How bad is Formula?

[orangeguy]

I'm unable to breast feed. How bad is formula?

https://www.uhsussex.nhs.uk/resources/breastfeeding-in-the-first-few-days/#:~:text=Your%20baby's%20tummy%20is%20tiny,size%20of%20a%20walnut!).

At 10days old your baby’s stomach only holds 60-85mL

My DC 18 and 11 are thriving and were bottle fed.

Agree with pps who've said formula is absolutely fine and very well designed so please try not to beat yourself up over however works for you to feed your baby (I get there's so much pressure and information out there though, pressure from ourselves and goodness knows where else!) As long as baby is fed and looked after, that's honestly great.

If you personally would like to bf though, a registered lactation consultant is fantastic. I found the help from a lactation consultant who visited us in our own home invaluable and helpful even when clinics, other help etc wasn't working out for us. I don't think I'd have managed to carry on bf without her, but I realise this is obviously more expensive so there's a cost to factor in. The one we found came the next day and was great with help over the phone in the mean time. Some will offer advice free over the phone and just charge for the home visits.

I also struggle to get much out when pumping for some reason. Sometimes I can get milk out via a pump and others not a drop 🤷 No idea how DS does it tbh. Sending lots of well wishes and support. Trying to establish bf can be so hard and it's such an emotional thing. However you feed your baby is amazing and you are fantastic for taking care of this little human ff or bf! Xx

Oh and I was bottle fed and am never ill. I'm sure breast is best but formula is fine.

My gran had 4 healthy children, all tall and strong, no allergies, no illnesses except the usual childhood stuff.
She also has 3 grandchildren now. All perfectly healthy.
Every single family member described was FF. We are fine.

I second that nipple shields were AMAZING when my nipples were getting blisters on and all sorts at the beginning. Kelly mom and la leche league really great resources and newborns' stomachs are soooo tiny to begin with 💕

I really, REALLY wanted to breastfeed.

Unfortunately, I couldn't. I was just not making anywhere near enough milk.

We moved to formula. Baby is now 8, and top of his class.

FED is best!

Even over two sessions that’s not a bad supply at all! My baby is 7 weeks and I average around 4oz across both breasts in pumping session, and I have a
good supply and she’s gaining weight as she should be

It looks like you can definitely express enough to give a few feeds a day if that’s what you want, then top up with formula. If your baby is getting some breast milk each day they’ll be getting a lot of the benefits. Hopefully that would make you feel better about using formula

Both my boys ended up being formula fed. I desperately wanted to breastfeed but I have something called mammary hypoplasia which basically means I don’t have enough breast tissue to produce breast milk. I did breastfeed but then would have to offer a top up after every feed, I did this for the first 12 weeks with them both and with my second I pumped until 6 months but was only
able to produce enough to give him one bottle of breaskmilk per 24-36 hours.

Both of my boys have been absolutely fine being majority formula fed. They’re 3 and 9 months, both are a good weight, rarely unwell except the occasional cold and they are happy boys who don’t care that they weren’t exclusively breast fed.

Or you can buy pre-made bottles for when out and about

Flat nipples and massive boobs here too. I watched my friends just pop baby on easily and it was never like that for me. I had a gadget during pregnancy that was supposed to help with flat nipples but it was a gimmick!
An amazing midwife spent time with me when I was in bits with a 1 week old baby at the start of mastitis and changed everything for me. Without her, I never would have managed to breastfeed.
First, mum has to be comfy. Get yourself in a nice supportive position, where you can sit for a while. I used to put pillows around me, under each arm and on my lap. People would laugh but it made such a difference.
Then, I used to lay my son on the pillow in rugby ball position, so down along the pillow, with his body under my arm. You can hold baby's head then but the pillow should do most of the work.
Then she showed me how to manipulate the nipple a bit to give him something to grip, sort of rolling it. Then using one hand behind him to guide his head and the other to create a nipple shape, stuff it all in! Go again if you don't get a good latch the first time.

Sorry for the length of post but nobody else ever showed me this. And if I can help someone else, that would be great.

Having said that, I combined this with formula after the first few weeks and have no regrets - apart from how much I beat myself up! Breastfeeding is not always the easy natural way people portray and the pressure was/is enormous.

Mine are teenagers now and, as another poster said, among their peers, you absolutely cannot tell the formula and breast fed kids apart! Do whatever works OP!

How many times a day are you feeding?

My baby is 16 days old, of I skip a feed I can pump 5oz across both breasts pretty fast, however he feeds a lot longer than my pump session so I know that after 20 minutes he is just sucking for comfort and I stop worrying about the placement etc.

I also have large breasts 30GG and whilst my nipples are fine for breast feeding I find that there isn't much space for the baby. I find it easier to hold him with 2 hands not just in the crook of my arm, whilst it's more work I can get a better latch like that. It does get easier though once they gain better head control and can latch on more easily themselves. My SIL has small flat nipples and she only has success breast feeding with nipple shields
My oldest had tongue tie, CMPA the lot I did mixed feeding with specialist formula and an exclusion diet and gave up at 6 months. She's a happy healthy 3.5 year old now and I don't think less breast milk has had any impact on her at all

It isn’t.

That's not always true. DS had a CMPA but there was no sign of any issues when EBFing, we only discovered it at 6 months when we introduced solids and he came out in hives as soon as he touched cheese.

Do you have a shaped nursing pillow to help support baby at the breast? That way you wouldn’t need to be worried about holding them for a long time.

Nipple shields are also worth a try if you don’t think baby latches on properly, they’re really helpful for flat nipples and are more similar to a bottle for baby to latch onto. I know lots of people who have only been able to breastfeed because they used nipple shields.

It's 100% good and fit for purpose.

My evidence is my 2 fully grown healthy children, both bottle fed.

The only thing they didn't get was antibodies from me, but they soon made their own 😊

There are many ways in which you nurture your child OP. How you feed them as an infant is just one of them.

edit to remove a wrong tag.

Both me and my brother were bottle fed and 99% of my wider family too and we’re all fit and healthy individuals.

Growing up I never saw anyone being breastfed therefore I have no desire to do this myself and I have 0 problems with formula.

I couldn’t breastfeed, felt like a failure for a few weeks, tried everything, became depressed and anxious, then switched to formula and never looked back. Fed as if BF - on demand, with plenty of cuddles and eye contact. I look back so fondly on that snuggly bonding time - it turned out that the medium by which the feeding occurred didn’t matter in the end. DC is eight now, fit and active, top of the class, and I can count sick days on one hand.

I really, really wish I’d been more relaxed about feeding. Yes, breast milk is the perfect food for babies and if all goes well it’s very convenient as no prep. But formula, fed with love and cuddles by a happy mother, is a perfect substitute. Your baby needs a happy, relaxed mum and a full tummy - that’s it. You’re doing great.

You’re getting a decent amount. I wouldn’t worry about drying up. I had a c-section after an induction so my milk didn’t come in well. I sort of combi fed and then went to bottles for about a month. After that I tried breastfeeding again and ended up switching to that exclusively as for me it was easier. So it’s not so clear cut that you stop for a little while and it necessarily dries up. Personally I hated pumping as it was so time consuming so if you can’t breastfeed directly please don’t feel guilty about going to formula. Formula is safe and has decent nutrition for baby. It’s really in developing countries where there are issues with clean water etc do you see such a difference in health outcomes for Brest vs formula babies.

My dd was losing weight and really poorly until I started formula.
I'm so glad it exists!

Since when was formula bad? I FF all mine from birth, they're all fine and healthy
You shouldn't say formula feeding is bad. It was my personal choice to use it.
Why? Because I didn't want to give up my boobs to feed a baby with, because I wanted to share feeds with my DH, I didn't want to have to hide and feel embarrassed getting boobs out in front of family or in public. These are just some of the reasons why

Pumping is much harder than breastfeeding and what you can pump isn't indicative of how much you can produce whilst nursing.

If you're struggling with holding the baby there are some great side lying positions you can nurse in.

I went to breastfeeding classes with my first which were a total game changer.

But if you don't want to then do what's right for you.

Results after a pump :(