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AIBU?

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Original poster

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

931 replies

mrsb26 · 08/12/2015 20:16

...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.

OP posts:
Fuckitfay · 09/12/2015 00:06

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Sadmother · 09/12/2015 07:16

Formula is very filling, but it causes a whole host of other problems. I would therefore believe the opposite is true, and my personal experience certainly supports that.

EatMyFoodFeelMyFork · 09/12/2015 07:36

I hate the equation that sleep through the night='good baby', small babies aren't supposed to sleep 12 hours solid, and it's that unrealistic expectation that leads to so many stressed new mums.
In my personal experience, my EBF baby was a pure joy. He didn't fuss at all, in fact, he only made slight cry noises for food. This is also true of friends babies that were breastfed. FF friend's baby was grizzly and suffered from terrible reflux.
Personality is the reason they are what they are, Ds is energetic and occasionally stubborn but such a joyous child even now, and friends fussy baby is now a fussy pre-schooler!

PresidentUnderwood · 09/12/2015 07:37

I'm afraid I agree that my mainly bottle fed baby was hugely easy to settle. Wasn't clingy, happily slept in cot, would go to anyone. DC2 refused bottle and was exclusively b'fed for 8 months - she hated been put down, loathed going to anyone else, would only nap in arms and wanted to co-sleep.

Total bloody shock to the system!

StormyBlue · 09/12/2015 08:28

I thought that it was just a proven fact that formula is harder to digest, and so breastfed babies do get hungry faster? Bit Hmm about all of the "well MY breast/formula fed baby wasn't like that, so you are WRONG".

I mean, I am still breastfeeding my toddler, so I am not exactly anti breast feeding, but I wish we could just discuss these things without taking any suggestion of positivity toward formula feeding as a personal attack which must be shouted at until it goes away. The only reason that this 'positive' exists in the first place is because formula is not as good for digestion, so it's not a clear cut benefit anyway.

Micah · 09/12/2015 08:36

I think it depends on your definition of "content".

Yes I do think ff babies go longer between feeds, which means longer sleep periods and settling into a routine. Bf is hard, unpredictable, and needs quite a bit more work with more frequent feeds huge generalisation

However, I don't think that means that a baby that feeds less often, sleeps more, and is often more "apart" from its mother is happier and more content. Easier to look after, maybe, but you can't extrapolate that to how the baby feels. You could look at it from the angle that because the baby has less contact with a mother and is less dependent it feels isolated and isn't content, has just learned that a bottle is a food source, not a human. Bf babies might be happier because they're pretty much constantly in contact.

Don't confuse behaviour with happiness.

StormyBlue · 09/12/2015 08:38

"I hate the equation that sleep through the night='good baby', small babies aren't supposed to sleep 12 hours solid, and it's that unrealistic expectation that leads to so many stressed new mums."

I don't know about everyone else, but it was the being woken up every few hours for 7 months which was stressing me out! I think that the unrealistic expectation is the one which expects mums to put up and shut up with sleep deprivation because that is best for the baby.

Obviously there are no easy answers, and you are right that it is natural for a baby to wake regularly, but when someone is so sleep deprived that they are considering swapping to formula then the last thing they want to hear is someone telling them that they are putting unrealistic expectations on their baby and if they just accepted that it was normal then everything would be fine. It makes them feel guilty for what are completely normal thoughts and emotions.

All you can really say is that yes, sleep deprivation is shit and used as a form of torture blah blah but if you push through then you will probably feel proud of yourself one day.

pourmeanotherglass · 09/12/2015 08:39

DD1 was more content on formula, because I had problems with my milk supply. I was forced to switch her to formula at 3 weeks old because she wasn't gaining weight, and she went from the 0.3 centile to the 95 centile within a couple of weeks. DD2 would have been happy either way, and was very slowly gaining weight on breast milk, but I switched her at around 5 weeks because she was feeding all the time, and I couldn't cope with toddler DD1 if I spent all day feeding.

LittleLionMansMummy · 09/12/2015 08:39

Breast milk is more easily digested so breastfed babies get hungry again quicker. But that doesn't equate to being more content ime. Ds and dniece were breastfed. They fed lots, on demand. But they settled easily afterwards and rarely cried, providing they were responded to. Ds has always settled and slept well and was a very contented baby. He was also a very 'portable' baby and you could take him anywhere, any time. By contrast the only ff babies I've known have perhaps slept through the night quicker but have been extremely fussy and less easily calmed. That's my view, based on a sample of just 4!

noeffingidea · 09/12/2015 08:40

eatmyfood I certainly never expected my babies to sleep 12 hours, and they probably never have. I don't think I have either.
I was happy when they dropped their middle of the night feed and slept from 12pm- 6am, because that meant I could get a full nights sleep. 6 hours is fine for me.
I have read on here about babies that need breastfeeding every hour or so throughout the night even after a few months old. I don't know if that is normal, but I don't think a bottle fed would ever need feeding that frequently, at least not in my experience.

CultureSucksDownWords · 09/12/2015 08:41

The OP asked for people's experiences, and so people are simply giving their own examples of whether this is true for them or not. The general drift of the thread seems to me to be clearly that it very much depends on the baby. Formula being harder to digest may make some babies more settled than they otherwise might be, but the effect may be very small. It may also make some babies less settled, as they may struggle with digesting formula.

SeekEveryEveryKnownHidingPlace · 09/12/2015 08:42

How could one ever, ever, know? You can't BF and FF the same baby at the same stage of its babyhood to find out!

If we're being anecdotal, it always seems like every FF baby I've met has constipation, but I'm sure that's equally nonsense!

Enjolrass · 09/12/2015 08:46

Yabu.

I breast fed dd and then (when dd was 5 weeks) was admitted hospital and put on morphine. I was very ill. My milk dried up.

She was more content on formula.

Ds wasn't breast fed as I have since had a major operation and my milk never came in. He wasn't that content. Took us ages to find one that was ok and he was drinking 90oz plus a day. We weaned early under medical above as they were concerned the large amount of protein could damage his kidneys.

He was content until he started eating food.

Enjolrass · 09/12/2015 08:47

I know that's not evidence, just my experience. But just trying to show all babies are different.

bumbleymummy · 09/12/2015 08:52

YABU. All babies are different when it comes to sleeping. Also, seeing as bm is specifically designed to be the perfect nutrition for infants maybe something which makes them feel 'fuller for longer' isn't a good thing?

Sairelou · 09/12/2015 08:58

I haven't RTFT. I have 2 children. DS who is now 2 was ff, DD who is EBF is 3 months.

DD is far more contented than DS ever was. She is sleeping through the night already and barely cries. At the end of the day, babies all have separate personalities and if they want to cry, they will do, whether they have been fed formula or breastmilk!

waitingforsomething · 09/12/2015 09:12

I've had 2 ff babies. They've both been grizzly, poor sleeping, discontent babies! Therefore yabu I reckon grumpy babies it's more of a personality thing

HeadDreamer · 09/12/2015 09:16

Haven't read the thread, but I have to reply after seeing your post.

WTF.

I have two EBF babies. Both were put down to naps in cot. Never had to be rocked or fed to sleep. DD1 slept through from around 3mo. DD2 doesn't.

DD2 is 14mo and at nursery. They comment on how contended she is. She's one of the few that self settles in the cot in the nursery room. If you see her rubbing her eyes, you take her to the cot and within 5min she's off to sleep. I see a lot of babies (mostly 9 months and older) in the baby room are rocked or pushed in the pram to sleep so I see their point.

If yours is hard to put down to naps. It's just your baby.

Mrsw28 · 09/12/2015 09:17

I think it's a myth that ff babies are more settled. More truthfully, you can over feed a ff baby to the point where they feel like they've eaten a massive Christmas dinner every meal time and so of course they are going to sleep more quickly after a feed and possibly for longer.

I bf both my babies, DD is only 11 weeks but she is a much more chilled out baby than DS was. She seems to sleep longer at night too.

Elendon · 09/12/2015 09:18

Do what you think is best for you and your baby. I seriously wouldn't sweat it, because it's not worth it.

Give the FF a try, you might find that the fussing increases as the adjustment takes time to settle, or she could just take to it.

I hope whatever you decide you both get some contentment. Good luck!

HeadDreamer · 09/12/2015 09:18

And anecdotally, I was ff and my mum and dad said I had bad reflux and I could not be put down at all during the first few months of my life.

Chchchchangeabout · 09/12/2015 09:20

Can we have a link to the study/article? Any research I've seen suggested no difference between the two so would be interested to see it.

Elendon · 09/12/2015 09:21

Oh and some babies are poor sleepers, others take to it from birth (my 2nd did this - but she didn't nap during the day so much). It's a game of swings and roundabouts.

waitingforsomething · 09/12/2015 09:32

Mr sw ive never been able to overfeed my formula fed babies. They stop drinking when they've had enough and they certainly haven't slept well never mind how much they've drunk

SummerNights1986 · 09/12/2015 09:35

You could look at it from the angle that because the baby has less contact with a mother and is less dependent it feels isolated and isn't content, has just learned that a bottle is a food source, not a human. Bf babies might be happier because they're pretty much constantly in contact. Don't confuse behaviour with happiness

I think this is the biggest load of rubbish I've read recently. An isolated and un-content (in-content?) baby isn't going to lie quietly in a corner FFS. If your baby is unhappy you can be pretty bloody certain they'll let you know about it!

IME (of two), yes, FF babies do often seem more 'content'. They tend to sleep longer - which I do personally see as a sign of contentment - fuss less etc etc.