For those of you who strictly formula feed - do you have healthy babies?

Question

My son is 2 months old (and has been breastfed).. I got mastitis in my left breast and now my milk supply has gone way down. I'm supplementing with formula but my breast milk is getting lower by the day so I'm going to have to switch to only formula.
(I use Enfamil Lipil and am going to put him on Enfamil GentleEase)
I know breastmilk is the best form of food .. but I can't do it anymore. I feel bad enough about putting him on formula (so please no rude answers about not giving him breastmilk) ..
I just want to hear from moms who formula feed their babies and hear how their babies are doing on it! (meaning ONLY formula fed, not substitued with breastmilk)
thanks!

Answer 1

You gave your son an incredible gift -- two months of your breastmilk. Two months is a lot! You should be fine when you switch to a high quality formula.

When I had twins 7 years ago, I was looking so forward to breastfeeding. They were premature, and even though they were good nursers, I just couldn't produce enough milk. They would nurse for half an hour, and then I'd weigh them to see how much they'd consumed, and the weight change was negative! (had a scale from the doctor just for this purpose.) I had a lactation consultant, took fenugreek, did cabbage leaves, and eventually got really sick (mastitis). When I had 104 fever, I just decided to go with formula. Even the people at lalache agreed that that was probably the best way to go....

Anyway -- the only one who really suffered from my decision was me! I was disappointed that I never was really able to rely on breastfeeding! But my kids grew like weeds and are now healthy, active, intelligent and engaging 7 year olds. They love school, are active in sports, and are fun to be around. No major illnesses and they are very healthy!

So I would say -- don't worry about the switch to formula. Your son has gotten far more breastmilk than my kids ever did. He'll be fine!

Answer 2

My own 4 children all began life as breast fed babies. The older 2 eventually also received formula, but the younger 2 were breast fed until they self-weaned at 11 months and 14 months. Those babies are now 28, 25, 22, and 10. All are perfectly healthy. In addition, I have been a child care provider in my home for 20 years. Many of the children came to me as infants. Some came with expressed breast milk and some came with formula. No difference in health regardless if breast fed or formula fed. I had mastitis with my second born. It was extremely painful and my milk supply dwindled for awhile, but when I was doing better and went back to a regular nursing schedule again, my supply came back. Decrease the amount of formula you are giving your son and increase your nursing sessions and the milk supply will build back up.

Answer 3

i breast fed for 5 months (supplemented with formula the whole time) and then switched to strictly formula. My daughter is a healthy happy two year old. She is in 95-100% for height and weight (she looks her age) . She (at 2) can speak in sentences, you can have a conversation with her, and in 2 years has had ONE cold.
I agree that breast is best, but if you can't, there is no problem with formula. Babies need to eat! i applaud you for trying and 2 months is good. My mom always says one drop is better than none. Think of the gift you gave him!!! Don't feel bad about giving him formula. he needs to eat! Congrats on the new baby!

Answer 4

My formula fed baby is very healthy. She is very advanced too. She started sitting up unassisted and crawling at 5 1/2 months old and is a very smart, and alert child. She is 6 months now and already pulling herself up on everything and has even been brave enough to let go and stand a couple seconds on her own before falling on her bottom. She has gained weight wonderfully, and is just an overall healthy baby. Yes breast milk is much better for baby than formula, no argument there, but you have to do what is best for you also. Don't feel guilty, your baby will grow up to be healthy either way you do it.

Answer 5

My son and daughter were formula feed after I went back to work due to the fact that I simply couldn't pump at work (long story). I went back to work at 6 weeks and they got formula. They are both smart well adjusted kids. A few things might change though. The consistency of he poo will change. It will become firmer. He may become constipated too, so watch out for that. Also, you may find he eats less often as formula takes longer to digest. This also means you may get more sleep (yeah!) And lastly, he may catch more colds. This is because he's not getting anti-bodies from you any more in his breast milk. I know that there are all these studies out there that tell you breast is best, and it's true. But don't let anyone tell you that you are doing a dis-service to your child. This is a decision that you have to make. And it is up to you to make the best decision for you and your child.

Answer 6

I formula fed my daughter and damn she grew up very healthy. She didn't succumb to any of the "horror stories" those who promote breast feeding only will throw at you. She had TWO ear infections in her entire life. Yes she does have asthma but that is genetic and not because of formula. I have asthma and was breastfed. My ex husband (her father) has asthma so she was genetically disposed. She has healthy bones, and a very healthy mind (Is a member of MENSA) and at 21 is a fulltime college student and works part time. She was on soy formula because she like myself is lactose intolerant and we both drink soy milk rather than dairy milk. My advice, feed your baby how YOU think is best for YOUR baby and don't let anyone else tell you what to do.

Answer 7

My kids were formula fed only. I never seemed to have any health problems or anything with them. They were normal kids that just had a cold every now and then and even with age I have not noticed any negative health effects from the formula. My oldest is 12 and she is the healthy kid out of her friends? Sometimes I think that being sick may be genetics ect, I am overall healthy so not sure if that has any impact on it or not :o) Hope this helps a little.

Answer 8

I breastfed for 2 weeks and it didn't work for me so I went to formula. She was 7lbs 1oz at birth, 7-13 at 1 week, 8-8 at 2 weeks, 10-4 at 1 month, 12-14 at 2 months, 17-1 at 4 months. She is 26 inches long at 4 months, rolling all over the place and happy as hell. She drinks Isomil Advance. 6 oz every 4 hours along with 1 tbsp of cereal. She is in the 97th percentile for height and weight. The Dr. says she is perfect.

Answer 9

I have three kids - my first I breastfed for 7 months. My second I started breastfeeding but had to stop due to his severe milk protein allergy. And my third has been on formula since day one.

Honestly, my oldest who was breastfed exclusively was my sickliest baby!! I either have really sucky immunities or I don't know what, but he was sick all the time, and had croupe all the time. My two that were formula fed are 4 and 3 now and perfectly happy and were rarely sick as babies and toddlers and even now. So your baby will do fine! Good luck!!

Answer 10

My son has been on Gentle-ease since he was 2 weeks old (Enfamil Lipil before then) and he is perfectly healthy!!

I am so tired of women making other women feel guilty for bottle feeding their babies as most of our generation was formula fed and we are all just fine. There are also many benefits of formula feeding - babies gain weight better, sleep better and longer, and moms have a little bit more flexibility in their lives. I know many women think I am selfish for thinking of myself at all, but I know that I am a far better mother when I am not tied to the baby every 90 minutes round the clock.

Good luck to you with whatever you decide!! And make sure to consider both you and your baby in any decision.