Is breast really best?

[sneakypanda90]

Hello all,

About to become a first time mum. For many reasons I've pretty much decided I'll be formula feeding however baby isn't here till the end of September and I still have a pretty open mind to how she's fed changing.

However, in doing some more research just now I've discovered that breastfed babies need vitamin D drops??
Soooo, if 'breast is best' and give the baby everything they need, surely you wouldn't need to supplement?
Do you see my point? I find the information on breast feeding wildly exaggerated and how a little contradictory which just adds to my thoughts of 'whatever' when someone's going on at me about breastfeeding.

Yes, it does. If you didn’t bother to try and have no reasons why you can’t, then in my opinion that’s poor parenting.

Please can we stop this. It is not helpful, and nor is it true.

What is poor if you criticising another parents decision.

My DC’s have grown up healthy - no allergies or health issues. No one can tell how you fed your baby.

I've noticed it's only the formula fed brigade that take offence on these pages. Breastfed mums aren't taking offence. They accept breast is best and own it.

I don’t care how anyone feeds their baby but don’t accept that anyone can criticise someone else’s decision.

I must admit I do think it's odd that some people decide to use formula without ever trying breastfeeding. Obviously formula is an excellent substitute for breastmilk but it's a substitute - clearly human breastmilk is designed for babies. And formula feeding is such a hassle, and can be expensive too. All those bottles and sterilizing and anxiety about the temperature of the water and people fretting about how much the baby drinks. You put your baby on your breast and the baby drinks until the breast is empty. That's it.

@Parker231 but the original question from the Op is "is breast best" and I'm saying "yes it's best" it's liquid gold. Formula doesn't come close. If you formula fed then that's down to you. But you can't deny "breast is best"

And all that faff in the night too. I think if I had had to hold a bottle I would dropped it I was so exhausted. You can breastfeed in your sleep -and just let the baby do its thing. I actually had awful trouble bf-ing my first. Took about 3 months to settle down, but then it was a breeze & I loved it. I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Spot on.
YABU to start a judgy BF/FF thread on a Friday night.

I exclusively breastfed all my children to 3+ and I think you’re talking bollocks

(Obviously not exclusively to 3+, but you know what I mean)

This was a huge part of my wanting to bf - I am inherently lazy 😂 also Dd never cried from hunger because the second she gave hunger cues all I had to do was unclip my bra and she was fed in seconds. I couldn’t have coped with a screaming, hungry baby whilst faffing about with bottles.

People always go on and on about 'faffing about with bottles.' It's really not difficult to open a bottle and make formula. It is expensive though!

I've never heard anyone claim it was difficult but its certainly more faff than bfing. You have to have it all set up. Can you do it in the bedroom or do you have to go down to the kitchen every time? You have to remember to sterilise. You have to take all the bits when you go out. You have to warm it up when you're out don't you? No idea what you do if you're on a long country walk. You have to remember to buy the stuff - and aren't there different types & levels for different ages? What happens if you drop the bottle on a dirty floor?

100% supportive of mums who switch to formula. But, I’d also really like to understand how someone can ‘know’ formula would be best for them, before the baby is born.

When evidence points to a 50% reduction in the chance of your baby dying from Sudden Infant Death, if you breastfeed to 2 months alone. Why would you not even want to try to give your baby that chance?

What predicted reason/need for mum, trumps increased chance of survival for baby?

I don't necessarily disagree with you but on these threads people always use the word 'faffing' to talk about formula and from some posters there is a faux concern about all the stuff people take with to leave the house and it feels slightly....off

Not to mention I think it downplays the effort that goes into breastfeeding. I think women offer up a lot of themselves - their bodies, their time etc etc. It might be 'easy' in terms of getting a boob out but it doesn't necessarily come without effort or sacrifice for women, and I personally think that tinkly 'well obviously I breastfed as it is piss easy and not silly faffing around with bottles' just is an irritating line to take.

For me it was more the night feeds. I combi fed DD2 for a couple of months but never formula fed at night because it was too much faff. I just wanted to feed her asap and get us all back to sleep. I didn't want to get out of bed and go downstairs.
During the day it wasn't too much bother. More effort than breastfeeding, but not excessively so. And there were benefits for me in terms of not being relied on for food (although we combi fed when she was well onto solids so that wasn't a huge issue at the time anyway). We combi fed because I had severe PND so I needed the breaks that it did give me.

From Lullaby Trust - Thankfully SIDS is now very rare. If you bottle feed your baby and follow all the other pieces of safer sleep advice then the chance of SIDS is extremely low.

Also if you want to throw money at formula feeding, you can just take a ready made bottle with you. No, you don't need different kinds for different ages and you don't have to warm it up

I've never heard anyone claim it was difficult but its certainly more faff than bfing

It is on an individual level I suppose ie assuming mum does the vast majority of preparing bottles, but the distinct advantage is that others can help too so it doesn't all fall to you. I breastfed but have helped many friends prep bottles etc and can see how for some feeding feels less of a faff or whatever on balance. Not you but some do make it seem like people who formula feed are having to spend hours preparing when it's really not that onerous, just takes more foresight.

You have to warm it up when you're out don't you?

When we ff DD2 (which as I said above was combi feeding from about 9 months so not sure if it's different for newborns) we would pre-make bottles and put them in a cool bag if going out for the day. We fed her cold and warm bottles.

Why? Can’t you just trust that they have made a decision that works for them? Why do they need to justify it to you?

I think it boils down to sometimes you have to make a decisions that benefit baby as well as yourself.

Colostrum cannot be matched in anyway, shape or form. And I definitely judge mothers that won’t even bf for 2 days to ensure babies get colostrum. It is so important for them.

I also believe in mothers being happy and healthy, but you can express colostrum before you even give birth and syringe feed it.

Breast milk is human milk for human babies. Formula is cow’s milk for calves.

I don’t understand your attitude at all. Why waste any time or energy judging someone for this?