MSE Parent Club - Part 2

Curious_George_2

no offence krystal but sometimes too much information is as bad as too little,

I know your a breastfeeding specialist and as you said biased towards that but i think there is enough motherhood guilt flying around that you shouldnt feel like your doing your baby damage by feeding them a bottle of formula,
we all know breast is best but sometimes these things dont work out and formula is as good as it gets,
i had the best of intentions for both of my children (especially as i produce enough milk to feed a maternity ward) but the longest i lasted with either was under 3 months, and from there to cows milk at a year they both had formula (DD on aptimil, DS on aptimil easy digest) and i believe i did the best for them.
and not that its really relavent for the breast/formula debate but i also watch what my kids eat, just because they wre formula fed does not mean they are sat around with bottles of coke and a bag of crisps for breakfast!

im not having a go, but i would hate some of the newer mums to doubt thier choices or feel guilty about choosing to or having to switch to formula, or even use the occasional bottle to get some rest/ have a night out etc when there really is no need to feel bad about it.

Sami_Bee

MFD - I personally (having not read Krystal's linky) wouldn't mind sending him to Grandma's with a carton of milk if I couldn't express enough/ it took forever to express as its just when he's there and you say he goes back to breast fine I'd be happy.
EDIT- I think of it like when he's older you'll probably let him have a 'naughty' treat every now and then and not worry about any additives etc.

Lu - I'm feeling exactly as you describe!! Chris is being a naughty little monster a lot and OH thinks I'm being a drama queen when I ask him to pick up the toys off the floor or when I complain about having to sit with Chris while he goes to sleep - around 30mins on a laminate wood floor at 33wks is not good!!:rolleyes:

cazscoob

oh talking about expressing i was kindly given an electric pump, i have to say i was killing myself laughing while using it. i felt like a cow being milked lol!

Savvy_Sue

Just to add to the debate, you might find that with the best will in the world your baby won't take a bottle, of anything! At least not if they are only left for an evening. DS1 wouldn't take ANYTHING from a bottle, a cup, or a spoon, and he didn't take to a dummy, either. I tried, OH tried, various babysitters tried. He preferred to scream inconsolably. Or eat someone's finger. Only flesh would do for him ...

I'm sure if I'd had to leave him for longer than an evening, he would eventually have taken something, somehow, from someone. But he never got that desperate.

It did mean my babysitters had to be fairly robust. I was never out late, but they needed to be prepared for the howls of anguish. Especially as he usually dribbled and puked most of his feeds back if I fed him just before going out.

Oh, and my HV was keen for me to give him water in hot weather. Well, I knew she was not giving me best advice, because he would be getting enough fluid from me, but she had no helpful suggestions when I asked how I was supposed to get water into him?

ladybirdintheuk

MFD - I'm sure that the odd bottle of formula won't do any harm - I shouldn't imagine 1 night isn't going to affect your supply dramatically (but I would take spare breast pads with you!)

I had to put Izzy in the car and go drive round the countryside for 40 mins to get her to sleep, when I got to 9 pm and she still wasn't going off, and was getting herself more and more wound up. She woke up when I brought her back in, but was loads more calm, so a little bit of milk has done the trick. ~touch wood~ now she's calmed down, the rest of the night won't be too bad. Now time for me to go to bed. Should be enough time for me to get 5 hours or so before the alarm goes off at 6:30!

Becles

SeptemberBaby wrote: »

My babies always get a running commentary of every mundane task throughout the day! . I'm convinced if they could they would tell me to give them a break but I'm sure its good for their language skills (and I don't realise I'm doing it half the time! ).

xx

I agree with that! I've done that with mine and now Charlotte gives me a running commentary back - like when we're going out she gets my boots and says "boots on" and then fetches my bag and keys with commentary while I'm putting the boots on

I agree with the comments on personal choice when deciding to give a bottle or not. I breastfed exclusively for the first few weeks, but then realised it was better for me to give one bottle feed at bed time. I was knackered by then and my body just wasn't giving a decent quality of milk. I found it better to give the bottle and let the milk build up for a decent breast feed during the night. It worked fine for us, and I don't feel guilty at all for giving her that feed. We both got more sleep that way and were happier the next day as we were not so tired.

Krystaltips

Curious_George wrote: »

and not that its really relavent for the breast/formula debate but i also watch what my kids eat, just because they wre formula fed does not mean they are sat around with bottles of coke and a bag of crisps for breakfast!

I wasn't implying that people that formula feed are also the ones that feed their children junk...

Curious_George_2

ok, maybe not... but you were practically implying that the formula itself is junk.
so it seemed to follow your train of thought

Sami_Bee

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

...Oh, and my HV was keen for me to give him water in hot weather. Well, I knew she was not giving me best advice, because he would be getting enough fluid from me, but she had no helpful suggestions when I asked how I was supposed to get water into him?

Osmosis maybe?

keelykat

Once again I feel crap over the whole not breast feeding thing.... i think i may just avoid forums altogether soon as on another site also theyve been arguing over the pros and cons and some people have gotten quite nasty on there, thankfully no one is like that here.

keely.