aibu to love this blog post about why formula feeding is brilliant?!

[girlwithasecretsmile]

I think it's great to have a post talking about good things about formula for once but part of me feels bad for laughing so much.

passmethebottleblog.wordpress.com/

I hated BFeeding and put my son on a bottle at two weeks old, my daughter after one day. It was up to me how I fed my babies, other people can do what they like.

I'm so sick of this shit.
I couldn't care less if you ff your child. I've never made a comment or put anyone down for it. However I breastfed and I've had endless bitchy comments about why am I bothering, is she STILL bf (she's 9 months) when am I going to stop, could I DO THAT in the toilet etc. Maybe bf needs a bit of support rather than constantly being knocked.

Because Yoko it's my life, and if I want to try or not try to get anything I will

I wasn't asking your permission in case that wasn't clear. I don't get (or will I dumb it down for you, understand) extended bf.

I don't think it's natural so I won't be using that term to describe it. It may have been the norm a long time ago but so we're outside toilets, no central heating and woman not being able to vote.

Formula fed infants are at increased risk of gastrointestinal problems due to how it is made, that is an added known risk.
Infant morntality is fortunately low in the UK but although incidence is low deaths do occur particularly in vulnerable groups.
In other less well off countries these added risks are far greater.

If the risk is lower with breastfeeding than with formula feeding, then formula feeding must increase the risk as breastfeeding is the natural state and formula feeding is the variable. You have it the wrong way around, formula feeding is not the default.

I love this blog. I love how she says the forbidden. "I didn't want to do it any more, it was horrible and made me feel trapped. It hurt me and I was exhausted"

because it's true for some people, and yet people aren't accepted as normal when they say this. They get needly comments like "Well you do as you like dear, but i's just a fact that formula babies DIE MORE #soblessed #gladI'mnotyou"

breastfeeding can be a miserable experience, and breastfeeding alone, with no support, can be almost impossible. We don't demand the near impossible about anything else, only from women and their breasts.

Formula does increase risks. When talking about risk, you start from what is the biological norm. It is normal not to smoke, so therefore we don't say not smoking decreases the risk of cancer, we say that smoking increases it (and no, I am not comparing formula to smoking!).

Breastfeeding is the biological norm. Formula isn't. Therefore it is illogical to say that bf decreases risk and logical to say that ff increases it. The increases in risk are small for individual babies - we're talking population-level risks. But they are there, however slight.

She finishes by saying 'I will just say that fed is best and anyone who disagrees can fuck off.' - well isn't she a charmer?

Imagine if that had been the other way around?

Yeah, is a shitty post. Ff is a totally valid choice, but her post is all a bit "haha, joke's on them because breastfeeding's actually totally crap. Losers."

I don't feel I belong in either 'catergory' of BF vs FF. I bf until 10 weeks, then combination fed until 5 months when we switched to formula completely. Surely most other people don't belong strictly in one or the other either?

But it's not the formula itself that increases the risk is it? It's not like the actual drinking of the formula increases the risk. It's the not drinking breastmilk.

@polkydot and @toomuchhappyland have it spot on

You wrote the blog post, didn't you OP?

Imagine if that had been the other way around?

She's saying fed is best though.. so if it was the other way round she'dbe saying starving is best?

I am Constantly getting taken the piss out of here for breastfeeding my one year old. Expectant mothers are told about it the benefits of breastfeeding as they should be , but in practice , most women bottlefeed. Formula feeding is the norm and the most common practice and formula companies are making big money so why on earth does it need further evidence promotion?

It is Socially acceptable to ask a breastfeeding mother when she is going to stop and why she is still carrying on, including by health professionals. It is common to say things like 'my ff children are healthier than the children I know who are bf ', yet nobody dare say the reverse . If anything breastfeeding is frowned upon .

However I just don't get extended bf. A friend fed both hers to 3 and I seriously thought wtaf.

You don't 'get' why someone would give their child milk on a regular basis up until their third birthday?

Or is it because they give them human milk rather than cow's milk? Even more

perfectly gosh

Of course it’s natural! Are you saying I was forcing my 3 year old to BF? How offensive.

What a terrible blog.

Formula feeding is fine but less good than breastfeeding in many ways (for you, not your baby). I think this article is going a bit too far. I get the point, breastfeeding is very much forced down your throats from the minute you fall pregnant but this kind of rent isn't going to change that. What would be helpful I a comprehensive, rational and sympathetic discussion of the pros and cons of BOTH breast and bottle. Ultimately what might seem like a good thing to you may not be so good for others. Some people are happy to sit and feed baby for hours on end, others aren't. Some people don't mind not sharing feeding duties other people have to because of commitments outside their family etc.

@amanduh yes, god forbid anyone come on here with their horrible facts. Unsupportive bitches. Has this country had enough of facts as well as experts?

Breastfeeding is the biological norm for our species. It is an absolute fringe option in his country for some reason. I don't think that reason is because formula feeding mums (i.e. the vast majority) are given a particularly hard time for their feeding choices. The blogger doth protest too much.

Squirrels “fed is best” is taken as the opposite of “breast is best”, no one is suggesting starving children is the best option fgs

Who cares! Six of one and half a dozen of the other.

Hello the problem is it sounds like she's saying "these are all the reasons bf is shit". Not "there are all the reasons I'm happy with my choice to ff", which would surely be the more positive article.

It would be pretty shitty of a bf mother write all the reasons she thought ff was crap, but good on her if she wants to express what she likes about her choice IMO.

It's not the opposite at all though is it?

Fed and breast are not opposites.

I FF and was totally happy with it as I was given no help to bf and then that ship sailed. I cannot be doing with all the angst over it. Everyone knows BF is better for various reasons. BUt FF is not terrible. If everyone who has a huge opinion actually did something to help new mothers (campaigning for better resources/volunteering) vs spouting guilt inducing bollocks we might get somewhere.