Awesome thread, Maz Thanks so much for sharing your stories, and to all of the other posters who have shared theirs

Mine goes a bit like this:
DD1 was born after a 4-hour induced labour with synto and ARM. I went from 0-10cm in under ten minutes and so the four hours was all pushing. As she was delivered, I began bleeding and ended up losing over 3L of blood, was bedridden for over 24 hours with needles stuck in both arms and my right hand, and was so sore and exhausted I could barely move. I could hardly hold DD1 to feed her, and because of the blood loss she was 'latched' (incorrectly, despite several midwives telling me it 'looked fine') onto each breast for 2 out of every 3 hours, and still not getting anything. Within 24 hours of her being born, my nipples were cracked, bleeding, raw, and so sore I would burst into tears as soon as DD1 started crying because I knew the excruciating pain that was to follow.
After 3 days we went home, still unable to latch and not even a drop of colostrum from me, the midwives had ended up giving her formula to let me get some sleep. On our way home, we stopped at Priceline and bought bottles, nipple shields, a manual pump and a few sachets of formula to 'get us through'. Despite my best efforts, I could not get a supply of milk up and had no local resources (LC's, ABA etc) to help me establish BFing. I expressed around the clock for 6 weeks, topping up with formula, until I reached my breaking point and threw it in.
I don't regret it. I don't feel bad about it at all. I have never felt guilty about not being able to BF DD1 because I know I was let down by a series of circumstances that, at the time, I simply had no way of overcoming. Yes, I was uneducated. Yes, there is a chance I *might* have been able to establish a supply despite the early struggle, had I had access to caring professionals and the right resources. But I didn't, so I FF'd because I simply had to, and that's okay with me and DD1

DD2 was a spontaneous labour, no bleeding, and attached perfectly to my breast before her cord was even clamped. I had done my homework this time around, knowing just how wrong things could go, and had a plan of attack - but it wasn't needed. I wanted to feed straight away, and I got to - I truly believe that this was a key factor in being able to establish a supply. DD2's attachment was absolutely perfect right from the get-go and I never had to 'teach' her, unlike DD1. I had learned more about how babies feed from the breast, and 'went by feel' for the most part - feeding whenever, wherever DD2 wanted to, offering the breast as a comfort to help keep my supply up, co-sleeping so I managed to get largely unbroken sleep during the night... it was wonderful. We breastfed with barely a hiccup for nearly 6 months, and then I got sick and started losing my supply. A sad coincidence, but at the same time, DD2 was teething and was alternately biting (a habit she still persists with to this day, no amount of 'training' would stop her from nearly tearing my nipple off) and refusing the breast. My supply was dropping and I was in quite a lot of pain from biting wounds, so we started topping up with formula and giving BFs to put her down for naps/at night. She took to the bottle like an absolute champ (where she had completely refused it before then) and I decided that she had made up my mind for me. I gave her the occasional 'bonding' BF every so often for a few more weeks, but by the time she was 6.5 months I had completely dried up and she was loving her formula.
I don't feel bad - again, I *might* have been able to BF longer had I persevered. But at that time, it just wasn't right for us, so we did what worked and have never worried about it. She is healthy, chubby, happy and I'm a happy mama.

Formula's not all bad, provided mums have all the resources and info and support they need to do what's right for them. Everyone's path is a different one to walk and if we can't (or don't want to) persist with BFing when it's not a fulfilling relationship, we shouldn't feel pressured to. One thing I love about BB is the fact that most of us recognise this and will offer support and help for mums who are struggling with BFing but want to continue, and on the other hand, will also offer our support to mums who feel they've hit a brick wall and are just wasting time and energy on continuing