Is formula feeding really easier?

[sarah_c]

I am currently breast feeding my 5 week old and I BF my older child til 6 months. I'm finding it really hard second time around. He isn't a good feeder and I'm struggling with it all being up to me.

I am considering formula feeding to spread some of the load between me and my OH. Is it easier than breast feeing i.e. they sleep better/longer and I can leave him with OH or parents for longer to get a break?

Don't want to swap and then find formula is just as bad as I know breast is best.

Feeling confused, tired and stressed!!!

 

[Kitteh_Kat]

I never tried to breastfeed, so I can't give comparisons. Also each child is different, so you really can't predict if formula would make any changes.

I can say that I found formula feeding to be easy and a very rewarding/beautiful experience. We still got plenty of cuddle time in when she nursed her bottle, and those are some of my favorite memories. She did start sleeping 12+ hours through the night at exactly 5 weeks old, which made me such a happy momma. I know some people think formula babies are more sick, but DD's only had one 24 hour fever and that wasn't until a few months ago. No ear infections, no colds, etc. I never found it a bother to carry a bottle or two with me when out and about either, and we have a dishwasher so cleaning her bottles was simple.

My husband had two weeks off when DD was born, so we split night feedings so we both could get a little more sleep. He ended up having to leave for most of that first year, so my family did help out by watching DD for an hour or two at a time so I could have a break, and I didn't have to worry about DD not being able to eat because I wasn't there.

I'm pro-feed your baby, so I believe that whichever feeding method works best for baby AND mom is best. I know that with exclusively formula feeding I only had positive feelings/experiences which I think helped make that hormonal postpartum time a little easier, and I enjoyed every part of formula feeding (especially in the early days) so much that unless something drastic changes I will probably go straight to it again with the next baby.

If you want to continue to breastfeed though, have you tried to pump so your partner can help out more? Or combo-feed to see if some formula would make any changes without switching completely over? Hope you can relax soon!

 

[Blu10]

DS went 3-4 hours between feeds pretty much from the start and used to wake 1-2x at night until 8 weeks when he slept through. He is now 4 and still hasnt ever needed antibiotics. My friends baby who was EBF has severe eczema, asthma and several allegies so i think its sometimes down to your genes etc and not what baby is fed. Good luck x

 

[bdb84]

My first child was formula fed until 12 months and my second child was breastfed (exclusively) for 2.5 years. By far, she is my sickly child. She has had several more ear infections, colds, and the flu (which skipped my oldest). So the whole "BF babies are less sick" is untrue in *my* case.

I really enjoy formula feeding. I loved every second with my first child and never felt an ounce of guilt toward it. I breastfed my second because I believed it was what I should do. I hated it. I couldn't tell you why I nursed for so long, other than the fact that I felt I had to. She wouldn't take a pacifier or a bottle. Every comfort suck was on me.

With this baby I am combi-feeding. We nurse all morning and then she gets formula in the afternoons with a session of breastfeeding somewhere in between. She sleeps all night, but on the rare day that she wakes before the sun is up, we nurse and she goes right back to sleep.

I'm finding that I enjoy nursing so much more now that this baby is versatile. She'll take a pacifier and a bottle (of either formula or expressed milk- I do both). I can catch a break when I'm stressed (which happens; I'm a single mom to three), and I can nurse when she's most cuddly, which is in the mornings. I feel like I get the best of both worlds this way.

 

[sarah_c]

Hiya, how many weeks were you when you started combi feeding? I think this might be the way to go for me but not sure how to get started.

 

[StranjeGirl]

I think it depends. I had a terrible time with bfing, so formula feeding was definitely easier. However, it's harder in the sense you have to buy the formula, prepare the formula, and wash and sterilize the bottles. If I was ebf from the boob it might be easier in certain senses, but then you can't leave the baby ever.
As far as sickness goes- the most recent study showed there was really no difference in relation to sickness etc between formula fed and bf. My dd1 had barely any breastmilk and she got her first minor cold at almost 3 years old when she started pre-school. She has had 2 small colds now that have come and gone quickly with no meds. She does have allergies though (seasonal).
dd2 had more breast milk than dd1 and got her first cold at 7 weeks I think it's because she is around my toddler who brings home germs from preschool. So I wouldn't worry at all about that. Just know that formula feeding comes with preparing and washing bottles, and having to pack them if you leave the house. Other than that it is great. I always gave formula at night and my kids are both great sleepers.

 

[bdb84]

Hiya, how many weeks were you when you started combi feeding? I think this might be the way to go for me but not sure how to get started.

It was pretty early on- probably around 2 weeks or so. It started out just one bottle a day, but now it's more 50/50. It really doesn't have to be all or nothing from my experience. Granted, we are only 3 months along, but so far it's working very well.

 

[MindUtopia]

I think it can be easier if you're struggling with breastfeeding. In my case, formula feeding was easier than breastfeeding because I had a baby that struggled to latch, struggled to gain weight (because of bad latch), and I had recurring mastitis, so spent quite a lot of time in bed feverish and delirious with an infection. In the sense that it made it easier for my daughter to actually eat and put on weight, yes, it was easier. But it comes with all sorts of other hassles, like cleaning bottles, needing to make a bottle when you're out, plus cost, which make it just more logistically difficult than breastfeeding as you need a lot more kit and you need to clean and sterilise it all every day. I didn't find that it made much difference in terms of how often my daughter fed or how long she slept during the night. We breastfed for 6 weeks and combi fed to 10 weeks (then my supply dried up and I had no choice but to formula feed, though actually that hadn't been my intention when I started to combi feed). She did start to sleep a bit better around 6 weeks, as in I could actually lay her down rather than sit and hold her all night, but I think that more had to do with just being 6 weeks, not what she was fed. She increasingly went longer between feeds at night, from every 3 hours to sometimes 4 or 5 hours, maybe by the time she was 12 weeks, but again I think that was just a natural progression. She continued to wake for 1-3 feeds a night until she was 9 months and she's 2 years now and still wakes a few times at night. There was research recently that come out (Google and you'll find it) about how breastfed and formula fed babies didn't differ significantly in how well they slept or how long they went between feeds. It's probably much more about individual temperment and sleep patterns than it is about what they're fed. Some babies just sleep long stretches easily. Some don't, regardless of what they're fed. So that's not to say you should feel pressured to continue breastfeeding if you don't want to, but it also may not make much difference or make things easier, so if that's the only reason for stopping, I would probably keep going if you're otherwise doing well with it.

 

[redneckhippy]

I suspect that how often a baby is sick has much more to do with if they are in daycare and/or have older siblings than what they are fed. Also I think the sleeping is a lot to do with the individual baby. My EBF *knock on wood* has slept through the night since 8 weeks. My friends EBF is over a year and still doesn't sleep through the night. My EFF niece is a champ sleeper, but I'm sure there are other EFF babies who don't sleep through the night. I don't think there is any promise that things will magically be easier if you switch to FF, so it really comes down to what you want to do. It may be much easier or it may not make difference. Personally I HATE doing dishes. My LO gets expressed milk 1-2 bottles a day and I dread cleaning just those bottles. That's just me. Other people it's not a big deal to at all and it may be more of a difficulty to have the baby on the boob all the time. I work from home and sit at a desk all day, so I just plop the baby on a boppy on my lap and it's not a big deal to me to have him nursing contstaly. If I had to be out and about all day it may be more inconvenient. So it really all depends on what YOU find most convenient/inconventient and what will work best for you.

 

[wookie130]

I breastfed my first for a time, but it was not easy, and my supply never really happened because I ended up being diagnosed with IGT, which meant that I would NEVER be able to exclusively BF. It was horrible, I felt guilty and terrible, I was pumping my head off, my daughter wouldn't latch, it was a nightmare. So, I ended up having two formula-fed babies. My daughter was (and is) extremely healthy. She has never had more than a cold, and at 27 months, has never vomited or had diarrhea. My son, on the other hand, has had every freakin' virus known to man, including two respiratory illnesses that left him hospitalized within two months of each other. I do NOT attribute this to formula feeding, however - there were SEVERAL babies up in the peds unit up there with the same illness, who WERE exclusively breastfed, so yeah.

Anyway, no, I find formula feeding to be very easy. But we do it as simply as we can, also. We do not sterilize bottles. We wash them in hot, soapy water, or in the dishwasher. We use tap water, and we don't boil it. We don't warm them, so we just grab them out of the fridge, and feed immediately. We make all the night bottles before bed, and pop them in the fridge. We make all the daytime bottles in the morning. It's cake for us, really, but each mom will feel differently, I suppose.

 

[londonangel]

I breastfed my first and gave a night bottle of formula from eight weeks and she self weaned from breast at seven months. Second is exclusively breastfed. Second sleeps way better than first ever did and rarely wakes before about 5.30am. Bottles are more of a pain to wash, sterilise and make up but easier if out and you are running after a bigger one. I might move this one to formula after six months because I now have her big sister all day too as she finishes nursery today and G still eats every two hours for at least 45 mins and it is hard entertaining the big one. You get more of a break for you too but then baby does not get the antibodies in the breast milk. It is really up to you!

 

[bdb84]

Anyway, no, I find formula feeding to be very easy. But we do it as simply as we can, also. We do not sterilize bottles. We wash them in hot, soapy water, or in the dishwasher. We use tap water, and we don't boil it.

Same here. I sterilized the bottles and nipples when I first bought them, but other than that, they get washed in the dishwasher. I use warm tap water and have never boiled it.

 

[redneckhippy]

Not to change the topic, but is there a reason you have to steralize bottles aside from normal washing of them? My son gets 1-2 bottles a day of expressed milk and I've never done anything special with his bottles...I wasn't aware I was supposed to.

 

[wookie130]

No, there really isn't any reason, to be honest. It used to be the recommendation, but it's since been deemed pretty unnecessary. Well...you SHOULD sterilize them when you get them out of their package, and from there, it's fine to wash them in hot soapy water or in the dishwasher. My bottles have only ever been sterilized in boiling water once, and from there, just washed and air dried on a bottle rack.

 

[noon_child]

It is hard not to get a biased view because people who had a hard time with bf will have felt a huge weight lift when formula feeding went well. Those who formula fed from the beginning won't have a comparison so can't tell you what is easier. There is no group who formula fed, found it a hassle so switched to bf because it doesnt work that way round (unless you switch very early on).

I bf my daughter but we had problems so I supplemented with formula for a while. I wanted to keep bf so I made sure I had advice on how to give bottles without my milk drying up, and honestly it was harder to do both at once. As soon as I could put the pump away because my supply was regulated it was a huge relief. I'm not saying you have to chose either formula or breast but I do think combo feeding is easier after supply has regulated (somewhere between 6 weeks to 3months). However, often that is when bf gets easier too!

Formula is now closer to breastmilk than it used to be so the time it takes to be digested is very similar, so the whole "sleep longer" thing is just a hangover from decades ago when it sat in the gut for longer.
It also depends where you live as to what your health professionals recommend in terms of how to make up bottles. Here in the UK it is understood that formula is not a sterile product so you have to make it with 70 degree or higher water then cool it down, and not make bottles in advance due to bacteria growth. So night feeds will be doing all this bottle prep with a hungry child waiting. Once my bf journey was going well I couldn't imagine going to those lengths but while I was struggling I was desperate for any way out!

So basically what I'm saying is, know what you want as the end result, ask questions and get support. The choice is yours entirely and as long as it is an informed choice then you have nothing to feel bad about.

 

[zorak]

I breastfed my first for 4 months then stopped due to v painful over supply issues. The change in feed type had little effect on his routine. Pros are that others can help but I found dealing with the bottles a hassle. There were times I really regretted stopping breastfeeding as I missed the bond.

My 2nd is now a week old and I'm fighting over supply issues again. My goal is to make it to 4 months like I did with my first then switch to formula.

Re. Ease of preperation. We used to boil water and put it in a thermos. We'd have one to be kept hot and one for cold. We'd pre measure the formula before bed and use the 2 thermos to mix feeds. Meant baby was never screaming the place down.

 

[flamingpanda]

I suspect that how often a baby is sick has much more to do with if they are in daycare and/or have older siblings than what they are fed. Also I think the sleeping is a lot to do with the individual baby.

Just wanted to say I agree entirely with both of these statements. My mostly FF little girl, although born a little sickly, had few real illnesses early on. However she started daycare two mornings a week in May and it feels like we've had everything now! Nothing to do with her having formula as a baby, just that she's mixing with a bunch of kids who pass bugs around because they don't think (like we do) "hey maybe I shouldn't lick that, I don't know where it's been" .

Also I know other FF mum's that went to the same baby group as me had terrible sleepers. There was a bit of jealously that my little girl slept through from 3 months. What can I say, she's lazy like her Daddy! I think we just got lucky.

Also (and I'm sorry I forgot who said it) the point about people who have troubles BFing singing the praises of FF is true. For me it was like a darkness had been lifted. I no longer laid awake wondering if she was starving because for the first time I knew she was getting something. So for me personally it was easier. Washing a few bottles and spending a bit extra was a LOT easier than the stress and worry I had been trapped in. But each story is different.

OP - Rather than saying breast is best, I much prefer it when people say "breast is the biological norm". It removes a lot of the silly guilt and pressure we put on mums. It also makes everything less black and white and allows for those shades of grey life often throws at us. You used the word struggle in your original post and that made me feel sad. Please don't struggle. When I was at my lowest ebb a very kindly midwife told me "I have three children, two were BF, one was FF, they're grown now and there is no difference between them. They are only little once, enjoy it." To be fair I was sat sobbing at the time, but that bit in bold rang true for me. I struggled on for a few more days and then I said enough was enough and once she took that first bottle and looked content for the first time I began really enjoying the time I spent with my baby girl. The best thing for baby is having a happy mum.

 

[wookie130]

Flamingpanda, I couldn't agree more with your sentiments on the whole thing.

I like, "Breast is best. Until it's not."

When ISN'T breast the best?

*When the challenges of breastfeeding are actually impeding a mother's ability to bond with her baby.
*When certain medications interfere with breastfeeding.
*When a mother has lost one or both of her breasts to cancer.
*When a mother struggles with IGT, or another medical issue preventing her from establishing a supply.
*When breastfeeding becomes painful, annoying, creates resentment, or enhances PND (and it CAN, and DOES, for many women struggling with it, if we're being honest).
*When a mother simply does not want to. That's right. It's fine and PERFECTLY OKAY for a woman to not want to breastfeed "just because". It does not make any sense to push for autonomy over a woman's body (particularly in terms of birthing choices, etc.), and then shame a woman into feeling that breastfeeding is the "only" way to feed an infant. It doesn't make a woman selfish, vain, ignorant, or anything, if she chooses to go right to formula. Her breasts, her business, honestly. Nothing wrong with it!

 

[pansorie]

We are doing a combination of formula and BF. We started when she was 2 days old, and I LOVE it.

The most important thing is that my OH is able to bond with the baby. When she is being FF it is all on him. He prepares the formula and gives it to her. It allows me time to do other chores, rest, or sleep. But most importantly it gives him an opportunity to have one on one time with our new daughter. He very much enjoys it. The cleaning of the bottles is not too much of a hassle for me, only because I am super tidy and clean frequently, lol.

All that being said, I still do enjoy the breast feeding experience. I breast fed my son until he was 18 months old, and never got out of the breast feeding mentality. I think with this one I will stop around 6 months, or so.

Our current schedule is he gives her a bottle first thing in the morning and right before bed time. The formula does help her sleep longer and better. We try to give her no more than 3 bottles a day, but that is us just being conservative financially. Really, it doesn't matter whether it is breast or bottle. As long as she is surviving and thriving we are happy.

 

[OnErth&InHvn]

Why not pump instead of stopping completely? Then OH can give bottles but baby can still get breastmilk!