Breastfed babies cry more

[MamaMaiasaura]

I'm on phone and i dont know how to link NBC story. Basically said bfed babies cry more leading to mums feeling they are satisfying baby and give up. Also suggest ff babies cry less as over fed. They say that giving more realistic views may encourage women to bfeed longer.

What are people's experiences? Ds1&2 didn't seem to cry a huge amount but I felt like I was constantly nursing them. Dd cries often and it is hard going at times.

Idk, my 3 were all bf... Youngest is 11 weeks and cries quite a lot, but he has reflux and I think formula would make it worse.

None of my boys slept great as kids either.

I think where this makes sense js during a growth spurt where it takes time for milk supply to catch up. If ff you just mix up another bottle.

link to story in Guardian

I think where we need to be realistic is about crying. It's a means of communication, not something inherently undesirable!

Babies cry to say they're hungry, cold, wet, lonely, hot, in pain.... It's how they let us know. Hunger is just one reason.

So saying BF babies cry more makes BFing look bad because crying is BAD.

Guardian headline is much better than this version!

www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2084874/Study-finds-babies-fed-formula-milk-easier-to-sleep.html

The 'bf' babies in the study were not necessarily ebf btw. Included mixed fed.

I've just seen daily fail's take: 'is breast really best?'.

I despair.

Also irks that CBC always has celebrity link mentioned.

Right, I'll do as CBC says after all SHE advised KATE WINSLET. That's obviously the moat important credential. .

Ugh. Even the Daily Fail's story was okay (after the awful headline) until CBC chipped in of course, completely ruining everything as usual. What a bloody ridiculous thing to say!

My dd cried all the time - fed until 17 weeks (mixed from 3). My ds ebf still going strong at 10 m and hardly cries at all.

Different children and all that but I think my mn research contributed to a much more successful experience this this time. In particular I fed my ds whenever he even squeaked in the early days - v different from my dd who I tried to put in a 3 hr routine!!

1st time mums need more help with establishing breastfeeding - it hurt so much with my dd I struggled to establish a supply and spent the first 6 weeks in tears. Of course I had an undiagnosed infection ( I genuinely thought my nipples were going to fall off) but was persistently told by various hcps that it was normal. I eventually saw a lovely hv (at about 6 weeks) who got me swabbed and treated. I clearly had a nasty infection as had gp, midwife ( who I had been discharged from weeks previously) and hv all phoning manically to get me to pick up prescription which cleared up my problems in ONE day. By then my supply was damaged and dd preferred the speed of bottles so I was doomed from the start.

With my ds I did my own research and past the initial discomfort it has been easy
And much more convenient than the faff of bottles

Wouldn't it have been so much nicer if the headline, instead of reading "Breastfed Babies Cry More", had said something like "Breastfed Babies Communicate with their Parents More".

What the headline infers and what the article actually says are two very different things. Unfortunately many people won't get past the headline.

Is breast really best? Fuck off!

Also, who really knows whether their baby cries a lot? It's not like most of us have a statistical sample worth of babies (100?). I don't really know if bf DS cried a lot or not very much compared to other babies. I'd actually hazard "not that much" as he was always a good sleeper so didn't have that many hours in the day left to cry but I don't really know that for a fact.

That DM article (despite its typically inflammatory headline), goes on to say that FF babies are overfed and that's why they don't cry. It also says that they learn to overeat because it's comforting. Talk about infuriating everyone, however they feed their baby!

Also, (another one) this is based on a self- assessment survey. This is known not to be a very reliable technique where the sample has a big demographic bias because it's highly possible that perceptions differ between the two sample groups. They may have adjusted for this I guess, but I wouldn't bet on it.

e.g. we know that bf mothers tend to be older mothers. Is it possible that older mothers worry more about their babies crying/are more anxious than younger mothers and so perceive the crying as worse?

RealLife - good point re crying. I say dd cries often but really does she? She's just slept 11-6.30 fed slept fed and sleeping now (I meant to do preschool run argghh). But because I'm feeling pulled in all directions it's felt more. Got perspective now.

Can someone link bbc story in please. ThR daily mail one is as always shit

I also wonder whether they adjusted for dummy usage.

I note that it was all on the mother's reporting of the behaviour of babies - which is notoriously unreliable - I know that I've read posters on here at the end of their tether with babies who behave pretty much as mine did, yet I've always described mine as a good boy and an easy baby - I think it just depends what winds you up/what your expectations of your baby are.

Agree with the self assessment thing - I wouldn't say my DS cried a lot (bf), but in the early days he was quite grumpy in the evening, whereas my friend's DS cried "all the time". When I asked her though, it turned out he was just grumpy in the evenings. So, about the same crying for both babies but we perceived it differently (she is a drama queen btw!).

Sorry, x post with chunkypickle!

Because there are sone good points being made here. Why if the assumptions of the study are wrong.

What if the conclusion might be : all babies cry to communicate. Some mothers choose not to use a pacifier and/bottle. Some mothers have a greater sensitivity to baby's cries. Of the mixed fed group there could be a host of other factors too.

X-Post RealLife.

Mama - exactly - I do remember spending evenings pacing with a baby who refused to settle, but I seem to forget those very easily (possibly sleep deprivation) - he's slept through about 3 times in his life, and still feeds many nights every 4 hours at 17 months, yet I feel he's a good sleeper, whereas other people are horrified at it.

Thinking about it, I only have one, and I work from home so my life is generally easier so I can ignore more challenging behaviour perhaps than those with many children/who work away from home so that's something else they needed to have controlled for if this study is to be believed.

Personally I think it's just a sneaky way of getting the 'FF babies are over-nourished' meme out there.

"It is often said that breast is best. But bottle-fed babies are the best behaved." - daily fail manages to piss me off in its opening paragraph. Because obviously crying baby is just being a little git, right?

My theory (helps keep me sane!) is that bf babies seem to cry more because they are, in general, used to having their needs met immediately. Food, comfort - nipple in mouth quickly. Works for my son, but he does get irate quickly - when he wants something he lets me know and doesn't stop until that need is met. Which is biologically correct, IMO.

Formula fed babies are, I would imagine, again used to having needs met but with a slight delay - bottles need to be made/cooled. They're also more likely to be fed to routine than on demand - therefore demand isn't made as often, thus less crying.