Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

who *isn't* ashamed to admit using formula?

635 replies

LookingForwardToSummer · 30/04/2008 11:42

feeling crap after reading the 'exclusive breastfeeding' thread! i find bf really hard and have set myself the target of 5 months, i intend to feel very proud that i went that long and then use formula happily! i can't be the only one! all the stats show low bf rates - so where is everyone?

OP posts:
suzywong · 30/04/2008 11:43

5 months is great!
Ease up on yourself and don't be so partisan

Hope it all goes well for you and your baby

moondog · 30/04/2008 11:44

Yes, 5 months is brilliant.Well done!

mishymoo · 30/04/2008 11:44

I don't mind admitting that I mixed fed my DS from about 8 weeks old. It worked for us as a family and my DS is no worse off because of it. I also stopped breastfeeding when he was 6 months old! I was getting ready to stop and he also decided he no longer wanted the breast.

TotalChaos · 30/04/2008 11:45

Me. I tried to bf but it all went horribly wrong so I gave up completely at 8 weeks (most feeds from 3 weeks were formula). But - DS got some colostrum and BM, which is worth something.

tiredlady · 30/04/2008 11:46

Five months is completely fab. Good for you

bringmesunshine · 30/04/2008 11:46

Me! Breast feeding and I did not get on and also had completly useless advice and no help from counsellor. Only thing suggested was cabbage leaves on my poor boobs....I gave birth in the height of summer....the smell was alarming

Fed DC1 for 4/5 months and DC2 for 4 days. Worried at the time now I think I have to fantastic children and don't give it a moments thought.

Sunshinemummy · 30/04/2008 11:47

Yep I used formula. Also tried BF but it wasn't right for us. Am in two minds about whether to try with baby due in August or not.

Original poster
LookingForwardToSummer · 30/04/2008 11:47

thank you! mind you dd is only 8 weeks so 5 months is a long way off yet!

OP posts:
HuwEdwards · 30/04/2008 11:49

Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!

DD1 7yo, tall, gorgeous, beautifully healthy, great appetite, not in the least a fussy eater. No amount of help in hospital (and I had various nursing staff in on a daily basis) could persuade her to latch on.

DD2 5yo (breastfed for 3months) then onto formula, exactly the same.

Could formula be the cause of incessant chattering though?

WinkyWinkola · 30/04/2008 11:51

God, are people ashamed to be using formula? That's terrible!

bringmesunshine · 30/04/2008 11:53

LFTS - do what is right for you and your DD. Life is to short to sweat over the detail. Some people take to it easily and some don't like most things in life and a happy mummy makes a happy baby in my experience.

Hated the breast pad thing aswell and found it soooo painful.

You are not alone

dizzydixies · 30/04/2008 11:53

well done on the 5 months! I bf dd1 no problem but dd2 was a completely different story - I took every feed one at a time and managed to struggle through to 6months at which point dh said enough is enough and I finally agreed and relaxed

there is no shame in it at all and different strokes for different babies

I'll try again with this one but certainly won't put myself through what I went through with dd2

PuppyMonkey · 30/04/2008 11:56

My name is PuppyMonkey and I have used formula. Lots of it. And my kids haven't got two heads or turned into obese serial killers (with dicky tummies) either. Amazing really.

dizzydixies · 30/04/2008 11:56

is this your first meet?!?

CatIsSleepy · 30/04/2008 11:57

I was a mixed-feeder
dd had one bottle a day from about 3 weeks, and 2 from about 6 weeks. Partly due to me caving in under pressure from HVs as dd wasn't gaining weight fast enough for their liking! but tbh it was fine and probably helped me bf for longer overall-managed about 7 months then my supply more or less dried up.
Would probably do the same again although perhaps hold out for longer before introducing a second bottle.

PuppyMonkey · 30/04/2008 11:57

Yes dizzy. Am on the wagon now though. Kids are too old to have it you see.

Sazisi · 30/04/2008 11:58

I breast fed all my babies, but I think they had all at least tasted formula by 3/4 months. I haven't read the other thread because it doesn't apply to me at all (and I'm not big on one-up-manship anyway - probably because I'd always lose )

To the op: I had a terrible time of it at the beginning breastfeeding DD3, full-on mastitis, cracked sore nipples, the works. I felt it was making me ill and very miserable; I didn't see myself breastfeeding her beyond 3 months.
But it got really easy after the first few months and I ended up loving breastfeeding her, and now I'm still giving her an early morning feed at nearly 15months (much longer than I breastfed the other 2: 6m and 9.5m). I did not see this coming.
So you never know

VacantlyPretty · 30/04/2008 11:58

Message withdrawn

bringmesunshine · 30/04/2008 11:58
CatIsSleepy · 30/04/2008 11:58

oh and there were several points before 7 months when i contemplated giving up bf altogether. But as other people have said, you have to take one feed at a time.

MrsMattie · 30/04/2008 12:00

I certainly won't feel guilty this time around, I can assure you. I managed 6 weeks with DS - through two horrendous bouts of mastitis and an abcess on my breast - and felt pretty bloody proud of myself for that. Will attempt BF-ing again this time (even if just for the first few weeks) and won't feel a jot of guilt if I turn to the formula pretty quickly. Nothing is worth the pain and misery and depression I suffered last time.

MrsBoo · 30/04/2008 12:02

I am also definitely not ashamed to have used formula. I am appalled at the attitude on here sometimes from the very righteous, who "can't believe someone wouldn't at least try BF"
I hated BF by DS (and stuck at it for about 2 weeks before I caught myself on). With DD I knew before she was even born I was not going there.
Judge me if you want (oh and I had emer CS followed by elective CS too) That must make me a really bad mum.
For the record, both DC are very healthy, and don't have any allergies or all the constant colds etc that some kids seem to get.

smallwhitecat · 30/04/2008 12:03

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

auntyspan · 30/04/2008 12:03

I mix fed from 3 weeks - as mishymoo said it worked for us as a family - I had a c-section / transfusion and DD was over 10lb and needed a LOT of food - and DH bonded immediately due to the bottle feeding which was a major concern for him.

Will do exactly the same with number 2 xxx

expatinscotland · 30/04/2008 12:04

Why on EARTH would anyone feel ashamed?

I'm waiting till this one is born and what my depression is doing to decide if I BF at all.

And believe you me, with AND and PND I won't be feeling guilty this time round no matter how it works out. My mental health is a priority for the rest of my family, too.

Healthy mum, healthy baby.

Anyone who tells me differently can walk a mile in my shoes - good luck to them, they're going to need it! - or piss off.