Anecdotally have you found breastfed children get ill less than combi fed?

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We are due our second baby in a few months and trying to work out what to do about feeding.

I EBF our first for just under a year with a little bit of formula mixed in the last few months and (touch wood) our little one has been pretty lucky with illnesses even beyond stopping breastfeeding (she's now 3).

We've had some of the usual chickenpox / cold etc but she has dodged quite a few sickness bugs and HFM that have done the rounds at nursery and wiped out most of the room.

This could be a bit of luck and tbh she is pretty hygienic as far as kids go (doesn't like feeling dirty, likes to wash hands etc).

I'd like to combi feed from the beginning with our second as I felt quite trapped EBF. I'd still like to breastfeed mainly but introduce one or two bottles of formula a day from the first couple of weeks to allow some flexibility. I don't know how it will go but open to the possibility that formula takes more of a default position if it works out.

Maybe I want to have my cake and to eat it, and I know that all kids are different etc but in an ideal world we get another illness dodger.

Has anyone had multiple children, fed them differently and noticed a difference in them catching the usual bugs that constantly do the rounds? If I was to breastfeed daily, would that be enough to up the immune benefits or does it really have to be all / the majority of the feeds?

I breastfed one and formula fed my other child; no difference in how ill they got when they started nursery and now as primary school age children. If there was a difference it was miniscule. That’s not to say there isn’t benefits of breastfeeding as I understand the research but for me I didn’t see a difference

Child 1: breastfed for two years. Child 2: formula fed (through a tube for first 8 months). Child 1 has definitely had more days off school sick. Child 2 is very rarely ill. I really wouldn’t worry about it

EBF my first (bottle refuser) & they caught every bug going. Even rubella before their vaccines. 🫠 Gave my second a bottle of formula a day from the start, and no major illnesses. They caught a lot of colds off their elder sibling (nursery winters are awful!) but avoided getting too sick, or any of the major bugs.

My DS was mix fed with more breast than formula feeds, and on breast milk until about 18 months . He was horrific in nursery for sickness bugs although not sure it's connected. I think a lot of kids have a bad time breastfed or not .

I planned to formula feed DS2 but then he decided to be born 9 weeks prem , so I am exclusively BF him now hes 12 weeks. Have you thought of expressing . I express most of DS2 feeds and do a couple a day on breast. It works so much better for me that just breast as I have more freedom. I have pumps that sit in my bra. But I do seem to produce enough milk in 3 pumps a day which makes it easier.

But just do whatever works best for you and congratulations.

I wouldn’t worry about it. Fed is best.

I think you’ve got a good plan of mixing feeds so baby will still get mostly breast milk, and I hope it works out for you.

Congratulations on baby number 2 💐

You can't map statistics or random anecdotes to your own baby. Breastfeeding doesn't work like that. We can see that statistically speaking, EBF babies have better health than combi fed babies and any BM is better than none, that's been shown lots of times.

There are also formula fed babies who are in perfect health and EBF babies who are constantly unwell.

I'm not sure why you feel formula is easier, it seems to me that getting up, going downstairs to sterilise a bottle, get water to the correct temperature, measure formula and water, and pace feed the bottle is a lot harder than sticking them on the boob and dozing of again.

However, you have to make the right choice for you and seeing it as some sort of instant get-out-of-ever-being-ill card is probably setting yourself up for disappointment.

Before going into combi feeding I would make sure you are clued up around bottle preference, establishing and maintaining supply and avoiding the top-up trap.

1st child was combi fed, second was EBF. First child gets sick occasionally, second child is basically snotty from September until May every year!

Second child was EBF for 12 weeks then mixed fed for another month, child 1 FF 90% for first 6 weeks then fully from them (I’m rubbish at bf!). However- both generally well never had an ear infection and I can count vomitting bugs on one hand and they’re primary age now. Honestly wouldn’t put that much focus on the health impact as an individual and do what works for your family. Congrats!

2 bottle fed children. Both were barely ill ever.
My brother who was EBF had asthma, eczema & various allergies.
I wish I’d spent less time worrying about it. Honestly, don’t sweat it.

I combi fed both of mine from 6 weeks. The breastfeeding nurse at the surgery advised me to after I was operating like a zombie. Said 6 weeks was a good point to combi as the breast/bottle confusion time is past. Both were healthy kids. Sometimes I think that is more genetics than feeding type. Dd24 was physically sick for the first time ever last month. (alcohol, not health induced - it shocked her)

Anecdotally my breast fed child got ill far more than my 100% formula fed child!

My first child that was ebf until 20 months gets ill far more often than my youngest that was weaned much earlier. DC2 also has much poorer hygiene than dc1. A lot of it is luck, we know across large population studies that breastfed children fair better. Too what extent it matters to individuals is anyones guess - maybe my eldest would have been worse off if formula fed, maybe it really hasn't made any difference. It is obviously perfectly possible to have a very healthy baby who has never had formula and a very poorly one who was ebf.

Infant feeding is one part of parenting, you have to balance decisions against what works best for you and your family. If you as mum are less stressed and able to function better with combi feeding surely that will mean better outcomes for everyone?

I combi fed till 3 and my child didn't get ill once for the first year of her life! Not even a sniffle!

Coincidentally, she was a year old when the covid restrictions eased and she went to her first soft play. She caught her first cold, which was horrible, then started nursery in and was sick on and off for about 6 months 😬.

My point is, there are a lot more variables than just BF/FF. Do whatever works for you.

Thanks everyone (and also for the congratulations ☺️), so helpful! I feel like we might have just got lucky with #1 and illnesses..

Realise I need to look into pacing etc and know formula can be a faff but it would make a huge difference to be able to leave baby with my husband for more than 2 hours at a time!

Exclusively FF my first born and EBF my second. No real difference at all. Both pretty hardy!

My 9mo DD is EBF and had Flu A+B a couple of months ago. She's not caught anything else yet.

I was formula fed and was very rarely ill as a child.

I don't think it makes a difference!

I BF all my DC. The eldest two are healthy but the youngest was premature, had various food allergies (including milk), eczema, and asthma. The asthma meant he ended up in hospital regularly as a small child when he got colds. I actually BF him longer than the other two precisely because of his illnesses (none of which had anything to do with how he was fed, but being BF meant his first contact with cowsmilk protein was when he ate cheese at 6 months so it was easily identified so he didn't suffer).

But I'd say wait and see how you get on rather than making decisions about feeding now. My eldest was a very slow feeder and it did feel like I had to plan things round feeds because they would take so long. DC2 on the other hand was an incredibly efficient feeder, could drain a boob in less than 20 minutes, piled on the weight and was a very content baby. So a completely different experience and I didn't feel restricted in the same way at all. So wait and see how your second child gets on with BFing and then make the decision about mixed feeding.

I formula fed both my kids. In my group of 8 friends (15 children) I was the only one who didn’t breastfeed and my kids are the only ones with no allergies at all and no serious illnesses. At least 4 of those kids were breastfed til over age 2 and those kids have a range of allergies and have caught things like hand foot and mouth multiple times.

So in my small sample size of real life experience, breastfeeding hasnt seemed to give any extra benefit at all!

First DD was EBF, and was often ill plus developed eczema and asthma. Second was combi fed from week two and is much healthier (they're 10 and 6 now, so I'm looking back over quite a period of time). I found combi feeding significantly easier than EBF, so it meant I was less stressed and could still be a good mum to DD1.

my formula fed DD3 is rarely ill, I’ve had 3 sickness bugs since she was born and she hasn’t caught any. The worst thing she’s had other than rotten colds is Covid and was ill for 2 days.

I don’t think it’s necessarily about feeding though, we made sure she was never overheated, minimal central heating and we don’t clean obsessively. (Also gave 2 cats which apparently can boost their immune system 🤷‍♀️) Who knows, I’m sure most of it’s just genes and luck anyway… but my 2 very best friends both BF their chidren (same age) and they have had chickenpox, noro, and HFM all in the last few months. I don’t really think anecdotes will help too much, just do what feels right for you

Yes my EBF babies were never unwell, one had a few sniffles and mild cold a couple of times and nothing else even at nursery but my FF babies were sick constantly with earaches , HFM, viruses , chickenpox (BF babies had it mildly ) .

No. My first child was EBf for 6 months and then introduced slowly to an organic best possible diet (I was a very bored healthy young and energetic sahm) and she was allergic to everything, got typical childhood illnesses exceptionally badly and has struggled health wise to adulthood.

My next child (premature) was breastfed til 18 months old but from day one it was mixed with bottle and anyone and everyone giving it to them as I was ill, they have sailed through life health wise.

My conclusion - based on my study of two-- is that it's random luck. My eldest should be robust and top of the class. I did it all by the book.and we were much younger. My second took what they got: an unwell mother (and mentally unwell father so no back up there) and serious money problems so nothing organic or even particularly baby oriented.

In breastfeeding defence I'll say: if it works (easily for both of you) then of course it is quick and convenient albeit with all the work on the mother. But if you're struggling the best thing you can do for your child is be a mother who copes. Anything on top of that is a bonus.

I saw many benefits of ebf, including my own convenience, emotional well-being, getting back to normal weight very quickly, feeding while both half asleep in bed, rather than fussing with bottles at 3am… Not sure if dc got ill less or more often compared to others but I know we didn’t need antibiotics until he was seven (had tonsillitis), has no allergies, asthma or eczema.

Anyway, I thought I’d post mainly to recommend the ‘ultra processed people’ book. The author is very careful not to say formula is bad, but ultimately, it is UPF. I think it’s a good thing to check out before making up your mind either way.

And as pp we had chickenpox quite mildly - I remember as I was still bf. One thing is for sure, bf-ing really helps them manage their pain and recover quickly if they are ill.

First DD didn't take to BF so was FF. Second DD couldn't get her off the breast. BF DD caught everything going and hospitalised twice in her first 2 years. FF DD very hardy and healthy. Even when her sister had severe chicken pox and they were cuddling each other, she didn't catch it.