Questions & Answers

In all honesty if your baby is fed and happy doesn't matter where the milk comes from. I tried to breast feed my daughter and becasue my ex husband who was a arse ( excuse my language ) he wanted me to express milk straight away too. I tried and tried to breast feed and really struggled. By week three I was still producing colostrum and eventually told due to the traumatic labour i had ( I was induced, collapsed during labour, forceps third degree tear in bowel and needed surgery and a blood transfusuon ) my body couldn;t repair itself and feed my baby and it choose to repair me.

I went onto bottle feeding but I gave myself such a hard time over it that I ended up with severe post natal depression.

I now 6 weeks pregnant and depedning on the birth depends entirely on whether I breast or bottle feed.
Go with how YOU feel.

First and foremost, this is a completely personal choice and I fully support mama's who do either. Some women CAN'T breastfeed, that doesn't make them better or worse mama's. There are pro's and con's to both.

Breast:
*cheaper
*breast milk is literally specially designed by your body for each child and will change based on the childs needs
*extra bonding for mom and baby due to hormone release that happens with both during breast feeding
*sore nipples
*difficulty with latch and getting it figured out
*others might vocalize feeling "excluded" because they can't feed the baby

Bottle:
*expensive
*increased risk of SIDS
*some babies have a lot of trouble with basic formulas and need even more expensive special ones
*Everyone gets to help feed the baby!
*bottle fed babies tend to start sleeping through the night quicker than breastfed babies
*no worries about whether or not baby is getting enough

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Which ever works best for you and your baby is what is the best. They both have their ups and downs. With my DD, I wanted to so badly nurse her. For personal reasons and of course the benefits of breast milk for her. But despite my constant battle and no matter how hard I tried, she would NOT nurse! It devastated me, I felt inadequate and like I was doing something wrong. I went to tons of lactation consultations, to my obgyn, you name it. But it just boiled down to my child being stubborn. So I pumped and fed her my milk via bottle. So I guess in a round about way I did both. I got her the best milk I could and she took it the way she wanted. Also if you use a bottle, anyone can feed the baby.
BOTTOM LINE: Do what is best for YOU and YOUR baby, and ignore everyone else, cause no matter what you do, someone will have something negative to say. Good luck!

I wanted to breastfeed since it's essentially free and there are great benefits for baby. However, it was a lot tougher than I imagined and I never expected to have issues (low supply ) plus I was feeding 2 babies. It ultimately didn't work for us and I switched to exclusively formula feeding 6 weeks after birth. There are positives to both. For me breastfeeding took a lot of time and effort, both which I didn't have much of since I had twins and was crazy sleep deprived. I pretty much gave up trying to make it work. Formula feeding is easy but can he costly. In terms of healthy babies, mine are very healthy just as much as any breastfed baby. I'm not arguing that formula is best just there definitely is an option that will work best for you and baby....may be breastfeeding may be formula. May be both!

It will have to boil down to you deciding on your own. For me, breastfeeding is vital for so many reasons. For others, formula is the preference. You'll definitely run into a million opinions between bottle or breast as it's a hot debate that rages, but you just have to go with what ultimately works for you. Breastfeeding can be a major challenge as you learn how to feel confident that your baby is getting enough. Plus, there's a learning curve for you both that takes time even in the best of circumstances. I'd recommend a visit with a lactation consultant after your baby is born. Most hospitals have one on staff these days. That should be a great resource to get you started and she'll be available for support after you go home.