So if you know me at all you would know that I never had any intentions of my baby ever having formula. Ever. It was hard work breaking him of the formula he was started on at the hospital and he would never have it again. I gave away every coupon and every can of formula I had received because I didn’t even want it in the house. I did keep one can of the formula he had at the hospital for emergency because I would hate to have some sort of need for it and have to run to the store to provide for baby.
Like most breastfeeding moms have encountered, there were many times that it seemed like Brady was never off of my boob for longer than five minutes. I attributed those days to cluster feedings or to frequency days, where he was trying to increase my milk supply. After a while though that became the norm and it seemed impossible to ever leave the house because I knew I would have a hungry baby on my hands within minutes. Every time I would put him in the car he would scream uncontrollably until he would finally pass out. It was heart-wrenching and I felt like no way did he ever have a full belly. Surely a baby that was full would not act this way.
So after agonizing and debating I decided to buy a new can of formula and give him a few ounces to see how he would act. I was able to run three whole errands with a baby that didn’t fuss one time while we were gone. Gradually over the last month his formula consumption has increased and although I never feel like my needs are superior to his, my existence has become much more comfortable and he has an opportunity a few times a day to get a nice full belly. He seems to adore the bottle and I’m sure the reason why is that it spits out food at a rate my breasts never did. I’m still breastfeeding everyday and will continue to do that indefinitely.
Breast is always best, and I will always strive to make sure he has it, but gosh formula has made my life better. My husband can help out more which he loves and I can leave the house. Hallelujah. So to all of you boob-nazi’s: keep on doing what you are doing, but if you feel like you can’t hang anymore, relax, let yourself feel that way without the guilt, and mix a bottle of formula.
Sher Bailey is a writer in the Midwest who believes the power of humor, Mod Podge, and grandkids can fix most problems in life. You can find her at SherBailey.com.
amybyrd says
We switched to formula when our LO was 2 1/2 weeks old. Without us really realizing there was a problem(she slept, was awake and happy, filled diapers) she dropped to 5 pounds. I tried the tube supplementer thing and we just couldn’t hang with that and pumping and still getting so little. We just switched and she was happy, gained weight, slept better. And she is fine now. Would I have liked to do more for her, sure but a healthy baby is a healthy baby.
Kristen says
good for you girl, you made it longer than I did! 6 weeks was all I could do, it was just too much with all of my other responsibilities!!!!
A Mother...Again says
Well said! You didn’t rag on either side of the fence too much…a perfect mixture of the two opposing sides!
I breast-fed exclusively for the first month, then started giving a few formula bottles at night to help with sleeping…then before I knew it, he weaned himself off of breastmilk and now at 3 months is strictly formula fed.
At first, I felt loads upon loads of guilt…but he’s healthy, I’m healthy…and that’s most important. Keeping my focus on that has been hard as I cry about stopping before I was ready, but in the long run his health was most important. Not to mention that it was SO much easier to get things like errands done! 🙂