Quick, I need credible info on the benefits of exclusively BF

[BlameItOnTheBogey]

I am EBF DC2 (10 weeks). This is a real achievement for me after being unable to BF ds leading to him being readmitted to hospital at 8 weeks. I've worked hard to make this a success - spent most of my time pre and post pregnancy accessing every bf resource available and have worked through badly damaged nipples in the early days. dd is doing brilliantly and piling on the weight. Today I am sick as a dog with high temp, migrane and bad tummy. dh is putting pressure on me to ff dd tonight so i can rest and recover. He has my best interests at heart but I have come so far and the thought of giving her a bottle makes me weep. He doesn't believe one or two bottles can do any harm and won't believe it unless I can show him some credible research. Can anyone help please?

the study also points out that exposure to cows milk protein before the age of around 6 months increases the incidence of diabetes in suceptible babies.

I really don't want to argue about this, nor do i want to make anyone feel guilty or upset and i'm sorry if reading that paper made you feel that way.

The OP asked for facts regarding exclusive breastfeeding - and there are studies to support the fact that exclusive breastfeeding is best for babies for the first 6 months of life and i was just trying to give the OP the information she asked for.

Tell him every time you BF your baby, you are passing on vital antibodies to the illness you are currently fighing. Without them, your baby could well develop the same symptoms as you (this may happen anyway, but less likely IYSWIM). Also, if you miss an entire nights feedings you will wake up with boobs like over full balloons which will be agonising and very possibly you may then get mastitis which will make you even more poorly.

also, there is that even a tiny amount of formula can make a baby very constipated indeed....

and for every person who thinks ' i combined forumla & bm and it worked fine' - great. if it hadn't, would you have been able to go back to EBF that easily?
so many posts on here'baby fussing/refusing breast, have been giving occasional bottle - what can i do???? Help!'

I found this article on the virgin gut which might help

www.iwantmymum.com/site/articles/exclusive-breastfeeding-virgin-gut/154

Just wanted to add that I was in a similar position with my first except it was my Mum who was constantly urging me to give dd a bottle - it didn't make things any easier.

It sounds like you're doing brilliantly and actually though it is hard, feeding through your illness with help protect your dd from catching it herself. I hope you feel better soon

Have you got a pump or could you hand express ? It would give you a break without resorting to formula. It certainly helped me get through mastitis

I'm still waiting for a link to 'credible' studies (actually, even poor studies would do, as I don't think any studies exist showing that benefits of formula outweigh benefits of bf). What a strange post, but do come back, penguin, and share.

An important reason for avoiding a night of formula for a 10 week old EBF baby is the effect on the mother - sudden cessation of bf can lead to mastitis (esp if a mother is already run down) and even abscess. At the very least it will lead to serious discomfort.

It is more bother than it's worth.

Personally, I'd stick to that argument - obv ebf is better nutritionally than formula but you can't make a convincing argument that a night time of formula is bound to create long term health damage.

Hope you are feeling a bit better today OP.

you don't need research. tell him to respect your feelings. you don't want to do anything to undermine BFing your tiny baby. it's his job at this stage of paretnhood to give you 100% support for what you want. You don't feel comfortable FFing, ask him to back off and support you instead.

Thanks everyone for taking time to reply and sorry if my question upset anyone (I well remember from my experiences trying to feed ds how upsetting the whole thing is if it doesn't work out).

I am feeling much better this evening and, with great irony, dd chose last night to sleep right through. So I managed to get a block of unbroken sleep without having to give formula.