Babys First Year Blog
All of This Formula Talk Stresses Me Out
Do you suffer from baby formula guilt?
Yes, I formula feed my baby. I tried breast feeding each of my 4 babies and squat happened and unfortunately squat won’t nourish my babies. So low and behold, I’m a formula feeder, who so wishes she could breast feed but can’t.
So okay, I accept that I can’t breast feed. Nor do I have ample sums of money to buy breast milk for my baby. I have accepted that formula is how my baby is fed. I do have 3 other kids that are fine and healthy that were formula fed. So nothing to worry about, right?
Then this past week happens. All of this formula talk stresses me out. Each time I have put together a bottle, the little devil that sits on my right shoulder whispers – you bad MOM!
To any mom that formula feeds, take this advice: Do NOT Google looking for information on formula incidents. It’s just going to stress you out more.
I did find then great article on making sure you prep your formula correctly. There are some great tips in here to make sure you follow in order to make your baby’s formula the safest possible.
In the mean time, I am deleting my Google Alerts for formula safety and making sure each bottle is made hot and of course sterile. You can only do, what you can do.
Image source: elleandsam.wordpress.com
Have You Ever Experienced Formula Guilt?
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10 Comments
Ashlie commented on Dec 28 11 at 11:22 amUgh. I always planned to breastfeed, it didn’t work out, and I formula feed my son. He’s growing wonderfully and is generally healthy, but the formula death did freak me out. Unfortunately, these instructions additionally freak me out. I don’t see how realistically I can boil and cool water fresh each time for each bottle while my son is screaming for food- it seems to be at least a 20 minute process, and when babies need to eat, they need to eat. I’m curious about how other formula-fed families handle bottle preparation?
Meagan commented on Dec 28 11 at 11:49 amWell. I made my baby sick by not properly sterilizing my breast pump. Twice. About 8 hours of puking and a miserable 5 month old. Fortunately we figured it out after that, but its not just formula, and believe me, I felt like the worst mom in the world.
B commented on Dec 28 11 at 6:09 pm@meagan… Do you mind elaborating? I don’t sterilize my pump per se just the bits and pieces with soap and water. So I’m just curious about your situation (am I missing a step?). Thanks.
Taz commented on Dec 28 11 at 6:42 pmit really saddens me that any mention of someone formula feeding their baby needs to be prefaced with how hard they tried to breastfeed and how badly they wanted to. whether it didn’t work for someone or if it was never their plan to begin with i don’t think formula feeding makes anyone a bad parent. it just feeds into all of that mommy-guilt stuff. so many women i know are seriously traumatized and depressed over the aspects of motherhood that didn’t go according to plan- breastfeeding problems or having to get a c-section. i think a big part of supporting other moms has to be understanding that as long as the babies get here safely and are well fed than everything is good.
Bre commented on Dec 28 11 at 7:41 pmThank you Taz. I hope all moms choose your perspective as their resolution for 2012. I have dealt with an enormous amount of mommy-guilt and it’s mostly self-imposed. As soon as we can accept ourselves we can be better, more confident mommies. O and I formula feed my beautiful boy AND had a c-section :)
Amanda commented on Dec 29 11 at 8:49 pmSorry you’re feeling stressed. It’s great that you’ve researched the correct preparation of formula feeds for your child though, so many simply don’t bother.
Pam commented on Dec 31 11 at 5:12 amI have breast fed my daughter for a year now and love it. I am a huge advocate of the boobie, but with no condemnation for the bottle. My son was born via c-section, and that same night in the hospital, I started getting very sick. I ended up having a huge battle with a mrsa infection and lost my breast milk. He was formula fed and he is a happy and healthy, almost 3yr old now. I dis feel a lot of guilt and shame. Every time I needed to make him a bottle in public or someone asked me about nursing. I feel a lot more empowered now than I did 3yrs ago though. I will not let it make me like a subpar mom.
Trine commented on Dec 31 11 at 5:26 amI chose to formula feed my baby. I was just too tired to try breastfeeding my son after the long labor and pushing for 3hours. He was born with a birth defect called craniosynostosis. Which he will have surgically fixed. But back to the topic at hand. I don’t get why parents feel so guilty for not breastfeeading. I agree with taz as long as the baby is healthy you shouldn’t stress about not choosing to breastfeed your child.
Aurora commented on Dec 31 11 at 9:23 amI feel the same way. I was unable to produce enough for my large, hungry baby so I had to give in and give him formula before we even left the hospital. I felt like a complete failure. So I started pumping to at least supplement, but that is a lot of work and I got a little lax on it until I heard about the formula recall. I started up again and I’m going to do all I can to at least make the largest portion of his food breastmilk. No matter what happens, I know I’m not a failure because I’ve tried my hardest and done the best I could for my baby. But in the meantime, thanks for the link for tips to make the formula safer.
Shantel commented on Dec 31 11 at 11:14 amI formula fed my son, and he is a perfectly healthy 4 year old now. Not once did he get sick from formula. I had no intentions of breast feeding, and ultimately I wouldn’t have been able to (Brady suffered from severe acid reflux and had to drink the special, ridiculously expensive formula). I never felt guilty about feeding my son formula over breast milk… he was fed and getting the nutrients he needed.
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