I failed at nursing one of my children and felt miserable for a long time, too. One advantage of formula was that his siblings were able to participate in feedings. I still "nursed" before I fed him so he would perhaps get the immunity stuff! Made me feel better…

My last baby was "chunka monka" and nursed exceptionally well. The beauty of it was that I was over the bottle phobia with the previous nursing failure. I had the best of both worlds! Giving him a bottle every once in a while so I could go out worked for both of us.

One of my daughters had to supplement her first two with bottles, but her third baby is the perfect breastfeeding model who is gaining about a pound a week–no kidding.

There are so many factors involved in being "successful" at it, but the bottom line is that being a good mom means feeding your baby by whatever method is best for him/her.

One last thing: make sure you check your baby's tongue. We had a grandson who was "tongue-tied" so badly that the tip of his tongue was literally stuck to the bottom of his mouth.

Because his mom was a veteran, they missed it until he was a month old. A pediatric dentist clipped it for him. Afterward we realized that we had never seen his tongue outside his mouth.

Thanks again!