formula - why did you use formula instead of breastfeeding?

I approached it with the mindset of giving it a go but not being bothered if it didn’t work out.
It didn’t work out but actually it was so stressful and I was very upset trying that I wish I’d made the choice to not even try.

It’s a completely valid choice, and don’t let anyone guilt you into thinking otherwise. A happy and healthy mum is so important.

My sister didn’t want to breastfeed her baby for her own reasons she didn’t say, but she did give the baby all the colostrum that first day or so. Nobody questioned or judged her.

I really wanted to BF but my LB wouldn’t latch. Turns out he was tongue tied and by the time we got the appointment to cut it, he was used to bottle. I did pump for 3 months but I found that exhausting so swapped to formula

I simply didn’t want to breastfeed 🤷🏻‍♀️ This was something I decided long before I was ever pregnant and felt totally confident in my decision.

I had an emergency c-section and hemorrhaged. I was still anemic and absolutely exhausted when I was discharged home. I tried pumping but my supply wasn’t coming in. My husband pretty much convinced me that I needed the rest, and trying to pump/BF every 2 hours was wearing me out more than I already was & there wasn’t anything he could really do to help.

All of that said, I still struggle with the fact that I formula fed. I know it may have been the best decision at the time, but I still feel guilty. I think there’s a lot of pressure that comes with “breast is best”

I tried and failed to BF my first - felt immense guilt for two years. Now 3 months into BFing my second baby and no longer feeling guilty about my first failed journey. It’s hard work to establish, but once you get over the hump it’s not so bad and maybe easier than formula? There are lots of benefits that compelled me to continue when it worked better this time. I would say my formula baby was sleeping through the night at this point and the BF one is up every 2 hours 👀 But my BF baby is considerably happier than my formula baby ever was. Both of these things could be down to temperament (likely 🤷🏻‍♀️) but I’ll always be curious to know if it was how I fed them. There are pros and cons of both feeding methods and literally only you can choose which route you go down. Combi? Try both when baby is here if you aren’t sure and see how you feel then :) best of luck!

I didnt breastfeed my first as it just didnt come in. He was on formula. We tried hard but nothing happened so i gave up in a sense but even if he did get anything. It wasnt enough. He was a 9lb6.5 baby so wasnt bothered.
Second i thought it would be a similar outcome to first so didnt even try. Turns out i had milk for him but wasnt bothered at that point.
My daughter we harvested some milk as she was prem and wanted to give her the best start possible. But wasnt fussed on whether she was formula fed or not as to begin with i couldnt even see her or hold her for 2 days so j let nicu do what they needed to to keep her happy while i was in intensive care from respiratory failure and hypoxia. So for her it was just whatever was best at the time and that wasnt me but she did enjoy the little bits of milk she had while in nicu

With my first i knew that I couldn’t cope with breastfeeding and it so happened that she couldn’t latch on at all, the hospital just kept pushing me to try.

My second, I wanted to try but unfortunately I just couldn’t keep up with it and felt like I was failing.

Might sound selfish the reasons of my not doing it, but my kids are both perfect weight and healthy from formula.

I chose not to breastfeed my son for all the reasons you listed in your original post and he’s now almost 2 and one of the healthiest kids i know he actually had measles at 14m old and reacted to it the exact same way most kids would react to a cold, he did struggle quite a lot with formula but that’s because he has multiple food allergies not because formulas bad and after trying to pump for my daughter and discovering that she’s allergic to my breastmilk because of a dairy allergy it seems like my son would’ve been allergic to it as well, whilst yes technically breastmilk is better for them them having a happy mum is the most important thing so if you think formula will make you happier then go straight to that x

Supplementing is a completely valid option if you want to try. You may find it much easier than you expected to breastfeed (I personally found it so easy that I ended up ebf even though I didn't expect to), or it might be terrible and you decide to stop. Both are valid. You can also decide that you just don't want to at all and that is also completely valid. Anyone telling you that formula is not a reasonable choice is frankly an idiot. You are not selfish. Taking care of you is taking care of your baby.

I started my motherhood journey with the hope to breastfeed for a long time. But I did it for a solid month before I was mentally and physically exhausted. It is a round the clock job and I constantly woke up with pain for not pumping in between feedings. Mastitis is no joke. Plus I was going through postpartum depression and I wasn’t eating or hydrating properly which killed my supply almost instantly. I ultimately stopped trying to breastfeed because my supply was low and I was drained and honestly, I wanted my body back to myself. Of course, I know that everyone is different and my experience may not be your experience. I would give it an honest try before you decide that you do or don’t want to continue. Hope this helps mama 💖

Breastfeeding is absolutely exhausting and takes a toll on your body for sure. If it’s not something you want to do, that is perfectly fine. Fed is fed!
I wanted to breastfeed my first child, and I tried, but we also started with formula in the hospital. The nurses pushed me to do so and I was 18 so I didn’t know much of what I was doing.
For my second child, I was 25 and knew I wanted to exclusively breastfeed. I tried it, and although it was hard, I was successful and made it over 2 years.
So do what’s best for you mama.

My first two I was young and it was simply a no from me. I wasn’t doing it.

I just had my third baby in January and I regretted not trying to breast feed at all with my first two. However knowing exactly what you know about breastfeeding I decided to strictly pump. She got formula in the hospital until my milk came in. I knew mentally I couldn’t handle being the only milk maid so I refused to have her on the breast, she needed to drink from a bottle so I could have help. Tbh, I loved pumping. Unfortunately It only lasted a month before I had to stop because she had severe reflux and gas. I lost 27 pounds in less than a month and the only way to help the baby’s issues were for me to start cutting out foods. My husband said no. I was a walking skeleton and he was watching me dwindle away.

I knew years before baby breastfeeding would be a terrible choice for me and baby both. I work many hours in a career that is not pumping friendly at all, I only had 7 weeks before going back to work, and I wanted to be back on my regular, better working medication regimen that I had pre pregnancy. I had no resources or help besides husband, family was too busy, who could only do so much if I attempted breastfeeding. I knew i only had a very small amount of time to bond with my baby and diddnt want to waste it hating myself the entire time because of a low supply or bad latch, especially when I knew that my supply would tank no matter what once I went back to work. Im glad I did too, because having mastitis while back at work and doing my physically demanding job would have been agony.

I knew breastfeeding would do nothing but destroy me mentally and hurt our bond, and since I knew it would be short lived, I choose not to put us both through that.

16 months and no regrets.

I decided my horrific, plummeting mental health was worse than feelings of guilt.
I did everything I could to BF. The pain was insufferable. My teeth were starting to get sore because I'd clench my jaw so hard when she latched. Turned out she had a tongue tie even after everyone told me she didnt. I'll try again for the next but no pressure on myself. Its hard though, i believe breastfeeding is best but not to the point of resenting yourself and your baby x

You are absolutely not being selfish, and if anyone tries to pressure you or call you an awful mother for it, just remember they are working through some insecurity of their own. You sound like a wonderful mother just by the care and concern you already have for your baby ❤️

Just a suggestion - as I hear you on the combi counter argument. I'd recommend choosing a minimum amount of time to give yourself & baby - at least 2 weeks to establish your milk supply or a month to get it regulated - then you can safely combi feed without worrying too much about your supply tanking (2 weeks would be a little less safe but enough to help you decide for or against). It will reduce but it will be regulated enough that it won't threaten your ability to continue if you choose to.

The reason I suggest this is just because you don't know yet how much you might find this more convenient in the end. Especially if you'd like to be able to get out a lot without fussing over bottle sterilization and bringing tepid water to mix etc, both methods come with their own challenges and while I respect anybody choosing formula for their own convenience and well being postpartum, that's the option you can't go back on - whereas you can change your mind about breastfeeding after you've tried it.

I dont produce enough milk too feel my kids. Its a genetic thing. But honestly with how super sensitive I am i dont think I would have been able too do it

Breast is not best. FED is best. It doesn't have ti be breastfeeding it can certainly be formula. If you know mentally you would struggle then don't do it! I exclusively pumped for my son for 6m and it WRECKED my mental health so I stopped. I said I'd never do it again honestly if my next babe didn't breastfeed.

I was always unsure of whether I wanted to breastfeed or not before o had my little boy 6 months ago. When he was born I tried to breast feed in the hospital so he was getting some of the first colostrum but I knew it wasn’t really for me. I then topped him up in hospital with the ready made formula bottles.
When I got home I then pumped as o felt bad for stopping EBF and I’ve pumped ever since. Don’t get me wrong it’s been hard work and mentally draining sometimes but o have quite enjoyed it. Health visitor said I would never exclusively pump this long and that my milk would dry up, but 6 months later I’m still going and getting plenty. I do give him the odd formula if we’re out and about for a long day or something x

I really wanted to EBF. My son ended up in the NICU the first night, and he would latch but always seemed hungry so I’d give him formula. I made peace with pumping but just couldn’t keep up with doing it every 2-3 hours round the clock so I always had to supplement. I went back to work at 12 weeks and eventually went to see the lactation consultant because I was so distraught. I felt like I messed up by not latching him and now I didn’t want to give up sleep and time playing with him to pump. She reassured me that it would be ok no matter what I did so I ended up stopping for my sanity. I still beat myself up sometimes, but I know it was the right choice.

My friend didn’t want to, she didn’t like the idea of it. Tried for a week or so and then switched. She had no regrets and baby thrived.

I did BF but I introduced a bedtime bottle of formula a few months in, so I could have a little pause in the evening - I loved having both options! Though honestly loved not having to prep out and about / wash lots of bottles! Both options of BF & F are hard work either way

Do what’s right for you! No guilt needed

I’m still pregnant with my first & decided years before getting pregnant that breastfeeding wouldn’t be for me. The amount of dirty looks I’ve had already when people ask & I say I’m going to formula feed, but it’s my body, my baby & my choice 🙌🏼 please don’t let anyone make you feel pressured to do anything you don’t want to do. Sending love Mama ❤️

I always knew I wanted to breastfeed what I hadnt realised is I didnt have the anatomy to be able to breast feed. My nipples just refused to move. Nipple shields helped but OMG the pain. I so badly wanted to breast feed I did go down the pumping route but I did use formula to start with. I just couldnt get past my own hatred of myself for not being able to breastfeed. Pumping solved that. Never planned to pump so long. I said id do 6 months. I did 2 years