Help! Am I Evil For Enjoying Bottle Feeding?!

[jodie22]

I have been bottle feeding DS since birth - thoroughly enjoy doing so and sharing with DH & close rellies. I've given up work and loving spending every minute of every day with him. However, I'm still being made to feel guilty for the bad start this is giving DS healthwise. Been trawling the net and parenting books but can see no real statistics to tell me how likely I am not to bond with DS, or exactly how many breastfed children are healthier than those on bottles. Can anyone quote any figures at me, or even reassure me that I'm not the only one who feels bottle feeding is a good thing?!

[Trifle]

Bottle feeding is marvellous, thoroughly recommend it and believe it or not it does produce extraordinary healthy children. However, you have really set yourself up for the breast feeding brigade who will no doubt pounce will glee at the thought of bombarding you with every statistic going into what a horrendous choice you are making, scaring your child for life etc so watch out.

[Tinker]

Who is making you feel guilty? Guilt is self-induced, surely?

[moondog]

Really Trifle??
Where are they then?
Glad you're having a lovely time with your baby Jodie22.

[nemo1977]

Jodie like you I have bottlefed DD from birth. I BF ds for 4wks and hated everyminute this time I have enjoyed all my time with DD. It isnt about guilt but what is right for you.

[fisil]

I enjoyed bottle feeding much more than breast feeding. I enjoyed the closeness which I just couldn't get with breat feeding. I also enjoyed the convenience of bottle feeding. Here are some stats: fisil's ds1 & ds2 are gorgeous (although they did have some breastmilk at first - because I wanted it to be better, but for me it just wasn't)

[spursmum]

I loved bottle feeding Ds and he has a cast iron immune system. He managed to bypass this horrible sickness bug with just a fever for a few days and loss of appetite!!
Doctor recommended having him tested and using that for a vaccine!!
Ignore everyone and be happy in what you are doing. Happy mum= happy baby!

[jodie22]

Thank you Trifle and Moondog - feeling better already! Only feeling guilty due to wife of a close friend constantly telling me that her son would never catch DS's conjunctivitis as he is soooo much healthier! Oh, and I was waiting for the 'breastfeeding brigade' statistics really as she had no hard evidence!

[WigWamBam]

I'm one of the "breast-feeding brigade" who believes it's no-one else's business how anyone feeds their baby, and if someone is happy with their choice then that's brilliant. Bottle feeding isn't bad, it isn't a bad start; it's simply the choice that someone makes for their baby. I do believe that breast is best, and if that makes me one of the "breastapo" then fair enough, but I also believe that it's only best if the mother wants to do it.

What's important is that both mother and baby are happy, and you sound as if you are ... and that's fantastic. No need to feel guilty about the choice you have made and no need to wonder if you're not likely to bond - fathers can't breast-feed but still manage to bond.

I'd recommend that you stop trawling the net for figures - the evidence that you haven't harmed him is in your own happy, healthy baby. And as for the conjunctivitis thing ... my (breast-fed) dd had conjunctivitis three times before she was three months old so that shoots that theory out of the water!

[OldieMum]

Jodie22, forget it. Just enjoy your baby. I'm a great believer in statistics, too, but my DD (3), who was predominantly bottle-fed from 8 weeks, is clever and healthy and we've bonded brilliantly. I would have preferred to breastfeed her all the way, but could not - not enough milk. I felt bad about it, too, but now it all feels very distant. I will try to bf DS (on the way), but will not feel guilty if this doesn't work out.

You're right - there is an upside to it. I remember lots of eye contact, smiles, stories and songs while feeding her, as does DH.

[tiktok]

Jodie, do you want the stats?

Or not?

I am happy that mothers are happy :)

So one (count 'em) person has made the point that your baby (who has conjunctivitis) will not be able to pass the infection on to hers....she's probably right, though if she is 'constantly' telling you this, you'd be justified in asking her to change the record!

She's not really "making you feel guilty" , is she? More like simply pissing you off!!

[GDG]

Sod figures - if you are happy, your baby is happy healthy, who really cares about figures?!

Figures tell you all sorts of things like if you formula feed your child is more likely to be obese, have numerous diseases and infections, have allergies such as eczema and asthma. Mine don't have any of these things so I really couldn't give a stuff!

[poppiesinaline]

bottle feeding does have pros. Agree with what people have said so far on here. Whether you bf or bottle feed bears no relevance on how you bond with your baby.

Enjoy I say. :)

[GDG]

Indeed fisil - it doesn't do bonding/closeness any good at all if you hate every moment of it, end up in tears adn resent it!

[flutterbee]

God I love bottle feeding just enjoy your baby whilst there young enough to be fed like that.

[CountessDracula]

NO you are not evil!

[jodie22]

thanks - I've decided you're all my new best friends!

[VeniVidiVickiQV]

Not evil but you really ought to have grown out of it by now

[jodie22]

thanks - I've decided you're all my new best friends!

[jodie22]

sorry for the double entry - computers got a mind of its own! off to bottle feed and love every minute now1 (ps that took me ages to get VeniVidiVickiQV!)

[VeniVidiVickiQV]

LOL!

[lazycow]

I breastfed all the way through with 1 bottle of ebm a day for the first few weeks but I gave that up later. For me on the very few (about 3) occasions I gave a bottle I preferred it to breastfeeding but I have gone on (and on an on ) already in other threads about how much I hated bfing until ds was about 7 months or so.

I have never understood the 'you feel closer' view. When bfing ds would just stare ahead and I couldn't see his eyes. It was lovely giving him a bottle and looking into his eyes. Also 'No pain' yeah !!!. I just couldn't do the bottles though as I was really too disorganised to get all that sorted every day. Also I could never work out how to make sure the bottle was ready on time - it always seemed easier to breastfeed despite all the other downsides.

[expatinscotland]

Don't let people feel guilty! I bottlefed DD1 from about day 2 and we have a great 'bond'. She was only ill once in babyhood - for 24 hours - with a stomach bug that felled lots of kids around her for far longer. FWIW, she didn't get conjunctivitis, either.

Breastfeeding does help the immune system, but it doesn't guarantee they'll never catch anything. My grandmother's children were all breastfed till the age of 2, one died from Spanish Flu, the others all got childhood illnesses like measles, rubella, etc. (this was in the 30s and 40s).

[Normsnockers]

I enjoyed looking into ds's eyes whilst bottle feeding too. I loved bottle feeding, don't feel guilty if you feel it's giving you a lovely bond with your baby. Enjoy !

[Blu]

No statistic refers specifically to YOUR baby. Overall, yes, the indicators show breast milk as healthier. That fact is easily available, but it doesn't mean that every bottlefed baby is going to be less healthy than every breast fed baby - far from it.

I am pleased you are enjoying your baby and have been able to make a choice which is the one you wanted and right for you.

[teacups]

Glad you are having a great time with your baby Jodie...you have found a way of feeding him which works for the pair of you and you are both happy. That's the best way for your family and the most important thing. Go for it girl!! Long may it continue.