Formula seems to be priced out of this world. People are stealing it?? I don't know how young mothers afford it.

How did/do you feed your babies?

A poll can't really cover all the possibilities here, but they do seem to generate a lot of votes so here goes. ...but do discuss too.

cj/

I am currently breastfeeding my 4 mo old. The only time she had formula was for the first two days of life from a feeding tube in the NICU. I pumped for about 6 weeks and bottle fed her expressed milk until she was strong enough to nurse.

I hope to continue to nurse her for a long time. I have decided not to start solid foods until she is 6 months. Probably mostly for selfish reasons, I love nursing her!

WIC covers formula so that may be how alot of people afford it.

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Raising my baby RIGHT!!!!!!

All the cool babies are wearing cloth!

Do a lot of people qualiify for WIC? If so, it sounds like a way to have the govt line the pockets of the formula makers.

I used formula and breastfed from day one. I used formulla when we were away from home, like shopping. However when we were at home it was only breastfeeding. My oldest stopped at 8 months, my second at 22 months and my last child stopped at 18 months. I definately advocate breastfeeding, but I also encourage supplementing with formula. I have met so many people who believe that if they start formula too young their child will never breastfeed. I think the younger they are the easier it is. My friend tried my advice with her second child and she was amazed to find that while at work her child took formula and then at home she could breastfeed easily. She breastfed him until 2. So it can be done. I say this only because many people think it can not be done this way and opt to formula feed only because of the convenience.

As for WIC- it is a great program that many people can qualify for. It is much easier to qualify for that then other government assistance. However, I believe a large sponsor of WIC is the March of Dimes. I may be wrong though on that, but I know that when I received WIC a long time ago March of Dime info was all over the place in the WIC office. The basis of WIC is to get a nutricious start to life. It supplies basics to pregnant woman and to children under 5. The basics it provides are milk, cereal, juice, peanut butter and beans.

I formula fed 3kids,and no WIC for us....just good couponning....

I tried to brestfeed my first one,didn;t have enough milk,I was given Reglin,and got allergic to it(paralized one side,my head was touching my back,I was all twisted like a pretzell,scared the crap out of me....so gave up on breastfeeding for the next 2 kids.) but if a 4th one appears,I will try breastfeeding.

my neighbor was horrified that I wasn't breastfeeding my son,and she started telling me all the benefit of breastmilk,while she was breastfeeding her newborn.then handed him to me ,stepped on her patio and lighted a cigarette.....

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By the time you make ends meet, they move the ends

I agree sig74. I worked for a wage outside the home from the time my first was 12 weeks and my second just 8 weeks old...although Dad tacked a few weeks of male bonding on top of that before they went to Mary's....but I was able to breastfeed morning and night (and middle of the night) well beyond that. The milk production just adjusted to that demand. The human body is a sweet setup.

cj/

I breastfed until both boys were 10 months old. Around 3 months, both boys started getting a bedtime bottle of formula from Daddy (that is why I had to vote like I did!!!). I needed the downtime in the evening -- was too exhausted. My body adjusted and life went on!

Also, unlike Tessa, I did not like breastfeeding very much. Maybe it would have been different if they weren't always starving every 1 1/2 hours around the clock. Boys... LOL.

We finished up the first year with formula and then gradually started in with the whole milk.

I am always so proud of anyone who takes the time to nourish the baby properly. It really does take diligence and time to do it properly -- with either formula or breastmilk or both.

With my dd I tried to breastfeed. She never would latch on so I pumped and used soy formula. With ds I breastfeed for 1 yr. It took him 10 days before he caught on and learned to latch on. I offered the breast first, then bottle fed him, pumped every 2 hours (during the day) until he got it.

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I've never lied to you. I've always told you some version the of truth.

breast only for the 1st two. breast and formula for the last one.

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"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God? " ~Epicurus

Formula for the first, and back then it was store brand and Kroger had this "baby points" thing so I got lots of store coupons, I think something like $10 off your shopping trip!

Second was 100% breastfed for 13mo.

Currently breastfeeding 9 month old (literally, even... while typing LOL), she has gotten some formula but not in the last several months.

tessa67, when I took my baby to the ped's office for a well baby check, they gave me a handout saying now they recommend not starting solids til 6mo, and just about everyone on my due date group waited that long or longer. My middle child didn't get solids until she was taking them from my plate.

I'm not sure how people afford formula without WIC. For those, who tried breast and formula, did you notice a difference in how your babies reacted? I'm not a mother, but trying to learn what I can.

My body makes BIG babies (not diabetes related...)

ds#1 was 10 lbs 3 oz and 23 3/8 inches long at 42 weeks gestation
ds#2 was 9 lbs 15 oz and 21 1/4 inches long at 38 1/2 weeks gestation

Both boys were (ds2 is) breastfed from day 1 however, my milk is not high is calories so I have (had) to supplement an ounce to two ounces of formula after every feeding. This is because both boys were losing weight (about an ounce a day) from day one instead of gaining the half ounce to an ounce a day thats recommended from the aap.

Formula IS expensive but if you sign up for all the mailing lists you get formula checks...and this is how I can brag/boast that I have NEVER once paid a single penny for formula.

Enfamil: Enfamil.com

Similac: https://welcomeaddition.com/joinnow.aspx

Good Start: Personalized pregnancy & baby information, plus infant nutrition advice - verybestbaby.com

Bright Beginnings: Baby Formula from Bright Beginnings

For Parent's Choice (Walmart) and Bright Beginnings formula coupons:
Call this telephone number - 1-800-410-9629 and ask for formula coupons.
They will sign you up and send you all sorts of great coupons. The wonderful thing about this is that you can call every 30 days and they will replenish your coupons

Now...the key is you can't be brand loyal unless your child has a specific need for a certain type of formula but I was lucky enough that my boys have iron stomachs LOL!

Another key is to actually read the baby magazines that come in the mail...they have those coupons in them you take to your pediatrician and get free formula with every well baby checkup. Also, if you can't find those coupons, just ask them for free samples.

Here are some certificate links:
Free Samples of Baby Formula - Nutramigen LIPIL, Enfamil Gentlease LIPIL, or Enfamil A.R. LIPIL
Free Gift for Breastfeeding and Supplementing Moms

Hope this helps someone!!

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"People" are stealing formula because it's easy to use a cutting/filling agent for drugs. I would estimate that 90% of what is stolen is not for feeding babies.

WIC does help pay for formula, but it also provides breast feeding mothers nutrient rich foods to increase/maintain their milk supply (tuna, carrots, dried beans, milk, etc). So, it's not just a way to line the formula makers pockets. I used WIC in two different states--and the nurses/WIC agents in both states encouraged breastfeeding. Also, in Texas, it was mandatory for those receiving WIC to attend nutrition classes and economic shopping classes once every 2 months (when you picked up your WIC vouchers).

I don't really care if someone breastfeeds or formula feeds as long as they feed and nuture their child(ren). I think in the long run what matters most is that the child feels loved while he/she is being held and fed.

There is a commercial that runs here, that shows a very pregnant woman getting on an electric bull and getting bucked off. The voice over says something like "you wouldn't take chances while you were pregnant. Why risk your baby's health after it's born--Breastfeed". And it's makes me so angry EVERY time I see it! I literally talk to the TV and say some pretty ugly words! I think that a lot of the studies that show breast milk is better than formula are contrived/skewed to get the results that are wanted--as are many studies! I formula fed pretty much from day one w/ DS #1--and he's healthy as a horse, intelligent, blah, blah, blah. I tried for one week to breast feed DS #2 and just couldn't. I was so tense and stressed that I developed muscle spasms and a pinched nerve in my back (from working so hard to get him to latch on and suckle--he was 11 lbs 1 oz. @ birth, not necessarily an easy baby to hold in the first place!!) that I realized that it was not a healthy situation for either of us. Went to formula with him and voila! No issues. He also is healthy as a horse, very smart, blah, blah, blah....
To me, it's the nurturing that plays such an important role. When bottlefeeding I sang, talked, read, to the boys. I couldn't do that with breastfeeding because the I was so stressed and tense. Some women can breastfeed easily, some work at it and get it to work for them, some just can't do it. And no woman should be made to feel inferior or less than a mother because she is formula feeding!

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Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

I nursed all of my children - #1 for 12 months, #2 for 19 months, #3 for 22 months.

I am lucky that it worked out well - but not without about 2 cases of thrush, and having mastitis more than once with each nursed child. I am glad it went as well as it did, and I still highly recommend it. However, I understand that it doesn't work for everyone, and that we're all just trying to do our best.

If I had had boys, I'm not sure that I wouldn't have supplemented - boys get big so quickly, and I don't know if I would have been able to supply all of the milk, myself!

Also, I'm in awe of women who work out of the home and still manage to express milk for their babies. I considered nursing to be a full-time job on its own, so to be a mom, to nurse, and to hold down a paying job - that is amazing!

MarilynK, I'm glad you clarified about the WIC program - until I read your post, I was under the impression that they advocated formula only, and didn't bother to encourage breastfeeding. Thanks for clarifying that for me.

And I agree - what matters most is that the child feels loved while he/she is being held and fed.

I tried to breastfeed but with premature twins it was too hard to do. They had to be fed every two hours and it would take one twin an hour to feed and then the other one, so all I was doing was breastfeeding all the time. So we switched to formula. Thankfully for me, my dad bought the formula by the case and would bring it to us, so I don't remember paying for hardly any of our formula.

I heard on the news that all New York hospitals had taken formula out of the hospitals and were basically making new mothers breastfeed. Which if this is true, I think is totally wrong because I think that's up to the mother to make that decision -- not New York hospitals.

I wanted to breast feed both of mine but had preclampsia (sp?) with both. My blood pressure was so high (don't remember giving birth to either of them) my doctor told me not to nurse them. She said it would be too much stress on my body. Both of them are very healthy and both are honor students. I Signed up for all the coupons I could get. Both of mine could drink any type of formula. Their pediatrician said it was ok for them to have different brands of formula as long as they showed no reactions to any.
Judy

I formula fed both of my children from day one. I have no WIC and did the "good couponing" thing too!


And....the Reglan...I am allergic, too! My tongue and throat started to swell and I almost couldn't breathe! It was one of the scariest times of my life. I will NEVER take that medicine again. I feel your pain!

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Mom to a beautiful 15 year old DD and my handsome little man who's 6!

~~~GO DALE JR!!~~~

My first was formula only by choice. I used the powder and 20 years ago the price was not that bad. Second son I tried in the hospital and couldn't do it so formula for him too. Again powder and 11 years ago the price was still ok. With my third I breastfed for about 3 weeks. It went very well and I enjoyed it but my second son was only 14 months old at the time and as I was breastfeeding he would be climbing to to top of the wall unit, or something else he shouldn't be doing. I was not good enough at it to get him down while still breastfeeding the baby. It was just easier on me to formula feed. I was never on WIC but I think its a wonderful program.

I tried to breastfeed with DS and lasted about a month, but that was it. I totally bottle fed DD, it was easier with the 2, DH could help that way and so could anyone who wanted to actually.

If breastfeeding would have gone well with DS, I probably would have done it with both, but he was in the hospital after he was born and I had to pump, it was awful. I got to a point that we ran to the SHoprite and just gave in and bought everything we needed, bottles, liners, formula, everything we didn't have because I was breastfeeding. It was the right descision for us.


I think everyone should give it a try, maybe it'll be easy for you, maybe not. I made myself crazy trying, I was emotional, he was in the hospital, I couldn't do it, could pump enough, just a wreck and it wasn't worth it, just buy the darn formula!

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"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked." ~ Bernard Meltzer

I breast fed for 1 month with each of my kids. I couldn't do it past 1 month and barely did it to that. I am just not a "Milk maker" and even with a double pump, I barely got out enough to feed them at one feeding. They would feed for 1.5 hours at a time and want more 30 minutes later and I had nothing left to give. I figure I tried the best I could (first woman in my family to breastfeed since my great great grandma)

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

Formula for both of my kids from day one.

Nursed my son for 4 months and then was a mixture of pumping and formula. With my daughter, I breastfed for 25 months! It was really hard at first, having a toddler and a baby constantly nursing, but we made it through and after the first few months, It was a breeze!

She never had a bottle.


My son rarely gets sick and he was not exclusively breastfed, my daughter is sick constantly and was nursed over 2 years! Wierd huh?

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Jill
jatalamo@aol.com
Mom to Joey (8) and Gianna (6)

I was lucky - my son took to nursing very easily and I never had a bit of problems with it - not even leakage. So I nursed him until he was 3 1/2 (yes 3 1/2!) and only gave my free formula to the day care to use when I had to be out of town for work. The daycare was right across the street from my work and my boss let me go over there 3X a day for nursing instead of taking a full lunch hour. After he was a year old we only nursed at home. He never bit me and showed no interest ever in weaning. I finally had to cut him off because he was so big that he would cut off the circulation in my arm when I was holding him - LOL. He is now a very healthy, bright 8 year old who just got accepted into the gifted program at school. I was so glad that I was able to nurse him successfully and felt bad for the mothers who could not nurse and had to bottle feed. I never had to buy formula or make or wash bottles - it was so much easier and cheaper.

I am breastfeeding my son, who is almost 9 months. I went back to work when he was 3 months and have been pumping. I am a 1st grade teacher so it has been very tough at times. I pump for only 10 minutes when the kids are at AM or PM recess and I don't have yard duty. I go to my Mom's house, she watches him and nurse him during my lunch hour. It has been very hard at times and I think when I start back to work I might have to use formula for one feeding. He gets (4) 5 oz. bottles that I have pumped + 3 nursings a day + 4 jars of homemade baby food and I just don't know if I can keep up when I go back to work.

I would think that a feeding at your mom's house before you leave (top him off!) and then she can give him some solids with a little bit of rice cereal right after that, nurse him at lunch and then a little more of the homemade baby food (with or without a bit of cereal), a midafternoon bottle of your choice (formula or breastmilk), and then a nursing at her house when you pick him up...

That is what I did when mine was a baby (side note... I also taught first grade!) You might be surprised in that his needs might have changed from the end of last year's school year. Especially since he is now taking the solids.

The cereal is filling and can also be given at noon so that he won't need as much milk for his afternoon snack... Just a teaspoon or so mixed in with the pureed babyfood worked well for my hungry boys.

Give it a few weeks and I am sure that things will adjust. You might be surprised in that his milk needs might honestly have changed!!! I can't imagine having to pump during recess. That is your down time... Let us know how it goes and always remember... this too will pass. Hold on to the memories.

I am in AWE of you moms who can pump/nurse once you're working out of the home. I give you all the props in the world!

I think Cuthie's right - things may have changed so much from what your routine will need to be for your baby since June. How about trying out the "back-to-school" feeding plan for a week or so before school starts, so you can adjust it as necessary?

Good luck! And yes - please keep us posted.

I agree - major kudos to anyone who commits to pumping breastmilk due to medical or family circumstances, work needs, etc. I couldn't do it.....

cj/

I needed WIC with both my children and they heavily encourage breastfeeding. I think it's naive to say "it sounds like a way to have the govt line the pockets of the formula makers". WIC is all about the best nutrition for the pregnant mother and the baby. I had to go to nutrition classes to get my vouchers.

I tried to breastfeed both my children but it didn't work out. It was a huge help to have WIC to pay for the formula at a time we really needed financial help. My daughter needed Nutramigen, which was $20 per can (back in 1998). There are income guidelines to determine if you qualify for WIC. When I was on WIC with my daughter, my husband did have a job but it didn't pay much. With our second child, my husband had been laid off (back when they had lots of computer people layoffs) and was jobless for basically my whole pregnancy. While on WIC for my second child, my husband was eventually able to get a job and I went down there to show them his paycheck (on my own) and asked if I needed to return the vouchers I had because I did not want to take something I shouldn't have. They said no, once you receive the vouchers you keep them regardless of the situation. As it happened, it was helpful to have that last month of help while we adjusted.

Okay...now off my soapbox.

peapie

I formula fed all three of mine. With Naysa, Similac just happened to put out $1 coupons so I was able to get the ready to feed bottles for $2 (my store doubles $1 coupons). Near the end of her formula days, she went thru one bottle a day.

We don't qualify for WIC.

I have no regrets for not breastfeeding. I tried in the hospital w/#2, but it didn't work out. I'm SO glad that I went to formula. She was 9 pounds 5 ounces and almost 3 weeks early. She was eating almost every hour as it was. I hate to see if I was breastfeeding.

If we are blessed w/#4, he/she will be formula fed more than likely.

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Amy
Mom to Lauren, Eryn, Naysa
and announcing......
Gavin Michael Chase, 9 lbs 10 ozs
and 21 3/4 inches long on 10/13/09!

And it is statements like this that cause the tension and arguments btwn breastfeeding and formula feeding moms.

Don't feel bad for the formula feeding moms, because, seriously? You have no idea why they are formula feeding and it could be because they want to!

And, I know lots of kids who were formula babies who are in Gifted and Talented. So, I'm thinking what they ate as a baby has less to do with their intelligence than how nurtured and stimulated they were as babies.

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Jesus love me--you he only tolerates!

I am happy to hear that. I wasn't sure what the recommended start age was, I had heard four months, and didn't want to get grief from a doctor if I wanted to hold off on solids. I have been stocking up on some cheap baby food from Target though, just so I am ready when the time comes.

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Raising my baby RIGHT!!!!!!

All the cool babies are wearing cloth!

I have often wondered, regarding those for whom it "didn't work out", what would've happened to those babies were we living in the time before baby bottles and formula. Would we have just let them die, or tried harder?

I 'wasn't able' to nurse my middle child, but did the others. Between pregnancies and nursing, I had been on a hormone roller coaster for 2+ years at the time DD was born. She lost 1 1/2 lbs in her first week - 10 days, and I went cold turkey nursing her for 24 hours (before I could get in to see the Dr.... and I gave her formula instead) and I suffered no engorgement or anything in that time. That's when I realized I just wasn't producing, which is why she was wasting away.

I was exhausted from having two under two, and it was almost something of a relief to think, "Ahhh... I'm off the bf'ing hook with this one!" I almost wonder if I subconsciously sabotaged my production.

I don't have any regrets. She's my healthiest child. I did go on to nurse the next one for a full year, but after a month of trying to do both with DD, we went strictly with formula and she did do quite well.

While I in no way beat myself up over not bf'ing her, simply because I'm not the type to romanticize that mothering issue, I do wonder if my "I can't" was truly a manifestation of my secret "I'd rather not". If it had been a life or death issue, and we were living in the middle of the prairie in 1829, would I have 'given up' so quickly? I honestly can't say that I know the answer.

WET NURSES, were prevalent especially in the South. I'm sure that wet nurses were used in other places as well.


and they had baby bottles a long time ago. Why I even remember seeing Ma Ingalls use one on an episode or two of Little House on the Prairie.
(and the child would have just drank whole cow's milk and been started on solids earlier)

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Jesus love me--you he only tolerates!

Both of mine were fed formula from day one. DS2 had to have Nutramigen and it was very expensive. I did not want to breast feed. I agree with Peapie, I was heavily encouraged by everyone to breast feed. I simply did not want to, still wouldn't do it today.

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Wet nurses certainly weren't confined to the south. That concept has been around since ancient times.

Still, not everyone who had difficulty nursing had access to such a person to take on that duty.

If there was no such other person... what then? Did babies just die?

yes, the uncaring souls just let the babies die


edited to add: of course they didn't let them die! The figured things out, they made their own bottles, who knows! What did they do w/ infants where the mom died in childbirth? Just throw the baby in the casket with mom? I mean COME ON! Maybe in pre-historic times the baby was left for dead (survival of the fittest and all), but as man progressed I'm sure their thinkin progressed as well and they figured out how to feed the babies w/o a breast!

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Jesus love me--you he only tolerates!

Here is an answer
"The alternative, infant formula, is historically fairly new. Until the Civil War, babies who were not breastfed received milk from cows or donkeys.

Then in 1867, Henri Nestlé (a Swiss pharmacist who later founded the Nestlé food company) developed an infant formula made with malt, cow's milk, sugar and wheat flour."

I suggest that people do a little bit of reading before you decide whether to use formlua.
Lots of info. out they for both formula and breastfeeding.
I breastfed all 7 of my children until they weaned themselves. No formula, but that was a choice I made early on..and it worked out fine for me.

Breastfed all three here, even tandem nursing my youngest two for about 4 months. (18 mos apart). We were also very lucky that I never had any problems nursing, so we never used any formula at all.

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If you really want something in this life, you have to work for it. Now, quiet! The're about to announce the lottery numbers... - Homer Simpson

I guess this one would dispel the myth that you can't get pregnant while breastfeeding. LOL

cj/

That is so funny because I thought of the very same episode!!! It was when they had the little boy who wouldn't grow and Doc switched him to a bottle because he thought Ma Ingalls' breast milk wasn't enough for him !!

nursed each kid till at least 18 months and still nursing 4 10 month old now and I still think I am crazy all I feel is like I am a cow giving out milk still 10 12 times a day and does not like to eat food. This one seems to choke even on baby cereal very waterery.

I nursed both boys, exclusively. We didn't need formula, which was fortunate since we couldn't have afforded formula.

I breast fed until they wer about 6 weeks. Then my little boobies couldn't keep up with the demand.

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TLJ ~ Where opinions are encouraged, not deleted

You laugh at me because I am different,
I laugh at you because you are all the same.

Your mind is like a parachute, it only works when it is open.

I can totally relate! My only dd was 10 lbs 2 oz and 22 1/2 inches long and a 14 1/2 inch head! (Yes, I did push ALL of that baby out! But not without the help of the epidural! LOL). She was right at 40 weeks. I had her 2 days after my projected due date.

I tried to breastfeed, but my milk didn't produce enough for her. She didn't latch on properly. The final straw was when I would finish feeding her (as much as I had), she'd root around for milk on everybody else that held her! Then she'd cry her heart out. I'd try to feed again and NO MILK. It was very frustrating and stressful. I eventually put her on the formula. It just broke my heart.

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Kristee
Kritter0114@aol.com

"Hold on, let me check....YES! I do have a coupon for that!"

I started from the get go with formula for my son, I just knew from the beginning it was going to be hectic. I was right. My milk never seemed to really come in, and the baby went from formula to formula before we settled on Nutramigen. It is so expensive, but after going thru all we went thru, it's okay. He is now almost 11 months, and I am scared to death to try him on whole milk! His pediatrician wants me to go ahead! Donna

I find the diversity of experiences and opinions on this subject both fascinating and refreshing. Lots of ways to nourish babies with the same end goal - and same end result - healthy and happy kiddos!

Kudos to all the moms out there!

cj/

I can just feel the love.

didn't you post this exact same question last month??

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SPJRNTGADL!

Posting!!!!!!

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Vicki


TLJ Women united in Spirit!

I wonder how the brand of peanut butter a mom chooses affects breastmilk?

Too funny, we all so bored we are recycling now....does that make us green??

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Vicki


TLJ Women united in Spirit!