Why Did You Choose Formula

[leelee]

I've just joined formula feeding today.

When pregnant I was 100% pro-breastfeeding and wouldn't even entertain the idea of formula feeding (big apology needed from me to all formula feeders out there).

My LO is now 12 days old and we haven't got on with breastfeeding. She was early and only 5lb8 and we couldn't get her to latch in hospital. Managed at home with nipple shields but she was feeding and crying constantly night and day and I'm ashamed to admit I couldn't handle it with the sleep deprivation and was breaking down and spending my days in tears. I don't think much milk was coming through the nipple shields. My OH decided enough was enough last night and gave her formula to let me get some sleep and again this morning. I've been heading for postnatal depression (my Mum had it severely too) and already feel so guilty that I couldn't handle breastfeeding

I've been using expressed breastmilk through the day and formula at night and my baby is so much more content and I feel a bit saner although really upset and disappointed. I don't really feel like I've had any support from the midwifes either, I just get told to stick with it and it'll get better. My sister and close friend both exclusively breastfeed and have said to me that if it was as hard for them they would have given up too so not to get myself down about it as I gave it my best shot. Still feel awful though xxx

Congrats on your little girl

and

I went through a similar thing with a non-latching baby. I expressed for a month and am proud that my LO got as much of my milk as was possible for 4 weeks. Don't feel like a failure. Every bit of expressed milk your LO gets is amazing. Some ladies on here have had babies latch on when they are a couple of weeks old, but if your LO doesn't, don't worry. Concentrate on bonding, as much skin to skin and cuddling your baby

xxx

 

[marie73]

Stardust599 - I can so sympathise with you. It's just so hard and difficult to describe how it makes you feel. I felt like a complete failure as a mom and that certainly impacted on my relationship with my baby. I feel I should have made a decision to switch to formula earlier to allow me more time to bond with her rather than expressing constantly. We must console ourselves that we have given our lo's the best start with expressing and I do think that happy mom = happy baby. Make sure you look after yourself and hug your lo lots! As a friend (who also struggled with breast feeding before switching to formula) said to me it's such a small part of a child's life that it's not worth causing yourself and lo so much stress and missing those precious early days.

 

[Eve]

Oh hun, don't feel guilty. You are doing the best you can, and I'm very proud of you for that! Plus you are/have given your LO some breastmilk, which is better than none Good luck and glad your LO feels better now. Again You're doing great!

 

[Serendipity14]

I was hoping to BF but my daughter wouldn't latch on properly after birth. I got to day 3 and made the decision to change to FF due to the pain. My whole body was shaking eventually as I was in so much pain and bleeding as she couldn't get enough of my breast in her mouth.
Was a hard thing to do and I found it very upsetting.

Orignially I put her onto SMA but she was very sick.
I felt it was too heavy so changed onto Aptamil which is more like breast milk and haven't looked back since​

 

[bumptobe29]

i tried to bf when lo was born but i have cracked nipples and he couldnt latch on, because they r cracked it made expressing excrutiatingly painful so i decided to ff. i didnt think id be able to bf all through my pregnancy so i didnt mind going with formula! x

 

[ShanandBoc]

Im a bf but i 100% agree u have to do what makes u happy too. A stressed, tired and mother in pain is no good for any baby.

I switched to FF in hospital but then switched back, but it has been very hard work and i can totally see why some choose not to Bf and completely respect them for it. My LO is 5 weeks nearly and have spent alot of that time trying to establish Bf. Luckily my LO sleeps 5-6 hrs straight a night even tho i BF so sleep hasnt been an issue but latching on one side, sore nipples and other issues have made it so difficult. I do express when i want a break or go out for a while and to give DH a chance to feed her too

I may look at exclusively expressing if i continue to have problems but will prob switch to formula after 6 months

 

[PepsiChic]

i breastfed for 4 months when i noticed my supply had dropped and so had my LO's weight, now i combi feed (more FM then BM). it was the best decision i could of made, its been almost two weeks since i started giving formula and my LO has regained his weight and a little more! im thrilled to bits.

im still feeling pretty shitty about not being able to bf for as long as i wanted, but im sure i'll feel better over time.

i just have to look at my LO and see his huge smile and i know i made the right choice for him. not ME.

 

[Caezzybe]

I breast fed Logan for three days and thought he was feeding well. On discharge from hospital, he fed from me once at home and then started screaming, banging his head against my breast and not latching on. The next day, I saw the community midwife who referred Logan and I back to hospital as he had lost 12% of his birth weight. All attempts by myself and the midwifery staff failed to get Logan latched on and I was given a breast pump; I was in floods of tears. Logan was given a bottle of expressed breast milk and appeared to be feeding well,but when the bottle was turned upright he hasn't really taken anything. His poor feeding was probably as a result of his Down's Syndrome.

We ended up in the transitional care unit, Logan had a tube down his nose and was being given alternate bottle and tube feeds of EBM, topped up with formula. A week later, Logan was taking his feeds from a bottle and we went home. I didn't dare breast feed him as I wouldn't know how much he was taking; if he had me fooled once that he was feeding well (and wasn't), he could do it again so I wasn't risking it.

I used a Medela pump and never got more than 40ml of EBM in a session. It slowly dwindled over the weeks to 30ml over the course of a day (I was pumping for half an hour at a time and only getting about 5ml during a session) and after 4 weeks I made the heartbreaking decision to switch entirely to formula.

Expressing milk was (for me) soul destroying, especially when I was pumping and Logan cried - I couldn't not pick him up, so the pump was put away.

 

[Elphaba]

I had intended to breastfeed but when Xavier was born he wouldn't latch on. I thought I would be able to cope with this and keep persevering but I tbh I couldn't handle it and was so physically and mentally exhausted. I was pummelled by various midwives and nurses trying to help me hand express but we literally just got a couple of drops out.

Whilst some individuals in the hospital were supportive, there was no continuity and I wasn't aware enough to speak up properly. This lead to me being told 'just try, every couple of hours - your LO won't go without if he doesn't get any'. Except of course he did go without! I was then met by a horrified nurse the following morning after X hadn't been fed for 8 hours (and then only about 10ml of formula to 'top him up' as he wasn't getting any from the breast). I really couldn't handle it any longer, was exhausted, and felt that whilst breastmilk might technically be best for my baby, a distressed mummy certainly wasn't!

I've felt guilty a few times since but on the whole I feel we really made the right choice for us and my little one is thriving.

 

[charlotte-xo]

I respect people who BF but it just wasnt for me and ive never once felt guilty for choosing to formula feed from the start.

 

[kate.m.]

I chose to formula feed because (although i know all the studies tell me im wrong) i couldnt tell a difference in the formula or breastfed babies i know: yet i noticed a difference in the mummies. The breastfeeding mummies seemed much more tired & stressed, feeding seemed so difficult for them, whereas the formula feeding mummies didnt. I know that this is not true of everyone, but this was true of my friends. So in my opinion the benefits of formula feeding were higher.

 

[gorgeousmumof]

I just want to thank all who replied to this thread.. I have just put my baby on formula at 21 weeks.. and omg have I been feeling guilty over it. But reading this has made me feel better and see the positives.. I have a HAPPY BABY!! I now feel like I am now the "only one" formula feeding, and feel I will be camping in this forum now while me and baby get used to the change (wont go into why I had to stop bf'ing cos its mega raw atm) x

 

[ShanandBoc]

21 weeks is a great effort anyway, dont feel guilty x

 

[justjill]

i just didnt want a baby sucking on my boob all day and night.

I know this is a really old thread, but this just make me crack up, and makes me feel better if I do decide to just formula feed.

 

[charlotte-xo]

wow holy old thread OT but when i wrote my post alfie wouldve only been a couple of weeks old. were has the time gone..

 

[chickchock]

With my first, I didn't decide to FF until the point my nipple was split around the edges and I could no longer feed my daughter through the pain. This was when she was 5 days old, my milk still hadn't come in, which people now tell me is unusual as well.

So I switched to FF and it was a fantastic decision for me and my DD. She is healthy, happy and thriving.

At first, FFing did contribute to PND, or more so, the judgemental attitudes of self righteous mothers who simply don't understand that BF is not the answer to everything. Now though, FFing in the past has helped make me a more relaxed, live and let live mother.

With my next baby I plan to BF agan for the first few days, if a miracal happens and I can continue, then great, if not, then I'll FF again and great again. I am a huge believer that FF is almost as good as BF, and in some cases, like mine, it's BETTER, because, it was the only possibility! It makes me laugh how uppety some women get about FFers, it's not like we're pureeing pizza and chips and spoon feeding it to our newborns haha!

ETA- only just realised that this is an old thread!

 

[Leah_xx]

I know this is old but I felt like posting.
I had planned on BF from the time I found out I was pregnant.
Well things didn't go as plan. I had an emergency c-section with my daughter, didnt get to hold her until the following day. Had troubles with her latching one right and everything. Things got a little bit better in the hospital. However that night was came home from the hospital she wasn't getting anything. Well she didn't have a wet diaper so i decided to pump instead. Well I did that for 6 weeks and went to formula. I went back to school.
Well she was put on regular formula and at christmas time she got REALLY sick. I knew what it was cause when she had the diarehha(sp?) formula she was okay. So i told her doctor can we try something else. WE did and she was put on Soy formula. Haven't had a problem since then.

 

[_Vicky_]

old thread but felt like posting too

I BF'd the boys - well BF Sam and expressed for Fynn while he was in NICU - i stuffed up supply and demand when he came home and got mastitus - BF friendly ABs didnt touch it and I developed two abscesses (apple sized apparently) which had to be surgically drained and dressed every day for over two months. uurrgggggghhhh pain? give me child birth anyday!

 

[gertrude]

I combi feed so I guess that's your answer I tried to BF but she lost too much weight and I just cannot produce enough milk for her - I did top ups and now most of her food comes from formula - I do express and she gets that, and she gets boob first at most feeds

She loves her bottle though, and she's thriving and that's the main thing. If formula wasn't available I dread to think what the outcome would have been

 

[bigbetty]

I just didn't feel that breastfeeding was the natural thing for me to do, I didn't have any desire to do it. I did seriously consider it at one point but because my heart wouldn't really have been in it I decided not to put me and my baby through the stress. I don't regret my decision and both Fran and I are very happy xx