Formula feeding versus breastfeeding - which did you do and why?

[firstimer30s]

I know there is research in favour of breastfeeding and all the benefits for baby, but aside from that, practically, how did it affect you and baby, whichever you chose?
I know this is a sensitive subject but I'm a first timer and clueless so would appreciate hearing your experiences...
Thanks

Breastfed for 12 months and 9 months. Moved to formula with second child at 9 months as I had to go back to work. First child never had formula.

I would pick breastfeeding every time. No sterilising, no preparation, no waste, much cheaper. Nobody else can ask to feed the baby either, which for me was an advantage with first baby as if I hadn't been breastfeeding I really do think my mum would have taken over (she is pro bfing was just v overexcited about first grandchild!).

The health benefits of breastfeeding as opposed to formula feeding are well documented so I won't repeat them. Plus, it's how they're supposed to be fed, innit?!

Bf. Not only is it healthier but for days out I didn't need to remember milk (a good thing given I sometimes forgot nappies...) and when at home I would spend hours on the sofa reading and bfing calmly. Still bf at nearly 18 months but obviously he can cope without now and its only before naps.

My attitude was that I'd give it a decent try and review st the 6 week mark.

Thanks! Forgot to say, I will be going back to work after 3 months. Part time but with 3 very long days (leave house at 7am and get back at 8pm). Then 2 days home-working and going out for 3 hours at a time for meetings

Is expressing at work a realistic option?

Breastfed all mine. I can't imagine doing all that measuring and bottle sterilising, washing, boiling, faffing.

If you have to formula feed then I guess its just something you get used to.

Night feeds breastfeeding are a quick lug of the baby into a cosy bed (or if cosleeping then baby just nuzzles up to you and connects) and a drowsy cuddle til they've done.

That's before all the benefits to growing baby's healthy gut flora and all the associated evidence that breastfeeding can help reduce health problems in both mother and baby.

However, with breastfeeding you have to be prepared for a certain amount of discomfort from engorged breasts, thrush, leaking.

With DC1 I breastfed for 10 weeks and hated every single minute of it. My next 4 DC were all ff from day one.

Breastfed mine for about 18 months. I didn't consider formula feeding because I'm lazy. Don't have to worry about bottles and formula when going out. We also did a long haul with DD when a baby to see family. I assume it will be much more stressful with formula on a 12 hour flight, and 2 weeks away in a foreign country.

I'm sure mums who picked ff from the start will have their own valid reasons.

Chose to bf as free, less faffing involved with bottles, sterilising etc, DS1 never had a bottle so didn't need to express but I am a sahm so lucky to have that option. DS2 is 6 months now and am planning to do the same. Also, of course there are all the health benefits as well, and all my close friends and family have bf so it never occurred to me to do anything else.
It is down to personal choice though, and as long as your baby is fed then that is the important thing. I would just go with whatever YOU feel comfortable with rather than what others expect of you. Good luck! Am hoping this thread won't turn into a bun fight

We mixed fed out of necessity from the start and are still doing so 9 months later. Although I had wanted to only BF, in hindsight for me this has been the ideal option. I and DD have had the benefits of breastfeeding but the formula is fantastic for convenience (she only has a lunchtime & bedtime bottle, anything else is BF). I think I would have quit the breastfeeding a LOT earlier if we hadn't been doing a combination. DD always slept well and though there is no guarantee of this with every baby, I personally feel that was down to the fomula.

It's tricky given your work schedule and it would be worth discusssing with your employer the practicality of expressing at work. Either way, I would suggest introducing a bottle (formula or expressed milk) sooner rather than later as many BF babies don't take to it quickly (or indeed at all!) and that would be very stressful going back to work.

We decided to ff from birth. Well, it might have developed into mixed feeding - I was prepared to give bf a go for the first few days, especially for the colostrum, and see how I felt about it, but I didn't have a strong feeling towards it. In the end DD was in NICU and we just went onto formula straight away.

Our decision was quite heavily based on my concerns about managing on my own with a tiny baby. DP worked very long shifts and there was no family support on the doorstep. I instinctively felt that if I wasn't in a position for someone else (DP, family) to look after and feed the baby for a few hours, for DP to help with the nightfeeds when he was around, then I would seriously struggle. I still feel this was the right decision for us. I honestly believe if DP would have been home every day at 6, had been home every weekend, or if I'd had family who could simply pop around for an hour, I would have considered bf more and given it more of a go. I guess that depends on how you feel about other people feeding the baby. Personally I enjoyed watching other people feed my baby and enjoying that time with them, and without criticising anyone, I don't quite understand why the thought of anyone else feeding your baby is a bad thing.

I never found making bottles a faff, it just became part of the daily routine and was very easy to do. Nightfeeds weren't an issue at all. Even if I had bf I still wouldn't have co-slept and would still have left the room to feed, because of sharing a bed with a randomly-sleeping shift worker.

I used to feel bad about this decision (well, on MN, not particularly in RL) but not any more. It was the right decision for us as a family. Of course bf is best for the baby if it works out well, and there should be more support there for people who want to do it - for example, for mums with concerns like mine before having the baby, there could be a lot more talk about mixed feeding which I probably would have considered if I had any idea that mixed feeding was a viable possibility. But I was only ever told bf or ff, not that the two can be combined. But at the end of the day it is the mum's choice, and I strongly believe no one should ever feel criticised or commented on or feel they need to defend their choices, whether they are ff'ing or bf'ing until 4yo.

To grumblelion's point about bf and sleep. It's a common perception that ff makes baby sleep better. My own experience is that mine slept very well while exclusively bf. She is a tiny baby (many will tell you bigger babies sleep better). Slept through the night from before 3mo. I can't remember when, but we went to the midlands on holiday when she was 3mo and she was already sleeping through by then. And she stayed that way until a hospital stay at 7mo that traumatised her . But she loves her sleep and is still the same now at 2.6yo. She used to only sleep and cry/bf, and nothing can wake her up once she's fallen asleep on the breast. Now she sleeps from 7pm to 5/6am every night, plus 2 hours in the afternoon. I know friends with similar aged toddler already down to no nap and going to bed at 9 or 10pm.

Basically I'm just saying they all need different amount of sleep. Some babies/toddlers just love sleep, some don't.

Dd1 I bf for three weeks with formula too ups. Expressed for three months and hated every second of it :( life was so much better on bottles.

Dd2 I ff from day one and still feel it was the right decision. I do not and will not regret ff :)

you are right when you say it is an emotive subject.

For us Breastfeeding was the only thought for DS1 it was hard but I had known it would be for the first few weeks so it wasn't a shock.
With DS2 I was more open minded about an occasional bottle of formula but we didn't need it as he was a very different baby to DS1.

At the time (7 years ago) it was all consuming deciding on these things but I can honestly say that now, if I put all DS's friends in a row you could not tell who bf and who ff, who used washable nappies or not, who slept through the night before 6 months, who was potty trained first etc.

I am not minimising the level of decisions you are making I know they feel huge, I guess I am just saying, go with your needs/wants and not everyone elses. It all levels off in the end.

With the work issue then you will need to consider bottles sooner (DS has never taken one but he didn't start nursery until 8 months when I could send him with a cup). Not all babies will easily take a bottle if it is introduced too late, so maybe you should be mix feeding or expressing to feed in a bottle from 6-8 weeks

But because of how milk is produced its massively easier to go from breast to bottle than the other way around.

And if you do decide that with the work situation it is easier to exclusively ff then I suggest you read about colostrum. This is the very first milk that really does give an immune boost to a newborn in the first 3(ish) days. You could always do that and then once your milk comes in introduce the bottle.

Breastfed exclusively for 6 months, stopped at 7+ months.

I wanted to do it, as I knew the health benefits for baby but also for me (reduces risk of certain cancers etc) but also loved the convenience of it, no boiling, cooling, sterilisation, measuring etc. I could sit up in bed, reach over, feed, then go back to sleep without getting up.

I started follow on milk at 7 months & couldn't believe what a pain in the arse it was!

I also loved the bonding aspect

I wanted to BF. I had a traumatic delivery and was in a real state after and the midwives just seemed to be in my room desperate to support me in my previously stated wish to BF whilst I was grey from blood loss and in pain from a crash section. Looking back it practically falls under the 'totally inappropriate' heading for me. I did not have it in me to feed my child. I should have had support sooner. It took two days of nightmare before a new midwife came in at 4am and gently suggested formula. It's safe and an alternative. It allowed me to get well.

I would like to BF if I have another because of the benefits but I wish they wouldn't bloody well terrorise mothers with it.

Breastfed because I am lazy :)

I'm also a first timer and have a 3 week old so its v early days. I always wanted to BF and my experience so far is mainly positive. The 1st week was painful but it didn't last and a product called Lansinoh got me through it.
I have needed to express to increase my supply and even with an electric pump I find it really challenging so I don't think I'd want to do it to keep my dd fed while I was away, it also expresses much less milk than baby will be able to. I'm really lucky as there are dedicated BFing groups where I live and I've been given a lot of support, if you decide to BF I highly recommend finding and joining one. I love being able to feed her myself and the nights are easy at the moment as we cosleep.

I bf DD for almost two years. She took a long time to take to it (I thought bf was just plug and go, but it really does take patience!) so had top ups of formula til six weeks. I chose bf for health benefits for DD and for me, cost, because it's easier to travel and because it's hard to keep everything sterile for ff. Bf was also the way DD and I bonded and it kept me sane as a reliable way to calm her down and get her to sleep. I'd never have believed it when she was struggling to latch, but I have never felt so calm and at peace as when I was feeding DD. I never had trouble finding a quiet corner to breastfeed while out and luckily was able to take breaks to bf DD at work. I bought a pump but ironically DD wouldn't take the bottle once she was older and I found the pump quite tricky to use.

Bf is tricky with work, but could you perhaps do mixed feeding? Don't let anyone guilt you, it is your decision. There are lots of healthy ff babies and bf babies can get ill too. On a personal level though, bf is the thing I enjoyed most about being a mother and I'm so glad I persevered.

Bf ds for 9 months+ and dd for 6 before mixed feeding after returning to work. It was easier and I'm lazy! And it is far cheaper.

Agree panda about cost, I was horrified at the cost of a tin of milk, we also gave bedtime milk which was the same price but a tiny box.

With dd1 I bf because I knew no different, ff wasn't something I even considered. I was young and just got on with it.

Dd2 I ff because she was loosing too much weight and I couldn't stand the thought of going back into hospital so agreed to ff for 2 days and see if that helped. She gained loads and was obviously happier on formula.

Ds is 11 days old and is bf, it's going well so far and I love watching him as he feeds. It's a bugger being the only one to be able to feed but I'm hoping to express and maybe have a night off (that's if he takes a bottle and latches on the boob again OK)

I started off trying to bf.

DS1- BFed until 5wks
DS2- BFed until 6mnths.

I've done both.

My problem now is lack of physical help. Dp works shifts. I work full time. 3 dc, 1 with complex SN. Im torn between doing what is perceived by hcps as doing the best for my baby or the best for me & my family.

Bf is exhausting. No one to do nights or take over. I will go back to my normal routine within days of giving birth. I will be working from 4 weeks-though from home & as little as possible...but im self employed. If I take 3/6 months leave I won't have a business left. I couldn't afford months off work.

Its so difficult. I think you just end up doing what's right for you & your family in the end.

At the time (7 years ago) it was all consuming deciding on these things but I can honestly say that now, if I put all DS's friends in a row you could not tell who bf and who ff, who used washable nappies or not, who slept through the night before 6 months, who was potty trained first etc.

I couldn't agree with this more.
I bf DS until he was 2, really glad I did, however I was very stressed in the early days about it not working out and didn't want him to have any formula whatsoever.
I'm now expecting DC2 and will be more casual about it. I definitely will bf again as overall I think it's more convenient when out and about - I felt very reassured by knowing that I always had milk on tap no matter where I was. But I will not worry so much about maybe DH doing a night feed of formula if required (once my supply is established).
I really ran myself into the ground last time unnecessarily I think.
I'm determined to express successfully this time too, never mastered that last time and DS never took a bottle EVER, I did every single feed which was hard going. I don't know why I put so much pressure on myself to be honest!