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January 2013 Moms
BabyHope2013
member
anyone thinking of formula feeding?
BabyHope2013
member
Everyone always talks about breast feeding. I used to think that hands down this is what I would do. However, I know that I will need to switch over to formula around 6 weeks bc I do not want to pump at work. I also like the idea of DH being able to help out with feeding too from the beginning.
I was just curious if there was anyone out there who was thinking of formula feeding from the beginning. Or if there are any second time moms out there who did, and or had to for some kind of other reason.
Is it bad if I was only to breast feed for 2-4 weeks then switch? Not sure if that would be confusing to my little one or how it would effect their stomach/digestive system.
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Re: anyone thinking of formula feeding?
I excusivley formula fed with my DD. I know that people frown upon that, but for me it made the most sense. I worked 11 hour days at the time and didn't want to have to pump at work. I honestly didn't want to mess with my milk coming in and leaking at work. I worked a high paced job and didn't have a lot of down time. My DD turned out just fine.
Like you also stated it gave DH and her the time to bond from the very beginning. I think that this time around we will be doing the same thing again.
any amount of breast milk is great, no matter how long you do it.
Breastfeeding is way easier in the middle of the night because chances are your hubby will sleep right through the baby waking up anyway. LOL No bottles to warm or formula to mix.
But if I were you, I'd try it from the start and go from there
Violet Mae born 1/15/13
The greatest benefit of breastfeeding happens those first couple of days when you have collustrum (sp?). I would always recommend that moms at least give breastfeeding a shot those first few days, just for that. However, formula fed babies grow and thrive, and I don't think there's anything wrong with it.
For this third baby, I am planning to mostly breastfeed, but will be introducing a bottle of formula at around 2 weeks, so he or she will get used to taking one formula bottle a day at daycare while I work (I'll only be working 3 hours a morning, so I think I'll only miss one feeding).
With my first two babies, I loved breastfeeding, but absolutely hated pumping. It just never worked out timing-wise, and then my little picky babies refused the bottle anyway. So this time, we'll start the one formula feeding per day early, and hope it all works out!
Yes, I will start with breastfeeding and see how long we go with success. I introduced formula at 3 weeks with my last kid, and she is a healthy, happy, growing as normal kiddo.
I day, 1 week or 1 month of breast feeding is great - don't even use the words "am I bad if" - people will criticize you for anything/everything - so believe in yourself and your choices and move forward with what's best for you and your child with confidence!
I am very pro breast feeding, with that being said, I have no problem with those that just don't want to do it. If you have to go back to work when the baby is 6 weeks old, then you would have to pump all of the time to keep up your supply, and yes it would be a hard job. I think pumping is super hard, I see where you are coming from forsure.
If I were you I'd breastfeed the first couple of weeks because then the baby will get your colostrum, then switch to formula when you are getting ready to go back to work. IMO BFing is easier at night, you can just feed the baby, no waiting for a bottle to warm etc. AND since my DH had to go to work, he didn't get up with DD anyways. Once I started pumping bottles I still ended up getting up with her because I'd hear her first.
Breast milk is easier on a LO's tummy for the most part, but switching to formula shouldn't have any negitive effects, so I wouldn't worry about that.
Especially right at the beginning when they're getting colostrum, so if you're interested in doing it for at least a few weeks you definitely should.
With that said, know that the first few weeks are the hardest so once you get over the hump and establish a good relationship you might want to continue
We had to formula feed because I didn't produce milk. I tried for the first 2 weeks waiting for my milk to come in, which never did despite many efforts. At that time we switched over to exclusively FF'ing. We probably had the best experience possible with it. Once we switched over completely DS took to the bottle well and didn't have any trouble with the formula (which I know many kids do from talking to other moms and that can be real problem with them being sick from it and with trying to find an alternative that works, just to give you a heads up).
The one real benefit I saw was the MH was able to participate in feeding just as much as I did (although, he was pretty involved with feedings when I was nursing as well, so that was really nice. Just as far as helping me get him latched, keeping baby interested, etc. So it's not as if he wasn't a part of the process at all, but that probably would have dissipated over time once things got easier for us). His participation was awesome to have overnight (but not all dads are willing to do that FF'ing or not) and I definitely feel like it helped DS and DH bond because a lot of what they do at first IS eating and eating and eating
Right from the start DS took to both MH or I equally and would let either of us put him to bed and that sort of thing, which I know can be a potential problem when nursing.
The downside is the bottles. Oh, the bottles. It's not fun to constantly make and clean bottles. It's not fun to have to haul that stuff around with you. We went through several different bottles at first even to find one that DS would take and that was a PITA (and probably not something that everyone goes through, but some do). Not to mention it's pretty costly, so that's something to consider.
Overall, I really wish I were able to breastfeed, but I'm extremely thankful that we did have such a good experience with formula.
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All this "warm up bottles" hassle might be a little overstated. I never warmed up a bottle in my life. I made the bottle with warm tap water, added the formula and shook it up. I didn't carry premade bottles with me, I made it fresh wherever we were/went.
That being said, cleaning bottles is huge PITA. We still do 1 bottle before bed with our 13 month old, and I'm ready to be done with bottles for good - just so I can have a few months "off" as a break before January!
I agree. We also just pre-filled the bottles with water & all we needed to do was put the formula in. We never heated a bottle & DS was just fine with that.
BFP #1:10/31/10 DS born 6/22/11BFP #3:4/24/12 DD born 12/31/12
We tried BFing but only made it 3-4 weeks, I had supply issues & DS couldn't latch very well. He took bottles just fine starting at about 2 weeks. I didn't think he/she will get confused, but with everything, it will take them time to learn how to use things.
BFP #1:10/31/10 DS born 6/22/11BFP #3:4/24/12 DD born 12/31/12
I breast fed our DS for the first month. He was latching on fine but the milk was not flowing fast enough for him. He would cry way to much and it was killing me; We decided to introduce formula and at first he wasn't to accepting but everything work out for us.
I would feel 2-4 weeks and then switch if I need to again.
I tried BF with DD, but she wouldn't latch and then had some unrelated medical issues. We FF from like 4 days on, even having to switch to fancy formula (no soy or milk) at 8 months because she wasn't gaining weight.
I'm going to try to BF with #2, but if it doesn't work or my milk doesn't come in, or whatever, I'm okay with that too.
If BFing goes well and works for you in those first 6 weeks while at home, you could continue to BF whenever you are with baby... evenings and at night and just not pump at work. I know a lot of moms who did that. It is amazing what our bodies can do!
Its actually not....
Ditto!
Also fwiw to pp... for many women, your milk will come in whether you are nursing or not. Im told that for FF moms it can be VERY uncomfortable too.
11/18/16 missed m/c 9w1
08/03/17 no hb 8w
Also wanted to add: if you try BFing early on and it is working for you, there is no reason why you can't try to BF at home in the evenings and mornings and supplement with formula when you are at work. Just might need to wean yourself a bit the first couple weeks (you can just take brief breaks in the bathroom even to hand express) so you don't get clogged ducts which can lead to mastitis. But really you will need to be even more cautious about weaning slowly if you decide to stop BFing completely. So either way that will be something to be aware of.
And yea... formula is certainly fine and a valid and healthy choice. As long as babies are being fed, I don't particularly care how. If you don't judge me for my choices I won't judge you! But... there ARE benefits to breast milk that formula can not and does not replicate. Saying otherwise is just ignorant. And stating that those benefits exist doesn't mean that FF is a bad choice either. If that is right for your family then that is the best choice for you.
11/18/16 missed m/c 9w1
08/03/17 no hb 8w
I hope to be able to breast feed but will also probably do a large amount of pumping and bottle feeding since I'll have to go to work when baby is 8 weeks old or so. I want him or her to take a bottle without trouble.
My BFF attempt to breast feed with her first but never got the hang of it. She opted to just pump and bottle feed and was able to keep baby on breast milk for 6 months. She said if she hadn't done the pump and feed method she would have given up days after baby was born.
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+1
Also, if you are against pumping at work (I can't say I blame you) and plan to FF feed anyway, you could always have DH give 1 or 2 formula bottles to LO each day while you BF the rest of the time you're at home. You could even continue to nurse LO evenings & weekends while you're home without having to worry about pumping or leaking. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. There are no hard and fast rules. GL with whatever you decide.
Well, I mean, plus, just think about it. Breastmilk is milk made specifically for your baby. It changes depending on their needs, it has live enzymes and it's made for their system to digest. Formula is synthetic breastmilk. They do their best to imitate it, but it's not the same. That doesn't necessarily mean that it's going to make your child less smart or less healthy than their breastfed counterparts, but it's definitely not the same thing. There are advantages to breastmilk. It is definitively biologically best for babies. That doesn't make it the best choice for every family, but that doesn't negate that it's biologically best for a baby.
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Ummm...absolutely no, not a myth. That is complete misinformation. There is nothing wrong with choosing to FF but be selective about the formula you choose for your baby. Some of the ingredients on the formula samples we were given made me cringe.
I EFF with my first, I will with my 2nd as well.
ETA: This was great because my husband did every other feeding right from night one. We never heated up the formula so I didn't deal with that either. He drank it warm, cold, whatever he didn't care. BF just wasn't what I wanted to do & my husband was fine either way. I went with what worked for us. My milk never came in anyway. I don't know if it would have if I would have tried BF.
My son has never been really sick (he had a stomach bug one about 4-5 months ago, the BF wouldn't have helped that!) & he has never had an ear infection. Ever.
We will FF and it will be wonderful to have DH's help w/feeding the baby as well as a nice chance for them to bond as well. I think whatever works for you is the way to go! It's everyone's personal decision - the baby will turn out just fine either way.
While I think it is great that women are really educated these days about things like the benefits of BFing, I really dislike the new culture of "guilt" that some women's groups (and other women) place on women who make different choices from themselves.
I think in recent years there has been this huge, women's led emphasis on "you're a bad mom if you don't BF" or "you're a bad mom if you don't do a natural birth" and I think it's all hooey. I think that it is every woman's right to choose to BF or FF, or have an unmedicated or medicated birth, but there are definitely rabid groups of women who are very judgey about this stuff.
Which is crazy! It's funny b/c the men could care less, but there are these Nazis in groups like La Leche that are out there actually making women feel bad about this stuff.
3 IUIs to get BFP w/baby #2
Lost baby #2 at nearly 12 weeks (D&C on 9/19/14)
Agreed. Just remember it doesn't have to be all breast milk or no breast milk.
This. We made it 4 months but I only produced a couple of ounces per day even taking 120mg of domperidone daily. It wasn't what we planned on but as with a lot of things baby and birth related, things don't always go as planned.
I don't think think characterization is fair, true or necessary. I haven't seen women say anything like this at all, and honestly calling groups like LLL "nazis" basically does to nursing moms what you are saying is done to FF. I mean. Nazis. Come on, that is an AWFUL thing to say. PLus Godwins law and all
The thing is, those groups are for women who WANT to make nursing work. If you want to FF, you arent going to need LLL, why would you? Certainly they suggest avoiding supplementing... because it can derail your supply. But really, this groups purpose is to provide nursing moms with support, tips, commiseration, help, and help normalize nursing for moms. Calling group members 'nazis' on a national message board is going to scare off moms from reaching out to one of the FEW supports out there for what can be a very emotional, demanding, difficult process that is very important to some moms.
Trust, the *** that BFing moms get is plenty anyhow. Maybe you are mistaking defensiveness for attacks? On this board alone BFing past a year has been called gross, unnecessary, etc. Nationally, recently, the Time cover sensationalized it. And we hear about women being threatened legally for feeding their children on the regular. It is no wonder we get defensive.
I have been to LLL meetings (my group is now part of BFing USA, a similar group) since before my son was born and honestly, we talk about nursing. Not about anyone who DOESNT nurse. none of us care about what other people do so long as they don't pressure women to stop nursing who WANT to, or bash us for our choice. It is sort of self centered to assume that women who go to LLL meetings have such a vendetta against those who FF. I mean. NAZIS? Come on. That is an ver unfair and divisive characterization.
11/18/16 missed m/c 9w1
08/03/17 no hb 8w
I think you misunderstood her, when I read her comments, I understand it as there are some judgmental woman in that group, not that the grip itself is.
I did not misunderstand. Saying that the group includes "nazis" paints the group as a whole in a very nasty light. She named a group specifically and the loaded word. It was completely unfair and unnecessary. I can't fathom calling formula feeder or cloth diapered or whatever nazis.
Had she left off the last bit about LLL including nazis I probably wouldn't have posted at all. I would have disagreed in my head with her but that's it.
11/18/16 missed m/c 9w1
08/03/17 no hb 8w
Also, I've come across many a La Leche or other breast feeding advocacy/ support group member who is beyond judgmental and down right mean. I was lucky to be able to afford trying seven different LC's before I found one that I clicked with, and again lucky to be able to afford to keep her around for 10 weeks and even more lucky to afford the non insurance covered cranial sacral therapist that fixed our problem. But along the way, I was disgusted by the amount of woman who saw me giving my son a bottle in public and come up to me simply to tell me that I was poisoning my child and I was failing him as a mother, meanwhile, the milk in the bottle was my pumped milk. At one LLL meeting I went to, Julian was screaming his little head off, after he finished his bottle, he wasn't really hungry, he just had gas issues. Well, some woman walked up to me and belittled me for giving him a bottle to begin with and then not offering to nurse when he cried. Later, when I explained what my problems were (mastitis, thrush, flat cracked and scabbed nipples, a baby who couldn't open wide) she felt bad and apologized, but seriously, she should have NEVER said what she said to begin with.