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.

I don't know about crying but all three of my children were breastfed and all three have very well shaped, confident personalities, even as babies. None of them were typically 'easy' babies, but they all had very well defined characters from an early age, even if they did cry a lot.

Re the crying - I imagine it's much more stressful when you're sleep deprived and it seems to be a judgement on what you, personally, are able to provide your baby, i.e. milk - well I know I felt like that on many occasions in the first few weeks.

It's a really interesting study, possible flaws notwithstanding. I'd be really interested to know how happy those mothers felt their babies were at six, nine and 12 months too though, as many bf-ing mums on here say they feel it helps produce happier, more secure babies/children in the long term.

So, breastfed and mixed fed babies cry more (not because they are communicating but because they are 'badly behaved') and bottlefed babies are overfed. well that's all feeding options out the window, so what to do?
Bet the daily mail couldn't wait to publish its own take on this study: 2 for 1 on criticising mothers. All of them in one fell swoop!
Don't even get me started on that moron woman Claire whatsherface.

My bottle fed DS (bottle fed EBM as he wouldn't latch on) was indeed more content than my exclusively breastfed DD. He was happy to sleep in his bouncy chair or pram, happily play on his tummy and with toys for ages. Also very smiley and responsive.

My DD hardly ever cried either actually, but was more demanding in the sense that she wanted to be carried around all the time, wanted to sleep on me/next to me from day 1, would cry if I left the room etc.

But I'd say both were easy babies/non criers....just that DS did appear to be less needy than my DD.

Really stupid comment by CBC...arghhhh. How can she all herself a "breastfeeding expert"??

Oh god, Clare BLOODY Buymy-Book. I could cry, I really could. I do wish that woman would fuck right off.

Otherwise, I agree with the many wise points made on this thread. I'm so glad to log on and find some sanity. Thank you, MNers.

someone wanted the BBC story

actually the Guardian that I linked upthread was the best so far, as it had a section at the end on "How infants signal their needs to mothers"

Barmy. DS didn't cry much (to me) - BF

DD cries a lot more also BF. however, her needs are not met as quickly as DS so she has to cry to let me know especially when I'm in the middle of dealing with DS. That's the tough life of not being a PFB

I just spent morning in town doing errands, one of which was returning table to ikea. Dd needed feed so I sat on sofa whole ds2 played. There were newspapers out including daily fucking fail. A couple sat down waiting for their goods on other seats with DM. My back is to them and I'm nursing. I hear her saying, "see breast isn't best. A bottle has got to better than sticking your tit in a baby" I have never ever come across this when bfing before and I chose not to rise to it. She'd seen me bfing or I'm pretty sure she did she she went to sit down.

isn't the point that all babies cry (unless you feed on demand on seeing feeding cues - a baby doesn't have to get to the crying stage through hunger atall!) but those fed formula have milk sitting in their stomachs for longer as it is harder to digest and so may not need feeding as soon as a breastfed baby would?

My DS is breastfed and he rarely cries. I think this is such a bizzare way to report the research but of course the Daily Mail will have a shit headline which says something completely different.

3 BF babies here, and none of them cried much because i stuffed a nipple in their mouth every time they squeaked

stupid article.

Just about to come on the ITV lunch time news.

The only cliche Daily Mail trait left would be for them to analyse how Princess Di fed her boys and a compare and contrast sesh on whether Kate should wap out the Royal Banger

We are all looking for some kind of ratification of decisions we made about breast v bottle. Everyone woman has to make her own decision. The media is incessant in its attempts to berate mothers. We will never get it right because there is a whole spectrum of views. This survey doesn't not sound as if it were conducted under scientifically controlled conditions and how could it be. Its a bit like either working or not when you have children. You do what you have to do and what you need to do. Judgement ought not be passed. Media reports need to consider cause and effect; do they ever?

this makes me larf (better that than cry!·) as I have just had my dm to stay for a week and she marvelled that she has only heard DS cry once. (18 m.o. DS) when he was 6m.o. she was always telling me to.'let him cry a bit' and 'stop feeding him all the time, he cant be hungry again' but I really do believe being responsive to him when he was teeny has helped him realize he can communicate now and we will listen. OR we got lucky!

Ha. Just seen the tail end of the itv news. All hail CBC, saviour of womankind.

[tic]

I wonder if the some of the bfing mothers were trying to feed to a schedule a la SWMNBN/or just delay feeding in general and so their babies did cry a lot - just a thought though. I know a fair few mums who have only bf as a last resort, after changing nappy, trying toys, cuddles, distraction, adding/removing clothes before 'resorting' to nursing them rather than nursing them first while trying to work out what's wrong.

It is very subjective how as it's based on parental opinion not 'On Day 1 Baby A cried for 10 mins at 7.05am, 6 mins at 9.19am, 18 mins at 11.46am.......' and using the data to independently judge how often each baby cried and collate the results to give an overall picture.

Would have been even better if the all the mums had been given info on babies feeding cues/satiety signs etc before embarking on the study.

I wish they would just drop the whole terminology of 'breast is best' tbh. Milk from a human female is designed to feed a human baby, surely it isn't rocket science? I think it's fair enough if you can't or don't want to though, but I think it's shame there is so much emphasis put put on BREASTS and BEST, when really it's just the milk and the purpose of your mammary glands producing it in the first place is in order to feed the infant you have given birth to and are nurturing.

I agree as well that it shouldn't be seen as abnormal for babies to cry! I have had three in my time and they all cried. I think i would be quite worried if they hadn't

Well- I had 1 screamer, and 1 silent baby... both were fed exactly the same way.

What I want is the daily mash to come up with "Shock findings: babies cry! Women to blame"

Bleating - It sounds like they are blaming all mothers -either they are crying with hunger because mum is bfing or they are calm as they have been stuffed to the gills with formula. A mother's place is in the wrong.....

Exactly. It's all our fault for having babies...

Of course, when the birth rate drops, it's all women's fault for not having babies (see Immigration passim.)

We're probably the cause of the holes in the ozone layer too - using hair spray to keep looking nice otherwise 'hubby' will stray and the audacity to have a fridge in the kitchen for convenience's sake....

If there is something wrong in the world, you can guarantee the Fail will find a way to blame the female of the species