Is FF a pain in the arse? Or is it a bit easier?

[youngwife20]

Good to see the entire thread's now been hijacked into a FF being negative (as fricken normal). No way that would be tolerated in reverse - why is it ALWAYS acceptable on here?

its not negitive? im a formula feeding mum she asked if its a pain.. i find it a pain sometimes. thats not negitive just an honest opinion. and i think if i was ff from the start i wouldnt find it as much of a pain but i found bf easier ( when i was direct bf)

 

[AP]

Good to see the entire thread's now been hijacked into a FF being negative (as fricken normal). No way that would be tolerated in reverse - why is it ALWAYS acceptable on here?

Not seeing it. At all. All I see is some people taking things personally. People have explained the personal pros and cons that they experienced.

 

[HellBunny]

I don't see it either? OP asked for opinions whether it would be more of a faff/pain if she switched. Nobody came on here bashing formula feeders (yes i am one myself i've done bf and ff) personally i found BF more difficult but that was in the early stages with cluster feeding/fussiness. For us formula feeding was easiest as i got a break and LO was more settled. Only downside is the making up feeds and when you are out and about making sure you have enough bottles to last you the time, but again that would get easier as LO gets older and spaces out feeds more.

 

[greenpear]

I did both in the beginning when my supply was low and both felt like a lot of work

BF - hard to latch, takes long time for baby to drink enough (45 min to 1 hr), you're tied to the couch most of the day and up at night and no one can relieve you

FF - can't go out for a whole day because you need to have enough formula/bottles and I only had 1 (as for cleaning and washing - on the package it said no sterilizing necessary so I never did...and LO was totally fine with it )

On a positive note, washing wasn't that terrible and she drank much faster so it was less time consuming in the beginning.

I now BF only and now I'd say BF is easier because she drinks really fast and it's not painful anymore, but I hate looking for places to BF her in public because I've had old men ogling me several times and felt really gross. Can't say what it would be like to experience FF older baby because I haven't given her bottles since she turned 6 weeks.

So I'd say both can be good and both have ups and downs - you can express BM or feed with formula from a bottle so to have more rest.

(and no, I'm not against FF at all - just sharing my experience so please don't attack)

 

[aliss]

Good to see the entire thread's now been hijacked into a FF being negative (as fricken normal). No way that would be tolerated in reverse - why is it ALWAYS acceptable on here?

It IS a negative for plenty of us!

She wanted to know if it was a pain in the ass.... and for some of us, it is. Some of us aren't proud of formula feeding, sorry, we just did what we had to do with what our life circumstances are.

My son is no longer formula fed. He's 2.5, he's fully weaned. I hated it so much and I would never choose to do it if I didn't have to.

That's the reality for some. Others love it better and choose to do it from day 1. That's fine, that's their experience. But those of us who hated it and found it a negative experience shouldn't have to LIE either.

Pros
- Others could feed him without me needing to pump

Cons
- The formula aggravated his acid reflux
- Travel was a huge pain in the ass, bringing 4-6 bottles on a plane, in hotels, etc
- $$$
- Bottles made him horribly gassy
- I had to make bottles in the night for 18 months, that sucked

 

[x Michelle x]

I didn't really find it a faff, once you get into the swing of things it's easy! Wash/sterilize at night, we pre-make 4 bottles (he only has 4 a day) as I wash each bottle throughout the day I bung it in the steriliser ready to go again at night. It does take some getting used to for going out, but you can take a sterilized bottle, a carton and a flask of boiling water, or a bottle with half cold boiled water, and add fresh boiled water and powder to it and its done. I certainly don't make each bottle to order (naughty me) as neither of mine would wait and I heat in the microwave (again naughty me) so it's ready in 45 seconds
I do love that others can feed him, infant both of mine have stayed once a month at my mums and I love she can have them and I don't need to keep up a pumping schedule etc etc
I did bf both of mine for a few weeks but stopped for various reasons x

 

[kissesandhugs]

I'm currently combi feeding. But-I personally don't do the formula feeding! My grandma is babysitting LO while I'm at work/school 3 days out of the week. So when he's with me he's BF.Except the nights I go out, I FF in the morning to make sure alcohol is out of my system. Anyways, I get the bitch work of combi feeding lol. I get to do all the washing, sterilizing, making sure he has enough formula, buying the formula etc.

I don't want to offend anybody bc it is so easy to do on this damn site. But, I prefer breastfeeding highly over formula feeding. The times I do have to FF I get so frustrated bc I always make a huge mess but of course I'm sure it's easy to get the hang of it. I HATE washing bottles. And we use dr.browns and the little pieces really grind my gears. Such a pain, I hate dishes in general (Oh, and we're the people that eat off of paper plates so we don't have to ) So saying that, I can't wait until I'm done with this semester bc I'll go back to being a SAHM for a while and I can EBF again.

ETA:Only reason I would like to FF is so other people can feed him but if I'm honest, I would be stuck feeding anyways bc OH isn't much of a help.