Sooo the internet is on fire once again with this topic because a celebrity is saying that it’s against the Bible to formula feed. I really hate how moms are so judgmental and mean to each other. Why can’t we just support each other and be like; “I’m really glad that you’re feeding your baby!”
Being that I have five kids, I’ve had my fair share of both breastfeeding and formula feeding. I agree that breast milk is the best thing for babies. My #5 is 18 months old and I am still breastfeeding her…. constantly. She’s never been sick except for a small cold here and there. She’s incredibly healthy. And we have an amazing bond. It is literally the sweetest thing. There’s so many advantages to breastfeeding for babies and Mamas. Mamas who breastfeed are even less likely to develop breast cancer. I couldn’t say enough positive things about breastfeeding. It is one of the best things that I’ve done for my baby girl…
BUT
I couldn’t breastfeed my first four babies. I tried EVERYTHING. I failed. They wouldn’t gain any weight. They were starving. I switched to full time formula at five months old with each of them. When my second child was a baby, some woman told me that he would be better off dead than drinking formula. What kind of a “woman” would think like this? Especially a “mother”. Would she have said the same thing about her own children? Would she have let her baby starve to death? Because he was starving to death. He was a big baby. At birth he was 23″ tall and weighed 10 lbs. He was two weeks early. I know that there was no way I could have been further along because I had suffered a miscarriage at 11 weeks, two weeks before I got pregnant with him. Anyway – he lost so much weight that his skin was hanging from his bones. The pediatrician told me that if he didn’t start gaining weight, he’d have to be hospitalized with a feeding tube. We had done so many tests to figure out what was wrong with him because I had plenty of milk to feed him with. At 5 months old he made it back to 10 lbs😭. He didn’t die because he had formula. Formula saved his life. Formula gave him the important nutrients that he needed to not just survive, but thrive. My other children weren’t as bad off as him but they were all underweight. So I switched to formula with them all. When they were older, I found out that my first four children have a forward placement tongue. Which means that they couldn’t latch properly to nurse. No matter what I had done, if I hadn’t of switched to formula, they would have continued to be malnourished. Today they’re all healthy and happy.
Moms just need to do what they feel is best for their babies and themselves. Some moms can’t breastfeed and some moms just don’t want to. Both is okay. I’ve been through the cracked and bleeding nipples and mastitis. It is miserable. It is agonizing. I wouldn’t change a thing, but what about the mothers that emotionally can’t handle that?? They’re still good mothers. Their babies are still healthy. Most importantly their babies are loved. And oh yeah – God is happy that you’re not starving your baby. Good luck Mamas and be kind to each other.
This Do It All Mom 