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?

I was breastfed exclusively for 10 months.

I think my mother did it on more of a routine basis (like every 3 or 4 hours). She said the 10-day stay in hospital which was usual then helped as by the time she left she felt she'd cracked it.

I think her b/feeding me influenced me, only in that I just thought it's what you do. I never went to ante natal classes or discussed feeding with friends who had babies and was really surprised to discover the whole bottle/breastfeeding debate.

I just assumed you breastfed and that was it and was really surprised when the ob.gyn asked how I was going to feed. Mind you, this is Singapore and the figs for initiating b/feeding are low.

I have always been robustly healthy, FWIW.

Oh, to add, MIL bottle fed her kids after a disastrous few days b/feeding and she's sad she didn't do b/feeding and I think a bit jealous that I've managed it.

I'm moving back to the UK in 24 hours and it will be interesting to hear what she thinks.

I was bf in 1978, though I don't know for how long - my mum passed away when I was 13 and I never asked her, although I did know that she bf me. I suppose I could ask my dad, but I'm not sure he'd remember that well. I must have seen her bfing my sister too, but I don't remember.

I think it did influence me, as it never crossed my mind that I wouldn't bf, if I had DCs. I was also aware, reasonably early, of the dangers of ff in the underdeveloped world, so had a healthy suspicion of ff companies. Still do!

I only really became aware of the bf/ff debate quite recently, however, when a friend struggled with bf-ing and reluctantly switched to ff, and went through a lot of angst. It had never occurred to me before this that there were negative associations with either bf or ff: they were just 2 ways of feeding a baby. I happily ff lots of babies I babysat for, never thinking anything about their families' decision to ff (I still wouldn't, I hasten to add!!! Just mentioning it as a way of demonstrating that it never crossed my mind). Similarly, I saw a number of people bf their babies, and never thought "I wonder if they are embarrassed?", etc.

Good luck with your move, dorisbonkers!

bottle fed in '69 - apparently babies were whisked away into the nursery and someone came round to give you an injection to dry up your milk. As a matter of course - only one person on the maternity ward refused the jab. Apparently the midwives treated that woman as if she was the most extreme hippy they'd ever come across.

As a result, three years later my mother had a home birth with my sister and b/f her for something like ten months - no way she was going anywhere near a hospital again.

My mum bf me in 1969 for a year. She struggled in the beginning but persevered and has been very supportive of my bf my first child 40 years later.

She was very young and had a terrible birth in hospital with me. It's only now I really appreciate what she did. Thanks, mum.

bf 72
dsis ff 71 and 76 only coz mom had health complications that meant she couldnt beyond the first few days.
dsis bf 82

Bf in 1969 for "the full 3 months" according to my (late) mother, sister born 1971 likewise. We've both bf our dcs, in my case DS1 for 2.10 years and DS2 10m and counting. My mother was genuinely surprised that someone would bf past 3 months, I think she'd been told it wasn't possible...

I guess it did affect my decision to bf, although I didn't really "decide" to do it, more assumed that I would and then was lucky enough that it worked out for us despite the crap advice I got when DS1 was born and DS2's (30 weeker) rocky start.

Bottle fed because I was born with a cleft palate. Mum was dripping with milk and told she didn't have enough when I was losing weight. But is was that I couldn't latch on and suck! I wasn't diagnosed until I was 4 yrs old!! No-one expressed in those days so it was all wasted! She has always regretted not being able to feed me, so that's why I was so determined to give it a go. Despite the fact it was twins, I was successful and Mum was a great help and support during the 13 mths that I breastfed.

I was formula fed in 1969 but my mum did start off trying to bf - only my dad had told her he was leaving her for someone else just before I was born and she was put on antidepressants soon afterwards. Brother in 1977 was also ff after trying to bf, for different reasons, but she succeeded in bf sister in 1980, and at that point she did see a breastfeeding counsellor.

I always assumed I'd breastfeed but don't think it was family influence per se. In fact I didn't manage it with ds1 but have with ds2 - my mum didn't understand why I was so distraught about it though she tried to be supportive. I think she does believe that there were a lot of problems with what happened with hospital and health care professionals, but I also think she misdirected me a bit first time round.

I was FF in 1986 as was my brother in 1995 and my twin sisters in 2005.

It definately influenced my decision mainly because it was all I knew really as only 1 woman in 4 generations of my family (my mums side) BF and that was my great gran in 1953!

I wish I had listened to my own mind and not my family telling me it was just minging and what if you are sitting with your granpa are you just going to whip them out infront of him? as if it was perverted

I was only 18 when I had DS in 2006 and did consider BF but as soon as I mentioned it to my mum that was the repply I got, I genuinely thought I was happy wigth my decision but for soem reason although DS is almost 3 I get the odd pang of guilt and sadness about not listening to my own mind!!!

My brother was born in 78 and was eBF until 5 months then on ff til 10 months when mum finally persuaded him to eat solids.

She had gallons of milk from the start and my brother could take in 2oz of colostrum on the first day (pre feed and posr feed weights show 2 oz gain). Mum pumped colostrum for prem babies as well!

He only slept 3 hours a day between 5am and 8am and didn't sleep any other time either. So mum fed all the time. The switch to formula was instigated by HV to get him to sleep. He kept the same schedule til I was born when he was 22 months, then slept through for 3 months then carried on with the 3 hour thing until 3 years old.

I was born in 79 on a Friday (nearly on the ward as they didn't believe my mum was in labour until the nurse saw my head crowning!!!).

Mum was sent home on Saturday afternoon and my dad was told that Mum still had a bit of placenta in her and if she started to haemorage to call an ambulance. Small problem - no phone at home, only one neighbour had on and my dad went back to work on Monday - so was my toddler brother supposed to go to the neighbours whilst mum bled out at home?

She carried on bleeding heavily (2 maternity towels every 2 hours) until 8 weeks when a Dr gave her something to dry the bleeding up. Trouble is it dried her milk up as well and I refused SMA so HV said put her on solids.

So from 8 weeks old each day all I had was 2 bowls of baby rice mixed with formula, sweetened with Ribena or apple juice to disguise the taste of milk and one or two bottles of Ribena or apple juice to drink .

I have asthma (first person on either side of my family to), allergies, psoriasis (3 kinds), hayfever and chronic digestive problems. I lived off all-bran and syrup of figs as a little girl and (TMI I know ) even as an adult I only go to the toilet 3 times a week if I am lucky, I could go 2 days with out weeing because I would only drink about 1/2 pint of liquid a day up until 20's when I met my DH and he MADE me drink more.

Verity! You poor little bugger!
It's amazing what the human body can withstand.

I was FF as was brother. Don't think it made any difference to my decision I knew I wanted to BF. I was determined to BF (and i can be very stubborn)but my parents did make lot sof comments about introducing a FF bottle.

Doh! Forgot to say what my feeding choice was/is...currently nursing my 3 year old and my 18 month old and am 4 months pg so no milk now but a teeny bit of colostrum type stuff.

And thanks for the sympathy wastingmyeducation I didn't even mention the epilepsy, migranes, PND-OCD, triclotillomania, buggered up spine/pelvis and pernicous aenemia as they have no bf/ff links....I sometimes think I should be taken outside and shot like a lame horse

FF in '77 (think I was BF for a couple of weeks)

I BF with both of my dc (9m and 15m)

I don't think my Mum's feeding choices influenced mine... bacause, tbh, I hadn't even thought about how I was going to feed dc1. I was completely freaked out by the fact I was going to be bringing a real-life BABY home

I guess I thought, yeah, I suppose I'll try and BF and use bottles if I don't get on with it. That's as complex as it got for me

With dc2 though I absolutely wanted to BF because had had such a positive experience feeding dc1