Breastfeeding or Bottle feeding?

Breastfed my son for 25 months, no formula or bottle. Tried once about 3 weeks old with a bottle of expressed milk and he didn’t go for it, I couldn’t be bothered repeatedly trying so never did again lol.

Main reasons for me were the health benefits, risks of certain illnesses and diseases later in life being reduced, improved immune system etc. also found it very easy to cosleep and breastfeed which meant I was getting the maximum amount of sleep needed.

Still currently feeding him now but I’m 21 weeks with my second so he’s just dry nursing for comfort really. Once his molars are through I’ll look at tapering off a bit more and finishing.

Only thing I’ll be doing different this time around is introducing a dummy early on. My son never took one because I waited but we had no latch issues etc and I regretted not doing it earlier. We will also be persevering with bottles of expressed milk so dad can help but that’s only because we have a toddler running around now lol.

I pumped to establish supply while my daughter was in NICU. She had an operation at one day old and struggled to gain wait, she was in NICU for 7 weeks then I continued to breastfeed but alongside one high calorie bottle of prescription formula a day to help her catch up. So I had to pump alongside to keep my supply up. She refused bottles at about 4 months old and the feeding journey got easier from there. She continued breastfeeding until she was just over 2, when she gently weaned off. I wanted to provide the benefits and felt a lot of pressure to do it, especially because she was in NICU and I was missing out on so much time with her. If I could go back in time I would have put a lot less pressure on myself and been happy with formula feeding and less expressing because worrying about the amounts I was getting became obsessive for me and I found it really stressful. I wish I could have given myself more grace and found it easier to let go of breastfeeding in those earlier months.

Breastfed until she was 25 months. Breastmilk is better for them, it's tailor-made milk that supports their bodies and immune system.

It wasn't without it's challenges we had latch and weight issues so we used formula top ups for 3 weeks and I pumped regularly to, I went back to work when she was 9 months and pumped 4 days a week at work until she was 16 months, when an illness led to a reduction in feeding so we only fed at bedtime.

I would do it all again, I found despite the challenges (teeth being another one and repeated mastitis) breastfeeding was easy, I didn't have to worry about sterilising and taking bottles out or having formula in.

My son is 5months old and EBF right now (including 1 bottle of expressed milk per day). However, up to about 5.5 weeks old, we were doing triple feeding and between roughly 4-6 weeks old he was having 1-2 bottles of formula per day alongsides bottles of expressed milk. He was born a little early and was in respiratory distress (surfactant insufficiency) and he had to be intubated and then graduated down the breathing support over 2 weeks. He also had jaundice and a tongue tie. All in all it made for a very sleepy baby who lost more than 10% of his body weight as he struggled to feed. I was desperate to BF for the health benefits and the bond and the convenience, this is why I began the triple feeding process, with the view it would be short term. It ended up being nearly 6 weeks of pumping around the clock and it was brutal. I was so tired I wanted to give up and began introducing formula. Then, he had his tongue tie revised and we met a super helpful lactation consult.

I am only two weeks into motherhood and breastfeeding exclusively. I believe breast milk is the healthiest choice for the lil ones and it helps strengthen their jaws. There are also known benefits for us moms. It also helps euch bonding. I will start pumping soon so dad can also help a little. We already tried one bottle and she had no issue at all with it.

I tried breastfeeding with my first but had to express and didnt work out unfortunately. With #2 i didnt try and found things much more relaxing and straightforward for me. With #3 i plan on bottle again but changing to kendamil as its whole milk.

Even as much as I started hating breastfeeding, I ebf my first until he was 2 but quit cold turkey because it was too overstimulating trying to feed him, a newborn and pump. I will be weaning my 2nd much much sooner. Probably by 8-12 months because tbh… I don’t want to go through that over stimulation again. With my 2nd I mainly pump so my husband can bottle feed this time, so it’s 50-50 between straight from the boob and bottle. Saves my mental health

Breastfeeding = cosleeping/better sleep and no bottles, no expense, its natural, provides antibodies, it contributes to proper oral development (teeth and mouth shape) it provides everything your baby needs. Boob solves everything and i mean everything.. you need to educate yourself on how to do it and how it works though e.g supply and demand and its a huge responsibility on your shoulders. I have never pumped as its just an extra stressor to worry about and you don’t need to pump at all. Ive been breastfeeding for 3 years and im now tandem nursing my baby and toddler.

I expressed to bottles. It meant I could have sleep! Father got up and did the night shifts for me (one on one off) 👍 plus if you express, you can see how much they're actually feeding. I used an app called Huckleberry and it actually added up all the milk I'd expressed in a year and told me. It was quite a lot 🤣

Still bf at 23m. Did it for health, ease and comfort really. Just felt the natural thing to do. And she’s a very easy going toddler and I think a lot is down to bf. She’s had the odd expressed bottle when younger and goes down for her dad without me if I’m out so no issues there x