Reasons you SHOULD breastfeed

[rasberry]

Thought you all might like the pic they used to introduce their baby to the world.
It is a great advertisement for breast-feeding as being the most natural and acceptable thing for a mother & baby, without any words being said!

https://www.marieclaire.co.uk/news/...r-and-orlando-bloom-introduce-baby-flynn.html

 

[Dragonfly]

Thought you all might like the pic they used to introduce their baby to the world.
It is a great advertisement for breast-feeding as being the most natural and acceptable thing for a mother & baby, without any words being said!

https://www.marieclaire.co.uk/news/...r-and-orlando-bloom-introduce-baby-flynn.html

I wonder of fb deleted her account for them. lol

nice pics though.

 

[Mother of 4]

Thought you all might like the pic they used to introduce their baby to the world.
It is a great advertisement for breast-feeding as being the most natural and acceptable thing for a mother & baby, without any words being said!

https://www.marieclaire.co.uk/news/...r-and-orlando-bloom-introduce-baby-flynn.html

Love it

 

[blutea]

I want some of those witty comebacks on a t-shirt! Or a nursing tank, naturally I think the "through the gates?" was referring to the story about the mother nursing her kids through the gates at school.

I love this thread so much. It just makes me more and more excited for when my baby is finally here. I talked to my best friend today for the first time since she had her daughter couple weeks ago. She decided not to try bf, not sure why exactly. Her daughter is less than two weeks old and already sick, along with everyone else in her family. They've all had a horrible time with getting sick constantly, from the time her first was born. I can't help but wonder if those poor babies wouldve had an easier time of it if she had breastfed them all for an extended period of time. All I know is that hearing her poor newborn crying broke my heart, but at the same time, hearing a newborn baby that wasn't on tv made me cry in anticipation of the arrival of my own. These next 19 weeks cannot go fast enough!

thanks for all the wonderful tips and links, BT. You really are awesome! I still can't get over how I started off this pregnancy dreading bf and thinking it'd be gross to do it for more than a year, and now I'm all pumped up about it and excited to bf for longer and have witty comebacks for people that think the way I used to, lol!

you mentioned allergies earlier. I was bf just past 2 years (my mom thinks, she can't remember specifically), but I have horrible allergies to just about everything except any food I've had so far. Being vegetarian, I eat a lot more soy based foods than most people, and I'm afraid the exposure to it through my breastmilk might make LO allergic to it. Is this possible? I'm also afraid that our having cats will make her allergic to them, but I was raised in a dog family, crawling around on the floor with them, and I'm much more allergic to cats than dogs. I'm thinking about going back to my allergist and asking for tips from him if he knows any on how to prevent allergies, but thought you might at least be able to answer the one about things I eat going through my breastmilk.

I know some babies can be allergic to diary passed through breast milk but I'm not sure about soy. I'll look into that and get back to you.

I'm so glad this thread has helped you. I feel bad for your friend's baby.

Yes! That gate reference makes sense now. LOL

Okay, so it looks like soy can be an issue for some babies- https://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/food-sensitivity.html

What foods are most likely to be a problem?
Some of the most likely suspects are cow's milk products, soy, wheat, corn, eggs, and peanuts.

Other suspect foods:

•Any food that a family member is allergic to
•A food that mom recently ate a large amount of
•A new food (if baby’s symptoms are new)
•A food that mom doesn't like, but is eating while breastfeeding (and/or ate while pregnant) for the benefit of her baby
•A food that mom craves, or feels she has to have after a bad day
Conscious likes and dislikes of foods are signals that your body may be reacting to them in an abnormal way.

Keeping a food journal with a record of foods eaten and baby's behavior/symptoms, with time of day for each, may be helpful when trying to pinpoint a problem food.

 

[Ember]

my mil is allergic to chocolate, my sil to peanuts, neither of which I can live without. I can't click links on my phone so I can only read the part you pasted right now. Does it mention any ideas for how to reduce the chances of causing the allergy? If I avoid eating these things for a long time, will that give the baby a better chance of not being allergic to them? It'll be hard, but if it helps her to be able to enjoy them later in life instead of having to avoid them, I will do it. Soy will be difficult though... Even if I wasn't vegetarian, it's still in so many foods.

 

[lynzlogan]

i disagree with the part about most FF babies are more prone to ear/chest infections and the like.

I FF Leo from birth- he is now 3 yrs old and has hardly ever been ill- one small cold a year at most.
Whereas a few of my friends BF their children who now have asthma and are constantly in and out of hospital with low immune systems. (all born the same yr and month as my son)

Not having a rant- just airing my view from experience

 

[aliss]

i disagree with the part about most FF babies are more prone to ear/chest infections and the like.

I FF Leo from birth- he is now 3 yrs old and has hardly ever been ill- one small cold a year at most.
Whereas a few of my friends BF their children who now have asthma and are constantly in and out of hospital with low immune systems. (all born the same yr and month as my son)

Not having a rant- just airing my view from experience

On a whole (talking about 100,000's of babies) then yes, FF babies are more susceptible to illness. Anecdotal stories are just that, anecdotes. Mine is actually FF now too but I think those of us who use formula shouldn't be so quick to dismiss the facts about BF benefits over FF just because of an anecdote.

Yes, OH was FF and healthier than me (who was BF for 3 years) but that does not make it any less true. There's also people who live until 90 years without any exercise but that doesn't make the benefits of exercise any less true.

 

[blutea]

my mil is allergic to chocolate, my sil to peanuts, neither of which I can live without. I can't click links on my phone so I can only read the part you pasted right now. Does it mention any ideas for how to reduce the chances of causing the allergy? If I avoid eating these things for a long time, will that give the baby a better chance of not being allergic to them? It'll be hard, but if it helps her to be able to enjoy them later in life instead of having to avoid them, I will do it. Soy will be difficult though... Even if I wasn't vegetarian, it's still in so many foods.

If I were you, I would eat all things as usual but carefully watch for symptoms of allergy. If you do notice any issues then you could eliminate those specific foods for a while.

 

[blutea]

i disagree with the part about most FF babies are more prone to ear/chest infections and the like.

I FF Leo from birth- he is now 3 yrs old and has hardly ever been ill- one small cold a year at most.
Whereas a few of my friends BF their children who now have asthma and are constantly in and out of hospital with low immune systems. (all born the same yr and month as my son)

Not having a rant- just airing my view from experience

On a whole (talking about 100,000's of babies) then yes, FF babies are more susceptible to illness. Anecdotal stories are just that, anecdotes. Mine is actually FF now too but I think those of us who use formula shouldn't be so quick to dismiss the facts about BF benefits over FF just because of an anecdote.

Yes, OH was FF and healthier than me (who was BF for 3 years) but that does not make it any less true. There's also people who live until 90 years without any exercise but that doesn't make the benefits of exercise any less true.

lynzlogan- I am very happy for you that your son is so healthy but I absolutely agree with aliss; you can't dismiss the benefits of breastfeeding or dismiss the risks of formula feeding based on a few personal experiences. Further more, based on your logic, it is possible that your friends' babies could have been sicker had they been formula fed and it is possible that your son could have been healthier had he been breast fed. With that said, again, I am glad your son is so healthy.

Here is a link that will direct you to current studies and articles, with some great research, to back up the benefits of breastfeeding- https://www.kellymom.com/bf/start/prepare/bf-benefits.html

 

[XJessicaX]

I have just watched the breast feeding dvd my midwife hands out. It is a little 'in your face' and pushy about breast feeding but I am SOOOOOO excited to start!!!!! I cant wait. I think it is THE thing I am most looking forward to!

 

[lynzlogan]

i disagree with the part about most FF babies are more prone to ear/chest infections and the like.

I FF Leo from birth- he is now 3 yrs old and has hardly ever been ill- one small cold a year at most.
Whereas a few of my friends BF their children who now have asthma and are constantly in and out of hospital with low immune systems. (all born the same yr and month as my son)

Not having a rant- just airing my view from experience

On a whole (talking about 100,000's of babies) then yes, FF babies are more susceptible to illness. Anecdotal stories are just that, anecdotes. Mine is actually FF now too but I think those of us who use formula shouldn't be so quick to dismiss the facts about BF benefits over FF just because of an anecdote.

Yes, OH was FF and healthier than me (who was BF for 3 years) but that does not make it any less true. There's also people who live until 90 years without any exercise but that doesn't make the benefits of exercise any less true.

i was in no way dismissing the beneficial facts of BF, just making a point that not all FF babies get ill.

I would love to BF but can't due to medication, other wise i would have with my son and with bump too.
I'm stuggling at the moment without my meds, so will be back on them once lo is born, its gutting, but i need my meds or i wouldn't be able to function properly.

 

[Dragonfly]

I hope this dosnt go to ff vs bf , it seems to hard to keep off that track in these threads. This one seems to be going well and I am so happy to see so many wanting to breastfeed it makes me smile as I see so many in my personal life that have negative views.

 

[blutea]

i disagree with the part about most FF babies are more prone to ear/chest infections and the like.

I FF Leo from birth- he is now 3 yrs old and has hardly ever been ill- one small cold a year at most.
Whereas a few of my friends BF their children who now have asthma and are constantly in and out of hospital with low immune systems. (all born the same yr and month as my son)

Not having a rant- just airing my view from experience

On a whole (talking about 100,000's of babies) then yes, FF babies are more susceptible to illness. Anecdotal stories are just that, anecdotes. Mine is actually FF now too but I think those of us who use formula shouldn't be so quick to dismiss the facts about BF benefits over FF just because of an anecdote.

Yes, OH was FF and healthier than me (who was BF for 3 years) but that does not make it any less true. There's also people who live until 90 years without any exercise but that doesn't make the benefits of exercise any less true.

i was in no way dismissing the beneficial facts of BF, just making a point that not all FF babies get ill.

I would love to BF but can't due to medication, other wise i would have with my son and with bump too.
I'm stuggling at the moment without my meds, so will be back on them once lo is born, its gutting, but i need my meds or i wouldn't be able to function properly.

I understand that you need the medication and I'm sorry you have to make that choice. Have you looked into equivalents or alternatives that are safe while breastfeeding? The major chemicals that are not recommended during lactation are chemo therapy and radiation compounds but most other medications are safe while breastfeeding because only about 1% of the medication enters the breast milk. Sometimes, they recommend not breastfeeding while on a medication only because no studies have been conducted on its safety while breastfeeding. That is an understandable reason not to breastfeed while on the medication because you don't want to take risks but in many cases it's just being overly cautions on the part of the doctors.

 

[Ember]

I'm not sure I'd want to take the chance of bfing my lo while on a medication that has not been studied, no matter what it was. I am taking as few medications as possible myself right now.

thank you for your advice about foods, BT. Hopefully I will never have to deal with any food allergies in my lo.

I agree with dragonfly that it's so nice to see so many women excited to bf because it's looked upon very negatively around here, too. Most of the babies born in my area are born to teen/young adult moms that are very superficial and care only about themselves and treat their babies like paris hilton treats her dog (which admittedly is better than a lot of people treat their children). I'm not saying all young mothers do this, just that it seems an overabundance of them in my area do. They ff, have c sections to avoid the pain of vaginal delivery and think vaginal delivery would make their vaginas loose for the rest of their lives so guys won't want them. They pierce their babies ears when they're barely old enough to hold up their own heads, they put clothes on their babies with foul language printed on them, they teach their children to say bad words because they think it's funny, they feed them mcdonals when they are too young to eat things like that, they fill up their bottles with chocolate milk when they're 6 months old.... I could go on and on about the things I've seen. It's just really ice to have a place where I can interact with actual responsible adults for once, of all ages.

 

[Mya209]

I'm not sure I'd want to take the chance of bfing my lo while on a medication that has not been studied, no matter what it was. I am taking as few medications as possible myself right now.

thank you for your advice about foods, BT. Hopefully I will never have to deal with any food allergies in my lo.

I agree with dragonfly that it's so nice to see so many women excited to bf because it's looked upon very negatively around here, too. Most of the babies born in my area are born to teen/young adult moms that are very superficial and care only about themselves and treat their babies like paris hilton treats her dog (which admittedly is better than a lot of people treat their children). I'm not saying all young mothers do this, just that it seems an overabundance of them in my area do. They ff, have c sections to avoid the pain of vaginal delivery and think vaginal delivery would make their vaginas loose for the rest of their lives so guys won't want them. They pierce their babies ears when they're barely old enough to hold up their own heads, they put clothes on their babies with foul language printed on them, they teach their children to say bad words because they think it's funny, they feed them mcdonals when they are too young to eat things like that, they fill up their bottles with chocolate milk when they're 6 months old.... I could go on and on about the things I've seen. It's just really ice to have a place where I can interact with actual responsible adults for once, of all ages.

 

[aob1013]

I'm not sure I'd want to take the chance of bfing my lo while on a medication that has not been studied, no matter what it was. I am taking as few medications as possible myself right now.

thank you for your advice about foods, BT. Hopefully I will never have to deal with any food allergies in my lo.

I agree with dragonfly that it's so nice to see so many women excited to bf because it's looked upon very negatively around here, too. Most of the babies born in my area are born to teen/young adult moms that are very superficial and care only about themselves and treat their babies like paris hilton treats her dog (which admittedly is better than a lot of people treat their children). I'm not saying all young mothers do this, just that it seems an overabundance of them in my area do. They ff, have c sections to avoid the pain of vaginal delivery and think vaginal delivery would make their vaginas loose for the rest of their lives so guys won't want them. They pierce their babies ears when they're barely old enough to hold up their own heads, they put clothes on their babies with foul language printed on them, they teach their children to say bad words because they think it's funny, they feed them mcdonals when they are too young to eat things like that, they fill up their bottles with chocolate milk when they're 6 months old.... I could go on and on about the things I've seen. It's just really ice to have a place where I can interact with actual responsible adults for once, of all ages.

Well, thank god the MAJORITY of young mums are NOT like this.

I had am emergency section which was out of my control as my son was premature .. and i have been exclusively breastfeeding for nearly 6 months.

I'm 19. and the picture you painted of young mums i can assure you, really is in the minority.

 

[Dragonfly]

I fins its with any mum around here. i dont know many young mums personally apart from 1 or 2 through someone else and I do know they never consider breastfeeding its like it never existed they dont know about it. As for older mums even older than me even they dont do it, ie none of my family and my aunts in her 50s near. I had someone sit and tell me that my gran always maintained sma made babies sick,. now i assume she formula fed as I cant ask she is dead but she did look after me my brother and sister and we where all formula. Theres such negativity around breastfeeding here. Theres a "why bother " when you can ff here. I get asked why I do it and whats wrong with using formula like the rest. Constant stupid advice from health visitors who polute others minds in an area breastfeeding is low in. No help in hospital at all, encouragement I seen giving last time which was an improvement but no help. I got on with midwives and we talked a lot about breastfeeding when I was in as they knew I was still feeding William and admitted that I would know more about it. :O nice woman totally behind breastfeeding and all. But said no one carries on if they try on hospital. Well when you get the hv who tells you your milk is no good after 6 months and to stop at any problem you know why.
Thats why I love to see determined woman in here of all ages. And I remember Aob being determined while pregnant and she has succeed as I knew she would very well.

 

[aliss]

Here it is quite the opposite, I myself was BF'd for 3 years. When I gave my mother a bottle to feed my LO, she made him ill because she didn't understand how to use it! (it's funny looking back). Who knew that a bottle would be so complicated for a woman who knew nothing except stick your boob in a baby's face to feed it!

 

[Dragonfly]

I wouldnt have a clue how to make formula and how much and when. Sounds complicated and hard work.

 

[aliss]

I wouldnt have a clue how to make formula and how much and when. Sounds complicated and hard work.

It is, especially during night cluster feeding I think many new moms are so exhausted and sleep deprived that they completely forget about the next 12-24 months+ and what a pain FF can be.