Using formula instead of breastfeeding?

It doesn't have to be one or the other, you can do both. A lot of moms do. If you do end up going back to work, you can either pump and refrigerate or freeze it, or baby can have formula during the day and get breastmilk straight from mom in the mornings and evenings. The amount of milk you produce will adjust based on demand, so you'll still be making some even if you only feed a couple of times a day.

Although millions of babies have thrived on formula, there are a few risks. Allergies are one, since the base ingredient of most formulas is cow milk, and some babies can't digest the proteins. Also, bottle-fed babies tend to be overfed. With breastfeeding, once baby gets to that nutrient rich hindmilk, she'll naturally come off the breast naturally. But when bottlefeeding it's based on X number of ounces and emptying the bottle rather than baby stopping when she's done.

Ultimately it's up to you, and your baby will probably be fine either way. But there's no reason to limit either yourself or baby when there are multiple options available to you. In the end, you have to decide what's best for both of you.

I only regretted it due to the cost, my daughter is 11 months now and I am so happy to be about to make the switch to cows milk but honestly if you need to or even just want to then do it. I breastfed for a few months but had a little girl with severe reflux, I would feed her almost once an hour and she would scream and cry and arch her back then vomit the whole feed back up, then I started her on AR formula and she was fine, slept through the night and has been the sweetest most placid baby I've known (until now-we are teething lol)

As one of the girls mentioned, a bottle fed baby is more likely to refuse breast than the other way around, my cousin couldn't get her daughter to take a bottle so some babies are picky but usually the will want a bottle over breast because its much easier for them to feed.

You could express when you need to if you're really keen to breastfeed, even then that runs a risk of bubs wanting the EBM over you but they'll still get all the nutrients. I have never felt like I missed out on any bonding with my daughter, as long as your baby is getting fed and loved you don't need to worry whether its breast or bottle fed.

I formula fed both my daughters because I didn't produce enough milk. And I still bonded amazingly with them. A good way to do that is skin to skin. I just made sure there was a lot of cuddling during and after feeding. My first was on similac soy formula and my second is on similac sensitive now. Neither have had digestion problems. As for the amount, I just always mixed an ounce or two more than they were usually eating. They both just stopped when they were full. Not always draining the bottle. But sometimes they did. I don't regret not breastfeeding although I did try to with both my girls. That were both very happy and perfectly healthy. Doctors say that a breastfed baby will be healthier. But my four year old didnt even get a cold in her first two years. Good luck and whatever choice you make will be the right one for you both

Its definitely not true that a baby won't take formula after going to the breast, in fact if anything I would say its the other way around. But my son is 2 months old and is mostly breast fed, but also gets a 2oz bottle of formula twice a day to help him gain wait due to him being premature. He also takes formula if I'm not with him for a couple of hours but still breast feeds with no problem. It all depends on the baby but ultimately breastfeeding is best for your baby, even if its just for a week its better than nothing.

Breastmilk is not always best. There is new research out now and formula is becoming better and better. The benefits of formula is that you know exactly what is in it meaning how many vitamins and minerals your baby is receiving instead of relying on your own diet to provide this. Also you can monitor the flow and the amount the baby drinks. With breastfeeding you never know how many ounces the baby is getting. All of my friends and family that tried to breastfeed could not do it successfully. Either the baby would not latch on or not enought milk etc. I would definately switch doctors if he thinks pus and blood coming from your nipples is ok. Good Luck

i have a 5 month old and i breastfed her 100% up until i went to work. i quit my full time job and got a part time job so i could keep breastfeeding more easily. i have 5 hour shifts and i pump every morning before her first feeding, between feedings til i go to work, and after work. it still is hard to pump, but i make 2 bottles for her a day for the baby sitter and at least 3oz out of each 5 ounce bottle is breastmilk. if i dont pump enough, i do mix formula in with her breastmilk. the way i see it, any breastmilk at all will benefit the baby. i highly recommend breastfeeding, even if its just until you to back to work. get bottles such as the playtex drop ins that are as close to the breast as possible. and pump a bottle and try getting the baby to drink it once a day for a week before you go back to work. slowly start putting less breastmilk and more formula, if thats what u want. it would be best to get a pump though and pump bottles instead of formula. your work has no choice but to let you pump while your at work and provide you with a private place to do it in, its the law. and if u decide to continue with breastfeeding, start pumping a few weeks before you go back to work and freeze your milk so you have plenty of back up.

I've been feeding my 3 month old little girl just formula. It was the right thing for me to do. I am on a medication that does not permit me to BF. Honestly, it sort of brings me down that I was unable to BF and I have decided to come off the anxiety med before having my next baby and doing therapy so that way I can get that bond which all my other Mom friends have. It seems like a neat experience. Health wise, my baby is perfectly fine - no issues from not BF'ing. If I could have BF I would have. I'm pretty much depressed about it now, I'm not going to lie. :( Oh well, next time!

Do what is right for you, your schedule, your budget...etc. :)

I breast fed all of my children. However, they we're all preemies, and they were given formula in the NICU until my milk came in. Then all they had was breast milk. Eventually they we're all able to latch on, and I had no more need with bottles or formula. Formula will make it a lot easier for you to return to work. But I'm going to put this out there. Consider pumping your breast milk for your child while you're at work, and breast feed when you're home at night and on the weekends. Breast milk is free, and it's much better for you and your baby.

If you are on here often enough or scroll through enough questions you will find plenty of moms who regret using formula and want to try to start breast feeding. I have *never* seen a question where someone regretted nursing. Plus, it's much easier to start nursing then go to formula than to start with formula and then relactate.

I work full time as an attorney, and have managed to breast feed two kids (well, finished breast feeding one (for 20 months) and currently 7 months into the second). Pumping is a big commitment but is totally worth it.

I think it will be really unnecessary & unfortunate if you choose not to nurse simply because you will be separated sometimes. I went back to work at 6 weeks & I wasn't sure how it would work, but I figured I would do whatever I could & ended up being able to push through & make it. Why not go into it thinking you will do your best to work it out rather than thinking "it won't work"? And my son was supplemented sometimes with formula for various reasons (such as after I got mastitis my pump output was pathetic for a short bit & had hardly anything to leave him with during the day). I didnt' worry about "what if he wont' take it" - I just did what I had to do & kept going.

The deal is - do what you can & don't borrow trouble until you have it. You will find a way to work things out if problems come up. Nursing isn't always easy, but it is always worth it. I didn't have a pumping friendly job or pumping friendly coworkers or any of that. I worked in a male dominated profession where most of my coworkers were male of course & 15 yrs older than me & up (although not all). The only young ones had no kids & the older ones constantly tried to tell me stories about how "their boys needed cereal & cow's milk from day one & breastmilk just wasn't enough" because their kids were often MY age & back then people did all sorts of crazy things. LOL They had no clue why nursing mattered to me & nor did they care if I got my breaks. But it did matter to me because I knew it was healthiest for my baby and for me. It gave me a chance to feel like we held THAT connection even when apart. Maybe I couldn't stay home every day with him but I COULD leave a little piece of me behind every day to nourish him & give him that. I also knew it would be better for him if I were home, but again, I couldn't be - so I was determined to make the best parenting choices I could in every aspect where I had an ability to choose & with nursing I did have a choice. It was not easy & there were times I really felt like it was a bit stressful, but again, I was aware that it makes a difference not just in the health of infancy - but for life. Choosing to formula feed increases a child's risks of a multitude of things later on. We aren't just talking colds & ear infections, but things like juvenile and adult diabetes, childhood cancers, adult digestive disorders like Celiac Disease, Chron's disease, IBS, etc. I am not rich. I cannot offer my children everything that I wish I could. I can offer them this. THIS is free. This is something that is simply a matter of choice for my convenience or not. That is why I did it - because I could.

Do NOT quit before you start. That is truly lame. You have no idea right now how hard or easy it might be for you. At the VERY least nurse until you go back to school. Just the choice of skipping colostrum puts your infant at a 6 fold increased risk of adult obesity. There is an interesting study on that here: http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatrics/GeneralPedi... It also puts your baby at a much higher risk for things like SIDS. Babies that are breastfed at least for a while do have lesser risk of certain issues than do babies that have never had any breastmilk. http://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/news/20110613/...

So give it a go. If you end up using formula you have lost NOTHING by trying to nurse. If you are willing to consider not nursing at all, then there is absolutely NO reason to think that you couldn't at least start off & then change over if you need to for some reason. It's not like you loose your "formula feeders card" when you start nursing - the formula is *always* there - always. If you start of formula feeding & regret it, trying to nurse is an uphill battle. It makes no sense to just not try it though. There are plenty of questions here REGULARLY from mommas wanting info on relactation because they didn't nurse, stopped early, etc & want to get back to it. At least try it. You might actually find it goes well for you. I have known several mom who never thought they would EVER like it & it went well & they had NO issues. The one really shocked me because she was SURE she wouldn't like it (she never nursed her 1st) & that she wouldn't go past 4 weeks & she made it to 18 months. You just never know.