Breastfeeding Vs Bottle-feeding

[Willoway]

Sorry if I've posted this in the wrong area.

I'm currently 37+2 weeks (getting close now! ) and I'm undecided on whether to breastfeed or to use formula. I've had so many different opinions that I should do this do that.

What is your opinion? Did you breastfeed and love it? Or was it formula all the way? A friend even suggested doing a bit of both!

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Breastfed with the odd bottle at first then moved on to EBF.

It's harder at first then it's the easier option as you can go out without having to bring equipment, do it without getting out of bed at night and people weren't as negative about feeding in public as I expected.

I have tubular breasts so didn't have enough milk to feed DS but I honestly would of cut off my arm to be able to. Ds managed to latch on so I had a little experience of it and it really is amazing for bonding. It's your decision but I think if you are able to breastfeed it would be wonderful to.

DS1 was FF DS2 was BF. I definitely preferred breastfeeding, it was sooo hard at first but once established it was so easy and convienient. It was lovely just to leave the house with changing stuff and not worrying about how much milk to take out.

Breastfeeding is so much more about the milk, the happy hormone rush you get when you sit down to feed your baby is like nothing else. It's also just so easy to stop a tantrum with boob, Lord knows how I patented without it last time!

I didn’t ff so can’t comment on that but the absolute best thing about bf for me is being able to feed lying down! Not having to get out of bed at night or even sit up makes night feeds much more manageable!

Like another poster said not having to worry about taking milk out with you is another bonus.

Breastfeeding all the way. It’s a bitch a first but after about the first 6 weeks it’s convenient, free and you don’t have to get out of bed.

I haven’t FF & never bought anything in that regard but I’ve EBF twice & about to do it a third time in Jan.

If you want to breastfeed, find your local breastfeeding group, they might be on Facebook & try & go before baby if you can so you know where it is & they are so helpful with advice.

I was on bedrest from 32 weeks so I read every breastfeeding thread on mumsnet I could find.
Both my sons have been dairy free so I have to give up dairy while feeding.

Cluster feeding is a lot more than you can imagine but going out is so much easier & it’s free. & with teething just easier to feed for comfort.

Both weaned at 18 Months too, themselves.

I loved breastfeeding. I had one sore nipple the second time but it settled down soon enough and it's so convenient and lovely. It's saved my arse too many times to count.

BF is definitely a bit more difficult to get going and the cluster feedings are long and tiring! But still Netflix on, get some biscuits and just enjoy being able to sit down and relax. My 7.5 month old is ebf and after introducing solids at 6 months he now only feeds about 3-4 times a day so the time you spend feeding dramatically goes down pretty quickly. Like others said, I love being able to be put and about for however long I want to be and not have to stress about being stuck somewhere because of delayed buses or trains - just whip the boobs out and you have a happy baby!

Dd was mixed fed. Ds is ebf. I have found it so much easier with Ds. Once the initial month or so is over with and breastfeeding is established then it is just so much easier than faffing with bottles. Obviously it is up to you but with the right support breastfeeding can be amazingly easy. At 5 months my ds feeds every 3-4 hrs through the day and once between 10pm and 6am. His feeds take about 5 mins. It calms him down now he's teething. It's brilliant.

Breastfeeding purely because I would never get out the house if I needed to organise feeding kit as well as nappy stuff. Having forgotten change bag more than once, and forgotten to replenish useful supplies (nappies/wipes) more than that I would not want to rely on me to bring things to feed with.

Also speed of response - baby is hungry, baby yells, baby attached, done vs getting the milk to the right temperature.

Plus the whole steriliser slavery.

Hats off to mums who successfully formula feed, there's no way I would get it right (admittedly have been lucky that both mine latched easily.)

Why do you have to breast feed AND love it? Can't you just breastfeed? I didn't love it. I did it. I did it because I could, I did it because I had a winter baby and it protects them. I loved my baby, but I didn't love breastfeeding. See how you get on, you may well not get to choose, take an open minded approach and don't make a decision before giving birth if it is your first.

I always said I would give breastfeeding a go but wouldn't be too upset if it didn't work out. I did try it, it didn't work out and at first I was HUGELY bothered. I found it so so hard and it hurt so much. I unfortunately wasn't strong enough to get through the initial pain and wasn't in a good place anyway after a traumatic birth and DS spending 9 days in NICU. My husband told me to go out and get some formula and I was going to pump whatever breast milk I could and then top up with formula. I managed to bottle feed with breast milk until he was about 5 weeks but then started to dry up and couldn't keep on top of all the expressing as I felt I was sacrificing my time with him, so ended up giving far more formula than breast milk. By 7 weeks he was fully on formula. I felt extremely guilty about not breastfeeding at first and had multiple meltdowns about it but now I realise than formula feeding was the right decision for me. And a happy mum equals a happy baby. He is happy and thriving :)

So I would suggest giving breastfeeding a go but also being open to the idea that it may not work, you may want to give combi feeding a go or you may just want to switch to formula all together. Whatever way you choose and works best for you is OK!

I’d would always choose breast first.
The way I look at it, if you start of giving breastfeeding a good go, and then decide to move onto formula, it’s usually an easier transition.
If you start with formula then decide to give breastfeeding a go, it’s much more difficult to establish breastfeeding.
The way I see it, What’s there to lose by giving breastfeeding a go?

I breastfed my first for 2 years and am completely set on doing the same with my baby due soon.
The first 6 weeks were hard work and painful. But once we were past that it was a wonderful thing!

I’m very pro breastfeeding though, so would always recommend. Definitely look up the benefits too.
Just make sure if you do this you get good support from family/partner, and look up La Leche League- they run groups and have a fab contact line. They helped me so much!

Good luck with your baby and whatever feeding method you decide on!

Enjoyed breastfeeding my 1st, It’s free and much easier after the initial 8weeks. BF dc2 and going into winter with a toddler in the house it gives me a bit more peace of mind that he will get some protective elements from my immunity. It’s also great for weight loss (when used with a sensible diet if course!). I’ve lost massive amounts of baby weight both times very quickly. There are lots of benefits which I feel massively outweigh the initial tricky bit, for me anyway, good luck whatever you decide.

I wanted to bf.
I had an horrific time trying to bf my baby for 7 weeks, due to tongue tie and inverted nipples.
My mental health was horrendous, pnd had set in.
I’ve since been told it was never going to work for me.
It made me feel a failure and I strongly disliked my baby.
If it had worked out, I’d have bf but ff is the best thing I could have done.
As for bonding, bf was preventing us from bonding.

Try and swot up on breastfeeding before the birth if you’d like to do it. It needs to be learnt, it doesn’t nessecarily just happen.

Also, if you are in pain once you get started get baby checked for tongue tie/lip tie quickly, and get the latch looked at.

People tell you it hurts at first and to preservere. With my first I cried every time she latched, no one spotted the tongue tie. It was horrendous. DD2 didn’t have tongue tie and it was easy as pie.

Different babies, different experiences. I wish I knew about tongue tie before I had DD1. I ended up exclusively pumping which was bloody hard (for 7 months)

Mix feed!
I Breast fed when I could and used a low flow NUK bottle with formula when I needed someone to take baby.
You need low flow if you are going to do this though otherwise they go off the Breast fast.

I would have preferred to breast feed. See if you can book into a breastfeeding class prior to birth, it'll help your confidence although you will get a lot of support in the hospital (I've never had my boobs manhandled by so many people!)

Unfortunately my baby was totally unable to latch so despite me having a plentiful supply initially, he's been bottle fed since about 36 hours. He's combination fed as I just can't get enough by expressing to satisfy him (combination of my medication reducing supply and him being a large and very hungry baby!). I will keep combination feeding as long as possible but in the end for us, a fed baby was far better than a starving hungry one.

Read up on breastfeeding.

The Food I'd Love is a great book, also the Kellymom website. If you don't research it, you'll find it much more difficult.

DS2 is still breastfeeding at 30 months; DS1 fed for the same amount of time.

*Food of Love

If you're undecided then definitely start off breastfeeding. If it doesn't work out you can switch to formula but is almost impossible to pick it up if you don't start right away. That and it's cheaper, better for baby and once established much easier!

I've found it terrible for weight loss after about 6 months btw - I am constantly famished!!

I couldn't breastfeed the first two (first just wouldn't open his mouth wide enough, bleeding cracked nipples, second I just couldn't her to latch), and ended up pumping - it was extremely stressfull, and I loathed it. I was able to breastfeed the third and LOVED it. LOved it loved it loved. Felt so close to her, loved being able to just latch her on with little trouble. I regret pumping, I wish I had given them formula.

Breast feeding is what's recommended, so if you're undecided why not give it a go and see how you get on?

Like lots of PPs have pointed out it's free, efficient, readily available, helps bonding, helps with immunity and can protect against picking up various bugs etc. Also the BEST way to soothe an upset baby or an older baby having a meltdown!

I BF/ expressed exclusively until about 4 months then did some formula feeds when I was going to be out and about in places I thought it might be less convenient to feed at (eg at a family gathering) or if i was drinking. Continued BF until my LO was about 21 months and did miss it as a great way to soothe him when needed.

But, do your research if you decide to BF. The people who come to it easily are in the minority. It does hurt most people initially, and does take a little bit of learning for you and baby. My LO had tongue tie and it took us 2 snips and about 12 weeks before it was painless. But totally worth it in the end. I wouldn't say I "loved" BF but was definitely glad to have persevered with it and I think it's contributed to the close affectionate bond that me and my son have (although not saying this isn't achievable on the bottle too!)