Mar 14, 2009
Recommended Reading
Recommended reading for anyone with an interest in infant care. The bottom line—there is very little measurable difference between breastfed and formula fed children. Now, I’m not going to run out and buy formula just this very minute, but the article generally supports my recent self-assurances that plenty of fully-functioning, even successful adults were not breastfed, were overly attached to their pacifiers, didn’t sleep through the night until they were well into toddlerhood, were fussy, threw tantrums, etc. Happy parenting!
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5 comments:
when your first child is adopted, as ours was, then you can't get into this argument...and the chance for dad (moi) to do 2 a.m. feedings was such a wonderful time and gift that would otherwise been left only to mom, that I we formula fed when the 2nd child arrived by the usual manner....and both children, now 24 & 26, are healthy, normal, smart, engaged and very secure....bah humbug to the over-wrought arguments about this stuff
Andrew was 90% bottle-fed. I nursed him the first couple of days (I don't remember it as I had fatty liver disease due to pregnancy and I lost the first 2.5 days of his life). Anyway, I had to have a nuclear test done on Day 3 so we had to switch to bottles for the weekend. He gained almost two pounds that weekend!
Seven years later, I made the decision to 100% bottle feed Will. It was fantastic! (He's also addicted to his paci, but that's another story.)
Bottom line: Andrew is brilliant (parental bias aside). He has never had an ear infection. Will is pretty darn smart (he's only 2 but can work regular puzzles). Not only has Will never had an ear infection, he's never been on an antibiotic!
You make the decision that works for YOU. There are plenty of resources that tell you to only breastfeed but there are plenty of us with positive bottle feeding experiences!
Jeff and I were both bottle fed.
Agreed - but aren't there measurable differences in what happens to the mother's body (eg, risk for breast cancer) by choosing one path over the other?
I breast fed all 3 of mine for quite a long time. The first was the hardest and I was always worrying about her intake. I had extreme performance anxiety for sure. However, it turned out that in spite of my OCD thoughts, Elizabeth did thrive and I'm so glad I stuck with it.
All that having been said, except for the purported benefit it gives to the mother's health and possibly some enhanced hormonal bonding with the baby, breast-feeding is NOT the magical formula for a happy, nurtured baby.
It's just the route we chose because Rosebud said he didn't want to help with night feedings and I couldn't mix grits in the right ratio - much less formula.
Love, Sallie
I agree. There seems to be sort of "you must breastfeed or you're a terrible parent" mentality that is quite popular these days. I do not agree with that. For some people it just doesn't work, though, and that's fine (fine meaning healthy, great, whatever!).
Travis, if you can discover a way to breastfeed little Huck, then I'd say go for all breastmilk, otherwise poor Elaine will be spending her whole day pumping, and that's not very productive. For the record, I sometimes pumped to have some extra milk on hand, but Kat probably drank a total of 10 bottles the first six months of her life. To be honest, pumping was a waste of time - you have to spend 20+ minutes pumping, then just as must time feeding, so it's twice as much time, which is a valuable commodity.
Looking back, I should have just had a formula bottle for the very few times that I was out of the house without Kat when she needed to eat.
Huck will turn out great no matter what you do, so don't worry :)
Just remember who has to be productive at work during the day when deciding who does the midnight, 2 am and 4 am feedings. Just a thought...
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