Formula vs Boob

I started off breast feeding my daughter and having thought it would be weird and I wouldn’t like it, I found it to be very natural and, to me, it was the best start in life I could give her.

After having enough milk to feed 10 babies at the start, my milk supply dwindled and I had to introduce formula to one feed a day, this then increased to two feeds and kept increasing until I was only breast feeding her on a morning. Then I became really ill with a tooth abscess which meant I was on really strong antibiotics and for a couple of weeks had family round to look after the baby as I kept getting severe migraines and couldn’t see, let alone look after a child. Thankfully, they went away, but after not being able to feed her on a morning my milk supply had completely gone.

By this point my daughter was over 3 months and had had all the goodness I could possibly give her, she was growing well and was in a great feeding routine and a fantastic sleep pattern so it didn’t seem to be bothering her one little bit.

I wish I had been able to feed her for longer, but I’m not ever going to beat myself up about it, because I know I have done the best for her and the best for me. I have got friends who have been miserable because they have a low milk supply and can’t feed their baby every feed and I have friends who have combated everything in a bid to breast feed for a full 6 months, whether they have to top them up with formula or not and I have friends who express and do bottle and boob. What I have learnt is that if you’re happy and the baby is happy, then do what your instincts tell you to do, never feel like you have let yourself or anyone else down and go with your gut feelings.

My daughter is the happiest little thing, she loves her bottle, she can even hold it herself now and her eyes light up when she sees it coming towards her, she is being weaned and her weight is fantastic, plus I am happier that she is actually getting food and not having a boob stuck in her face that can’t give her anything.

With my next child I will do exactly the same thing, I will breast feed for as long as I can and do what is best for that baby, not what was best for my daughter. Looking at the other girls in our NCT group, I have realised that each baby is so different, they do different things at different times and they all have their own personalities and above all, a happy mummy makes a happy baby.
Emily x
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