Do you breast or bottle feed?

Question

im just curious about other mothers and what choice they made
im a big fan of breast feeding i plan on continuing for as long as i can, and i know some mothers have difficulty doing so,

but for those who didnt try breast feeding before they gave their baby a bottle, why?

i honestly didnt mean for that to sound judgemental, i do understand that some mothers cant brest feed, i was wondering why some dont even when it is possible.

Answer 1

I breastfeed and I have since my son wa born. He's now just about 5 months old and my goal is a year + maybe even 2 years. As long as he wants to continue. I didn't want to formula feed because #1 breastmilk is the perfect food for a baby, #2 it boosts the immune systems and #3 formula is really expensive!

Answer 2

Personally, I made the choice to breasfeed when my son was born. He is now 16 months and on whole milk. I truly miss it and wish that I was still doing it. Next time, I will probably try and do it longer than a year. It was a wonderful bond to have.

As much as I think breastfeeding is great, I am a prime example of the fact that it does not make your kids smarter or help them to not have a weight problem. My older brothers were strictly formula and they are thin and very intelligent. I grew up very overweight as a child and always had to study really heard to get an A. I don't push anybody because I realize that it is a personal choice that needs to be made and whatever choice a mother makes is fine. The baby will turn out just fine either way.

Answer 3

I never can understand why some people get so offended by this subject.. it boggles my mind. Anyways, I am a breastfeeding Mom all the way. I had a seriously challenging first month with my son.. because of extremely sore and cracked nipples, latch problems, a flat nipple for 2 weeks.. but I just kept on perservering and I am really happy I stuck with it. Now everything is great and I am planning on breastfeeding for a year. I also pump every day for backstock.. breastfeeding my baby is really important to me and I don't want him to go without the benefits of it.
For those who can't breastfeed because of reasons out of their control: My heart goes out to you.
For those who chose not to: No hard feelings toward you.. it's a personal choice and everyone has that right. I don't judge a mother either way. Formula is also healthy for babies otherwise it wouldn't be on the market.

Answer 4

I would have breast fed my son but I wasn't able to due to medications I was on for 2 different infections. So I had to pick the next best thing. I was planning on pumping and breastfeeding when I was off the meds but the meds I was making me sleep a lot and wasn't able to pump. And when Iw as off the meds I saw the bond that my son and husband had made so I continued to bottle feed. He is a perfectly healthy baby at 8 months and 20 lbs. So I don't think it made that much of a difference. He also has 5 teeth and has been crawling since he was 5 months old.

Answer 5

I started out breastfeeding. However, I did not produce enough for my guy. He would nurse for awhile but either didnt get anything or enough so I would make him a bottle. After 2 weeks, I gave up and tried pumping which didnt work that well either.

am I happy with my choice? Yes and no. i am glad he got the important colostrum in the first 2 weeks. I am glad my husband is able to feed him if i am sick. But it did bug me not to nurse.

And it is really sad how some breast feeding moms make it out that if you do not give the boob then you are a horrible mom. There is nothing wrong w/ bottle over boob. It just makes me so mad that they think they are better then other moms. I mean at least the baby is growing and getting fed.

Please note: i know not all moms are like that. just gets me mad that i go through breastfeeding questions or formula ones and all the mom's that use formula are thumbed down or insulted.

Answer 6

I plan on trying to breast feed w/ this one. However, I have a (benign) mass in my breast that sometimes hurts and some extreme scar tissue pain from a previous surgery so I'm not sure how bearable it will be.

With my 1st, he was born 1 month premature and we had some problems w/ the latching. I pumped and pumped for 6 weeks but my milk supply finally depleted. I hope to have better luck this time around, formula is so expensive.

Answer 7

i think of maximum folk have listed the main important modifications right here. basically a pair of techniques to function. Breast milk has the fore milk (watery, thirst quenching milk) and hind milk (rich, fatty and relaxing milk) which follows a couple of minutes later. once I convey, that each and every person gets blended at the same time, so in specific circumstances my toddler has to have some water as properly to be sure his thirst is quenched. I went returned to artwork whilst my toddler grew to become into 3 months, so pumping grew to become into the only way he gets my breastmilk in the day time. So from that time of view, that's a actual helpful. yet once I had the alternative between breastfeeding or pumping, i could choose for right away from the breast every time.

Answer 8

hey, yeah, not a mother i know, but a good list of reasons why nothing based on cows milk should be given to ANYBODY can be found here

http://members.tripod.com/~josquin/milk.htm

2 Hanna M,
Breastfeeding should never hurt,
if it does you most likely have the latch wrong.

Engorgement does hurt, but it subsides relatively quickly and if you breastfeed and pump at the same time, you will likely be able to prevent engorgement from getting to the point of hurting.

there are other ways to alleviate engorgement as well
just check the sites usually posted and you'll get all your info.

@keonlisen
it isn't the fact you bottlefeed that gives you the negs
its the reasons women use for it. that gets the negs.
most reasons that get negs are for stuff that are easily fixable.

Answer 9

I chose to bottle feed because I was in graduate school taking seven classes and was also working part-time...I just simply did not have the hours and hours to nurse. My son, who is now 5, did not catch a cold or become ill until he was 2 (and at that time he started a private daycare)...he is intelligent, creative, curious and humorous....so anyone who knocks the best formulas out there are just fooling themselves (some say intelligence is based on if the baby was breastfed). It's a mother's personal choice and no one else's business. If you want to be your baby's personal food supply day in and day out with no help and no sleep, by all means...go for it. The health of the baby obviously isn't determined by exclusive breast feeding. My niece is breastfed and CONSTANTLY sick...month after month. I could go on and on but, I won't. I don't care about getting a thumbs down...this is my personal response and some may not like it.

Answer 10

I b/fed my son until he was 6 months with the odd bottle. At six months, I was told to stop by my doctors so I could take PND tablets.
I b/fed my first daughter exclusively until she was 1.
I'm currently b/feeding my 7 month old daughter. No bottles yet!