@tabbycat11 This might not be exactly what you’re looking for, but hopefully it’ll still be helpful. I didn’t formula feed until my daughter was two weeks old and I regret not giving formula earlier. My daughter’s weight was 4th percentile (length 89th) when she was born and she dropped down to 3rd pretty quickly. Everyone kept telling me that her latch was great and my supply was decent and I was lucky because I had no pain with it. But I hated breastfeeding. My baby would almost instantly fall asleep when she started nursing. She was still at the third percentile and not up to her birth weight yet at 2 weeks. I wasn’t antiformula at all, in fact, I WANTED to formula feed but felt so much external pressure to keep trying to breastfeed. I was so tired of triple feeds and eating and drinking constantly hoping it would help my supply. So when our pediatrician let us know she still hadn’t reached her birth weight at two weeks, that was my excuse to finally try formula. I was hooked and so was my baby!
I LOVED being able to bottle feed without pumping. I loved that she would get more food in her little belly before she’d fall asleep. I loved feeling like my body was finally mine again!
But mostly, I loved that my little girl was finally thriving. When she got as much food as she wanted, she sometime ate 50+ ounces after about 2 months (and took more than 40 a day until she was about 6 months old, now it varies from 32-45). And she finally started growing like she should! She’s almost 8 months old now and for the last few months, has been at the 98th percentile for weight and length (which is what we expected based on both my and my husband’s height and family history (both of us and all our siblings were similarly sized). She loves her bottles and gets so excited when we shake the bottle and say “mix mix mix mix mix mix mix” in an excited, sing-songy tone!
Looking back at videos and pics of her first few weeks, I feel terrible guilt that I didn’t give her formula earlier. She looks so small and hungry. And shes showing hunger cues in every single one. But in reality, I was doing the best I could and I learned from the things I wish I did differently. If we have another, I’ll base my decision to BF or FF on what I and my baby need at the time. But I’ll certainly supplement with formula from the very beginning if I don’t EFF.
I hope you so what’s best for you!!
ETA: I also want to say that I did feel a lot of guilt at first for switching primarily to formula. But that guilt was quickly squashed when I paused and actually thought about the situation and how I was feeling. My experience being a parent is that lot of times it feels like the guilt comes from all angles. Feeling guilt is actually okay (though not fun to experience), as long as you make a point to challenge it.
I LOVED being able to bottle feed without pumping. I loved that she would get more food in her little belly before she’d fall asleep. I loved feeling like my body was finally mine again!
But mostly, I loved that my little girl was finally thriving. When she got as much food as she wanted, she sometime ate 50+ ounces after about 2 months (and took more than 40 a day until she was about 6 months old, now it varies from 32-45). And she finally started growing like she should! She’s almost 8 months old now and for the last few months, has been at the 98th percentile for weight and length (which is what we expected based on both my and my husband’s height and family history (both of us and all our siblings were similarly sized). She loves her bottles and gets so excited when we shake the bottle and say “mix mix mix mix mix mix mix” in an excited, sing-songy tone!
Looking back at videos and pics of her first few weeks, I feel terrible guilt that I didn’t give her formula earlier. She looks so small and hungry. And shes showing hunger cues in every single one. But in reality, I was doing the best I could and I learned from the things I wish I did differently. If we have another, I’ll base my decision to BF or FF on what I and my baby need at the time. But I’ll certainly supplement with formula from the very beginning if I don’t EFF.
I hope you so what’s best for you!!
ETA: I also want to say that I did feel a lot of guilt at first for switching primarily to formula. But that guilt was quickly squashed when I paused and actually thought about the situation and how I was feeling. My experience being a parent is that lot of times it feels like the guilt comes from all angles. Feeling guilt is actually okay (though not fun to experience), as long as you make a point to challenge it.
I have shut every bit of negativity down before they had the chance to offer it by coming straight off the bat with 'I am frimly and unapologetically formula feeding from day one, my body, my baby, my chioce'...... And I have loved every single second of feeding this baby (now 11 weeks). Her weight is perfect, she's happy and she's healthy and so am I and that is all that matters and honestly if you don't give people the space to make you feel guilty more often than not they don't even try. Best of luck and remember that there is no guilt or shame in feeding your baby however you feed your baby xx
! My little 15 month old is thriving and is getting stronger by the day! No regrets!