Breast or bottle fed??

[bearface1983]

Hi everyone. I am interested in what you're planning to do about feeding. I am due in September. Who's breastfeeding and who's formula feeding? I'd love to know xxx

^Sorry - all that is on the assumption that you want to BF. If you don’t, or you can’t, please don’t wallow in guilt over formula. Your baby’s getting the food it needs exactly the same.

Wow I am amazed at how many replies there are already :-) it's my first and I am doing what most of you seem to do which is have a plan to breastfeed and try not to worry if it doesn't work out and feel comfortable switching to pumping/formula. I feel like a lot of ladies here about the judgement and pressure to breastfeed. It's really good to know I'm not alone. It's very difficult as I feel everyone has an opinion on what my boobs will/should do. I feel so much better reading everyone's different experiences xxxx

Oh dear I'm sure they wouldn't sell formula if it was poison!! 😂😂😂 what a balloon she is!!!

Breastfed DD until 7 months when we started giving her a bottle at night as well as BF morning and afternoon.

I didn't mind either way but we're short on money and breast milk is free

Tried to breastfeed for 2 days unsuccessfully. No change in breasts through pregnancy and no milk came in. Bottle fed thereafter and DS fine. If I have another I'd probably bottle feed from the start if I thought I had no milk again.

I think my biggest worry is how much milk she's getting and her being hungry. I don't know about the wet nappy thing it's useful I think I might see if I can go to a local class xx

how do you know how much they have taken?

I could feel boobs emptying out of fluid before & after feeds, too. From harder to softer.

Haha @RedPandaMama that's what I thought but by the time I had bought strap tops to wear under regular clothes so I could feed without exposing to the world - Maternity bras and reusable breast pads it does still add up.

But way way better than £11 every feed days on formula tubs which really really adds up quickly.

I breastfed all four children as planned because I'm far too lazy to bottlefeed but in each pregnancy bought initial bottle feeding kit just in case baby didn't read the plan

I'm also due in September. Really hoping to breastfeed mostly as I find formula incredibly inconvenient.

Due in 4 weeks and I will hopefully breastfeed this one like I did my 1st. The first few weeks are the hardest but honestly i didn't find it too bad or difficult. We combi fed from 4 months and I stopped feeding all together at 10 months. I found breastfeeding much more convenient than bottle feeding. If you want to try breast feeding I would look into classes and support in your area.

Choose whichever one is right for you and to hell with anyone who judges, you'll soon learn that when it comes to parenting there is no right choice according to the public!

Wing it and do what makes you happy :o

FWIW I formula fed my first and breastfed my second for 16 months, I received way more negative comments for breastfeeding because it's not "normal" amongst my family/friends.

I bonded with both kids just fine, you do a million other things to help with this honest, and if anything #1 is generally healthier than #2.

Both methods have pros and cons and if I had my time again I'd probably try combi-feeding to try and strike a balance.

I'm currently BF my 3 week old DS. When pregnant I decided not to make a decision and just see how things went, I even packed pre made formula bottles in my hospital bag. I didn't invest in any serious bits of kit like pumps or bottle sets, I wanted to see how things went first and we have a 24 hour Tesco nearby and have Amazon Prime if we needed stuff urgently.

I had a lovely midwife help me in hospital to get him to latch and he took to it really well! Over the coming days though my milk took an extra day to come in and baby lost 13% of his body weight so I made the decision to use 2 formula feeds to bump him up. My midwifes said it was the best decision I made and eventually my milk came in and we didn't need any more top up feeds! I then ordered a hand pump to express some feeds off and keep in the freezer in case we need them.

What I'm getting at is BF isn't easy but you will get a lot of support from your midwives who visit (we had extra visits due to his weight loss) , you can tell if they are getting enough by their weight, frequency and length of their feeds and wet nappies. Trust your instincts and if you have to use formula that's fine, if it doesn't work out don't beat yourself up, you tried your best and if you can at least get a few feeds of colostrum into them then you've done well!

Women are under a lot of pressure to breastfeed as it's all the midwifes talk about. Go into it with an open mind and see how it goes! Best of luck

I'm also due in September. I'm planning on breastfeeding but as I'm going to be a single mum I want to express and introduce a bottle so that friends and family can help out. I'm not sure when I'll introduce the bottle but am hoping to get advice from somewhere. Also I'm going to have to go back to work when the baby is 6 months so need the nursery to be able to bottle feed. If breastfeeding doesn't work out then it doesn't work out.

I bottle fed my first and Breast fed my second, both have pros and cons, it depends on what better suits you and baby

Due in July and will be breastfeeding my little girl 😊 But firm believer that fed is best no matter how baby gets their food

I'm breastfeeding my 7mo DD and have been lucky and really enjoyed it. It is hard work as DD is not a great sleeper and still wakes for feeds several times a night, but it is so convenient (especially at 3am!!). The vast majority of my mum friends formula feed and it always seems such a faff having to prepare bottles when we're out. I'm hoping to bf until DD is 1 and then gradually wean her off.

Before giving birth I always said I would try to bf but would feel no guilt if I ended up needing to bottle feed. Strangely enough I actually felt a lot of guilt at the prospect of formula feeding in the early days and was desperate to make bf work (though I would never judge another mother for bottle feeding). Fortunately bf worked out for me.

Combination fed for the first four weeks. She chose formula after that. I have never been judged for bottle feeding.

I've breast fed my DD who is now nearly 9 months and still doing it. I've not had to many problems although I wish I had given some formula and the bottle earlier on so I could have moved to formula by now. However she won't take bottles or formula so we are still going strong.

Gonna breastfeed again. I loved it with my first born, so hoping it'll be as easy for me this time round :)

Breastfeeding, can't be arsed faffing around with bottles etc. Always hard for the first month or so as mine are always born with tongue ties but know it will settle after that is snipped and I heal up.

I bottle fed twins then breast fed youngest, I plan to breast feed again as it's way easier and I got lots more sleep!!!

Straight formula fed my first, attempted a week bf with the second and I hated it so went to formula, 3rd due in 3 weeks and will be formula feeding this time again
I feel both mum and baby need to be content

Breast for about 2 months then only formula. Had the baby blues quite badly. The relief when I stopped the breastfeeding was immense.

I plan to breastfeed and also express milk so DP can feed her too.