BREAST OR BOTTLE? IS IT OK NOT TO NURSE YOUR BABIES?
Let me first of all say I am in no way saying that I dont agree with breast feeding or doubting its benefits, Its just that well lets face it for a lot of us moms out there it is not the picture perfect scene the baby books and fliers would have us believe. For me I have had two kids one breast fed one bottle fed and for me the happier outcome was when I bottlefed my son.
And while I realise a lot of you will be rolling your eyes and thinking how terrible that is let me just say this I have two happy and healthy children who have had the standard run of the mill illness that all kids get but I can see no difference between them that says my son suffered for having been fed through a bottle.
When my daughter was born (after fertility treatment) I was determined I would only breast feed and nothing else, and thats what I set out to do. However my pregnancy with her was hard to say the least, she was a failed twin pregnancy and due to complications by the time she was born she had lost her sucking reflex, so it was recommended I express and feed her though a cup until she got the hang of it again. This didnt work I couldnt express fast enough nor could she drink fast enough with me pouring it into her mouth. Cue one starving daughter and one frazzled mommy.
But I persisted trying to get her to latch on for weeks I ended up with mastitis and it was hell so I resorted to bottle feed her express milk it would take hours and postnatal depression had gotten a hold by this point, eventually when she was 16 weeks old my husband said enough was enough threw out the breast pump and bough formula and we thrived as a family from that point on. I know I am not alone in my experience.
As you can see from this blog post on – Parenting.com
“I was lying on an exam table trying not to look as a surgeon drove a giant needle into the side of my breast to aspirate the rock-hard clogged milk duct inside. Both of my breasts were engorged to porn-star status, and the pain that radiated from them took my breath away…That’s when the doctor uttered the five most magical words I’d heard since giving birth: “It’s okay not to breast-feed.” Actually, she shouted them. “If it were 1907, your child would die if you didn’t breast-feed!” she shrieked. “But it’s 2007. We have choices, people!” When I got home from her office, I put on two sports bras, shoved frozen peas down my chest, and stopped the insanity. I had made it through almost a month of breast-feeding my newborn son, and I was done…. The most recent data show that nearly 74 percent of women try breast-feeding, a rise of 50 percent since 1973. This is great. Breast-feeding is great. The problem is, breast- feeding advocates have become so anti- formula that they are alienating moms who don’t, or often can’t, do it. And as a result, the bottom line—the fact that we’re all trying to raise healthy babies—has gotten completely lost.”
See happy mommy happy baby! That was true for us my daughter continued to thrive and by the time our son was born almost 3 years later I didnt even try to breast feed he went straight onto bottles and it was a wonderful experience just bonding with my new son and enjoying our family unit without the stress.
So essentially what Im saying is if breast is best for you great if not its not the end of the word and you are not a bad mom. My kids are 5 and 3 they are happy and healthy and show no ill effects of being bottle fed, and yes if I have more kids it will be formula all the way.
Share this article
Can Feeding Your Baby On Demand Really Improve Their IQ?
- A smiling baby lying in a soft cot (furniture). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Well that’s the result of a recent study involving 10,000 babies. The study focused on infants born in the early 1990′s and looked at how well the children performed in relation to their feeding habits. The study ran by the Institute for Social and Economic Research looked at feeding styles and economic factors. One conclusion from the study was that
Accoding to the study on “askamum”
“On-demand fed babies’ IQ was higher at eight years old and achieved better SATs at the ages of five, seven, eleven and fourteen. This difference in IQ level was four or five points and could boost a child up a few places in their class.”
It should be pointed out that the above conclusion is only a hypotheses and are by no means conclusive.
Would feeding to a schedule really have that much of a detramental effect compared to on demand feeding? I for one find it difficult to belive that the IQ of a child can be influenced so much by whether or not they were fed on demand as a baby.
And while I’m obviously not disputing the results of the study I do know that how our bodies and therefore our brains develop is influenced by what we put in it and not just when, then again I’m no expert
However what I would say is that in relative terms, while the study is a large one (10,000 babies), it’s still relativley small compared to the number of children born at this time and also bear in mind that this study focused in one geographical area (Bristol)
there is also a down side to feeding on demand!
The askamum article also whent on to say…
“The research found the difference in the babies’ IQs came at the cost of the mums’ well-being. On-demand mothers were more likely to be stressed, tearful and tired while schedule-fed mothers slept better and got more enjoyment out of motherhood.”
So don’t throw away your feeding schedule just yet, however if on demand feeding is your prefered choice then go for it the most important thing to remember is do to what works best for you and your baby!
Let me know what you think!
If you found this article Interesting please share it with your friends.
Share this article
Welcome to Happy-Mummy.com - Baby product reviews. I’m Olivia Haslam
I’m a mum of two and know how hard it is to pick the right baby products,
Do they do everything you want them to? What colors do the came in?
How much does it cost? Is it safe for my baby? Will it help keep my
baby safe? Will my baby enjoy it? Will it help their development? Will it make things easier for me? Is it good quality?
As you probably already know the list is endless.
Therefore I decided to set up this site to review baby products to help you decide which are the best fit for you and your family.
I hope you find it useful when choosing what baby products to buy, fromthe best strollers to the safest car seats and coolest baby swings and beyond.
Enjoy x.
Connect With Me!