Is there any difference between FF & BF babies in your opinion?

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I FF my first but now thinking about BF for my second. I wonder though from people's experiences on here, what difference in any did you see in a FF vs BF baby?

I'm not wanting to start a controversial thread, fed is best and I don't judge anybody for how they decide to feed their child. I just want opinions.

I don't think it makes a huge amount of difference to the child but mums who breast feed (past the 6 week mark) tend to be more relaxed out and about as no bottles to mix up and if babies are fractious you just feed them

I don't see any on the breastfed one apart from one person saying that breastfed better bond. Not true.

I've had 5 and bf them all for varying amounts of time (5 months to 21 months)

Youngest is 16 now, so it was a while ago! But they're all really healthy - I can count on one hand the amount of times they've needed to see a doctor for illness.

Obviously I don't know if that was down to being bf - I wasn't for very long (6 weeks at most I think) and I also rarely need to see a doctor or get ill.

Mine were a mix of great sleepers and awful sleepers, so I'm not sure how much how they're fed has to do with that - I think it's just luck (and a baby that's read the book that says they're supposed to sleep😂)

The main reason I bf is because I'm lazy and it meant I didn't have to get out of bed in the night and didn't have to do any washing up.

No parent knows - they don't know if their individual baby(ies) would have been just as settled on BF and FF, had less/more allergies, immune systems, higher/lower IQ etc etc etc.

So all you can do is look at the research.

I don't think there's a difference. I breastfed both my sons, my first only until 6 months as he was premmie and I was getting paranoid about his weight gain it was slow and steady and if I had more confidence or reassurance I would have breastfed longer. So he was bottle fed after that. My second breastfed until he was 3. I think the only thing that might affect the baby is the happiness or how stressed/tired the mum is. I found breastfeeding very easy and because we coslept until a year old it meant I could get an OK amount of sleep as he could just latch on and off without me waking. I think that if breastfeeding doesn't click it's not something to be stressed or feel bad about and that's when formula is great. I think if something is making you stressed and unhappy why carry on when there are alternatives.

what difference in any did you see in a FF vs BF baby?

In the UK whether a baby is FF or BF mainly depends on a mothers socio-economic class and/or ethnic background.

As PP have pointed out as we have access to clean water, vaccinations, etc the biggest differences in child development is not on how the baby is fed for their first year but on social-economic differences.

BTW My mixed fed DD slept well but a friends' mixed fed DC didn't. My DD's cousins who were also mixed fed sleep also varied as babies and toddlers. One had to be driven around to get to sleep there as his sibling didn't.

Oh and OP the fact that you started this thread to ask the question is a good indication, regardless of how you feed your baby, that your child is more likely to develop well.

I bf my three for 4.5 years, just over 3 years and 3.5 years respectively. Eldest had some formula in his first four weeks as we had a bit of a time establishing bf. Younger two never had any formula.

They are all in robust health, for which I'm very grateful. It is, of course, impossible to say what influence bf may have had on that, but I do think it probably helped their immune systems certainly when I was feeding them - of course they got ill, but never seriously or for long - and possibly beyond. And it was just incredibly helpful, when they were ill, to be able to hydrate/nourish them that way. Beyond the initial weeks with my first, the sheer lack of faff involved in bf was a major plus point for me.

There are studies that suggest a degree of protective effect from childhood leukaemias with bf. I believe the same is true of SIDS.

They're all bright but dh and I were formula fed (me exclusively, him mainly) and so were we. I certainly wasn't bf thinking I was gaining IQ points for them or anything like that.

My first was FF and my second was breast fed til nearly 3!

I've found no difference at all, apart from my FF child had a lot less viral infections than my youngest but that could be different exposure levels.

My BF baby is also a terrible sleeper actually, he never learned to settle himself without a boob and now he's nearly five he still struggles and cries every time he wakes up. But that's because I let him breast feed for sleep for so long (don't do that!)

To be fair, you can do that formula feeding too.

There is so much about having to hold a screaming baby while waiting for milk. I’ve never had that. Sterilised bottle and a ready made milk when out, just open it and pour it in and done, or in the middle of the night (my babies were fine with room temp milk), or a tommee tippee machine ready in a couple of mins (please don’t let this turn into a TT slanging match, they are only dangerous with human error of not using correct filers or cleaning them regularly).

Or you get into a routine and know they will be hungry every 4 hours and pre emt they hunger cries.

When my eldest was a baby, it was 24 hours of bottles made up in the fridge and then heated in hot water or microwave (even in NICU before I get jumped on!).

no difference in mine at al and they are all in their 30s

FF our twins. They are never sick and are really tall and healthy. Never had any pain or problems with feeding and our bond is strong.

So many factors influence life. I think factors such as the happiness of the mother has a much greater impact on the health and future of everyone involved.

I BF all 4 of my children. They are all very different.
Some slept well, some didn't. 2 get ill fairly regularly, 2 don't. 2 are very smart, 2 are at an average level. 1 of them was always at the high end of the size charts, 1 of them always at the low end, 2 remained average sized. 1 has eczema and very mild allergies, 3 have none. I had PND with 2 out of 4.

I don't think (in my non-expert opinion) any of this stuff is down to BF or FF. Do whatever you want to do/whatever fits your circumstance. I breastfed because it was easier than farting around washing, sterilising, measuring, cooling etc!

This is the most absurd thread ever! Who cares if Johnny was bf and has asthma or Lucy was ff and eats all her vegetables?? Differences between bf and ff are real but small enough to.only be apparent at a population level. Anecdotes are irrelevant. If you're interested in the differences just google the studies.

Teeth. I think they are straighter and less need for braces.
Otherwise not really, not in a measurable way.

The one and only difference (after getting past sore nips) is that it's easier for you

Both mine were breastfed. Both asthmatic and with an allergy each (egg/dairy). Both fairly smart. Neither slept well.

FF babies seem more settled and predictable to me, but that’s probably my envious sleep deprived brain.

I don’t think you can tell the difference once on solids.

My first was formula fed due to her being early and underweight the stress of trying to breastfeed was too much for me so we formula fed.

My second I breastfed.

No noteable difference in them.. I think BF baby actually get poorly more often but I don’t think it’s rated to how they were fed tbh.

One massive noteable difference at the time though, was that both as newborns suffered an incredibly inflamed and sore baby acne covering their entire face, belly and back. My formula fed baby was given lotion for months and it didn’t get better until she was about 4 months.

My breastfed baby suffered the same awful inflamed acne/rash and I smothered him in my breast milk after a bath and his skin was almost completely clear after 48hours.

When it comes to the healing powers of breast milk it is absolutely second to none and I will never stop shouting about it. But when it comes to which child is ‘better’ then I don’t think you could pick a breastfed child out of a crowd so who actually cares?

There are way too many variables to narrow outcomes down to whether a child was formula or breast fed. Just do whatever suits you and your circumstances.

Their poos can be quite different

Generally, FF babies seem to sleep better and for longer periods

True (anaphylactic) dairy allergy is much more common in breastfed babies. Recent studies show the best way to prevent it is to feed cow's milk formula regularly before the age of 3 months.
This may not seem like a big deal but milk is the leading cause of food anaphylaxis in children in the UK.

With regards long term impact (mental, social, physical), it's impossible to know on an individual basis. IMO it makes little to no difference

No difference in physical health between my FF DD1 and BF DD2.

Massive difference in mental health though - but I fed to natural term not just the first 2 years.

Not true about ff sleeping better. It's down to the baby and genetics.

You’re on a road to nowhere with this thread OP!

A lot of anecdotal stories won’t help you one way or another. You might as well ask people if they notice any difference between buttering their kids toast with butter or margarine.

@blackpanth
Do you have a source for this?

It's definitely a trend amongst the people I know / groups / what I read online that FF babies tend to have bigger feeds and sleep better at night while BF babies "snack" more, so have little wake ups, especially if co sleeping