I breastfed DD and switched to formula at 10.5 months when my supply dried up due to pregnancy, and am currently breastfeeding DS 8 months, though introduced a bottle of formula as his last feed approx 4-5 weeks ago to give me a break.
I think now I am aware of the risks (my first son sadly, due to the fact my GP and myself were uneducated about breastfeeding, was weaned at only 5 months) I would probably have to be dead to not breastfeed. Even then I know my husband would make the effort to get some donated breastmilk. Formula for me is a very last resort, never an option. Very rare it is for a woman to physically be unable to breastfeed, usually it's down to the mother believing myths, poor support or following a schedule. So usually let down by the health profession.
The reason i bf is because i have dreadful eczma (head to toe)very difficult to keep under control, i have many food allergies and intolerances (egg, nuts, seeds, most raw fruit, dairy products, these are the ones i know about). Am also allergic to all the usual stuff dust,straw, grass, pollen,animals etc and have hay fever.
i was determined to give my children (8 of them nearly 9)the benefits of bf so they would not have these things or at least not to my severity. i'm pleased to say they do not. I also did not give them solids till they were 6 to 9 months old, then they have whatever the family ate provided it was suitable. None have ever been fussy eaters and they all love veg.
I was bottle fed tinned carnation after my mother tried so hard to bf. it was the 60's every body bottle fed and she was belittled for even trying to bf. I'm always reading here and there how 'i was bottled fed and i'm fine'. Well i'm really glad but you should count yourself lucky i wish i could.
Yep I too have a medical condition that makes me even more passionate about breastfeeding and about attachment parenting. The risk of developing ulcerative colitis is higher if bottlefed and there are links to the amount of stress experienced as a baby too (see Why Love Matters by Sue Gerhardt). I refuse medication (although it's technically safe when breastfeeding), am knackered more than you could imagine because of the colitis, don't drive, get no help from family and have 3 boys. Now if I can breastfeed anyone can so I'm afraid I don't really sympathise with excuses perfectly healthy women give to not bother with feeding! Probably why I'm a bit harsh about it.
Yes I do agree that the support provided for women who want to bf is rubbish really in the community. It was great in hospital, Nursery Nurses and Midwives on tap whenever you need them to show you, however in the community you are left by yourself. I have read that a lactation counsellor can set you back about £50, which for some is a lot of money, why should we have to pay when the NHS should be providing them for free if they want women to bf.
That's why we need all hospitals to meet UNICEF's babyfriendly standards. Knowing what I know now I amazed I managed to feed my eldest at all. He was cleaned straight after birth, I was never told to try and feed as soon as he was born, it was about an hour later. He was given a dummy by a mw at just 2 hours old! Second son born in babyfriendly hospital so much better experience. Dedicated counsellors on hand. But my hv's were awful (I got scolded for "still" feeding a 6 month old) and I had a big old tantrum about it until they changed their ways. 3rd time at home and my mw brilliant about breastfeeding and hv's wonderful, just lack the funding for the support group.
You don't have to pay for a lactation consultant at all. NCT, LLL, BfN and ABM all have free trained breastfeeding counsellors. It may take a while to get through as they are all mothers themselves but they are a great help. There should be consultants on the NHS available to you too but may require travelling (like to the breastfeeding clinic in Oxford). NICE guidelines mean eventually all health professionals in contact with mothers should be trained with up to date information on breastfeeding. I hope things do improve.
I still breastfeed and my son is nearly 1. I just knew that was what I wanted to do, I didn't even consider formula. My mom was a great help, midwives and health visitors not so. I did have one good health visitor though who was really positive about my breastfeeding which made me feel like a model mom!!! Others were too preoccupied with how many 'ounces' my son was having. Baffling me on 2 accounts, 1, I breastfeed, no idea how much he has; 2, I thought we had moved to metric anyway!!!
If I had another baby I would breastfeed again, especially because I now have a great confidence in my ability to breastfeed.
I do agree halemw, the hv,Midwifes are obsessed with how many fluid ounces a baby is taking in, as a bf mother, how do you know this. How do bf mothers know that their baby is taking enough milk, and that they are producing enough milk.
Probably teaching you how to suck eggs so to speak PIGLETMANIA, but it is all down to instinct. I remember the very first weeks of breastfeeding I felt I was not doing it properly and that my baby wasn't getting enough, his loss of weight proved that. As I was determined to breastfeed I stuck with it, it wasn't easy, constantly worrying, sore nipples etc, but after about 2 weeks I felt much better, my baby seemed to be more satisfied and was beginning to put on weight. (I had expressed milk to top him up at night as well). My success I think was my natural defiance, I am not one to be told what to do, and when I set my mind to something I WILL do it. My advice to anyone reading this who may be either just establishing breastfeeding,or pregnant and thinking of breastfeeding is that to succeed with it YOU need to be completely determined, you need (to some extent) to be able to close your ears to conflicting advice, and go with your instinct. If when you go to the HV you can't say how many 'ounces' your baby is taking, or indeed what his feeding routine is, it doesn't matter. The weighing scales will tell you whether your baby is putting on weight, and your instinct will tell you if your baby is healthy. Of course, if it is just too difficult for you, then you can give formula. I know some BF mom's who topped up baby with some formula when they thought their baby was not getting enough, they still BF and infact took the step and moved to just solely breastfeeding when their confidence grew.
This is just one mom's account of her experiences, and feel free to take from it what you want. I hope I have helped some mom's to decide whether to breastfeed, or reassured mom's worried about BF that it probably will be ok. I harp on about it all the time, but you can't beat the instinct you have for your baby!
Thank you halamw for the great advice. I think that as a new mum you are slightly vulnerable, everything is new to you. When i left hospital i was in so much pain from the epesiotomy, i felt quite overwhelmed. You tend to take the health professionals word as gospel, but they are not always right. I have an article pinned up about out of date wight charts raising obestity risk in babies. The article stated that these charts are based on the expected weight of babies fed on formula milk, hv have encouraged healthy babies to be fed more than they actually need because of the growth charts.
So because i was bf my baby was bound to be lighter than a bottlefed baby. Next time i will go with my instinct, I also have the advantage of forsight now that i already have a little one.
Hi - I have learnt so much about bf'ing from this forum. I would definitely bf again - I would steer clear of formula at all costs. My son didn;t bf until 9 hours after he was born but we got on ok and he put on a pound in his first week! I love it - I am still doing it 8 months on although nearly gave up two months on as I thought I wasn;t getting enough milk. I started expressing a lot because I was trying to count ounces, but in the end I measured it by his poo - if that was 'wet' then I knew he must be getting enough - he was still putting on weight!! I have never been to get him weighed after 12 weeks - I can judge for myself if he is ok.
I have been using a sling since BUB and have doubled my milk production although he is now back to breast. There should definitely be more support - the hv's don;t know much at all about this and it is sooooo important.
Colon and bowel conditions and allergies are much more common nowadays - I have read reports of this being down to so much formula feeding. We need to get back to doing the right thing for our babies.
Colon and bowel conditions and allergies are much more common nowadays - I have read reports of this being down to so much formula feeding. We need to get back to doing the right thing for our babies.
Formula fed ulcerative colitis suffer here! Which is one of many reasons why I'm so passionate about breastfeeding.
I shocked my midwife by saying yes when I was asked if I would breastfeed in the first antenatal visit.... I think she expected to have to do a big speel on the benefits and looked a bit disenhearted that she didn't need to.
I know I will breastfeed when I have kids as I have never really seen any alternative a viable for me as I suppose I am old fashioned.
I think the question should be why wouldn't you breastfeed? (assuming you can etc).
I have also read (i read a lot!) about the ADHD phenomenon that is sweeping through our children, and how omega 3 oils can help. Breastmilk contains DHA which is a fatty acid that can't be replicated. I am sure the two are linked as well. Formula milk puts the digestivfe system under a lot of strain which is I thin kone of the reasons ff babies sleep so mcuh. Kelly mom site has a great piece on how babies have an 'open' gut for the first few months. Very interesting.
We need significantly more help for mothers as a lot of others have said. I think people just think milk is about a calcium issue, but the calcium in cows milk is very hard for the body to digest anyway.
Sorry to hear you suffer with that Moogy - try the finchley clinic website as he has some great products for digestive problems. I use the oxygen elements and it is excellent.
I'm currently crossing everything in hope that my PCT will allow me to be prescribed VSL#3, best probiotic known to man that can put UC into remission. Costs a fair bit though. But there are no side effects, I mean the damage from steroids is just awful and I don't want them, especially when breastfeeding. But everything else that I know will help me costs too much for me.
Good luck - yes you don't want steroids if you are breastfeeding do you? Good for you though in keeping going.
Hvae you seen the WDDTY site (what doctors don't tell you) - there are often articles on conditions on there which are very helpful. This months incidentally is about drugs/medicines used on children and how dangerous they are. A lot of them have never been tested on children - it is incredible and very wrorrying. The FDA in America have just removed a lot of cold remedies because they are thought to be so dangerous. Anyway, I have strayed off the point of the thread - sorry.
Hope you find something that works - you could try homeopathy - I know of someone who had a similar condition and it worked very well for her.
Originally posted by mrscowie: The reason i bf is because i have dreadful eczma (head to toe)very difficult to keep under control, i have many food allergies and intolerances (egg, nuts, seeds, most raw fruit, dairy products, these are the ones i know about). Am also allergic to all the usual stuff dust,straw, grass, pollen,animals etc and have hay fever.
i was determined to give my children (8 of them nearly 9)the benefits of bf so they would not have these things or at least not to my severity. i'm pleased to say they do not. I also did not give them solids till they were 6 to 9 months old, then they have whatever the family ate provided it was suitable. None have ever been fussy eaters and they all love veg.
I was bottle fed tinned carnation after my mother tried so hard to bf. it was the 60's every body bottle fed and she was belittled for even trying to bf. I'm always reading here and there how 'i was bottled fed and i'm fine'. Well i'm really glad but you should count yourself lucky i wish i could.
I was breastfed til about 18 months I believe, and I still have a lot of the conditions you do: I'm allergic to dust, anything perfumed, pollen etc etc and my eczema has just flared up again after about 13 years. I also know other people who were breastfed who have similar problems (my brother has terrible hayfever and he was still being breastfed until he was nearly 3)
Point is breastfeeding doesn't mean you'll avoid these problems; many are environment related - there are alot of chemicals around these days. Also the near-sterile environments people live in don't help the development of the immune system
, but also for all the benificial reasons for my baby
