Breast or bottle feeding?

basscadette

Just to clarify re him needing formula to build him up in case I've confused the premature issue - he was born at 34 + 3 and breast fed initially but was losing weight so by 12 weeks was changed to formula and bf-ing because he was going severely underweight and is now a happy, robust little chappie as a result.

toniq

I don't intend to breastfeed, And I really hope the midwifes don't bully me into it as it's just not something I want to do.

It doesn't make me less of a parent, it doesn't mean my baby will suffer. If people want to judge me for not breastfeeding then so be it, the amount of pressure annoys me as it is my body and my baby.

Our local hospital doesn't supply baby milk inline with government proposals to encourage breast feeding, they state we must buy our own cartons and they will supply bottles whilst baby is on unit.

neverdespairgirl

donteatthat wrote: »

I think I would have preferred my preemie to be on formula than someone elses breast milk though, I know in the past breast milk was donated and used but wasn't sure that it still was?

Yes, it's massively encouraged.

I donated some, when I was expressing for my son anyway. I had various blood tests first.

donteatthat

I guess they test it for smokers etc? I never had enough spare to give them!

neverdespairgirl

donteatthat wrote: »

I guess they test it for smokers etc? I never had enough spare to give them!

they test your blood, first. They also then test each batch of milk for contamination or bacteria, too.

Polka_dot_zebra

toniq wrote: »

Our local hospital doesn't supply baby milk inline with government proposals to encourage breast feeding, they state we must buy our own cartons and they will supply bottles whilst baby is on unit.

Don't you think that's kinda fair enough though? As a general rule, most new mums and newborns are only in hospital or a day or so maximum after the birth, but the cost of providing formula for all the FF babies will seriously mount up for the NHS. For each mum though, it's just another day or so's worth of formula they have to buy.

toniq

I'm totally fine with buying our own formula, If the hospital had done it for cost saving I wouldn't have thought twice but when my midwife stated it was part of a encouragement to brestfeed campaign that annoyed as that as taking away the choice.

lidlest

dantheman2010 wrote: »

Good morning all,



I would like to bond with her and not have her constantly crying for her mums milk.

Anyway just wanted some thoughts of you mums out there.

Thank you all.

Breast is best - there you go

However, having found breastfeeding difficult the first time and carrying a sense of failure around with me that lasted for many years I came to the following conclusion. Formula is fine. I am formula feeding my current newborn and I do NOT feel guilty about it, he is thriving and doing just fine. My eldest who was mainly formula fed is gifted and doing just fine.

Whatever you choose, YOU must be comfortable with it, it must be your decision for whatever reasons you decide to make it.

If you CAN, try to breastfeed, you can always switch to formula but difficult to switch the other way round. And it is a lovely bonding experience

janninew

I was always sure I would at least try bfeeding, but after talking to a lady at work who carries a lot of guilt around after not bfeeding her daughter who has very recently been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, I'm sure I'll give it a good go. She read somewhere that bfeeding can reduce the chances of your child getting diabetes in childhood, it does actually mention this in my pregnancy guide from the NHS.

She has convinced herself that she is to blame as she didn't even try and bfeed. We can all say that she shouldn't blame herself (and she really shouldn't) but I know in her shoes I would have the exact same worries and feelings of guilt in the back of my mind.

Its so hard being a parent and a Mum, everybody seems to have an opinion on what's right and what's wrong. I'm currently 20 weeks gone and still quite slim, the amount of people who say I should be eating more and gaining more weight is shocking! Makes me feel bad even though my midwife is happy with me and my weight!

yellowbear

Can I also add that a newborn baby's stomach is the size of a marble. It only holds 5-7mls of milk and is rigid, so baby CANNOT drink too much. By day 3 the stomach holds less than an ounce and by days
5-7 only holds just under 2 ounces.
So whether you breast or bottle feed you will be feeding at least 2 hourly.

Breast milk is also designed to be easily absorbed by the body - it's digested very quickly. Formula milk takes an awful lot longer to digest. That's why formula fed babies appear to be more 'content' - they have to 'shut down' in order for their bodies to cope with digesting the milk.
Imagine how you feel after eating a big dinner - you want to flop on the sofa and fall asleep.

Find out if there is a breast feeding counsellor in your area and both of you speak to her.

Toniq - it IS a cost saving exercise. It just happens to coincide with a lot of hospitals becoming 'Baby friendly'.