Were you bottle fed or breast fed?

[Elisabeth in IL]

I couldn't really vote because I was breastfed for just a month or two and then bottle fed. I don't know if that counts as breastfed or not........

[dalynnrmc]

I was breastfed for only 6 weeks. My mother, very pro-breastfeeding, nursed all of my siblings for much longer than that. (When she had me, she was young, and had a horrible time with her high school forcing her back under threat of not graduating and not letting her pump on campus past 2wks back, me 8wks old.)

 

Anyway.

 

My oldest ds9 was breastfed until 18 mos.

My middle ds almost-5 was breastfed until he self-weaned at 11mos. (I was pregnant.)

My youngest ds3 was breastfed until 22mos.

[*anj*]

I couldn't really vote because I was breastfed for just a month or two and then bottle fed. I don't know if that counts as breastfed or not........

 

Yes, it counts. Vote away!

[Slartibartfast]

I was BF some but they also told my mom to give me rice cereal when they brought me home because I was huge.

 

Now I have horrible food allergies. :)

[sweetbaby]

My Mom breastfed all of her four dc although she could only bf me for a short period due to her work schedule. She had me while finishing nursing school and was forced to return to school when I was three month old or she would have been expelled from too many missed days. Very unfair, I know. I am pro bf also.

[TravelingChris]

I was bottle fed but only because of my medical problems. My mom was very pro-breastfeeding. Since neither my husband nor I was breastfed nor any of our three children, we don't feel any of us missed anything. We are all considered highly gifted academically (not that that matters but we don't seem to have suffered anything in the intelligence department) and while I did come down with many childhoof illnesses, my dh came down with remarkably little. He has also been very healthy as an adult.

[hsmamainva]

I was born in the US, in 1962, and breastfed. My mother also had natural childbirth.

 

My mom was a real radical! ;)

 

In fact, my mother was a member of one of the earliest LaLeche League groups in the US (they lived in Indiana at the time, and LLL was founded in Illinois .. and not that far away from them).

 

And...years later, I was a LLL Leader myself for 10 years. :)

 

Just a little bit of family trivia!!

 

Oh! Forgot to add...I breastfed all four of my children. My 1st for 2 1/2 years, my 2nd for 2 years, my 3rd for 3 years, and my 4th for 4 1/2 years.

[CookieMonster]

Honestly, I have come to the place where I don't care what you did or didn't do, as long as you did so informed.

 

The reason I was so zealous about breastfeeding was because NO ONE had told me anything about it. The doctors I saw during pregnancy said NADA. The hospital-run breastfeeding class I attended was an honest attempt, but poor indeed. The doctors and nurses in the hospital were unhelpful and unavailable. I feel like, had I not accidentally decided to check into breastfeeding on my own, that I would never have known anything about it. And it discourages me to no end that after I decided I wanted to breastfeed, that I had to figure it all out on my own. I don't think that's right.

 

So, for a while I was vocal about breastfeeding. But, I've come to decide there are bigger fish to fry. Education is, I think, the only way perceptions will be changed, and even then I don't want a bottle-feeding mommy to feel persecuted. Education cannot happen well in a hostile environment. Also, the squabbles among breastfeeders is enough to turn my stomach.

 

Edited to add: Do I feel I missed out on anything? That's a toughie. I have serious digestive problems, but you know, the data is so poor. I could blame it on bottle feeding, but I really couldn't do it with a lot of conviction.

-----------------------

(PS I wrote about my breastfeeding, for those who need an alternative to the AP version.)

[dirty ethel rackham]

Born in the early '60's. We all were bottle fed because that is what doctors told her to do and she would never have gone against the grain. "Suburban women didn't bottlefeed."

 

I breastfed all of my 3. I weaned ds14 at 2 because I was pg with #2 and nursing hurt so bad that my hair was standing on end. I hadn't intended to nurse past 4 months because I didn't know anyone who did, but I couldn't justify weaning when I made the good stuff. Thought I'd wean him around 12 mo, but he was allergic to milk so I felt I should keep going.

 

Ds11 weaned himself at 3 1/2 because I was pg with #3 and not much was left. I didn't intend to nurse so long but he was my high need child and nursing was one tool that worked.

 

DD7 weaned at 3 1/2 because I had to have surgery (I was ready.)

[Angela in TN]

I was bottlefed as was my brother (I was born in '71). I was also give rice cereal at 6 weeks! My mom said back then the only people who breastfed were hippies or poor people. So it definetely was something that wasn't generally encouraged.

 

I breastfed ds#1 for 7 whole days and there were mutiple issues.

 

Ds#2 was bottlefed exclusively. Both boys are bright and normal and there is no sign that they've been hit by the stupid stick. To me BF is a personal decision and I think if it works for you more power to you.

[Jennifer in MI]

I was breastfed for 5 months. But, I was also started on solids at 2 weeks. Ugh.

 

I breastfed/feed all of mine. My oldest nursed for 3 1/2 years, 2nd for 2 3/4 years, third for 4 1/2 years (he is my allergy boy and our allergist/immunologist REALLY supported his continued nursing), and my 4th is still going strong at nearly 2 1/2. Yup - I'm proud of that!!!

[GailV]

I was breastfed for 6 weeks to 3 months back in the early 60s, then Mom "ran out of milk". So she switched, I think to canned milk with corn syrup. To this day I am intolerant of milk and corn.

 

I nursed my 2 until age 3.

 

My neighbor is about 80, and breastfed her 5 kids, who I think were born in the 50s and 60s. She said she was one of the only people she knew who didn't use a bottle. I'm not sure exactly what her reasoning was at the time (this is a woman who had multiple fur coats and a big house, so I don't think it was a "poor person" thing), but she sees it as a good thing now.

 

I tend to be more interested in the eye development of breastfed vs. bottle -- just my little quirk.

[Kelli in TN]

I was bottle fed.

 

My mother did nurse my little brother for six weeks. As a result of that experience, she was pro-breastfeeding when I started having babies. The problem was, she was only pro-breastfeeding for about six weeks!!! But with each grandchild she got wiser until finally, when her last grandchild was born to my brother and his wife, she called me and said "You have got to call your sister-in-law. She is about to wean that baby.". That baby was like 8 months old!!! And while I do believe in longterm nursing, I also believe in minding my own business!!!

 

For me

Child #1, nursed for about 14 months, used lots of bottles, started the child on watered down cereal at 6 weeks, wondered why he broke out all the time and was always constipated and in so much pain. (I was young and unduly influenced by my mom and MIL), solids at 3 months

Child #2 nursed for about 14 months, used lots of bottles but had wised up on the cereal in the baby bottle nonsense. But I had not wised up enough to delay solids, she started getting baby food at 3 mos.

Child #3, nursed for 18 months, solids at 6 months

Child #4, read the Ezzo book, had trouble maintaining milk supply, ovulated early, got pregnant at 8-9mos, lost the baby, had to take low-dose estrogen after 4 weeks of constant bleeding, milk dried up. Totally weaned just after 10 mos.

Child #5, nursed (no bottles, no pacifers, no sippy cups, nothing) for 12 monts, nursed and fed homemade baby food after that. Stopped nursing at 19 months because I was quite pregnant by then and my OB was having a conniption.

Child #6 see above, except weaned closer to age 2

[Just a Jen in Mississippi]

Honestly, I have come to the place where I don't care what you did or didn't do, as long as you did so informed.

 

The reason I was so zealous about breastfeeding was because NO ONE had told me anything about it. The doctors I saw during pregnancy said NADA. The hospital-run breastfeeding class I attended was an honest attempt, but poor indeed. The doctors and nurses in the hospital were unhelpful and unavailable. I feel like, had I not accidentally decided to check into breastfeeding on my own, that I would never have known anything about it. And it discourages me to no end that after I decided I wanted to breastfeed, that I had to figure it all out on my own. I don't think that's right.

 

So, for a while I was vocal about breastfeeding. But, I've come to decide there are bigger fish to fry. Education is, I think, the only way perceptions will be changed, and even then I don't want a bottle-feeding mommy to feel persecuted. Education cannot happen well in a hostile environment. Also, the squabbles among breastfeeders is enough to turn my stomach.

 

 

:iagree:

[homewithtrinity]

I was born in the late 60's but my mom didn't breastfeed me. It would have stunted her social life. :D

[Joanne]

Doctor & nurse convinced my mom she couldn't bf when my oldest sister was born in '52, so she never tried again. She told me later she wished she hadn't listened to them.

 

This is similar to my situation. My mom (who was an RN) tried to breastfeed my oldest sister. She "never made enough milk" which I later understood to mean that the system didn't have the right information and support to inspire families to breastfeed and teach them how.

 

She never even tried with my other sister or with me.

 

Solids were pushed early and heavy.

 

I grew up with chronic, unrelenting ear infections. I had "tubes in my ears" back when you couldn't take PE, run or be a normal kid. It was a social nightmare. I had tubes several times a year. I think having been breastfed might have helped that.

 

My mom was not big on nurture or demonstrative love. I think that breastfeedng and in seeking breastfeeding information might have helped her in that area.

 

I don't blame my mom. I blame the system: culture, government, the medical system, corporations. Ever read Milk, Money and Madness?

 

I breastfed all my kids past the US cultural norm.

[lynn]

I was #3. I got the bottle propped up on the pillow.:001_huh:

[KarenNC]

Bottle, my daughter was bottle fed as well. She has been very healthy and we both have high IQ's/academically advanced.

[pmegan]

I was bottle fed.

 

My mother did nurse my little brother for six weeks. As a result of that experience, she was pro-breastfeeding when I started having babies. The problem was, she was only pro-breastfeeding for about six weeks!!! But with each grandchild she got wiser until finally, when her last grandchild was born to my brother and his wife, she called me and said "You have got to call your sister-in-law. She is about to wean that baby.". That baby was like 8 months old!!! And while I do believe in longterm nursing, I also believe in minding my own business!!!

 

My mother is the same way. She is VERY pro-BFing and one of those people who will say to your face that people who use formula obviously don't love their children or are totally uneducated (she's VERY blunt).

 

Then she came to visit when DD was 9 months old and you should have seen the utter horror on her face when she found out I was still BFing! She thinks there's no point after 6 months, and that it shows an unhealthy attachment on the mother's part! Eek. I had convinced her by the time she left....

[Joanne]

My mother is the same way. She is VERY pro-BFing and one of those people who will say to your face that people who use formula obviously don't love their children or are totally uneducated (she's VERY blunt).

 

Then she came to visit when DD was 9 months old and you should have seen the utter horror on her face when she found out I was still BFing! She thinks there's no point after 6 months, and that it shows an unhealthy attachment on the mother's part! Eek. I had convinced her by the time she left....

 

That's such an odd dichotomy, isn't it?

[pmegan]

Honestly, I have come to the place where I don't care what you did or didn't do, as long as you did so informed.

 

The reason I was so zealous about breastfeeding was because NO ONE had told me anything about it. The doctors I saw during pregnancy said NADA. The hospital-run breastfeeding class I attended was an honest attempt, but poor indeed. The doctors and nurses in the hospital were unhelpful and unavailable. I feel like, had I not accidentally decided to check into breastfeeding on my own, that I would never have known anything about it. And it discourages me to no end that after I decided I wanted to breastfeed, that I had to figure it all out on my own. I don't think that's right.

 

So, for a while I was vocal about breastfeeding. But, I've come to decide there are bigger fish to fry. Education is, I think, the only way perceptions will be changed, and even then I don't want a bottle-feeding mommy to feel persecuted. Education cannot happen well in a hostile environment. Also, the squabbles among breastfeeders is enough to turn my stomach.

 

Edited to add: Do I feel I missed out on anything? That's a toughie. I have serious digestive problems, but you know, the data is so poor. I could blame it on bottle feeding, but I really couldn't do it with a lot of conviction.

-----------------------

(PS I wrote about my breastfeeding, for those who need an alternative to the AP version.)

 

I was lucky in that the hospital where I gave birth to DD was extremely pro-BFing. I have heard a lot of complaints about them from people who chose formula, but I personally loved it! Every nurse in the maternity ward is a certified lactation consultant, and there are a few women who are nothing but LCs. They were bursting into my room every ten minutes it seemed to see how it was going and help! They also have a free hotline and a free drop-in class daily for nursing mothers. I think it's great that attitudes are changing.

[KarenNC]

T She "never made enough milk" which I later understood to mean that the system didn't have the right information and support to inspire families to breastfeed and teach them how.

 

Sometimes it just means "she never made enough milk". That was my situation, even with breastfeeding instruction in the hospital, additional work with a private pay lactation consultant, a very supportive culture and pumping with the hospital grade "double moo machine". When 15 minutes of pumping both breasts with that yields a max of a quarter teaspoon and you've already had to take your 4 day old to the hospital for dehydration despite constant breastfeeding....... Never had any hint of engorgement either.

 

No, not every woman can breastfeed, even with the best will and support in the world. I am very, very grateful for formula, since it meant that my child lived, just as I am grateful for the large amount of medical intervention we had with the pregnancy and birth since it means we are both still around.

[Rhonda in TX]

only for 6 weeks. Mom said her milk dried up after that. She was never really successful breastfeeding. I was born in 1967.

 

I have no memories of it and don't know if I missed out on anything or not. :D

[Closeacademy]

My mom did the natural birth thing and nursed me for about six weeks then came down with the flu and they told her to wean me and put me on a bottle. I had terrible allergies after that. I nursed both my girls for more than 2 years and they have only been sick a few times.

[sleepy]

I was breastfed, although I think there may have been some supplemental bottle feeding while my mom was in school.

 

All four of my kiddos have been breastfed for at least 1 year. :001_smile:

[pmegan]

Reading all of these replies, such a weird thought came to me. Breast is best, but formula is a close second... but it wasn't until pretty recently that formula was a close second! I had vaguely known that formula was just milk and corn syrup for a long time, but hadn't really thought about it (trivia: formula was milk and corn starch for a few years in the early 19th century... pretty high death count there until they figured out the corn syrup thing).

 

You'd think with how many malnourished (note: using the term rather tongue in cheek) babies were born in the 40's, 50's, and 60's, the entire baby boom generation would be one giant ball of dietary and mental dysfunction. But it seems like the current generation of kids (born in the 80's and 90's and now) are the ones with real problems (so many severe allergies, up tick in ADD, etc).

 

I wonder if anyone's ever looked into the method which the GRANDMOTHER was fed and how that affects the GRANDCHILD. Sort of crazy, but maybe not as crazy as it sounds: for example, thalidomide's effects carry on into the second generation (not: I am NOT equating formula with thalidomide, I'm merely using it as an example that apparently some things happening in the womb can affect future generations).

 

Anyone know if any research has ever been done into this? Got a kid who needs a science fair project? :tongue_smilie:

[MicheleinMN]

I was bottle-fed as I would guess were most of the babies born in 1967.

 

I breastfed all 6 of my children, most of them for a year or so.

 

My mom, who bottle-fed me (1967) and my sister (1970), breastfed my younger brother (1988), so I think she always tried to do what was considered best at the time.

 

Michele

[Peela]

I was breastfed for 6 months here in Australia (1967). My husband was also breastfed for 6 months (1954).

My aunt breastfed my cousins for much longer though (1970s)...they were toddlers when she stopped...she is a doctor, she must have realised the health benefits. My mother thought it was awful that the kids would run in from the sandpit to have breast. She was wise enough not to criticise me though!

I tandem breastfed my two (including through pregnancy) until the older was 5 and the younger was 3.5.

 

My grandmother lost her breastmilk when she (unintentionally) got pregnant with my mother when her baby was only 2 months old. So my uncle was only breastfed briefly,and I always though it interesting that he has major health issues, weight issues, sinus issues. Probably he was put straight onto cows milk at that tiny age, since they lived on a farm and had a dairy cow.

 

I breastfed my two long term knowing it was good for their health, and they have both been very healthy kids with no allergies at all even though their dad has allergies.

[Peela]

 

I wonder if anyone's ever looked into the method which the GRANDMOTHER was fed and how that affects the GRANDCHILD. Sort of crazy, but maybe not as crazy as it sounds: for example, thalidomide's effects carry on into the second generation (not: I am NOT equating formula with thalidomide, I'm merely using it as an example that apparently some things happening in the womb can affect future generations).

 

Anyone know if any research has ever been done into this? Got a kid who needs a science fair project? :tongue_smilie:

 

Yes, I have read a study about this...about the effect of the diet and the food environment of the grandmother and its affect being passed down several generations. Wouldnt have a clue now where I read that though, but it is a very interesting concept and it would be great to see the research.

[mommaduck]

Born in the US in the 70's, not breastfed due to circumstances surrounding my birth. My mother, however, went on to breastfeed my brothers, both born in the 80's. I've breastfed all of my children.

[QuirkyKapers]

I was adopted so I was not breast fed. (However, I do know someone who adopted and breast fed so it can be done)

 

I pumped for the first year and used a bottle since both my kids were so little when they were born (4 lbs 12 oz & 5 lbs 12 oz). I also had frozen milk so they got it until about 18 months. My first, my son, was a month early and just wouldn't latch. I really was more concerned about weight gain and just plain felt better being able to see what he was eating. I never minded pumping, I got in a rountine and it worked well. When my daughter was born, 18 months after son, he would pull my hair when I tried to fed her.:glare:

I decided that I would pump with her too! My husband was extremely involved and really enjoyed being able to help with feedings, diaper changes etc. He would even get up in the middle of night and help! :)

I will say though, that every single time I went to the doctor, they would question why I would pump and not put the kids to the breast! This was extremely frustrating because what I was doing worked for me. In my thinking, who cares if it is bottle or breast if they are getting the milk?

Ah well- I was so glad when they reached a year and could start having cow's milk- the doctors/nurses didn't bug me after that!

[elbac]

I need to call my mom, I'm all curious now! :tongue_smilie: I was born in '72. I know I was nursed until around a year and a half, because mom was a sahm up until that point, when she left my sperm donor to become a new divorcee. So I'm not sure how old I was when I was weaned. I don't ever recall her commenting that the general attitude was anti-bf. Maybe some of that was based upon geographic location?

 

I bf both our dc. Sooo much easier, especially those 2 am feedings. :D Neither of them would have anything to do with a bottle until between 4-6 months. It had to be one specific type, with a certain nipple. I lost count of how many different bottles with tried with ds before he took to one. Then I stuck with that same type for dd. Neither of them ever had any interest in pacifiers either - except to spit them out!

[Jennay]

I was bottle fed in the early 70s. I think I turned out fine :) but I am not close at all to my mom.

 

All 3 dc so far have been breastfed. #1 until 6 months and my milk supply drastically dropped due to being pg with his little brother. DS#2 self weaned at 15 months and DD is 7 months and still nursing.

[Joanne]

Sometimes it just means "she never made enough milk". That was my situation, even with breastfeeding instruction in the hospital, additional work with a private pay lactation consultant, a very supportive culture and pumping with the hospital grade "double moo machine". When 15 minutes of pumping both breasts with that yields a max of a quarter teaspoon and you've already had to take your 4 day old to the hospital for dehydration despite constant breastfeeding....... Never had any hint of engorgement either.

 

No, not every woman can breastfeed, even with the best will and support in the world. I am very, very grateful for formula, since it meant that my child lived, just as I am grateful for the large amount of medical intervention we had with the pregnancy and birth since it means we are both still around.

 

Ok. But I meant what I wrote. In the 60's when I was born and the 50's when my sisters were born, it meant she didn't have the info, support, culture and LC options available today.

 

"She didn't have enough milk" in my mom's case was not true.

 

And I've still seen breastfeeding success limited by residual bad info that lingers regarding breastfeeding. Certainly that does not mean every case of "not enough milk" is invalid or speaks to moms not actively seeking help.

 

The existence of actual issues of supply coupled with moms who tried everything does not negate the reality that breastfeeding info back in the day was wrong and that there are still issues in the medical/cultural community today that sabbotage establishing a breastfeeding relationship.

[Tammyla]

My mom followed the advice of her doctors with the first two and bottle fed us. My youngest sister was breastfed and I think that shaped many of my mothering ideas.:001_smile:

[Lisawa]

I was not.... I was a bottle baby in the 70s.

 

I did breast feed my 3 children. The last (the baby of the bunch) breast fed the longest. She was about 15/16 months old. When I started becoming a drive through for quick sips and she started pulling my shirts up in the store... we were done. *Ü* It was very hard for me. I love the quiet cuddle time.

[percytruffle]

How sad is this. I typed a response and spell-checked it and everything. I went back later to see if there were new responses to this thread and couldn't find mine. Apparently, I never actually posted it.

 

I am a bottle fed loser! :nopity:

 

I can start blaming everything on the fact that in 1962 my mom had me, under anesthesia which was the practice at the time so that I was born a little loopy, bottle fed me exclusively, smoked during pregnancy and all throughout my childhood, and fed me Peter Pan Peanut Butter with hydrogenated oils!

 

To think, I could have been a MENSA member, but no, I'm a silly art person instead! :D

[KarenNC]

The existence of actual issues of supply coupled with moms who tried everything does not negate the reality that breastfeeding info back in the day was wrong and that there are still issues in the medical/cultural community today that sabbotage establishing a breastfeeding relationship.

 

No, it doesn't, but neither does the fact that some doctors may not have provided adequate information in the past, etc negate the reality that not every woman is physically capable of nursing or able to do so without going to such extremes trying to do so that the trying becomes more of an obstacle to the welfare of the mother and child than the lack of breastfeeding. Note that word "sometimes" with which I started my post.

 

I was pointing out that when someone says that, it should not necessarily be assumed to be a code phrase for "uneducated", "doesn't love her child", "too lazy to try", "selfish", "more concerned about her social life", "oppressed by the medical/cultural community", etc. It may mean "I didn't have enough milk"---period.

 

To me, the biggest problem in in this issue is some folks on each side trying too hard to figure out what the other "really" meant rather than accepting what is said. It's the assumptions that get in the way of communication and understanding. Sometimes, as you said, the person means what they said and that's all.

 

It is just as possible to have a close, loving relationship with your child, as well as have a child who is healthy, doesn't turn out to be a sociopath and has an IQ greater than that of a turnip with or without breastfeeding, co-sleeping, attachment parenting, homeschooling, etc. There is no magic bullet or only one way.

[Crissy]

Honestly, I have come to the place where I don't care what you did or didn't do, as long as you did so informed.

 

The reason I was so zealous about breastfeeding was because NO ONE had told me anything about it.

 

No one told me, either, but at this point, how does it matter?

 

My boys are 9 and 14, neither have allergies or any other health problems (there's a poll for you: how many of your breastfed babies have food allergies?). The older son's IQ has been tested, and is...well, impressive. The younger son is just as bright, if not more so.

 

Besides those issues, my boys couldn't have felt any more loved and nurtured if I'd breastfed them. I wonder if some people assume that if a baby is bottle fed, they're probably alone with the bottle propped on a pillow.

That wasn't the case here. I held them close, stroked their chubby little cheeks, talked to them, etc.

Truth be told, whether no matter how they've been fed, which of our children even remember?

 

As I said, at this point, I don't think it matters.

[Jumping In Puddles]

OTH, I wasn't able to bf ds and it still bothers me to this day. I feel like I missed out on a bonding experience.

 

 

 

I use to think that too - until I had my dd when ds was 14 months old.

 

She was nursed and I can tell you honestly and 100% that I feel my bonding experience with my son was equal in every way to the bonding experience with my daughter.

 

I was upset, like I said in the other thread, and full of worry about my boy and his health and everything else but I needn't have worried. He is smart, wonderful, healthy, caring and I am so bonded to him that I look back now and wish I just went with the hand I was dealt.

 

Nursing is not the only way to bond with a child. Ask any dad. My husband wanted at least 6 kids when my son was an infant because he was so close to his little boy. Unfortunately for us that isn't going to happen but I refuse to live my life in "what-ifs".

[6packofun]

I was breastfed, but I did not breastfeed my children.

 

Yay to all the nursing moms and yay to all the bottle feeders! I am pro-FEEDING of children...woohoo!!

 

Seriously, I think it's great to breastfeed and it can be great if you can't or don't wanna. Don't care much as long as my kiddos are healthy and I'm lovingly raising them well. (And none of my 6 have ever had anything more serious than a cold/stomach bug and never even an ear infection.) :thumbup:

[Philothea]

I was nursed for the first year of my life, probably because we were poor. I was born in the 80's and my mother did not know anyone else who b/f. She was not the activist or stand apart from the crowd type, so it must have been very difficult for her.

 

My sister was nursed too and she is not very intelligent, but I think it has more to do with mom smoking during that pregnancy.

 

I'm glad that there is baby formula for all of the reasons women cannot nurse. However, I think it has to be one of the grossest substances on this earth, especially when it is spit back up.

 

I nursed both of my children until about a year. #3 will be nursed (and homeschooled as well).

[LizzyBee]

My mom said back then the only people who breastfed were hippies or poor people. So it definetely was something that wasn't generally encouraged.

 

The idea that bottle feeding was better than breastfeeding was not limited to people who weren't poor. I was born in an economically depressed area of the Appalachians where nearly everyone was poor. Yet, my mom was treated horribly by the hospital nurses because she 1) breastfed, 2) wanted her babies with her in the hospital room, 3) didn't want to stay in the hospital the recommended 2-4 weeks that was in vogue when my older sibs were born, and 4) refused sedation for childbirth. They thought she was a real whack job. :glare:

[CookieMonster]

As I said, at this point, I don't think it matters.

 

*deleted*

I realized, after answering, that I had misunderstood you. Valid question. I'll be back later when I have time.

[Amira]

My mother breastfed all five of us in the 60s and 70s for at least six months each, and often longer. But we're Mormon and that was (and still is) pretty typical for Mormons.

[dirty ethel rackham]

My mom was not big on nurture or demonstrative love. I think that breastfeedng and in seeking breastfeeding information might have helped her in that area.

 

I don't blame my mom. I blame the system: culture, government, the medical system, corporations. Ever read Milk, Money and Madness?

 

QUOTE]

 

I think my mother's relationships with her children might have been different had she breastfed. The prolactin and oxytocin may have mellowed her a little if she had been open to it. Most of my siblings and I just never felt mom ever tried to see things through the eyes of her children. We had to fit in with her plan, even if her plan developmentally unreasonable. How dare I mess up her life by being a bedwetter? How dare I be so imperfect as to be bullied at school?

 

I know that breasfeeding my children changed me in a fundamental way. It changed the way I interacted with them, it changed my expectations of my life, it changed the way I parented. I believe the hormonal cocktail of breastfeeding, combined with the parenting model of others who breastfed helped me see parenting in a whole new way.

 

I am not saying that those who used formula should be judged or that they are bad parents. I just know that for me, bf'ing made a big difference in my parenting and a bid difference in who my kids are today, especially my high need child with sensory issues. Maybe I just had further to go:001_smile:

 

Nor am I judging my mom. She did the best she could with what she had. I think that is the best all of us can do.

[momtolgd]

I was bottle fed. DH was bottle fed, his mom says she was told her milk was bad???? and couldn't breastfeed.

 

I breastfed ds #1 for 23 months, dd for 26 months, and ds #2 has been nursing for almost 18 months and still going strong (hoping he doesn't stop for a long while yet.) I practice child-led weaning and always feel sad when they wean.

[Wendi]

I have a few "strikes" against me: premature (and in the 60s, before a lot of the medical technology of recent years), bottle fed, and my parents smoked (including Mom during pregnancy).

 

Yet I am reasonably healthy and intellectually gifted. My brother as well (he wasn't preemie, though).

 

Wendi

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

According to Mom that was the way and there was not much support for breastfeeding.

[Qs3]

I was breastfed for a year. Dh was bottle fed.

 

I breastfed ds7 for 13 months, dd4 for 10 months, dd2 for only 5 months, while also supplimenting bottles of formula, because she wasn't growing very much.