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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Breastfeeding Vs Bottle-feeding

60 replies

Willoway · 18/12/2018 16:41

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!

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

carringtonm · 18/12/2018 19:16

Breastfeeding is so much more convenient and when it works, it is wonderful. We had a VERY tricky start but with lots and lots of support my son has been breastfed (or fed expressed milk) for over six months now. Ultimately, although formula is a good second-best alternative, nothing is better for your baby than breast milk so it's worth giving it a go. If you find it tricky but want to persist then look for lactation consultants in your area.

What I will say is that if you can offer the odd bottle of expressed milk (or formula) once your breastfeeding is established (after six weeks I think) it does give you more flexibility to go out without your baby! I am a slave to breastfeeding at the moment because mine won't take a bottle (despite only taking a bottle for the first 6 weeks!) Good luck!

SurvivingCBeebies · 18/12/2018 20:40

Exclusively expressing... best of both worlds!!!

mortifiedmama · 18/12/2018 21:34

I breastfed first time, exclusively. And I hated it. Baby also wouldn't take a bottle.

This baby will get some colostrum and then move to formula full time by 2 weeks.

You don't have to decide now. Try breastfeeding if you want to and see how you go. Some love it, some find it too difficult. If it's difficult you'll likely have to be very committed to make it work.

mortifiedmama · 18/12/2018 21:35

SurvivingCBeebies or worst of both depending on your view! Kudos to those who can sustain it.

Original poster

Willoway · 19/12/2018 19:44

Thanks for all the advice! I'm definitely going to give it a go. If it doesn't work I can always just switch to formula, but I get the feeling I would regret not trying it. Next couple of days is gonna be spent researching breastfeeding I think x

OP posts:

Maryam18 · 20/12/2018 06:45

Exclusively expressing here too, agree with best of both worlds!

SnuggyBuggy · 20/12/2018 06:47

Get some lanolin

CountessVonBoobs · 20/12/2018 07:50

I've never heard anyone describe exclusive expressing as anything but the worst of both. Way more work than either ebf or eff, the challenges of breastfeeding without the convenience and most people find it hard to produce the same with a pump as their baby would stimulate. Hats off to the ladies who do it because baby isn't latching, but I think there are very very few people who would exclusively express by choice.

SnuggyBuggy · 20/12/2018 09:13

I guess if you are one of the lucky ones that pumps a login info it's ok but I would have struggled

mortifiedmama · 20/12/2018 09:23

I responded well to a pump but not sure I could exclusively pump. I may try it this time though that means getting a pump!

Elllicam · 20/12/2018 09:28

I found expressing the worst of both worlds. Even with a hospital grade pump it was difficult to keep up, I had to get up through the night to pump and then still had to feed the baby. I found ebf much easier.

Racecardriver · 20/12/2018 09:28

I breastfed for ages. It’s so easy (assuming you don’t have any problems). We did eventually bottle feed one of ours but it wasn’t great. It really interfered with weaning. My MIL started giving him bottles of cows milk with god knows what mixed in non stop and accusing us of abusing him when we told her to give it in a cup because we were trying to stop the bottles. Washing and preparing bottles was also a huge faff. My breasts are destroyed though (3 and a half years of breastfeeding total) but I’m not sure that bottle feeding would have prevented that.

Sleeplikeasloth · 20/12/2018 09:30

I ff and loved it. I did do some bf at the beginning, but I found ff was actually more intimate and better for bonding. I also liked that we shared feeds with my husband, which helped my energy levels and I feel made me a better parent, and I just found it a lot easier.

I'm planning on either fully ff or mix feeding (with at least 50% formula) with my second.

BlaaBlaaBlaa · 20/12/2018 09:37

I breastfed for a week and hated it. DS was actually lactose intolerant so was put on special formula. The wonderful, wonderful doctor sat me down and said I could carry in BF but would have cut out all lactose, I could do both or purely FF but made it clear that it didn't matter which I chose as my baby would be absolutely fine - and he was/is. I found FF allowed DH to be more involved and I felt it gave me more freedom. If I have another it's FF all the way!

myotherbagisgucci · 20/12/2018 09:43

I EFF as I didn't fancy BF (personal choice) and it worked out brilliantly for DD1 and us. DH and I shared the feeds, which meant we both had that bonding time and could also get a decent amount of sleep.

I'll be doing the same with DD2 when she arrives in March.

PixieCutRegret · 20/12/2018 10:08

Good for you Willoway

Have a look for support groups near you, most welcome pregnant women along. The best help you can get in the early days is from a mum who has been there and done it

All the best

username5555 · 20/12/2018 10:31

I bf I found it very hard and exhausting at first. It took about 6 weeks to settle/ get use to it as I ebf.
I would say get lots of support at the start, go to breastfeeding classes/groups. I stayed in hospital for the first two nights which helped me massively as they had a breastfeeding support group who I regularly asked for help from.

Two things I wish I knew before I started bf

It can really hurt (not always the case but with a lot of women it does). You will often hear that if doing it correctly it shouldn't hurt. This is true, however, the chances are for the first couple of weeks things like the babies latch won't always be correct.
Cluster feeding! I was worried my DD wasn't always getting enough as she wanted to feed all the time. As long as s/he is having lots of dirty/wet nappies and putting on weight then let the baby feed as much as they want it's normal.

Good luck whatever you decide

whiteonesugar · 20/12/2018 11:00

I FF from the start, for various reasons, and I wouldn't change it. It was a faff going out with all the stuff but you get used to it quickly and didn't have any issues bonding etc.

That said, i didn't actually want to BF, so didn't feel guilt or sadness around it at all. If you think you want to BF i would give it a go because otherwise you may regret it.

iforgotwhatiwasgoingtosay · 20/12/2018 11:50

I am going to FF as that is what I want to do, also we plan on partner being a SAHD when I go back to work and I don't want to have to pump at the office etc

Darkstar4855 · 20/12/2018 15:04

My son is three weeks old and I am breastfeeding. I couldn’t get the hang of it for the first couple of days so he had formula from a cup and I hand expressed colostrum. On day 3 we had a session with the specialist breastfeeding midwife (check if your local unit has one) and with a bit of help we got the hang of it and he’s fed really well since.

I love breastfeeding but the downside is I have to do every feed which means my sleep can suffer especially when he has a growth spurt/cluster feeding session. I have ordered a pump and I’m going to try expressing enough for my partner to give a bottle in the evening just so I can get a bit more rest.

SurvivingCBeebies · 20/12/2018 16:54

@CountessVonBoobs
I'm 6 months down the line and pump 3-4 times a day. It was harder in the beginning.. but quite manageable now.. I love the control (ie I know exactly how much she is drinking) whilst having the immune benefits of breastmilk.. Along with the other benefits (time away in the bath whilst DP feeds etc) I think having a very good sleeper helps with pump planning (eg before she wakes/after bed/during naps)

It works well for us.. and I would do it again x

SurvivingCBeebies · 20/12/2018 17:00

@mortifiedmama
I found a manual pump far more effective for me compared to the electric.. both were avent. And it is tedious sometimes, but I just do it watching tv. I found using a light under the pump I could check the flow was effective.. if not I change position and massage to get the best let down x

anniehm · 20/12/2018 17:14

I breast fed - the best thing about it is it's free, plus you don't need bottles and other paraphernalia, it's always the right temperature and always available. It's not easy at the beginning, took six weeks with dd1 to fully establish, but worth it. Dd2 latched much easier proving it was me making mistakes.

FairfaxAikman · 20/12/2018 17:22

Ds was formula fed for the first week of his life as I was ill following his birth. I hated it so much that I worked damned hard to (successfully) get him back on the breast. You can't beat it for convenience.

Maryam18 · 20/12/2018 19:02

Expressing has been easy for me. I have a double electric hospital grade pump and I can pump 4-5oz from each side in ten minutes. I pump four times a day now so and my baby is 8 weeks old. I also breast feed too and I enjoy it but also find expressing milk convenient especially when I want dh to take over with the bottle so I can get a good few hours sleep.

I think expressing has worked for me because I have a very good milk supply and a good pump. I starting using a single pump and it was tiring because it took double the time but since I upgraded my pump my milk supply increased and I also now have a freezer stash too.

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