How many people here that breastfeed see it as a life style choice? How many suppliment? How many people know that in 1996 there were more the 2000 cases of formula contaminated with salmanilla and glass particles? How many suppiment becuase of work? Do you have support while breastfeeding? so many questions... no I don't see breastfeeding as a lifestyle choice. as you guessed no suppimenting. almost every year there has been a mistake while processing formula ever heard of that with breastmilk? I take my son to work so I don't have to pump but when I go out I pump milk for him. I have tons of support by family mostly and by the bfing clinic I go to. GOOD LUCK TO THOSE WHO ARE HAVING PROBLEMS. Hope to here from you.

i'm glad to hear you breast feed too!! i bf my son while going to high school and holding a part time job. i pumped alot any one can do it if they try.
good luck and keep up the good work.
tasha

i will be breastfeeding my child when she comes. I find it to be the most important choice that I could make for her life!
And I can't wait!!!

I didnt breastfeed with angel.
I was in too much pain from post delivery.
I was so exhausted could barely think straight..... And Angel is a healthy healthy child.
Weather you breastfeed or not is a personal choice. Breastfeeding has alot of good things about it, but not doing it DOES NOT make you a bad mother.When i got pregnant in last nov, i had already decided was going to try and breastfeed, but sadly the baby didnt make it.But when the time comes for my third child, ill try. If it doesnt work out it doesnt.Formula has complications but its not a horrible road to go down if the baby doesnt accept your nipple/milk or you just dont want to do it.
It is a choice, and ppl who dont breastfeed shouldnt be looked down upon.There was a reason they made formula, and it wasnt just to make an extra buck. MAny children were dying because they wouldnt accept the mothers nipple or were having problems.
EVERYTHING has its pros and cons........

just to be clear, i do not look down upon those whose choose or have to use formula. it was the best choice in my case and i feel that when possible the mother should at least attempt it. sorry if i angered anyone
tasha

I see where both of you are coming from. I bf all five of mine. However on my 4th child, he cried all the time. At one of his doctor visits I brought it up and it turned out he wasnt getting enough to eat. I didnt stop bf, but I rotate formula and bf. It worked great for both of us. I didnt have to hear him cry all the time and he wasnt hungry all the time either. No matter what choice the mother plans, it comes down to what is best for the mother and the baby. Good Luck on either decision as we are all focused on the same thing, happy, healthy babies.

I am happy with either choice, I chose to breastfeed but my son was a hopeless feeder and in all honesty it wasn�t until he was nearly 5 months that it did not make me cry with the pain. It was great to have help from other mothers that had gone through the same thing. I persevered because there was no money for formula plus I am stubborn and hated people telling me to just give up. Help is great, but I think more people are put off by the hard line or scare tactics and we all just want happy healthy children. The most helpful thing that I found out from other mothers was to eat oatmeal when your supply seemed low � I have no idea how that works but it worked to me.
Aroha

I breast fed my daughter for a year. (She started on baby food at 4 months.) I thought I would only do it for 6 months, but when I tried formula, she got such bad cramps from it. It is a little hard and hurts at first, but practice makes perfect. It is cheaper, it is the right temprature, and it is made to meet your baby's needs, full of antibodies that help protect your child. There is nothing like the bond it creates. I'll never forget those little eyes looking up at me. I plan to do it with the daughter I am carrying now. Oh, I also pumped when I had to go back to work. To me, its worth it. If someone chooses not to do it, that is a personal decision. For me, it is what is best.

I am still breastfeding my second daughter. For me it is the only way. I breastfed my first daughter until she was almost 3 and I was tandem nursing for a few months. The benefits to Mom and Baby are priceless. For Moms who are having trouble there are many ways to get support and assistance. For me, when my daughters were ready for additional food, I went straight to table food. No formula. No baby food. None of that new toddler foods. My daughters are both fantastic eaters who quite often choose fruit over candy.

Jennifer

ever heard of that with breastmilk? Sure when a mom is on medication...

I did b/f, but I did a lot of supplementing with the twins. There is just no discreet or pretty way to feed the litter in public. It didn't last long, I needed more time with my older daughter and it was hard enough having twins in the house with a 1yr old nevermind having them literally attached to me all the time.

I don't think there is anything wrong with either choice. I did it because I enjoyed the closeness of it with my older daughter (although she weened herself after 8 months (thankfully as little did I know I was already pregnant again). With the twins it was just difficult, one side made a lot more than the other and switching back and forth was more like construing a new play for the playbook with each pound they gained!

I remember doing the juggling with one child SueP, I could not imagine 2. I also had one produce better than the other and my second one always fell asleep during her feedings when she was little. I b/f both of my girls. My first one weaned herself at 8 months and 2 months later I was pregnant. My second one weaned a few days short of her first birthday. My first one was a preemie, so I had to strictly pump for the first week, I wasn't allowed to hold her to feed her yet. The nurses told me "unofficially" that the hops in beer helps increase milk production, so they suggested 1/2 beer a day, and it would not harm the baby. Even though I do not like beer, I drank it and she thrived. She is a healthy 15 year old now.

I tried the beer too net! Just fewer ducts on one side. I produced a good ---- get this 10 ounces in the morning from one side and 3 from the other. I did nurse them for a little over 5 months, 6 with just one feeding a day.....

I did a LOT of pumping too, Olivia would help me put the pump together and sit with me and "chat" while I did itLOL You take "special time' whenever you can get it I supposeLOL

Side note: I INSISTED the nurses give both of them a bottle of formula for the midnight feeding the very first night and each night I was there. Olivia would not take a bottle for months and months, it was miserable. My father was in the hospital where I couldn't take her and I was heading back to work...... I wanted to be sure that would not be an issue with M&D and I also wanted to be sure that dh at the time had no reason not to help with at least one nighttime feeding (that ended up to be a joke of course)

I had trouble getting my second child to take a bottle, also. She never had formula, but I would put my milk in bottles for supplements. She also would not take a pacifier. I finally found a bottle she would take and that was the only one she would drink out of, it was the Playtex disposable bottles. The tip is most like mom's you know what.

I tried those, avent, regular, silicone, etc. etc. I tried breast milk and/or formula with me, with others trying and me not near by, etc. Nothing worked until she was almost 12 weeks and at that point it was still a crying struggle but at least she took it.