Fed is best! I exclusively pumped for 6 months, and it was absolute hell. If I have another child, they will have formula from the start. The only reason I pumped for so long is because of mom shaming - everyone around me was telling me I would be a bad mom if I didn’t do it, so I felt guilty and was pressured into doing it for so long, even though it was making me miserable and affecting my ability to be a good mom. One of my close friends at the time was really into La Leche or whatever you call it, and was particularly judgey and shamed me a lot even for just pumping and would always tell me how much better it is to feed straight from the breast, no matter how many times I tried to explain that my son wouldn’t latch. They just kept telling me I’m not trying hard enough. Anyways my point is, it’s not for everyone and that’s OKAY! Some people will always be judgmental c*nts, and they will always find something to judge, so fuck em. Do what’s best for you.

For the milk, I just wore boob pads 24/7. It was the only way I didn’t have milk everywhere. I mostly used the Walmart brand ones and you couldn’t even see them if I wore a tank top over my sports bra. Fruit of the loom makes really comfortable bra things with thin straps that are easy to pull down if needed, and I actually cut holes through a couple of them and turned them into pumping bras. Those bras + boob pads were a lifesaver and made a huge difference when it came to leakage. Good luck❤️