able to do this for seven weeks before running out of episodes and sinking into a deep depression.”
And after switching to formula, she says, “The baby was thriving. I was no longer feeling trapped, spending 30 out of every 90 minutes attached to a Williams-Sonoma Tit Juicer. But I still had an overwhelming feeling of disappointment. I had failed at something that was supposed to be natural.”
Fey says she also grew jealous of friends who succeeded at breastfeeding: “At a party where a friend was successfully nursing her little boy, I watched her husband produce a bottle of breast milk the size of a Big Gulp. It was more milk than I had produced in my whole seven weeks - I blame 'Entourage'.”
Fey makes it sound funny—who wouldn’t get depressed watching seven weeks of Entourage? But many mothers feel this sense of failure when faced with some of the challenges of breastfeeding. And while breast milk is best, it’s important to remember it isn’t the only option—as Fey points out, you can raise a healthy, “thriving” baby with formula, too. And if breastfeeding for longer is a priority for you, do your research and get the help you need to make it happen.
Have you felt frustrated by milk supply issues, or envied mothers who seemed “better” at breastfeeding? How did you deal with it? Let us know in the comments.
I had so much difficulty with breastfeeding my baby; it took me by surprise because my pregnancy and birth were so easy and wonderful. I expected breastfeeding to be as simple. From trouble latching to low milk supply to not-a-single-pump-in-existence working for me...when I finally made the switch to formula when she was 6 or 7 months old, I felt guilty, like a failure, and quite hurt that my baby didn't seem to mind having a bottle instead of my breast. I think it's a really common experience for women who want to be "good" at everything and want to be "perfect" as mothers. Ladies, there's no such thing!
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