can't get away from it, really

[socitycourty]

was watching LO's morning show on the BabyFirst channel, and what comes on during the commercial but a BF thing. Breastmilk is the best thing for your baby. cue lovely pictures of moms nursing babies in rocking chairs. URGH even the TV can hurt my feelings.

 

[ericacaca]

I'm sorry but from your siggy your baby has grown to be over 10 months old. They have thrived, they are developing. Yeah - they're having formula milk. But so many other ladies in the world are too!

Yeah, breastmilk is good. From your siggy you gave them 2 months of it. And research says that for the first 6 weeks that is amazing for them. To me, BF my little one was a privelege because I was off work for a while, do I feel bad about FF my little one? Not in the slightest. He LOVES his bottle.

Stop feeling bad. Thats what they have to say according to health care big wigs.

 

[socitycourty]

thank you for posting, i guess I thought i'd feel better by now but it still stings at times...and then I feel bad for feeling bad!

 

[ericacaca]

I honestly wouldnt worry about it. I don't know your story from BF to FF, but you are loving them and bonding with them and giving them all they need just in a different way.

I suppose some might think that we feel good about ourselves sometimes because we did attempt to BF - but to be fair so we should! Its bloody hard work! But so is FF. In fact having a baby is full stop! Ha! x

 

[bubbles123]

It all fades in time. The more your baby grows, meets their milestones and generally thrives the less and less important it seems. Now, I'm fine with BF. It's great that some people love it and it works for them, it just didn't work for me. I'm on my second FF child now and I barely give BF a second thought now. It seems so unimportant with two healthy kids to worry about how they were fed.

 

[Noelle610]

 

[melfy77]

was watching LO's morning show on the BabyFirst channel, and what comes on during the commercial but a BF thing. Breastmilk is the best thing for your baby. cue lovely pictures of moms nursing babies in rocking chairs. URGH even the TV can hurt my feelings.

Sure breastmilk is ideal, but formula is not poison at all! I'm a formula fed baby and turned out just fine; no allergies, no weight issues, no diabetes, nothing at all. DD still gets some frozen BM but she prefers formula. And those TV commercials, they will never show BF'ing moms in tears and in pain crying with their babies at 3 am because baby won't latch or doesn't get enough milk They also don't show the mom looking exhausted because she had to get up 5-6 times during the night to feed a baby that never seems satisfied. Nor will they show you the exhausted mom dreaming about having a coffee but won't because the last thing she wants is for her baby to get some caffeine and be even more awake at night!. As if breastfeeding was the easiest thing on earth for every women

 

[Noelle610]

Personally, I am all for breastfeeding. I think it's wonderful! I truly intend to nurse my next.

BUT... The promotion of breastfeeding by various health organizations has become almost ridiculous. It DOES feel like formula is made out to be poisin, which is absolutely insane. Breastfeeding is great, but it's not all there is to parenting. When your child applies for college or their first job, no one is going to ask how they were fed as infants.

It bothers me that health professionals seem to have no education or offer any formula feeding support. Formula exists, it's legal, readily available and often necessary, so they need to stop pretending it doesn't exist. Women need to know how to prepare bottles, store formula and understand their options when it comes to different brands and varieties.

I guess my perspective on this is perhaps a bit different than others because I live in a very pro-breastfeeding area. It's like, okay, I get it. BREAST IS BEST. Perhaps if I lived in an area where breastfeeding rates were low, I'd understand the need for more public service announcements.

 

[socitycourty]

it is pushed a lot here too. I used to qualify for WIC after I lost my job and my DH was briefly unemployed....well I had an appt after LO was born and I had already stopped BF, she was 8 weeks old. I was hoping they could help me pay for at least some of the mega $$$ formula. Well they called to remind me and said, we assume you're still BF? i never went back.

I love BF, I think it's awesome but I don't think FF is poison. I was FF and I'm totally fine. I have no allergies, I'm not sickly, etc. Neither is my sister or any of my cousins who were all FF (it was the 80's!)

If I had another baby (big if) I'd try again but if for some reason the same feeding issues were there I hope i wouldn't feel so upset having to go to formula.

My pediatrician obviously knows about BF guilt because she consoled me when I cried in her office (more than once).

 

[wookie130]

Personally, I am a die-hard fan of BFing...and yet, I've had to resort to ff my first child. It has been heartbreaking, and I actually did go through a grieving stage when I had to discontinue my BFing attempts. I still have trouble talking to others about it. But I am learning to let go of it...I have to. My BFing relationship with my daughter did not work out, and I have to feed my child something.

So, while the media, web, and in RL fully throws BFing in our faces, and at times makes us FF'ers feel inferior to our BFing counterparts, we all love and feed our kids, right?

A wise woman on this forum once said that if you go to the playground or park, and watch the children play, you will not be able to tell which kid was BF and those that were FF. That's really the most valid point, I believe.

 

[fides]

check out the book "Is Breast Best?" by Joan Wolf - that book helped me a LOT after i couldn't BF my 1st son b/c it cuts through the hype and looks at the science

and, in teh meantime,