Were you breast or bottle fed - and when were you a baby?

[SallyJayGorce]

Do you think it has affected your own decision in any way an if so why?

Nearly all bf, in '75 - though apparently the hospital nurses gave me a bottle of sugar water on my first night cos they didn't want to wake my mum to feed (she went nuts at them in the morning!).

I don't know whether it's helped my health, I am quite un-allergic but used to get loads of infections; but I'm sure it influenced my decision, if only from the point of view that my mum's attitude (that bf is the most natural/sensible thing to do unless you physically can't!) has surely rubbed off on me. Even without the other benefits, she would have thought it beyond crazy to pay for and prepare formula when you can provide something better yourself for free! But she was also very clear on the health benefits, and all in all it would never have occurred to me to go straight to formula without giving bf my very best shot first.

bottle fed in the 70s
my mum didn't have any support or help to bf

I breastfed my kids and she was v supportive although to start with came out with lots of unhelpful comments

bf 1960. Mum told me it was a bit sore as I was born with teeth.

My mum bfed three of us 1976-79 - me for four months (then weaned me so she could go on holiday without me!), my biggest bro until 5 months (when he bit her and never got bfed again) and littlest bro for a year. No allergies or anything like that - we're all insanely healthy, though I think it's a lot to do with genes (my gran was 90 last w/e) - and biggest bro was 22 lbs at 6 months.

Both my grans bfed - one did eight kids, the other two (though she was told to stop with my dad at four months because her milk was "too rich" as she's told me nearly a hundred times recently). Afaik all my aunts bfed too. Definitely influenced me in that it's completely the norm in our family and I think I would have found it quite hard to ff if I'd wanted to!

I was exclusively breastfed at first - but then my Mum was told that as I was a big baby that she didn't have enough milk for me. She tried mixed feeding for a while but then formula fed me. My brother was breastfed (and wasn't such a porker!). Finances played a big part in her decision, but I know that she was praised by the doctors in the hospital for feeding me. I think that she would have liked to have shared the night feeds, but I doubt that would have happened anyway in those days.

I have breastfed both of my DDs (who are as big as I was as a baby), and I suppose that it helped that my parents were pro-breastfeeding. It helped a great deal more though that my peers were breastfeeding too, as I could go out with them and feed together in public and not feel so embarrassed (in the early stages when I was really self-concious). My Mum sneakily wishes that she could feed my babies too, and has leapt at the chance to feed EBM (or the odd bottle of formula).

My Mum and I have both found feeding quite easy, and have never had "failure to thrive" issues. I'm sure that a good part of that is that the babies in our family are big and greedy - after all, the Mum is only half of the BFing team.

I was exclusively breastfed til 10 months (refused ALL solids) in 81 and my mum was not given any support at all from midwives or health visitors. She had massive haermoraghing after the birth and they said she'd never be able to produce enough milk blah blah blah but she was determined and did it.

My older brother was born in 74 and was mixed fed, my sister born in 75 and formula fed pretty much from birth (my mum had major illness and couldn't do it).

My mum was very supportive of me wanting to breastfeed but she was also brilliant when it didn't work out - we had almost identical births as hers with my sister so she remembered how ill and guilty she felt so encouraged me to see things in perspective. But the background she had has also made me more positive about a better breastfeeding experience in the future, if she hadn'd of had that maybe I would of gone straight onto formula with any future babies, who knows.......

And of all 3 of us my sister is the healthiest by far and me the unhealthiest which annoys me somewhat!!!

'74 and mixed fed until 6 months then cows milk or tea! Although of course I was also having food from 4 months.

I only found out about the mixed feeding when I was bf ds, my mum had always talked about bf me and how that was obviously what boobs were meant for so that's what I grew up thinking.

Despite this we had a row about me not feeding on demand! She made sarky comments about "research" and said there was nothing more natural than bf. I pointed out that if it was that natural then what was the rationale in sticking to an arbitrary time limit! HAH! That shut her up! (My mum and I do have a great relationship actually!)

She bf my sis for 6 weeks, but said she didn't have enough milk.

I am not agreeing with the not enough milk thing btw.

born 81

the 'people' wanted her to bottle feed 4 hourly so she told them she was and completely ignored them.

I never actually considered formula feeding. It just never even passed my radar I dont know if its partly because of the way was I brought up ie bf was normal

I was mixed in 1975 - formula then bf which seems the wrong way round. DB1 in 1977 was solely BF until 6 months when he was admitted to hospital and mum wasn't allowed to stay. DSis1 (1979) was BF but died aged 6 weeks. Mum was told that her illness would have been spotted if she had been ff. DSis2 (1981) and DB2 (1984) both FF from birth.

Mum is not entirely supportive of BF. She very strongly encouraged me to give DD a bottle and was a bit about me mixed feeding. I'm expecting DC#2 at the moment and determined to try BF properly but she is already telling me how difficult it will be... DH I think was BF. He is incredibly supportive and helpful.

I was born in 84, my mums first of three. She tried BF me for nealry 2 weeks, but had no support and so FF me. Repeat of this with my 2nd sister. When mum had her third, she FF from start. She is still about it, 25 years later, nearly.

I FF staight from birth my first 2 dc, BF dc3 until 10 months, and fully intend on BF dc4 forever

I was ff in 1972, bf both my dds but how I was fed didn't affect my decision. Mum wanted to bf me but 'they' wouldn't let her in the hospital, she tried when she got me home a few days later but it didn't work as it had been left too long.

I was bf 1979. My mum was also advised to give me water to drink from day 1. She was always amazed when we were out with my dc's that they could go so long between feeds but looking at modern bf advice she realises it was down to what is now known to be the wrong information.
She was so proud of me for achieving it so sucessfully though. I'm not sure how it affected my decision apart from the fact that as my mum had bf it was just a normal thing to do. Ex MIL was also fantastically supportive of my bf as she bf exdp for a while and again was very proud at how long I did it for. She was advised by her midwife to stick to 4 hourly but a close friend of hers was at the time quite a forward thinking midwife and told her to ignore all the advice and feed on demand etc.

Both my older DB and I were bf until 10 months. He was born in 75 and I was born in 78. My Mam reckons that her insistence on BFing and the fact that she was in her 30s when she had both of us, pretty much marked her out as the local fruitloop!

It definitely impacted on my decision to BF. I didn't really consider anything else and had MASSIVE problems with it early on. I think I persisted because I felt that if she had done that for us, then I should do the same for my DCs. Probably ridiculous but there you are!

I was breastfed for six weeks, and bottle fed thereafter (1966). My sister was bottlefed ie my mother didn't bother breastfeeding and lived to bitterly regret that decision as my sister had terrible respiratory infections in her early months and years and has suffered from allergies all her life. My sister was determined to breastfeed her children for as long as possible, and did so, and her example and role model definitely influenced me to breastfeed.

I was born in 79 and was BF until I was 2. I did the same with my DD, BF her until she was 2.

Because my mum did, my auntie did, my grandma did certainly affected my decision to breastfeed. We're BFers, some people are and some people are not. Some try and succeed and some try and fail for a variety of reasons but so long as the end result is healthy babies then as mums/parents we need to give ourselves a break and look at positives. Innit?

bf for a few days in 1968 total nightmare by all accounts(only found out after I had to give up,helped to make me feel better).

Then ff after with the teat cut off for an easier flow,raw egg and rusk added-I was a hungry baby apparantly

Have always been very healthy and fairly slim,helps me keep things in perspective with my own dc.

Didn't effect my decision at all or dsis who was totally ff a couple of years later. We both read around and were very committed to bf,sadly neither of us managed it for longer than 6 weeks which was longer than mum though.

I was bf to 14 months in 1980, I am the only member of my family who doesn't have high blood pressure or diabetes (yet, could still develop it but my sisters had hbp by my age). I like to think the length of bfing has something to do with it.

I think the fact it was totally normal amongst my friends made more of a difference, SICL bf for 20 something months, 2 friends bf for a year. Before I started using internet forums I also thought bfing was something you did if you chose to and I really had no concept of it not working for some people. Although I know how wrong that is now I think starting with no concept of it not working is probably helpful, I never considered having formula in the house just in case or giving DS a bottle when he had a bit of difficulty getting going (very sleepy baby).

I was always planning to do it for a year and then stop, now Ds is 11 months I can't imagine giving it up in a few weeks time so we'll probably be going a bit longer

breastfed until 14 months?

My older brother and I were 70s babies. He was breastfed until 10 months, and I was breastfed for 3 months, after which HV insisted I was switched to thickened bottles for reflux. My mum always regretted that she couldn't bf me for as long. All the women in my family have bf. It is the norm for us . I never considered ff and even when at my lowest ebb with bf couldn't think of a good enough reason for me to stop (despite supplementing for a little while with dc1).

I was born in 72. Youngest of 5 children all FF. No allergies, all healthy weight, no illnesses.

My poor mum said she didn't have a choice on how she fed. She was so traumatised how she was treated when my eldest sister was born in 1965, she was barely allowed to see her and was kept in hospital for 10 days (no real reason both mother and baby were healthy). She decided to have a home birth for the next one.

My DH is the youngest of 3. His siblings were FF, and he was mixed bf and ff. His siblings have no allergies. He has asthma and allergies.

I think I decided to BF my DS because I saw it as a normal thing. I BF him until he was 16.5months. All my siblings BF their babies.

I was BF in the early 70's and if anything from the comments my Mum made I should have decided to FF but didn't. SHe goes on and one about me needing to be fed through the school gates because I couldn't get enough of her, but she stopped BF'ing me at 8 months from then I had goats milk as had allergy to cows milk.

I was bf in 1972. My mum must have had a very robust milk supply going by the instructions she was made to follow: 4 hourly feeds, 15 mins a side, supplementing with water.

In hospital I was weighed after every feed and she was instructed to top up if I hadn't gained enough. She was told by another mother to say I wouldn't take the bottle and was left alone after that. Having said that, they gave her sleeping pills at night and took me away to the nursery - she always assumed I didn't feed during the night...I presume I was ff by the midwives.

Bottlefed formula.

Didn't affect my decision at all. I bf mine.