Breastfeeding and formula feeding

sunnyH2004 wrote: Can you alternate breastfeeding with formula in the first months?

MomToMany replied: Is there a specific reason you would need to use formula? Because if you are alternating breastmilk with formula, your milk supply would significantly decrease. If you have your heart set on breastfeeding, don't use the formula.

amynicole21 replied: You can, but it's not recommended unless there is a significant need. Like Mollie said, it will really have a negative effect on your breastmilk supply. Can you give us some more info on why you're considering it? We may have some tips to help you avoid it if you want them

sunnyH2004 replied: Okay, I'll try to explain this, but don't want for the pro-breastfeeding folks to jump all over me. I have an 8 year old son who wasn't breastfed. After reading the pros and cons of breastfeeding vs formula in books and magazines I could only shake my head. Despite what the articles love to say, my son never had a single ear infection in his babyhood, eats like a hog but still skinny (contrary to the popular belief that bottle fed babies are overweight), he never had colics, rarely cried and slept through the night at the age of 1 and a half months. To top this off, while it is mentioned that breast milk is important to brain development, he has never made a single B and has been "diagnosed" as gifted. So, as you can see, in my experience, bottlefeeding has been a good thing.
However, with my second child I am taking breastfeeding into consideration for a totally different reason. I do not feel comfortable with the breatsfeeding itself, and I know it'll not come naturally to me. This is just something, I guess, in my head. So what I was thinking is using a breastpump instead. I know this will be time consuming and I haven't looked into this yet 100%. I am not pregnant yet but we are trying now. I'll have to discuss this with my midwife of course, but was thinking if anybody here could possibly give me some advice.

amynicole21 replied: I wasn't comfortable with breastfeeding before I got pregnant either, but if you decide to do it you get over that really quickly. That's not to say it isn't a lot of work, but it's also a lot easier in my opinion than worrying about having enough formula on hand or whether it's gone bad yet. That said, I had supply issues at around 4 months and had to supplement with formula. My daughter is no worse for the wear, and in fact we are still breastfeeding at 2 years old (next week ) Definitely didn't think I'd be one of "those" people who nurse their children into toddlerhood I'm glad you are considering it for your next child, and I think you'll find that it's a lot easier than you think.

MomToMany replied: I think every mom is a little squeamish at the thought of breastfeeding, at first. But it's easily over-come at the birth of your baby. All those motherly feelings and the instinct to nurse make all those sqeamish thoughts go away. It becomes second nature in no time!

Good for you for considering BFing!! I'm tandem nursing my 2 yr. old and my 5 month old daughters! It's a wonderful experience!

coasterqueen replied: One thing people do not remember when they compare children who are formula fed to those who are breastfed they don't take into consideration that alot of the "effects" formula has on a person is not only when they are young but when they get older. Does that make sense? So one can't really say "my kid has not had this and this and this,etc and they were formula fed" because one would need to wait until they are adult age to determine that. Some things like developing allergies and such may not even come to they are much much older as well as other things.

I think we all tend to forget that when we analyze kids and their health. That said one can still develop allergies as a BF baby if it runs in their family.

Anyways enough about that. I, myself, did NOT want to breastfeed. I did research and clearly knew for myself that breastmilk was the best I could give my baby and I wanted her to have the very best BUT I did not want to actually breastfeed so I had it in my mind that I would exclusively pump. My Dh made me promise I would at least try breastfeeding because he also agreed we should give our baby the very best. So I agreed, but down deep I knew I would ultimately exclusively pump (EP).

Well, little did I know that as soon as I saw my baby for the first time and when she tried to BF that that was it for me. I knew right then and there what I wanted and that was to give her what she deserved and what is natural. We had a ton of problems but we've muddled through them and we are still BF at 23 (almost 24) months. I also worked and pumped (w&p) for 19 months of her life.

I HONESTLY could not EP after even w&ping for 19 months. That was so exhausting that I was thrilled each day I got to go home and actually just nurse my baby.

In the end only YOU can say what is right for you and your baby, not any of us. Yes "combo" feeding has been done and is done all the time so there's nothing wrong with it. Just be aware that you never want to mix the two together because it messes with the composition of the breastmilk and destroys the antibodies, which would mean mixing would be pointless. A lot of people don't know that .

Good luck with whatever you choose! I hope I didn't "jump" on you because I am very pro-breastfeeding but I also know that what works for me may not work for someone else.

DansMom replied: I know a lot of women who thought they would not be comfortable with breastfeeding and then ended up feeling very positively about it once they got the hang of it. Seriously, they thought they would hate it, and instead they really feel good about it now.

On the other hand, I also know at least one person who was never comfortable with breastfeeding, she just couldn't stand anything about it, and she switched to formula after 4 months with both of her babies (also supplemented overnight with formula from the very start). They are bright and healthy, well-adjusted kids.

For me, the pump is so inefficient and mechanical, involving lots of washing of supplies, etc., compared to the human baby, that if I could have avoided pumping altogether I would have (but I pumped at work out of necessity).

If breastfeeding is something you know you want to try, you might want to commit to a certain number of weeks or months of straight BF to see how it feels for you and to establish your milk supply early on. It's free food, but it also provides lots of cuddling and natural closeness with the infant that you might get used to and start to feel positively about. After the time period you set for yourself, you could evaluate how you feel about it and go from there. I don't think women who strongly dislike breastfeeding should force themselves, because it could create resentment and emotional problems between mother and baby. But it's hard to know how you will really feel about it before you give it a try.

Whatever you decide, it will be what's right for your family. We've got some fabulous formula-fed babies on this forum! I hope you will visit us again to let us know how things are going.

sunnyH2004 replied: Thanks for the advice, guys! I just wanted to add a few more things. My husband was bottle fed as a baby and his sister breastfed. As adults, and they are both in their 40's, my husband has always been healthy with no allergies, etc. His sister, on the other hand, is always sick and does have allergies. I firmly believe that it is not breastmilk but genes and many other conditions.

There's certainly a lot to think about and to be prepared for. I am glad that there's a place like this where I can read how other people feel about different issues. Thanks again.

mama3x replied: Hi Sunny~

With DS, I did not really want to BF but on the other hand I wanted to give it a try. It did not go well at all. I BF him for 3 months and supplemented with formula. He too has not yet had an ear infection, skin irritation or frequent illnesses/colds. We shall see if that continues.

With DD I felt I HAD TO BF b/c she was 3 months preemie and struggling to survive. Plus she WOULD NOT TAKE A BOTTLE! She always chose to starve and cry. I cut out the preemie formula when she was chronologically 4 months old b/c her system just didn't handle it well. I just weaned her last month b/c she was ready and so was I.

To be honest with you, I hated BFing just because I was in demand all the time with no break, no life. Perhaps if I we could've afforded a sitter once in awhile or if DD had taken a bottle of pumped milk from DH once in awhile I would feel differently. However I have to admit it was the most convenient thing in the world to just go somewhere, cover up in a quiet corner and feed her when she was hungry if we were out.

You just need to do what makes you feel comfortable. If you are not comfortable with BFing, you can either not BF at all - do not feel guilty about that - or you can start BFing and if after a week it's tedious or not what you want, then stop. Personally I would say don't alternate your milk with formula b/c some babies have rather sensitive stomachs and alternating may cause discomfort.

GOOD LUCK!!!!!

jen replied: I knew I wanted to breastfeed from the start. I am so glad that I did. Pumping doesn't work for me anymore and occasionally I do supplement with formula. I would give it a try with an open mind and if it doesn't work don't beat yourself up about it. I was bottle fed and premature and if I didn't skip school so much I probably would have made straight As! LOL!

A&A'smommy replied: Well here is my thoughts I think breastfeeding is WONDERFUL and beautiful and its a GREAT bonding experience, I tried to breastfeed my baby but I had a horrible birth and hospital experience plus I was told not to breastfeed my baby because of an infection (that I later found out would NOT have effected my baby) that I had from my c-section. I tried to breastfeed my baby for about a month after some horrible experiences and she would never latch on I felt like a horrible mother because I wanted SO badly to breastfeed her, and when she actually did latch on I LOVED it we bonded and I felt so close to her. It really depends on the baby and the mother and it is totally your choice but if I had to say this is what you should do I was say at least try breastfeeding because in the end you might love it and find it less of a hassel (I hate making bottles it has always been such a pain not that I don't love making something healthy for my baby to eat it is just such a hassel!). Buy a breastpump anyway and save it for days when you might need it... Good luck and let us know what you decide, btw WELCOME I hope you stick around!

KatieLeigh79 replied: Well my .2 (not that its worth anything) *lol* I never wanted to nurse, and when we finally were PG my husband told me he wanted me to nurse at least until a year. I kept saying no, and in the end decided it was good to "try" it - but ended up with a really bad birthing exp. and an infection from the emergency c-section so for the first 2 weeks when he was "supposed" to get all the good stuff from BM he had to have formula, then after that it took buying one of the most expensive breastpumps and paying over $1000.00 in fees for Lactation Consultants to get him latched on, with all the trouble we had he ended up nursing until 11 months (when he BIT through my nipple being naughty and it took 6 stitches to close up). I think the bonding we had was great, just need to be sure you can handle the time commitments it takes, I wouldn't recommend pumping unless you have to, they had me so that I could stock pile in the fridge after I got better in case I got sick again but within the first 3 months he refused to take a bottle period, which made it awful to try to explain to him he had to have a sippy cup when he hurt me to the point I wasn't trying again. But the first 6+ months he nursed every hour - hour 30 (day and night), so be sure you can handle something to that effect if those circumstances were to arise... Not everyone has the horrid luck I did He has constant ear problems though, had colic, jaudice and reflux as well but I never was able to figure out if it was because he missed the first 2 weeks of nursing or not... Hubby wants to try for #2 starting in November and I'm still on the fence about that and if I did even nursing again but I will come to that when we get there.

micah replied: I breast fed both of my older kids, but with my first supplemented for initial weight gain reasons, but she nursed till she was 12 1/2 mo. I now have a 5 month old & dreamed of breastfeeding only, just to find out I have to supplement due to a breast reductoin 2 years ago. I was heart broken & felt betrayed. (The Dr. who did surgery PROMISED there would be no interferance from the surgery). I still struggle with guilt. I'm still nursing, but give formula as well. I also continually struggle with sore nipples. Has any one else dealt with this? any advice?
Thanks! Micah

A&A'smommy replied: Uh I posted again

DansMom replied:
I used Lansinoh when this happened, and it helped somewhat---that and just over time things got better as my skin adjusted. I hope that gets better for you!

Guest_micah replied: Thanks. I wonder if it isn't because of the reduction. By now it should be better. It is off &on. More on one side. I use lanolin several times a day.
Hey just wondering how I can get posted? I'm new to computer life in general. I don't know how to do all this,but have enjoyed browsing through the sites.