Breast or Formula?

There are advantages to breast feeding, but by and large it doesn't matter all that much with regards to the health and well being of the child and people who go out of their way to use breast feeding as a means to shame other people are doing a disservice to everyone.

 

Okay, I brought this over. I had no problems with my three kids and they adjusted to both just fine. It was great to be able to do both.

 

I cannot imagine going through the hell that is endometriosis, genuinegirly. I'm rooting for you that your plan works perfectly!

I ceased to participate in the other thread but I did want to clarify: I think it is unconscionable for anyone to shame a pregnant woman or new mother for the very personal choice of breast or bottle. If I have an opinion that differs with hers, I zip it. Certainly, someone should not breastfeed 'against her will.'

The pendulum swings back and forth about the science of breast vs. bottle making the whole debate ever more cloudy. For my mom & newborn me, formula was not perfected yet. By the time my brother rolled in in 1965, it was all the rage. I get annoyed with formula companies because some of them have been very underhanded/unethical in encouraging poor/impoverished women to use formula instead of breast when either finances and/or clean drinking water are in short supply.

However a happy mom is probably going to have a happier baby so a woman should choose as Freetofly said, to do what she is most comfortable with. I was poor with my first child and it was only a happy coincidence that I wanted to breast-feed. I did so for 18 mos. The only problem other than the very first couple of days of learning was that my formerly C cup breasts enlarged to double D's and I had to always keep a finger pressed down on the breast near my son's nose so he could breathe. Also, I did on-demand feeding which made for an interesting sleeping schedule. It's my understanding that breast milk isn't as 'heavy' or filling as formula, therefore the little guy/gal feeds more often with breast but your results may vary.

Same too-big-boobs-to-breathe issue with baby #2 but he fed for 2 and a half years. By then, I was really wanting to move on. Despite my weight fluctuations in the ensuing years I've not ever gone back to a C-cup. Currently a Double D, I've barely made it into a D-cup when my weight is lower. I have stretch marks which appeared before the birth as my breasts expanded but beyond that, I don't have any lasting 'consequences' of having breastfed for 4 years.

In re: supplementing, again it is personal but I'd try to get the breastfeeding going in full-force before introducing formula, so as to be in the full swing of it before trying something brand-new. Some babies are very easy-going and will take to bottle or breast, some are vehement about their desires one way or another. It will be interesting to find out the temperament of your precious bundle. I hope you'll share how all three of you are managing. I'm getting excited for you!

 

Boobies are like toy trains.
They're supposed to be for the kids but usually dad ends up playing with them the most.

GG, you will be a great mom either way. I wish you success with breast feeding.

 

Dragged over from the other thread:

Give me a fucking break. Just because I didn't unreasonably dismiss the entire summary on the basis of the fact that the authors acknowledge some of the studies aren't ideal doesn't mean I didn't read the paper.

Maybe if you would have read it you would have noticed that I quoted the conclusion. You know, the part you get to after you've read everything else.

First, if you're going to serve up some red herring at least put the effort in to cooking it: I didn't say anything about good mothers and bad mothers. I said formula is inferior to breast milk.

As for the methodological flaws and how they relate to the conclusions drawn, if you read the body you'll note they tailor the language to the studies.

Compare

and

But hey, you know, it's not perfect so keep on pretending that one third less deaths from SIDS is irrelevant or negligible.

 

Obviously, I can't breast-feed, but I do have some experience.

First off, the "professionals" are a pain in the arse. They keep telling you what you ought to do and how much your baby "ought" to be fed. It's bullshit and it can make everyone concerned (including the baby) miserable if taken too much to heart. Every baby is different. However, each one knows when they are hungry and want feeding. The solution, after much pain and suffering, was - or so we found - to feed them when they wanted food (milk). Simple, really!

Second, some women like breast-feeding and some take to it more easily than others. I understand that colostrum is pretty good stuff, so it's probably worth giving it a go. However, if it isn't working for you or for your baby, don't feel a need to persist. Bottles are good too. My kids had both breast and bottle and they turned out fine. All kids do, really.

One really nice thing about bottles is that the Dad can take part, too. I have very precious memories of being able to feed each of mine in the middle of the night (and their mother enjoyed some well-earned sleep into the bargain!).

One thing that isn't so much fun with breast-feeding is leaky breasts. Having damp pads clinging to your nipples can't be much fun (not that I know from personal experience!).

In short, go with what works for you and don't over-think all this stuff.

 

When breast-feeding, there is a certain cry your infant will make when he's hungry. How will you know which cry it is? Your nipples will start tingling and leak more profusely. Even after 20 years, I can hear someone else's infant cry that certain cry and get a tingle in my nipples. Not unpleasant. Just thought I'd throw that in there.

I breast fed for 6 weeks when I had my first. Six weeks was the max allowable time off from work for child leave. I was ready. I didn't enjoy breast feeding. I have extremely sensitive nipples and it was like torture. I would have to grit my teeth through it. I didn't bother with the pump but chose instead to make the transition to bottle before I went back to work.

Same deal with the second baby.

My kids (grown now) are incredibly healthy and well-adjusted with great immune systems. No childhood health issues outside of the norm.

It's difficult to dispute empirical data and of course I can't say if there'd have been problems if I'd not breastfed at all. My main worry at the time was whether they were picking up on my dislike of the experience.

My non-professional recommendation to any mother would be to breastfeed your child for as long as it's manageable, if it's manageable, but not to worry too much if it's not. The mother/child bonding experience is more than just what is gained through the act of breast feeding and a more significant factor in whether or not an infant thrives than whether they are breast or bottle fed.

I'm a big believer in the benefits of colostrum though, so I would encourage mothers to at least give their infants the benefit of natural digestive agents, antibodies, growth factors and passive immunity.

My nips are tingling just thinking about it.

 

My sister and nephew both had a really hard time with attempting to breast feed - she kept trying for a couple weeks, but it didn't work out for either of them. She didn't produce enough milk, and he didn't have a strong enough suck reflex. She pumped for a while, but ended up giving up on that pretty early when she wasn't producing enough to even be 10% of his daily intake.

Sometimes it just doesn't work out. In one case I know of, trying harder was more dangerous to baby because bleeding nipples were a risk for exposure to hepatitis C.

 

Did you read everything else?

Fair enough.

I did notice. And that's why I pointed out that most of the studies they cite are portrayed as not having properly adjusted for confounding, and thus not necessarily that convincing.

You strike me as the type of person who believes that correlation doesn't imply causation. Do you believe that maxim to be true here? Do you have any particular mechanisms in mind for why breast feeding might reduce SIDS deaths? Do you have any questions about the methodology of the meta study? Have read the meta study? Can a mother breast feed once and all of a sudden her infant's risk of SIDS is 64% of what it was immediately before she nursed regardless of whether she ever nurses again? Does she have to nurse for a day for the protective effect to kick in? A week? 6 months? What about this is biologically plausible?

 

My wife tried really hard with our first, but was having huge issues getting him attached. Finally (after a couple of weeks of stress), our doctor said something like "they don't give out medals for breast feeding". Baby one ended up on the bottle.

A couple of years later, baby 2 was fully breast fed and it just worked out.

You'd have trouble telling which was bottle and which was breast if you looked at them

Definitely something nice to do (sterilising bottles and making formula up is a right royal pain), but both baby and mum have to be comfortable doing it.

 

Of course, there is also the question of when to stop as well ...

 

Breastfeeding is considered better - the baby gets antibodies from the mums milk. Fed both of mine. Oldest I had to start adding a bottle at three months. Its simpler, its there on tap, its free. Its also personal choice, so I wouldnt knock anyone who didnt want to.

 

I liked breast-feeding and one obvious benefit is that you only have to lug around your giant knockers everywhere you go. It's bad enough having to carry around all the crap you need to have on hand when you have a baby and you neither have to worry about keeping them cold nor, conversely, heating them up.

One of the downsides is leaking. For example, maybe one night you and the hubby will decide to leave the baby with mom and go out on a date to treat yourselves, and you wear, I dunno, maybe that nice silk shirt you like, only to look down midway through the evening to find two giant wet spots where your nipples are. It will happen. Even with nursing pads, it will happen.

Healthwise, breastmilk is good for the baby. It does provide maternal antibodies, but if the people who handle the baby follow basic rules of hygiene and you don't traipse all around town in the first three months with the baby in tow, then you shouldn't have to spend an inordinate amount of time worrying about your child's vulnerability to pathogens. Ultimately, a baby still has to develop its own immunity whether it is breast-fed or not.

 

My mom's a doula and has been really close with the La Leche League for years. I knew about breast-feeding almost before I knew where babies came from.
I think it's an extremely personal decision, and one shouldn't be judged regardless of their decision. Much less stalked and harangued from thread to thread on the internet. That aside, I've heard it's great for the mom and the kid, for bonding, for immune systems... and I've heard that it sucks for some people and some infants can't do it. I'm all about the kangaroo care, though, whether or not you breastfeed. Kangaroo immediately. It's amazing to watch, and I can't imagine how awesome it is for the whole family.

Whatever you decide, just remember....
It's not about doing it AT the dinner table, it's about not doing it ON the dinner table

 

Leakage in a nightclub, wearing a black dress and with black lights on is not a discreet look.

 

Power to you, Girly! I'm glad you're accepting input from husbands and dads, too. I can't offer any extra information; you're surely well-versed in all the benefits--for baby and for momma--and I've seen in previous posts pretty much all the points that I could have raised. The oxytocin released while you're nursing will be magic for you and your cub. You'll be boosting his/her immune system. The physical closeness will engender a deep bond between the two of you.
Everyone feeds her baby differently, according to her own beliefs and choices. I believe that you are superhero.

 

I can't agree more.

We've had almost the same experience except that the counselor at the Breast feeding class was an ignorant bitch. She was really pressing that if your baby is not breast feeding from the very first day, he/she will never. That's not at all true.

If you or your baby are not comfortable with breastfeeding, feed your baby the formula. In our case, baby was formula fed for the first week and then colostrum/milk was pumped and bottle-fed for the next couple of weeks. Fortunately, from the third week mom and baby got hang of proper latching and sucking combination. But still, baby was bottle fed whenever necessary e.g. middle of the night when mommy is tired, in the mall, in the car etc.

As it is said above, don't over-think this stuff.

 

whee!