Mothers did you breastfeed or bottle-feed?

Question

What factors influenced your choice? Were you happy with how things went? At what age did you wena?

Answer 1

i breastfed my son for two weeks. i wanted to continue, but i encountered a number of problems that i won't get into here. i was sad about it for a long time, still kinda am. however, i know that i am a good mother and there is more to being a good mother than what you feed your child. he is healthy, well bonded, and very happy. i wish it would've worked out for us, but i am ok with my decision because i did what was best for me and him.

i get upset when other mothers bash formula moms. until you are in my shoes, you really can't say a word. and really, what gives a person a right to bash your mothering skills as long as your child is healthy and thriving? moms should learn to support one another!

EDIT: whoever keeps giving the formula moms thumbs down is very petty and should be ashamed of herself!

Answer 2

Breastfeed. I work full-time and she had no formula. She is now 14 months old now and doing great!

Happy? Thrilled. She has only had pink eye- never had an ear infection, never a cold, not even a runny nose. I also work as a kindergarten teacher- so I have carried home every known bacterial and viral infection known to man- she missed it.

What influenced our decision? Our son. He was breastfed for 6 weeks and was weaned because of colic. We were told "breastfed babies don't get colic." He went from 5-6 hours a night- to 18 hours a day on Soy formula. We vowed never again. Never to watch our baby suffer like that. I didn't know that you could relatch a baby, I didn't know a lot- it was 11 years ago and no internet for us then. So, we decided that it would be the best choice and has been.

Haven't weaned as yet. She has been on solids since she was 6 months old, still nurses 3-4 times a day. On whole milk, etc. Maybe when she is 18 months I'll wean...not really sure.

Answer 3

I planned to breastfeed, but we had trouble latching. Despite visits to two lactation consultants, by my son's first "well baby" visit, he was jaundiced, dehydrated and losing weight rapidly. He was admitted to the hospital, and I was distraught.

In the hospital, the best alternative was to pump breastmilk and bottle feed it to our son, to have some confidence that he was taking in enough sustenance.

We stuck with that pattern - pumping and bottle feeding - for a few weeks. By the time my son was three months and I was back at work full-time, we were supplementing with formula. By the time he was six months, he was formula fed. My little guy turned out to be giant-sized, and I just couldn't keep up with feeding a baby who topped the 99th percentile on the size charts.

In retrospect, it was a very good way to feed our kiddo, even if it wasn't exactly our choice. We knew how much he was drinking, dad and grandma took turns feeding him, too, and while it did require some gear, we saved on formula for a few weeks.

The only big drawback was the time - pumping plus bottle-feeding equals exhaustion! I plan to take a breastfeeding class the next time around. While I'll still pump, I'm hoping it will just be to let dad handle a few feedings.

Answer 4

I bottle feed my son Trevor. He has been on Simalac for the reason that delivery.. He become 8lbs 11 oz..and 22 in long.. so it become confusing to assist somewhat one which substantial to breast feed. We tried and he and that i the two gave up and while he began on the formulation I didnt would desire to hardship that i'd would desire to be the only all of the time feeding him. My husband have been given to assist out too which become large. For me it become nicer to do the bottle feeding than the breast feeding concern. My roommate had her son 4 days previously I had Trevor and she or he breastfeeds.. I watch how she must be there all of the time and how short her time is someplace else.. and how plenty time she surely can get issues performed. Trevor additionally had 2 tooth are available in early besides and that does injury so i've got self assurance sorry for the mothers that breastfeed and would desire to handle the teethies. ouch.

Answer 5

with my first three I nursed for a full year (they mostly weaned themselves after that). The youngest two have both been bottle fed... :(. My 18 mo old was bottle fed because she got jaundice really bad when she was about two days old and spent 3 days in the hospital under the bili lights. We were giving her pumped bottles of breast milk but she wasn't getting any better, even under the lights. When we finally did get her home and back on the breast, she went right back into the jaundice yellow and lethargy, so the doc put her on straight formula and she's been thriving ever since. With my youngest I nursed her for two months, but I had to go back to work full time to make sure that bills got paid and it just got too hard to keep up production working 9 or 10 hours a day.

I would much prefer to be nursing my newborn. But for that to happen I need to not be the primary breadwinner in my house.

Answer 6

I nursed for about 9 months, then gradually switched to formula for another 3 months. He was weaned from formula and the bottle at 12 months (he sort of weaned himself).

Sounds like the 2nd person had a very poor experience with nursing and working. You should know that there are laws mandating that employers give you the needed space and time to pump.

I was influenced by nature: since we're mammals, we make the perfect food for our babies ourselves. Of course I was nervous and unsure of the whole thing, but I also knew that I could try it to see if it was right for me...it was!

Also, once we got into formula it was expensive, messy and WAY more time-consuming. That alone is a good reason to try it!

Answer 7

I breastfed my daughter for the first 3 weeks of her life. I wish that I could have for a longer period of time, but I had to go back to work when she was 3 weeks old, and pumping on the job wasn't possible. The place I worked ( a hospital of all places) would not allow special priviledges as they called them to pump because all other employees only had 1 break a day and since I would have needed to pump at least every 2 hours (at LEAST), it would have been "unfair to the other employees becuase they only get one break a day and I was requesting several" (or so said my employer). It just wasn't a possibility. I'm a stay at home mom now though and I'm expecting baby #2 here soon. I plan to breastfeed this one if everything works out well.

Answer 8

I'm breastfeeding my 2mth old and loving every bit of it! It was amazing when my milk came through 3 days after he was born and how much weight he's put on. It's definitely the best thing for them but I'm sure there are plenty of good quality powder milk out there thats nearly as good as breast milk. I think if you have time to breastfeed, then you should. If you need to go back to work or have other health issues, then I think thats ok too. It can be hard at times to breastfeed when you're out shopping with your friends or sitting down trying to have lunch somewhere... Should try breastfeeding first before you decide on which way you really want to go! Breastfeeding is the best thing for you to bond with your baby too! Bottles can be fed by ANYONE!!! Breast milk can only be fed by YOU (unless you use breast pump...)!!!

Your babies poo wont smell as much if you breastfeed!

Answer 9

Both. I bottle fed my first 2 because i knew I was going back to work immediately. My last 2 I breastfed because I was staying at home. I have no complaints about either one - they were both fine for the situation we were in. My bottle babies weaned at 1 year, My daughter (breast) weaned except for the night feeding at 1 year and my youngest (breast) weaned himself at about 8 months. He didn't like that he coudln't see what was going on around him and just one day refused to nurse anymore. Lol he's still pretty opinionated at 5.

Answer 10

Breastfeeding. The fact that that's what breasts are for, and its what is best for mom and baby. Also I am lazy and poor. And breastfeeding is way easier than bottle-feeding.

Yes I am happy with how things went.

I am currently breastfeeding my 19 month old and 8 months pregnant. The new baby will obviously be breastfed as well and the toddler will wean when he is ready.

Answer 11

My daughter and I enjoyed breastfeeding for the first ten weeks, and then I became ill and could no longer breastfeed bcs of the medication. She switched over to Isomil and then to whole milk at 6 months. No problems.

You've heard of those squirt guns that carry high volumes of ammo--super soakers? My son was a super-sucker. I did everything I could to hang on to his breastfeeding, but I was cracked, bleeding and in pain. When I took him to the pediatrician for blood in his stool, all worried about baby, the pediatrician told me it wasn't the child's blood. It was mine. At that point, I gave up at 12 weeks. He switched to formula very easily and and to whole milk at 12 months.

I wanted my kids to get the best start possible, but Mom has to be comfortable with the choices, too. After all, I was raised on a bottle, and my siblings also. We are all in good health. I breastfed as long as I could, and then made switches when I had to.

Take care!
TX Mom