Breastfeeding v Formula

[JK]

Have just been reading an article on Adelaidenow (http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/stor ... 01,00.html) on this topic, and wondered what SAFootyites thoughts and experiences were on the matter.

Do you think Breast is best? Do/did you have any issue with raising your bubba's on Formula??

[Lightning McQueen]

The boob is a pain in the arse for the women, they can't drink at all as they are sanctioned to do all of the feeding. We got ours to be accustomed to both forms, that way I could play an active part and my wife could have the occaisional break.
The funbags are out of action for a while though

[whufc]

Our 7 month old daughter (our first) has been raised on Formula. The main reason i believe, is so that i have to help out as much as possible especially at night where the wife can catch up on some much needed sleep.

It took us a while to find a formula which agreed with Baylee as she had pretty bad reflux and colac, but once we found the one everything has gone smoothly.

I don't know much about the science behind breastfeeding v formula but from a practicallity sense formula is brilliant mainly for my wife, as it means i have to help as much as possible.

[Lightning McQueen]

Our 7 month old daughter (our first) has been raised on Formula. The main reason i believe, is so that i have to help out as much as possible especially at night where the wife can catch up on some much needed sleep.

It took us a while to find a formula which agreed with Baylee as she had pretty bad reflux and colac, but once we found the one everything has gone smoothly.

I don't know much about the science behind breastfeeding v formula but from a practicallity sense formula is brilliant mainly for my wife, as it means i have to help as much as possible.

When they're just breast-fed though, they just seem to cry when being held by the father as they have nothing to offer. At least the formula makes them think daddy's ok.

[A Mum]

No issues at all.

I was quite a young mum (First child at 20yrs old).
I was unable to breastfeed and was made to feel by a couple of the nurses that were looking after me that I was/would be a failure if I didn't breastfeed !

Luckily for me my mum had not been able to breastfeed her children either and soon put these nurses in their place so it was good to have a mum supportive of me going to the formula option, and I also had one nurse that told me to do what I wanted to do and ignore the other nurses.

So in the end, yes all my three children were forumla babies and they have always been healthy, happy, fit and well babies and now teenagers/young adults.

My eldest son is Asthmatic but so am I, my grandmothers on both sides, my husbands mum, etc, etc, so somehow I think whether breastfed or not he had a good chance of being asthmatic.

[dedja]

All my 3 girls we raised on breast milk until they were around 12-13 months and I'd definitely recommend it as it means that as a bloke you get more sleep!

From my reading, the article doesn't not recommend breast milk but the paediatrician in question thinks that the benefits may be overstated.

When our kids were born my wife wanted to breast feed so there was no real discussion about it. She was so determined to breastfeed that for number 3, who was born at 27 weeks (yes, thats 3 months prem), she expressed so much milk that she could have been a potential rival to dairy farmers. Even though our daughter only consumed a very small portion of this breast milk when she was tiny, my missus had to keep expressing large amounts to keep the milk flowing, so it can be a lot of hard work (apparently!).

It seems that breastfeeding may be the most beneficial to the baby, but the benefits are disputed, and that being said, some mothers just cannot produce milk or are unable or willing to breastfeed for a number of reasons.

So if the baby is fed formula instead it doesn't mean that they're missing out as such and there should be no issues ... its a personal decision in the end I think.

[JK]

We obviously started out breastfeeding Ned, but Mrs P wasn't able to produce the required amount of milk that was needed to keep him well fed, so we supplemented with formula for a while, but it wasn't long before it became pretty much all formula and very little breast milk.

One thing I found non-sensical was when we took him to the hospital for a routine check about 2 weeks after he was born, and the midwife said basically he was under-weight and that he needed to drink/eat more ... But then she was quite adamant that he shouldn't be having formula.

Given that we'd explained to her that there was little breast milk in supply, I'm not really sure what other option we were presented with.

I feel for mums who are unable to breastfeed with some of the pressure that gets placed upon them to do so.

[dedja]

CP, as A Mum alluded to, some nurse/midwives/other can be real bastards and totally lacking in understanding sometimes but most are great.

When you have 3 kids there are some stories though ...

[A Mum]

I feel for mums who are unable to breastfeed with some of the pressure that gets placed upon them to do so.

Me too.
I even had 'older' friends who made me feel like crap that I chose formula.
Mums are already under a lot of pressure/sleep deprived etc, etc, etc, without having people 'bagging' them

As Dedja said, I think it is a personal choice for whatever reason, whether it be medical or lifestyle, whatever, each to their own.

But I also think it's now becoming more accepted to formula feed than it was back when my kids were babies.

It's almost along the same lines of should mums return to work and put their kids in child care or stay home until they hit school age.
(Which is also a something that's changed more over the years)
I copped a lot of grief about that as well - and now I come to think about it, it was from the same people who said breastfeeding is the only option !!

[Pseudo]

Dad can get out of bed to a screaming bub at 3 AM to prepare and administer formula.

Dad cannot get out of bed at 3 AM to administer the boob.

Ergo I say Breast Is Best!

[Dirko]

We Breast fed all three of our kids, as well as Formula here and there. My missus had no worries getting milk going, and we thought if she has to give up a couple of months of getting up to feed the baby during the night it's a pretty small sacrifice to make, especially as it only took her 10 - 15 minutes and the all the kids went straight back down.

Breast is best if you have no troubles getting milk, and is a hell of a lot cheaper than formula, is ready to roll and available at all times.

[whufc]

We Breast fed all three of our kids, as well as Formula here and there. My missus had no worries getting milk going, and we thought if she has to give up a couple of months of getting up to feed the baby during the night it's a pretty small sacrifice to make, especially as it only took her 10 - 15 minutes and the all the kids went straight back down.

Breast is best if you have no troubles getting milk, and is a hell of a lot cheaper than formula, is ready to roll and available at all times.

Agree, that may be something some families have to think off. We are spending on average $20-$25 a week on formula, for us it's not a big deal but some families may prefer the cheaper option which over a whole year would help out.

[A Mum]

With all that's been said,
with all the weighing up of things etc,
It would be interesting to know the actual percentages....

But I would imagine that most people would still choose breastfeeding if it was a possibility for them.

[tipper]

With all that's been said,
with all the weighing up of things etc,
It would be interesting to know the actual percentages....

But I would imagine that most people would still choose breastfeeding if it was a possibility for them.

Thats the path we are going down. my misses is due in a couple of weeks with our first and she plans on giving breastfeeding a red hot go, but there may be reasons she cant. we wont know till we try. and i personally dont have a problem with using the bottle, except for the sleep thingy!

pity help the person that tries to make her feel bad if we end up going for the bottle. she doesnt often get mad but when she does it is a pretty good show!

[Felch]

All 3 of mine had formula, as my missus had problems breastfeeding. She toughed it out for a few months with our first, but it ended up causing un-necessary stress and pain. Our next 2 were on formula within the first fortnight.

My best advice would be do whatever suits your situation. If you can breastfeed, all good. If you are having trouble or stressing out about it, switch to formula. Don't let anyone make you feel guilty about YOUR choice.

[whufc]

All 3 of mine had formula, as my missus had problems breastfeeding. She toughed it out for a few months with our first, but it ended up causing un-necessary stress and pain. Our next 2 were on formula within the first fortnight.

My best advice would be do whatever suits your situation. If you can breastfeed, all good. If you are having trouble or stressing out about it, switch to formula. Don't let anyone make you feel guilty about YOUR choice.

Here here

[Hondo]

Breastfeeding worked perfectly for mum and our 2 boys. She hated it, but as it was all going well she persisted.

Our first took a bottle as well but our second just won't take a bottle at all. Well, he'll have to at 12 months because that's the limit of mum's patience!

I agree there's too much pressure put on mum's about breast feeding which can add unnecessary stress. I know a mum who was told by her doctor to go to a kindy and pick which kids had been raised on bottle v boob. Of course, you can't tell meaning that either is fine. Just let mum decide what works best for her and her baby.

The other thing we found is starting solids a bit earlier than recommended by the CAFS nurses helped lower the constant demand for breast/bottle. The doctor felt that mothers can inadvertantly "starve" their babies by delaying solids unnecessarially. Once he started solids, he started sleeping for longer and longer stints at a time. Most nights now, he only needs to be fed once per night and he's almost 6 months old.

Again, it's a personal choice. But something to look at if baby is needing feeds every 2 hours (not newborn obviously).

[whufc]

Breastfeeding worked perfectly for mum and our 2 boys. She hated it, but as it was all going well she persisted.

Our first took a bottle as well but our second just won't take a bottle at all. Well, he'll have to at 12 months because that's the limit of mum's patience!

I agree there's too much pressure put on mum's about breast feeding which can add unnecessary stress. I know a mum who was told by her doctor to go to a kindy and pick which kids had been raised on bottle v boob. Of course, you can't tell meaning that either is fine. Just let mum decide what works best for her and her baby.

The other thing we found is starting solids a bit earlier than recommended by the CAFS nurses helped lower the constant demand for breast/bottle. The doctor felt that mothers can inadvertantly "starve" their babies by delaying solids unnecessarially. Once he started solids, he started sleeping for longer and longer stints at a time. Most nights now, he only needs to be fed once per night and he's almost 6 months old.

Again, it's a personal choice. But something to look at if baby is needing feeds every 2 hours (not newborn obviously).

My daughter has just turned 7 months and takes slightly more than the average solids. We normally put her to be around 9pm, she will sleep all the way through to around 6-6.30am for a bottle and then straight back to sleep again until about 9-11am. The solids has definately helped her sleeping stints as she use to be a very restless sleeper.

[Lightning McQueen]

I must say, it's good to hear how many fathers actually take note and have an opinion on the subject. Us men must listen occaisionally.

[JK]

I must say, it's good to hear how many fathers actually take note and have an opinion on the subject. Us men must listen occaisionally.

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