What are the good things about babies being on formula..? Have a feeling my ds is going to end up on formula

[whiteandyellowiris]

So trying to see the bright sides

So far can think of at weekends hd can help with night feeds

And I don't have to wear clothes where I can get to my boobs all the time

But I like the way bf all the baby really wants is his mummy for the milk and it's something else only I can do so granny's can't interfere too much

And I like the way I get to sit a lot bf

It's a good excuse for a rest

I genuinely wonder why mixed feeding isn't 'promoted' more, it can be a really good option surely? But no one really mentions it much it's either BF or FF.

You won't end up STILL bf-ing two years down the line (really not a stealth boast) wondering how the hell you're ever going to stop, with one normal sized boob and one freakish gigantic one because your DC inexplicably decided one day that he only wanted to feed from one boob from that point forward.

white - the pumping is awful, it is bringing back horrible memories for me, please do whatever is best for you and your baby. It is such early days after your CS. Sending you lots of love and positive vibes.

It is such a common problem after a CS but for some reason no one ever tells you that it will be harder to establish BF.

It's very early days. Mix feeding isn't bad!

OK, positives (am FFed DD now):

DH can do feeds (my DH does one at around 10pm every night, just means I get a chunk of sleep, she's not feeding in the night now, but he does'nt want to give me back this feed!).

FFing positioning is better for eye contact with your DC than breast feeding (when they are normally looking at your boob)

FFing is quicker per feed normally.

If you want to leave your baby for something like a hair cut or lunch with a friend, your DH can have your DC with little stress that the food source isn't there.

You can drink wine without having to do the 'pump and dump'!

Oh god your second last post there makes me shudder with the memories. You poor thing. Just think of how lovely it would be to just be focusing on your gorgeous baby without all this pressure and palaver.

But there's no way around it, you will be sad if you decide to give it up, everyone is. Even if you've been at it for ages. It's a huge drive to feed your baby yourself and in times past he would not survive if you couldn't. But the sadness passes. It took a good while on ds for me to come to terms but it faded much more quickly on dd.

Oh, sounds like you're really going through it at the moment. Just wanted to add that next time around I really hope that if I end up FF I won't have the sadness that came with it the first time.
whiteandyellow there are so many emotions post birth and I hope you're getting the support you need to make the decision that suits you and that you're happy with.

If I could turn back the clock I would have continued to try and BF just as hard but I would take away all the sadness and guilt I had when I decided to stop as it was the right decision for us. It clouded what should have been a beautiful time.

Thanks a lot for the support

If I end up ff or mixed feeding I'm going to try really hard not to get sad over it
Had enough of worrying about everything all the time

Big hugs, OP. I hope you find the right solution for you and your baby soon (ebf, ff or mixed) and don't feel pressured into one approach or another.

Speaking as the mother of an ebf, I am deeply envious of the extra sleep ff mothers get, along with the ease they can arrange babysitting feeds, if they want the evening out/off.

Don't be sad over your feeding choice; you are just doing your best by your baby. He will still be getting warmth, love and security from you, as his main caregiver.

I had an emergency c section and my baby lost 11% of her BW. I exclusively breast feed. It can be done. Believe me. If that's what you want to do you can.

Please can everyone stop repeating the lie that FF babies sleep better. The research done says that BF babies do. It's a myth. End of

MrsMartin

'If that's what you want to do, you can'

In what way is that helpful? Jeez. I wanted to - I failed. I'm a positive ff-er now.

Plus it's bolleaux that bf babies sleep better. Ff ones do. Bf mums sleep better if they co-sleep, as they don't have to fully wake to feed whereas obviously you have to warm up some milk if you ff. But ff babies sleep for longer chunks, earlier. Truefact.

Oh not sure if you've been told, but the easiest way to ff in the night is: next to your bed have one empty sterilised bottle, one sterilised bottle with half the water you need in it, seal and leave to cool, A thermos flask of boiling water and a pot with the right amount of formula for a full feed. Baby Wakes up, pour in to empty bottle half the water you need from the flask of hot water, add formula (this kills any bugs in it as the powder isn't sterile), then add the cooled water from the other bottle to get the right amount of water to powder. This is drinking temperature with no having to boil kettles in the night and no faffing trying to cool a bottle when you've got a screaming baby.

Mrs Martin I don't think it's as easy as if you want to you can...

It's not very helpful

For what it's worth I did breast feed my dd for nine months
So I'm not totally clueless

I'm just trying to look for a few upsides as I've been through a lot and want to focus on the positive things in my life

Other posters have helped he by making me realise that even if my ds ends up on formula
Does not mean I have to pass him around
That I can say no sorry that's my job

And others things may fern make my life a tiny it easier like fir night been invited t a pub meal
And if I was to say give ds a ff just before going chances are we could actually all enjoy a meal out rather than me breastfeeding constantly

Well I think if I switched I would use the ready to use formula
I know it expensive but it will stop me worrying about bugs

But I could still do the same as you suggest

Take a sterilised bottle upstairs
Then feed during the night in bed if I want to or need to

The positive in this case is a healthy baby. You don't need any other positives. Not feeding your baby from your body does not make you a bad mother.

Last week I came across the picture of dh giving ds is first ever bottle. The sheer joy on his face at cuddling and feeding his son reminded me again why ff was not bad.

Yeah your right

A healthy baby that is not losing weight
Is I the biggest positive at all

Seriously thanks for the support I do appreciate it

I was in the same position as you. I could repeat the same advice over what has been said but there is no point. But breast feeding can be done with proper support.

shredded hoops kellymom.com/nutrition/starting-solids/solids-sleep/ Don't talk shite formula has NO proven benefits to sleep. It is a myth. Stop repeating it as it is a lie

DS and O were both traumatised by his forceps birth (he had shoulder distocia, recovered perfectly after 4months; I still have a seriousky fucked up fanjo two years down the line), bf was an absolute nightmare.
With a heavy heart we went the ff route, baby fed happily, we didn't find it too much of a faff to make/sterilise etc the bottles (we use disposable napoies, more faff to wash and dry everyday imho, but different people see different faff in different places!).
DH has a lovely bond with DS as we both fed and cuddled lots - you can't not cuddle when ff. (Yes, I'm aware DPs can bond in other ways if bf).

I felt bad about ff off and on for about 4 months, but never more than a 'sigh, what if...?' my DSil had her pfb 3 months before mine and was happily, easily bfing, so it was a bit in-my-face, but no one has ever, in two years, made a comment about my ffing.

DS is tall, chubby-ish, super-active (walked at 8mo3wks, now climbs stairs without holding on, runs around like a loon), babbles away, eats solids like a fiend etc etc.

All the 'reasons to ff' seem very selfish: wine, painkillers, give baby to someone else etc etc. But the most important thing is what is best for you AND baby at the moment and in the long run. Now DS is in nursery you can't tell who has been bf, who ff.

I send you and a ((hug)) , it's a difficult decision.

I thought ff increases the length a baby sleeps, but I've just started giving a night ff (to give me a break as I am getting so run down) and I hate to say it, but I've noticed baby can go for the first half of the night as long as 5 hours on the breast but doesn't go longer on formula. If the ff is give after midnight he sleeps sometimes less than when breastfed! Which is a completely surprise to me and does support the idea that research is now proving there isn't a whole lot in the truth about ff lasting longer overnight.

That said, ff is heavier and bulkier than breast milk, and I know babies seem to last around 3 hours on formula in the day time (friends experience, not mine). And my breastfed baby only goes 1-5-2 hours during the day still at almost 5 months old

oh I've thought of another one, you won't get a freezing cold side boob when feeding your DC when out and about over winter! (I remember hating that with DS, he was born in a very cold winter, and apparently this year will be a cold one)

Yes at night I used ready made cartoons and fed in bed. You still have to wake often your baby is tiny. I took sterile bottles up and cartons of milk. DH would quickly open and pour the milk while I reached dd out of bed and lifted her onto my lap sat up in bed, just as I had done when breast feeding. Then I'd feed dd the room temp carton ff. then cuddle to sleep and re settle in cot. Worked really well.

Did you have I'V fluids in labour? Had baby been checked for tongue tie? How are his nappies? Weight isn't the only indicator- with you having a c/s it could just take on her an just saying "top - up" isn't really helping a potentiom problem.

DD1 was mixed fed (1 bottle of formula a day, rest breast). Even breast feeding obsessed norway couldn't get her off the formula completely without weight loss. I absolutely refute the idea that everyone can do it so long as they want it enough!

once it was clear we were going to need that extra then I started giving her her formula at bed time (rather than as a top up after every feed) and breast feeding the rest of the time because that worked best for us (every 2 hours or so during the day and three or so at night). She breast fed til 15 months

I've had 2 emergency c sections now and managed to breastfeed both babies. First child until 16 months and currently still feed second child @ 7 months. It can be done. You need to arm yourself with support - support is key.

I was forced to ff when my newborn was I hospital, but i pumped for fury even though it was only 5-10ml each time at first!

After 10 days he was better able to breastfeed and so I could switch over completely. That was nearly 5 months ago and I've been able to exclusively breastfeed. However I've been ill recently and am exhausted with the 1.5-2 hourly feeds (should be much less than that now) so am temporarily going to alternate formula with breast feeds (and intermittent pumping) to build myself (and my baby) back up again. Then I will switch back to exclusive breast milk again if I can.

So what i'm trying to say is it doesn't always have to be set in stone, I'm told that if you keep your supply up, you'll have options to change your mind to some degree, if you're combined feeding rather than exclusively formula feeding.