were you bf or ff?

[foreverastudent]

My Mum was always supportive of me bf (and didnt criticise for either ebf with DC1 or stopping early with DC2). I always took this attitude for granted but reading some of the bullying pressure other Mums have got for whatever choices they've made it sounds like I was vv lucky and should really thank my Mum for being well-informed and non-judgmental.

When she bf me (80s) I get the impression bf was still quite unfashionable and there was more pressure on her to ff than there is now.

So were other peole bf or ff when either was fashionable/unfashionable and has this effected how their Mums (and MILs) have supported them now?

I was bf (born in 1975) as was my sister (born in 1983). Knowing i had been bf and that my sister was made me feel it was what you did and so I bf ds and then dd.

Pretty sure that dh was also bf as were his siblings (born between 1975 and 1991). Neither my mum nor my mil ever suggested I should do anything other than what I was doing which was nice.

My mother bf-ed all 4 of us, with varying levels of success. My older sister for 3 months, my first brother for 4 and my youngest for more than 6, and I remember her feeding him. I was very unwell at birth and was given sugar water and formula in hospital. I had an allergic reaction to the formula and although Mum tried to bf, it never got properly established. I was a very sick baby until i was weaned at 4 months, and had multiple food allergies until 5 or 6. This encouraged me to bf DD, still going at 10 months.

My mil tried to bf DH but was given a timetable which she followed until DH started losing weight and she was then told to wean him at 6 weeks. His first brother had a better start but got nipple confusion and she stopped again at 6 weeks. His youngest brother wad bf-ed until 8 months.

My mother is no longer with us but I think mil has been really supportive. What happened with DH still rankles I think, she feels bad about it even now, but it's clear she was badly advised.

I was BF in 1981 and my mum had no support from the nurses but my grandmothers were both very pro-BF (my mum's mum died when I was 4 but my dad's mum is also v. supportive of me BF my 3yo DS2) and she persevered. I think I may have been mix fed at some point but she was still nursing me to sleep at 11 months.
She was very supportive of me BF although she is a little funny about me still BF DS2. However, she says she accepts that that is her problem and finds it a bit sad that she is uncomfortable about it.

My mother BF both my brother and me in the 70s and I have BF my DDs recently. I do think it makes a difference to what you perceive to be 'normal'. Having said that the vast majority of my friends have also BF including my SIL who was FF. I know very, very few people who have not tried to BF at all and made the choice to FF immediately (in RL)

I was FF in 76. No idea why that choice was made. Don't care either, I'm one of the healthiest people I know. :)

all 4 or us from 25 - 16 now were FF.

All 3 of us were ff. Born 59,62 and 64.

No criticism when bf-ing or ff-ing my babies.
Personal choice in my parents opinion.

my mom started out breastfeeding my sister ('75) but at that time she was in hospital for 2 weeks after birth (normal in germany at that time) and the nurses brought the babies to the mothers every 4 hours to feed. babies where weight before and after every feed and if they didnt drink enough the nurses topped up with formula. mom gave up after a few weeks as milk never properly came in.
when I was born ('76) my mom insisted that I stayed next to her, I was the first baby in germany that didnt go to the baby room [proud emoticon], but they still did the weighing thing and she switched from the forced mix feed to ff after a few weeks again.

ff- the day after I was born apparently she was told she wouldn't be able to keep up with my appetite anyway and was given a tablet to dry up her milk (I was already drinking 4 full ounces every 3 hours). born 1979

We were all BF (81, 84, 85). Mum was FF (she was adopted) but was determined to BF all of us and was therefore very supportive of my decision to BF (though I think she would have been disapproving of any other decision to be honest) and I was brought up to see it as "normal".

MIL FF her two (by choice I think) in the 70s, and although doesn't know much about BF has never been unsupportive.

Both families were quietly and undemonstratively about extended feeding though - mum had much less confidence than I did about DS ever self-weaning (which he did, at just over 2 years of age).

I was ff in the 60's and my sister was bf in the early 70's when ff was still the norm. The only time in my life that I can ever remember my Mum saying she is pround of me is when I'd been feeding DC1 for a few weeks.

To be fair to my Mum I think she would have loved to have bf me but she had the most horrific birth I've ever heard of.

I was BF (1970) and so was my DH (1976) though I am not sure for how long. My mum is supportive of the fact that I am going to breastfeed.

I was ff and my mum has been really supportive of me bf. She said once she wished she had had some of the help that's available now so she could have bf me.

Chocolate Moose, that's so, so sad :(

Mum FF both of us - fed me for two days and decided it was too much hassle (her words, not mine), so switched to bottle, and my brother was FF from the off because she was supposed to be having an operation in the days after. She often says there is a lot of fuss over nothing WRT to BF

DP was FF because he was so prem, but his mum is very pro-BF, and has always been wonderfully supportive.

i was breastfed til i was 2, was born in 1980 so it was still fashionable to FF then although i guess the change over was starting to happen

my mum has been pretty supportive yes, she certainly appreciates why i want to BF, tho at the same time she is quite quick to say "well, if it isn't owrking then FF is fine" or "gosh, it's about time you stopped feeding.."

but i take that with a pinch of salt as I know she is thinking of me

My mum BF 5, (1970's) she said financial reasons were the main reason, but also that it was more convenient and natural, she was quite a country girl so saw animals being fed etc. However she also fed 4-hourly, weaned with solids from 3 months and stopped feeding between 6-8 months, so it shows how advice was different.

MIL FF 3, after BF didn't work for her (she also had twins). She thinks she was badly advised and there is more help now.

Both have always been incredibly supportive of BF-ing (as have my dad and FIL).

My mum BF us to considerable opposition in 1976, 1979, 1982. The two oldest to about a year; the youngest to 21 months.

Bf to a year old. This was 1980 in Morocco. My gran also bf my mum to a year, that was UK in the 50s. I fed both mine to about 8months.

My mother bf all four of us to 12-14 months. All on demand, no timetable etc. She's v supportive of me bf andI grew up considering bf the norm.

My mum BF me until 6 weeks (1974) but her MIL a GP who FF her DC (due to taking no maternity leave in 1940s) said my screaming was because I was being starved.

The screaming continued despite the formula... so my mum BF my 3 younger siblings (76, 97 and 84) and never used formula again.

My mum BF all 3 of us for about 3-4 months I think. I think, though am not sure, her mum BF all 7 of her children. Coming from a family of BFers definitely makes it seem like the natural choice, though my mum did seem a bit when I kept it going for 10 months (though she didn't actually say anything because she's thankfully not the interfering type).

I was bf for first month (88) brother and sister for about three months. I'm bf'ing nearly six months now (yay!) had a lot of support at first but it quickly waned and have heard 'put him on the bottle' a lot.