Formula fed from birth

[Lovelybluesky88]

My baby had a tongue tie and couldn’t latch on the breast. The tongue tie was snipped but he still isn’t latching and even though I’ve been pumping, my supply is pretty rubbish. I’ve been giving him about 3oz of expressed milk once a day for the last week (he’s about 3 weeks) but I’m struggling to pump even that and I want to stop. Has anyone had any experience of this? What did you do? I feel so guilty he never got colostrum and barely any breastmilk, but for the amount of effort and time I could be spending on him in other ways I don’t think it’s worth carrying on expressing. I’d really like to hear other people’s experiences with formula feeding from early on, or low supplementing with breastmilk. Is it worth it? Thanks.

Fed is best. Happy mum, happy baby. There is no shame in using formula, whether it’s a choice you make or one that is forced on you. I managed to breastfeed, it was easy for me (eventually) but the nonsense I put myself through in perseverance nearly sent me over the edge. My reasons for doing that were complex but if I could go back and speak to me I’d give me a slap and tell me to wise up. Just do what works for you and the baby.

I was bottle fed in a time and place this was really unusual, and I was fine! There seems to be less judgment than 5 years ago (and a lot less than 10 years back, and "fed is best" is the cry).
Can't say there's any noticeable difference between people I know that were fed either way.

I’m a teacher of 25 years and could not tell you the children who were bf or ff. I can tell the children who are loved, looked after and have calm home lives. Much more important long term.
I will also fess up for honesty my son was ff after month one. He’s in his late teens now and has a great immune system and oddly enough has never needed antibiotics. I was worried his immune system would be awful by formula feeding but he is healthy and 6ft.

FF both of mine from day 1 and never attempted to BF. Toddler and baby are thriving, we can take turns doing night feeds for the baby and we get some solid blocks of sleep, there’s no issues with leaving the kids with family to babysit for us. It may come across as very selfish on the surface, but I’ve never felt guilty for wanting the structure and freedom that FF has given us.

Go straight to formula.

DC1 never latched. I couldn’t express enough for him and it so wasn’t worth it.

Didn’t even try with DC2. She had a tiny bit of colostrum i could get out which wasn’t even enough for her first feed.

We fostered DS2 from birth (adopted him at 15 months). He obviously had to be FF, so I just got the best formula I could, which was HIPP organic at the time. He thrived! He’s an athletic 6’2” 26 yr old now!

My siblings and I were all formula fed from birth in the 1960s, when formula wasn't as nutritionally sophisticated as it is now and when getting babies weaned on to soggy rusks and mashed banana was a competitive sport. My mum's own mother had scared her off breastfeeding with horror stories about bleeding nipples and mastitis, and that, along with none of her deliveries having been straightforward, put her off trying. We all bonded unremarkably with our parents and we've all made it into our late 50s/early 60s without significant health issues.

Whatever you decide to do, please don’t feel guilty. There’s so much pressure on Mums in all areas of parenting, you don’t need to put pressure on yourself as well. A calm, happy, stress free Mum is best so do what you’ve got to do!!