I want to ask in the nicest way possible

I was watching GMA this morning and they were talking about "cyber bullying" that moms are doing to each other online. They mentioned one post where someone said that mothers who do not breast feed are "cop outs". It got me thinking about the subject. I have friends that EBF, ones who never tried, and everywhere in between. I will openly admitt there are SEVERAL different reasons why a mother cannot BF (illness in either babies or mother, poor milk supply, needing weight gain, etc.) but I honestly feel like there are a LOT of women who don't give it enough time to REALLY try.

BFing DID NOT come easy for us! It took us about 3 months of tears, screams, and frustrations to get it down. I've talked to several women who just say "it's not for me". What would you do if formula didn't exsist? Let your babies starve beacause it "just not for you"? It seems like every month the news it reporting some new story who BFing is SO important for both baby and mom. Just because you didn't BF your first 2 doesn't mean you shouldn't give it everything you got to try to nurse the next one. Also, the whole milk supply issue; yes there are a FEW women who are incapable of producing enough milk, but I think the majority who think this just need some time and work to build it up. The more you nurse the more milk you produce. My milk took 4 days to really come in, that would have been plenty of time for me to give up.

I know how stressfull it can be to try to BF and I know how annoying it is to have to pump constantly, but I also know how imporant it is for your baby (and you!) to get human milk. I have never met a woman who wishes she didn't BF but I meet several who wished they had.

 

In regards to a milk supply issue. I had that. As did my mother and my two sisters! So there are legitimate reasons why a person may not have enough milk supply-ie hereditary.

For me: Despite that I went on Domperidone to help my supply for 6 weeks. I had a horrid postpartum hemmorrage where I also balcked out 4 times post delivery. This ALSO impacted my milk supply, as blood supply was lost to my pituitary gland.

My 'milk' did not come in until SEVEN days after...despite pumping 7-8 X/day WITH recovering from my twin delivery.

On top of premature twins I still worked hard with a lactation consultant and got both twins to BF...BOY did it take work and effort.

In then end they were 'almost' exculisvely breastfed for 3 months and now received pumped milk for 1/2 of their feeds.

Everyone knows breasfeeding is the best way...howevere sometimes circumstances BEYOND our control, can limit that option.

Perhaps it's best for others to live and let live? :unknw:

If I could have breasfed them soley for 1 yr...by golly I would have been happy!!

TM :wavey:

 

Ps: in re; to GMA discussing CB: Any type of judgement or cyber-bullying re: BF is soooo ridiculous. Those CB's need to get a life or find a different outlet to take out their aggressions! There is no doubt that BM is the best for babies, but there is no need to harp on someone who may not be able to.

 

As someone who REALLY wanted to be able to BF my babies, I was deeply disappointed when after 3 weeks the NICU had to start supplementing my boys with formula. I felt like a slave to the pump. I did "power pumping" sessions at night and pumped 2-3 times daily at my babies' bedside in the NICU. But the most I ever pumped in a single 24 hour period was around 12-13 oz. Nowhere near enough to provide for my boys. I continued to pump when they came home, but it was very disheartening and frustrating to do so while utterly exhausted only to get a couple of ounces per session. I could have continued to drive myself crazy about pumping, just for 5-6 oz a day by that point, but I decided it was time to remove a major stress from my life, so the breast pump was returned to the hospital. And I have never regretted that decision!! Everybody knows that BF is the best thing for your baby, but some people are militant about it and I find that annoying. I'm not necessarily talking about the OP, unless you are militant about BFing, LOL. Also, I would think it is very hard for working mothers to maintain their supply for TWINS when they return to work. I think a lot of these "militant breast milk moms" are SAHMs, which gives them an advantage as far as being able to BF on demand.

Anyway, a lot of moms these days do decide to give their babies formula instead of BM. And likewise a lot of moms choose C-sections over attempting a natural birth. It is what it is and while in a perfect world all moms would have natural births and BF until 1 year old, the reality is that millions of healthy babies are delivered by C-sections and fed formula these days and they turn out just fine.

 

Is the point of this thread for mother's who were not able/chose not to BF their babies come in here and defend themselves and their decisions? Maybe I am missing something...you know, like an actual question?? ardon:

My girls were not breastfed, but I pumped around the clock for them for the entire 10 weeks they spent in the NICU. I was one of the "FEW" that had supply issues, and it just wasn't in the cards for us. But it wasn't for a lack of wanting it or not trying hard enough. I gave it my best. End of story.

At the end of the day my Formula Fed Preemie's were/are Happy, Healthy and Thriving. They came a long way and fought hard. I can't really ask for anything more, considering they were both dead when they were born.

Judge Away! I don't have any shame. :nea:

 

Agree...I hated BF and don't blame anyone who doesn't want to do it. Formula does exist, so no use asking hypothetical questions that will never exist. BF doesn't work for everyone, who really cares as long as the baby is in a happy, healthy home, raised by loving parents (or parent). There's more to raising kids than BF. Props to those who do, props to those who don't and provide the same kind of love and care for their kids.

 

To answer what you do with not being able to b/f and having no formula... My fil was born/raised in Italy. His mother had four kids. She was unable to b/f all of them-for whatever reason. There was NO formula back then. So-they got the milk straight from the cows. They would add water to the milk for a bit, and that's what they got from the start...

I tried bf'ing. It WASN'T for me. But I tried. I ended up pumping for five months for the boys. I got to a point where I just couldn't do it anymore. And when I had my daughter, I vowed to try harder. And I did. I put more effort into the b/fing sessions-but when they would take TWO hours at night, and I had two toddlers to take care of during the day-I had to stop. She wasn't getting enough milk and I wasn't getting enough sleep. I even did pumping for a few weeks as well. Once I got over the guilt of I *HAD* to b/f, I was a MUCH happier mom, and a huge weight was lifted off of my shoulder.

Just like everything else with parenting-it's a choice. One that the mother/child comes to. And I doubt it's ever lightly, whichever they may choose. To each their own-if it works for their family-more power to them. BF'ing didn't work for me or my family-and I'm fine with that. My kids are no less than the kid next to them because they weren't breastfed for x amount of time.

 

I think that the statement that few woman truely have supply issues is wrong. I know it's regularly stated in BFing literature, but I know way too many people who did everything right and couldn't produce enough. I personally take a bit of offense to your broad statement that I should have just tried a little longer. With my first child, I nursed and pumped around the clock for weeks, met with several LCs and did everything they told me to, and couldn't make enough milk. With my second, she wouldn't take her supplemental bottles and nursed around the clock and I still didn't make enough milk despite taking every drug and herb out there. Thankfully, at 3 months she was willing to eat rice cereal and bananas or I don't know what would have happened. I tried to EBF my twins and it was a disaster. I had to give them formula in the hospital or they would not let me take them home. I weaned them off of the supplement and they were STARVING and cried constantly. After two weeks with absolutely no improvement, I started supplementing again and suddenly I had two happy babies.

I nursed my second daughter for 2+ years and I am still nursing my boys, but I refuse to think that I did my first daughter a disservice by going to all bottles when she was 4 months. Whether or not someone chooses to nurse, especially twins, is entirely their decision to make and I would never criticize anyone for whatever method they use to feed their babies.

 

I honestly don't see why it should matter to anyone how another mother chooses to feed her child. The one thing which doesn't sit right with me, and comes up in every discussion of b/feeding versus f/feeding, is the phrase "it's BEST for the baby." That IMO automatically places those who did not b/feed on the defensive, and you can be sure the f/feeding moms will eventually come out with their claws drawn, because you (general you) are telling them they did not do what was best. It also creates feelings of failure in many mothers who insist on trying no matter what. It sort of kills the discussion almost immediately, and often results in free for all fights (see: cyber bullying moms).

There are a lot of things we can do for our kids which is "best" but we don't. I've seen kids who were fed only health foods the first five years, swallowing candy bars like they were going out of style. So IMO, this "best" option is not the only one in our childrens lives, but it can (and often does) become an obsession with first time mothers.... On both sides of the fence.

All I'm trying to say is that there are pros and cons to every choice we make as parents. If a mother has three children and another infant who she needs to spend months trying to b/feed and is tired, unhappy, stressed and scared, then is she doing what's "best" for all her children? Absolutely not!

We need to start giving mothers a break, and not expecting them to live up to such high standards. If they can do something, support them, if they can't or won't, that's fine too. If they're abusing their kids, then have something to say.


We set these "its BEST for our children" standards and practically demand that we ourselves, and everyone else live up to it. We're wasting our time striving to be perfect, when all our children need is for us to be their mothers. And, mothers are never perfect.

 

I do believe Breastmilk is best for babies and have made very costly personal sacrifices to give it to my babies.

I also have the utmost respect for those who had preemies or medical issues who could not take their mothers breast- by the grace of God I am not among you. So every night I pump. Not for my children, but for my local Mothers Milk bank. Hopefully another child or children can also have 'the best'.

Another thing I have done is drop by the Breastfeeding class at my local hospital and feed my babies in front of 15 soon to be parents so they can see that BF can be done, live. It's amazing how many people who didn't have questions previously suddenly feel comfortable when they've seen your nipples.

Anyone who has time to do cyber bullying has time to do more than I've done.

 

But it does so this question doesn't even matter.

The BF'ing/no BF'ing debate is very frustrating for me. For someone who struggled with it, and for health reasons couldn't do it, it literally turns my stomach to see a BF'ing mother judging a FF'ing mother for not BF'ing. Not saying it's being done in this thread, but you yourself pointed out GMA brought up the fact that it's being done online. Enough is enough. Yes, it's best for the babies. I get it. Why make the rest of us feel like crap because we didn't? Again, not saying everyone does this, but there IS a stigma against FF'ing.

I love what you said Anne!! :clapping:

 

Actually, back in the day before formula babies would get evaporated milk.

My mil is 88 years old and has 7 sons. She has told me numerous times that BF was not for her and after each birth she would insist her Dr. give her the pills "to dry her up".

My mother never BF and I was fed evaporated milk as was my sister and two brothers. My sister has 5 kids and never BF. My neices have 3 kids and never BF. And I'm pretty sure there are more family members I am forgetting. I guess for me, I grew up not seeing women BF and saw how it did not affect the overall health of the child.

I can't look at something and say "oh, I bet that person was not BF and that's why he/she is that way".

I did have low milk supply and I guess in your words I did "give up" and ended up FF my boys.

But they are healthy & thriving. They had their first cold at the age of 11 months and have never had a fever that could not be treated with a single dose of motrin or tylenol.

I agree. Now, if she was feeing her newborn something that was unhealthy I could understand, but millions of kids are FF on a yearly basis.

 

Beautifully stated. Thank you.

I did what I could but was never a die hard BF-Mom. It just wasn't in me and honestly, I never felt bad. (I usually don't.)

Anyway, I think it's insane how much other people care about how other mothers feed their kids (breastmilk vs. formula). I just do not get it. It would never occur to me to give it a second thought. Big deal. I don't think breastfeeding moms deserve a medal AT ALL and I don't think formula feeding moms deserve to be hung. I think we do what we can and that's it.

Do what you can with what you've got, try not to judge others. I always say, as long as it doesn't affect you-- let it go.

 

Thank you and Anne and Krystyn for your comments.
I am one of those people, I don't care how you feed your baby, as long as you feed your baby. Motherhood is hard and I don't see why mothers cannot support other mothers in the choices they make. There are many reasons why mothers choose to formula feed and as long as mother & baby are happy, shouldn't that be enough. My mother did not breastfeed her children and I did not breastfeed my two. My milk never came in. I don't think that my kids are worse off for having formula: they are healthy, happy and thriving and I think that's the goal for every child-breastfed or formula fed.

 

I will never forget that day in ToysRUs when a lady approached me--I guess the boys were around 7-8 months old. She asked me if I had breastfed, and I told her no. Then she started asking about formula feeding. She had an infant at home, and she was so excited to meet someone who wasn't breastfeeding. Why? Because she hated doing it, and at that point was doing it because she had pretty much been told that breastfeeding was her ONLY option--and she was miserable. She was happy to find that kids actually DO thrive on formula!

I actually refused to go to our local hospital's maternity ward (for the boys I couldn't have, but for the future if there was a baby in the future), because that hospital was a "breast feeding advocate". Meaning that the hospital would not support formula feeding. I couldn't imagine the thought of having to send DH out for formula the minute we got home, just so I could feed the babies!

 

Oh wow twinlet mommy I hemmoraged after the boys birth too and NEVER knew that could contribute to my milk supply... explains SO much! If only someone had explained that to me sooner!! Thanks

I can comment on this from both sides. I BF my girls (singletons) w/o problems until they both self weaned and LOVED it! Had an over abundance of milk. They just nursed so when the boys were born I didn't even think I needed to see the lactation consultant. BOY was I wrong. They became my BF for about 3m. I was on domperidone, then went to blessed thistle and fenugreek. The boys were miserable I had numerous breast infections and was so sore that I dreaded feeding them.

I was tired, in pain and stressed out so I wasn't that great of a mom to any of my kids, I actually think feeding the boys formula gave me my sanity back and was better for everyone involved.

It's such a stupid thing to judge about, there are kids out there who are hungry, abused, neglected and ppl are judging moms for not BF, ridiculous!

 

Is the point of this thread to add some stress and guilt to all of the FY moms who did not BF, when life is already stressful enough with infant twins? :huh:

You BF, you don't BF, you feed your child organic food, you don't feed your child organic food, you feed your child fresh veggies, you feed them canned veggies, you stay-at-home, you work, you don't let your kids have sugar, you do let your kids have sugar ------ all personal parenting choices, none of them bad choices ------ we can judge about so many parenting choices, but what is the purpose? Judge about abuse, neglect, truly poor choices - but BF vs FF? Who the heck cares?

I find it ironic that this thread originated from something on GMA about CYBER BULLYING.....

 

Essentially that says that all of us FF's are lazy. :umm: That none of us even tried or just gave up at the first sign of hard work.

Have you walked a mile in our shoes? Have you seen some of the links in our siggies about NICU time?

If you knew some of my pain, sweat, and tears about my boys not latching.
If you knew that I attached a hospital grade pump to my breasts every 3 hours for 3 months.
If you knew that I had to BF the boys, then finish them up with a bottle so I at least knew they were getting food and see how much they were taking to determine if they were getting anything on the breast, then pump to keep my supply up, and then repeat every 2 hours.
If you knew my guilt for having an older DD who wanted to play, but I had to be on the couch all day doing the above scenario.
If you knew that I cried for days over whether to give up said scenario so that I could find some time to have a balance between me and my kids.
If you knew that I loaded up my boys in the car with their apnea monitors and drove them to a LC twice.
If you knew that my boys had horrid reflux and a milk allergy and were screaming in pain every time they ate.
If you knew that I exclusively BF'd my older DD for over a year and it took over 4 days for my supply to come in.

Would that change your mind about me being lazy?

I dont even know what to say to this. Seriously? I dont live under a rock. I get that BFing is best. But dont patronize me about MY choices.

 

Well, I must be the worst mother on the planet. Out of four sons, none of them breastfed. But you know, I've already been down the whole "I feel so guilty because I didn't do what's "best" for my baby" road (I had two c-sections too, oh no!). And after 10 years of being a mom, I've realized that in the big picture, how I chose to feed my children in the beginning just doesn't matter. I'd rather focus on raising decent human beings who care about the feelings of others and don't sit back in judgment because they think they've done things the "right" way.

As a new mom, things are already difficult enough. Why do we feel the need to tear each other down? I just don't get it.

 

There's one point where I'd agree: formula is not the same as breastmilk, and breastmilk has a lot of really awesome properties that formula doesn't have.

However, that does NOT mean that one system of feeding is better than the other, or that formula is poison. Babies do fine on formula too. And there are a million reasons why a mom might choose not to BF (medications that aren't safe, prior breast surgery, history of sexual abuse, no good pumping arrangements after going back to work, discomfort with the idea of it, pressure from family and friends, etc etc etc). There's a lot of room for our society to improve in terms of educating women about BFing and giving them good practical support when they choose to try it, but if in the end it doesn't work out, or if a mom is not interested in trying, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. If it's not for you, it's not for you. And what babies need more than anything in the world is a happy, sane mom.


(There's just one side note I'd want to add: this thread has naturally brought out a lot of stories of extreme challenges and frustration while BFing, and stories that end with it not working out. I totally salute you moms who poured so much energy and dedication into it! :bow2: But I also want to mention to anyone reading this thread that it's not always like this. There are just as many moms who find that BFing comes relatively easily, or who face difficulties that do resolve in time, and who really enjoy BFing their babies (at least once they get past the first 6-8 wks, lol!). It's important to acknowledge the struggles some moms have, but I think it's equally important to challenge the myth that's so prevalent in society that BFing is this mysterious thing that's really, really hard. Sometimes it is, and hats off to moms who fight the good fight! But more often, it isn't.)

 

You're the best Holly. You always know how to bring these threads down to earth.

 

I agree Holly. BFing came very easy to me with my daughter and BFing doesnt have to come with a struggle. But for the OP to come in with a view from above and make a blanket statement that FF's are lazy is ridiculous. And it hurts and insults alot of us who FF.

 

This is me exactly. I pumped around the clock while the girls were in the NICU and when they first got home. I met with 3 LCs in the NICU and no one could explain my low supply (maybe 15-30cc's per session on a good day- total daily supply maybe 3 oz). But the girls got every last drop of what I could give them and the rest was formula.

 

Yea, what is the point of this thread? If it's to give support to those who are trying to BF and to those who are FF - then let's continue. I'll share my story - in the hopes that maybe it could help another mother.

I tried very hard to BF - always wanted to. I had a hard time - spent $$ to have a LC come to my house and everything. I was able to have enough milk to BF and supplement with formula as long as I pumped in between BFing. Once due to logistics of having twins (which we ALL know what that means) - I no longer had time to pump enough. My friend who successfully BF her son tried to support me to help me make it work. But, it just didn't. I was very depressed and had to come to terms with it. NOT because I thought formula was BAD... i just enjoyed BFing and I know the boys enjoyed it too.

Well, now my friend who successfully BFed her son for a year has twins. and she is struggling. I am trying to support her with whatever she needs.

IMO - I find it amazing at the amount of judgement that is placed on women who do not BF. I didn't really get judged by anyone - all my friends and others were completely understanding. And thank goodness because stress does not help with a woman's milk supply. i also find it amazing at the lack of support to BF - to help women truly learn how. But, maybe that was just my experience.

Good luck to all those who are trying to BF and FF. Raising children is VERY difficult and requires a lot of support!

 

I had no desire to breastfeed at all and chose before I even got pregnant that I wouldn't. I didn't breastfeed any of my 3 and IF I have another it will be on formula as well.

 

My experience was a little different - I didn't have medical or supply issues (early on at least), so the only hard parts of BFing for me were getting them to latch and then thrush, infections, etc. But, I feel like I was one of the lucky ones who didn't struggle too much.

EVERYONE was amazed that I was BFing twins. All of my family and even acquaintances couldn't believe that I'd even attempt it, much less be successful at it. I wonder if sometimes that's why there are so many so-called "Breastfeeding Nazis" out there. Maybe there goal is to get BFing to be more of the "norm"? Another amazing sacrifice moms make for their kids, but not unusual. If it were more the "norm", maybe it wouldn't be such a struggle...

Of course, I think judging anyone is the wrong way to go about it. But I think their goal is they want everyone to try and experience something they loved and enjoyed so much. I'm not sure how to accomplish that...

Just my ramblings.

 

I just want to say, I have a good friend who hated bf'ing with a passion. It didn't make her feel connected or extra bonded to her son. But it was "the best" for him, so she nursed him for shortly over a year. She did everything "right".

He's almost 7 yrs old, has had so many colds/infections it's not even funny, tubes in his ears, he has seizures and was recently diagnosed with add/adhd.

I have another friend who nursed both her babies until the 1 yr mark, both have been much sicker than my children and have had tubes in their ears.

I, on the other hand, nursed my oldest ds for 6 months, my oldest dd for 3 months (nipple preference developed), and the twins for 6 wks (low supply), and none of my kids have hardly ever been sick. With my oldest I actually had my ped tell me several times to bring him in if he was sick during that first year, and I said "Yes I know, he hasn't been sick."

Kinda blows the whole "breastmilk is better" theory out of the water.

I'm not denying that breastmilk has certain properties that they haven't been able to replicate in formula yet (they are getting closer and closer though), but that doesn't mean formula is the devil and won't keep your child just as healthy and help them grow just as strong.

I won't get into my story about why I did what I did for my kids, suffice it to say I did the best thing I could to give my kids the best for them, and retain a little sanity for me as well! And I'm not ashamed of it!

Shall we start a cloth diaper/disposable diaper debate next?! I'll go dig out my kids pampers and wave them around like a hooligan if you want!

 

I don't think I will ever understand this debate... why does anyone care what how I feed my child. ardon: I, personally, don't care how anyone's child gets their nutrition, as long as they are. :good:

I had no desire to breastfeed. It just didn't make me comfortable and I was being selfish (happy to admit it) that I wanted to take advantage of the help I had in the beginning and not have to worry about pumping or being the one to get up in the middle of the night to feed them. I'm okay with my decision. My kids don't get sick more then breastfed babies, they are just as healthy, smart and beautiful. My kids bond with me is just as great as any other and most importantly... they are happy!

In the end, as long as they are happy, healthy and thriving I don't see judging or caring how they got there. When they become doctors, lawyers or whatever no one will care what they were fed as babies.

 

:rotflmbo: now you're being offensive to all the huggies lovers bwahahahaha! jk!

 

Oh I've had huggies butts over here too, but they started making Rylee break out around 10 months old!

Can't stand Luvs though, they didn't work for ANY of my kids! Now how's that for hateful?! :girl_devil:

 

Actually, it doesn't.

Sooner or later in every thread about BFing, someone says something like this. I swear I ought to just save a response to copy in every time, but here goes.

Anecdotal "evidence" is not evidence. All the studies bear out that BF babies get sick less often than FF babies. Making up numbers for the sake of clarity, but here's the gist of it: if you take 1000 BF babies and 1000 FF babies, maybe 200 BF will get sick and 400 FF will get sick. The fact that you happen to have met some of the BF babies who got sick and the FF babies who didn't doesn't change the truth that the stats show.

To use an example of how statistics work that doesn't get the mommy guilt/wars/hormones going (and I'm just picking this particular one because I just heard a great piece on NPR about it): statistically, more women attempt suicide than men, but more men who attempt suicide are successful. If you happened to be unfortunate enough to know two women who were successful and two men who tried unsuccessfully, would you claim that that "blows the whole 'more women try/more men succeed' theory out of the water"?

Later I can dig up more links, but there are dozens if not hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific studies proving the benefits of breastmilk (and beyond just the immune advantage). I understand that some FF moms go on the defensive because some unkind and inconsiderate people have given them crap for their choice, but it is grossly unfair to BF moms to throw the facts under the bus and claim that breastmilk is nothing special.

That said, it always bears repeating that a happy family is the best thing for every baby, and whatever feeding system gets you there, go for it.

 

Count me in as one of the lazy ones, then. Oh, those easy, breezy NICU days......

I would have hired a wet nurse.

And how very arrogant for you to assume that we are not nursing just simply because it is not just for us. There are many many reasons moms don't nurse, and those reasons often are even more prevalant in twin pgs. Now don't make me smack you with my Pampers :blbl: My dad bought Huggies one time for them--DS came home looking like he was wearing a thong.

 

Actually I said:

I agree there are certain antibodies that are only available in breastmilk! Not denying that at all! Doesn't guarantee that your child will be healthier than the one next door.

I also wonder if all the studies done have truly taken into consideration environmental effects. Family history of allergies/illnesses...etc. I have no idea and no time to do any kind of research on it, but I'd be willing to bet that outside influences are going to affect those statistics. For example a child who is very sick with colds in the first few years, 5 yrs later they find out he/she has horrible allergies, which contributed to the early sickness's they had. But because he/she was formula fed, it was just noted (in the study) that they were formula fed and very sick the first year. Kwim?

Yep, family sanity is most important! :wub:

 

only thing I would add/change is the bolded part to read We need to start giving mothers a break, and not expect them to live up to such high or other peoples standards.

I did it all, had it all happen

One baby would not latch and the other could not (cleft palate).
Milk supply was not coming in but finally did after 2 weeks of pumping.
Babies had intolerance's to my pumped milk. For the twins I changed my diet totally. I chose not to for the triplets.
I tried BF twin A every so often and finally at 9 weeks she latched on.
Continued to pump for the other and bottle feed BM with some formula
I bottle fed F to my triplets after medication would not help with their digestion.

I was disappointed with what I felt was my own failure. If some other person came and judged me for the decisions I made regarding feeding my children I would have been devastated. I would NEVER want another Mom to have that feeling either. Would I be happy for a Mom that chose to breast feed yes but no matter the way she chose to feed her child(ren). Bottle feed, Breast feed, one is no better than the other. Now if a Mom bottle fed her baby soda and water only then I would have something to say :fool:

 

GAH! This kind of post just makes me so angry.

Why do you feel the need to make a post simply to make others feel inferior or less of a mother because they didn't BF. I'm sure there are many reading this post who desperately wanted to BF but had many reasons why they couldn't or didn't and then they come on here and read this.

Why?

And what was the question you were trying to ask in the nicest way possible? All I see is a post about how much better you are for breastfeeding. Well, good for you.


Here is some food for thought.....

I'm currently reading a book published by the Canadian Lung Association written by a Pediatric Respirologist (Dr. Tom Kovesi) at CHEO in Ottawa and I found this very interesting info on BFing.

Breastfeeding
The effects of breastfeeding on the prevention of asthma are controverial. Some studies suggest that breastfeeding reduces the risk of asthma; others suggest that because breastfeeding reduces the risk of infection in infants, it might increase the risk for asthma (see "Dirt")

Dirt
Recent research from several countries suggests that if the immune system of infants under 6 months of age is very busy fighting off infections, it may be too preoccupied to develop the kinds of inflammatory cells needed to develop allergic reactions.


I find it so infuriating that people say my babies are going to be walking diseases simply because they weren't BF past one month of age.