To suggest that ff babies are generally more content than breastfed babies?

[mrsb26]

...because they are fuller for longer?

Following on from an article I read recently regarding a study that suggested that of its recipients, the ff babies were generally deemed to be more calm, easy to settle to sleep etc than breastfed babies.

I know this is bound to be a taboo subject, but I must say, as a breastfeeding mother myself to a 4 month old dd, I have considered whether she'd be more satisfied on formula. She's not the easiest of babies and, to me, seems fussier and more demanding than her formula fed peers.

For example, she is really hard to settle to sleep for naps. She will sometimes feed to sleep, but not always (I know this is a debate on itself). I have never been to the shops or out for a walk for half an hour without her fussing (even if it's just for a little bit). She will sit on my knee or go to someone else for five minutes tops before fussing and starting to cry.

I'm not doubting the benefits of the quality of breastmilk, obviously. I guess I just feel like I'm filling up a tank that's emptying as quick as it's filling^^ and that she's never fully satisfied. I know breastmilk is digested quicker, but still.

She has no issues re: reflux, tongue tie or anything either.

Of course there are behavioural differences amongst all babies, but as a general rule, what is your opinion? Interested to hear from anyone who has perhaps breastfed one baby and formula fed another.

Pyjama we're clearly awful people I make them up and take them out with me when I go out -shrug-

Again can you tell whether the Drs and teachers that you see were ff or bf - no you cant, at all. I've always thought the iq thing was a load of bollocks rubbish. I was bf for 6weeks and ff for the rest. I chose to bf because I'm lazy and cheap lol x

Dixie from what I've read and been told the only reason they advise making every bottle fresh is because people weren't making/storing them correctly.
Even now the amount of people I've come across who think it's OK to make a bottle with cold water is shocking.

I make them up there is a safe way to do it.

Unfortunately I see loads of people making them fresh but in an unsafe way.

Yeah it's people making them with cold boiled water that's the problem. Making it in advance and storing it in a fridge or cool box is okay

And why are they fuller for longer? Because formula is harder to digest. Because it is synthetic.

I think you're confusing over-fullness with contentment.

When I was at the hospital I was expressing and had to store the milk in the fridge i fucking hate expressing and the nurses were making up bottles way before they were needed (hot water and then straight in the fridge which (well what my hv has said) is apparently not the done thing surprisingly nothing happened to the ff babies They weren't using the perfect prep machines... I feel for the peeps who have been advised to buy these things x

I don't trust those perfect prep machines. I don't believe a "hot shot" of water will make it safe.

Um...

http://www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/micro/PIFBottlee_en.pdf this is the WHO guidelines for making bottles including making in advance if anyone's interested.

These threads never make people very happy. It's sad. I adored breastfeeding and of course we all know it is best. Some women choose not to do it and I accept their right to make that choice. I think they miss out a lot, not just their baby misses out but the mother too. I am absolutely delighted my grandchild is also being breastfed although I would never say to my daughter how she should feed or bring up her child and would have respected any choice to FF.

The UK has very very low breastfeeding rates which is very sad indeed and this thread probably proves just how many UK mothers choose to use formula and that does sadden me. May be the next generation will gain the pleasure many of us find in breastfeeding because babies sure as hell love it.

The research that has looked at the possible impact of early nutrition on brain development has on the whole only found differences of a handful of IQ points. Something people would know if they'd had so much as a cursory gander at the abstracts.

At a population level this is significant, but the impact wouldn't be noticeable at an individual level, mainly because, duh, not all babies are starting from the same point in terms of IQ.

To be honest the most startling thing about discussions on here relating to feeding in infancy and IQ is the number of people who claim to be extremely bright who seem to have completely overlooked this basic fact: that anecdotal health/development comparisons are completely meaningless when it comes to most epidemiological findings. That's why we need research - because you can't make any meaningful conclusions about these things as individuals.

Even a finding that looks as glaringly obvious to us now as 'smoking causes cancer' took decades to establish using research, because, you know, people who don't smoke sometimes get cancer and some people who smoke live long disease free lives.

Re: 'can't understand how there could be any link between brain development and infant feeding'.

Really? For years people have been suggesting fish oil supplements can impact on behaviour and cognitive function in children whose are deficient in omega oils. Ditto iron. Iron deficiency has a major impact on IQ in children. Breastmilk and formula ARE NOT THE SAME. Formula is missing many dozens of elements found in breastmilk that have evolved over thousands of years to optimise human growth and development. Why on earth is it weird to think that this might have some discernible impact on brain development?

› pdfs › State this is interesting reading

Toby's mum - the 5 or so extra IQ points you might have got from being fed on human milk could have resulted in you being able to understand what the research on IQ development and infant feeding suggests, and why the possible impact of infant feeding will always be indiscernible at an individual level.

Of course you'd have to have read it first

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/11886646/Breastfeeding-does-not-improve-IQ-study-finds.html

I use a perfect prep to make bottles in advance... it's easy and quick

Yes dixie the bacteria can still grow in the fridge so it is of course safer to make them fresh.

Malnutrition in infancy causes low iq. There is plenty of research on this.
If you feed your baby properly, formula or breast milk, so they get what they need to grow then you are unlikely to be effecting your child's iq in any serious way. This is not a reason to bash ff mothers

I can't use ready made because DS is on neocate, otherwise I'd probably do that

mini even the NHS says breastfeeding doesn't increase IQ. I linked earlier.
tali that document I linked to says they may not be safe. Tommee tippee says they are but won't release the evidence of this.
But it does also say risks are minimal.

While it is very true that babies who are breastfed exclusively need to feed more often (especially in the first few months) than their formula-fed counterparts, this does not mean that formula provides better comfort or nutrition. Breast milk is made of specialized fats, proteins, and carbohydrate complexes that are easy for a baby's digestive system to "break down" and process. As a result of the high digestibility of breast milk, babies are able to digest and absorb nutrients of breast milk more easily than they can infant formula, which does not contain this special complex of nutrients. Because babies digest breast milk quickly and efficiently, they are able to feed more often than babies who are fed formula that is harder to digest. It is because of this vast difference in digestibility between breast milk and formula that such different feeding recommendations apply between the two options. For example, pediatricians suggest that breastfed babies be fed on-demand (whenever they are hungry), whereas babies who are fed formula need to adhere to more regularly scheduled feedings, lest the baby become over-fed and suffer digestive problems.

Babies sleep more soundly after being fed formula for the same reason that adults become sleepy after over-indulging on rich, carbohydrate-filled foods. A part of the autonomic nervous system, the parasympathetic nervous system, activates to aid digestion. The parasympathetic nervous system induces the body into rest to ensure that its available supply of energy is directed toward the process of digestion, which is essential for the body to metabolize nutrients so that it can replenish that energy. This is sometimes referred to in casual, non-medical terms as a "food coma", although it is most certainly not a coma, per se. This effect is most noticeable if a person has ingested foods that are difficult to digest (such as heavy fats, complex carbohydrates, or large proteins).

Babies who sleep more heavily after being fed formula are simply experiencing a reaction to a food source that is suboptimal in its digestibility, which is a direct contradiction to the widely-held belief that they are sleeping because they are "better fed". Just as adults experience indigestion, gas, bloating, or constipation from eating too much (or eating foods that are very rich), so can a baby experience these problems from formula feeding. Breastfed babies can also experience problems with digestion, but are far less likely to have these issues than babies who are fed infant formula. A baby is less likely to seek more milk if they feel full due to slowed digestion, so while babies may seem less hungry on formula than breast milk, it does not mean that they are receiving more thorough nutrition by way of formula. Rather, they may actually be over-fed.

www.examiner.com/article/breastfeeding-basics-why-do-babies-seem-more-full-on-formula

Would add, that the evidence on intelligence and infant feeding is very complex and nothing is clear cut.

There were some really good studies that seemed to show that prolonged and exclusive breastfeeding made a difference of about 6 to 7 IQ points, even when the mother's level of education and social class was controlled for (in developed countries there is a strong positive correlation between level of education and income, and likelihood of breastfeeding/duration of breastfeeding that acts as a powerful confounder in these sorts of studies).

However, when the researchers went further and controlled for maternal IQ some of the difference disappeared. That's because it seems intelligent women are more likely to breastfeed, regardless of education and social class.