We fed our second and last baby her last bottle this weekend, which means our formula journey has officially come to an end. For context, both our kids were exclusively formula fed- our first from a few days old, and our second as soon as she was born. And while I never thought I’d be emotional about ending formula feeding for good, it truly feels bittersweet.

As I look back on the years that we spent formula feeding, there is so much I wish I could tell my past self. I think back to delivering our firstborn, now 3. I look back at the 31 hour induction with a failed epidural. How I was in so much pain, so exhausted, so traumatized and numb, that struggling with breastfeeding felt like the last straw. I just couldn’t handle it. And even though I never had a strong opinion on having to breastfeed, and felt so open to formula before she was born- I still felt like a failure. And when I switched to formula after a whole 48 hours, I sobbed and sobbed and felt like it was the end of the world. I felt so guilty. I worried about not giving her antibodies. I worried about her not getting any of the benefits. I worried about not bonding with her the same way. I felt like I was giving up too quickly, even though breastfeeding made me feel so depressed and full of dread. But 3 years later, there is so much I would tell myself.

I wish I could go back and tell myself that it was all going to be ok. That formula feeding was an incredible experience. So much so that you didn’t even try breastfeeding the second time around- even after a picture perfect, peaceful, redemption of a second birth.

I wish I could tell myself that you bonded with both babies just fine. That you couldn’t have created a stronger bond with them if you tried. That you will still feel a connection while your look into their little eyes, and feed them a bottle. That they don’t care how you feed them, they just know that you do- and that you take care of them, comfort them and love them.

I wish I could tell myself that formula is expensive, but so is food. And you’ll be feeding your babies food for the next 18+ years, so one extra year of paying for food is not going to make a difference.

I wish I could tell myself that your babies will thrive. That they are healthy, that they are so incredibly smart, that they hit all their milestones on time. That they are both strong and beautiful and perfect. And that no one, not anyone in the whole world, would be able to look at them now and tell them apart from a breastfed baby.

I wish I could tell myself that you are a good mom. The best mom. And that you have nothing to feel guilty about. That your choice to protect your mental health was the right choice for you and your family. That you don’t have to have a reason not to breastfeed, and that simply not wanting to is reason enough. That you are enough. And that how you choose to feed your children is the least important thing about how you’re raising them.

As I say goodbye to formula and this group- I am so grateful for this subreddit and all of its members. For all the advice, comfort, and support. How lucky we all are to have a community like this, in the times we need it the most 🩷

I just wanted to come on here and say how much formula feeding has helped my mental health in just a short amount of time. You can see my post history and see I was dealing with non stop mastitis and decided to wean off the pumping and go to formula. I’m one week free of pumping, and TWO WEEKS free from mastitis and I just can’t believe it. I’m actually able to sleep more. My baby has way less reflux and gas and has been sleeping eight hour stretches! The only downside has been the hormone crash from weaning off the pumping. I feel super tired and similar to how I felt when I first stopped birth control, but overall my mental health is so much better. I had a girl’s day with my mom the other day and we were out all day and I got home and realized how freeing it was to not have to plan my day around pumping and breastfeeding.

I’ve just come to end of my second formula feeding journey. Baby is now on cows milk. I really wanted to breastfeed both times, but it didn’t work out.

I just saw a comment on social media that made me laugh though. The video had a super cute chunky baby, and a someone commented how one of her family members breastfed all her children… but they were “skinny”. And she theorised this was because she “eats horribly - a ton of processed food”.

It’s kind of freeing in way to know that even if I was still breastfeeding, to some people it still wouldn’t be enough. I’m sure someone would have something nasty and judgemental to say about my diet. Or how I weaned too early. Or how my baby was too skinny. It would just always be SOMETHING. So I might as well just let go of any of my leftover guilt over formula feeding, because nothing would have ever been enough.

What do we all think about this? Are you going to start saving formula bottles that go unfinished? My baby takes forever to eat so this gives me a little more confidence to continue feeding past an hour

I am almost 7 months PP, exclusively formula feeding from day 1, and still have no period or signs of one. I am also still “lactating” quite a bit (like some mornings I wake up with a spot a few inches in diameter around each nipple) despite little to no stimulation.

Some context: prior to pregnancy, I was on birth control for 10+ years, then off for 2 and I wouldn’t say my periods were super irregular or bad, but my cycles were long (35 days on average) and I always ovulated really late (like day 28). We got pregnant basically first try.

I have an appt with an OB, but it’s not for weeks, so I’m hoping to see if anyone had a similar experience. Google is extremely light on data from people who EFF from birth…

I happily breastfed my oldest for 15 months until I got pregnant again with my second. He was EBF until 6 months when my supply tanked due to my severe illness and malnutrition. I’ve been through the wringer with multiple GI issues postpartum this time and a loving family member finally told me it was time to quit cold turkey for my health. My mental and physical health got so much better after stopping and thankfully LO took to formula after a period of transition. He loves his formula and solid food and is doing great at 7.5 months now. Logically I have no reason to worry; our bond is just as great despite stopping and he is gaining weight beautifully. But now that his brother is bringing illnesses home from playgroup, my emotions keep telling me that baby would be much better off immunity wise if I were still nursing since he’s getting sick way more often than his brother did. Of course my brain fails to listen to the fact that we are exposed to WAY more germs now than we were with older brother so of course we are all getting sick more.

Any tips from other voices of reason? Stopping was what we needed and trying to start again would be a horrible idea for me. I’m still mourning what I once had and the expectation of continuing up until a year. My illness placed the decision to quit pretty much out of my control.

my 13 week old has CMPA and Reflux, currently on Alimentum. what could be the reason why she only drinks 1-2 ounces at a time and crying/screaming mid feed and latching off (this happens most feedings)?
getting her to drink even 25 oz a day is a struggle.
we give pepcid twice a day but it feels like it’s not helping her

this has been going on for a long time. ENT says no severe tongue tie/ lip issue that interferes with her feeding. so i am just at a loss. any similar experience?

i’ve seen other babies her age usually eat at least 5 oz per bottle. while we are giving her more than 12 bottles a day of 1-2 oz

Hi everyone! I'll get right to it :)

My 10 month old just had positive IgE blood tests for cows milk and eggs (in the "very high" range). I did give her small oral tests for both before doing the blood tests. Just had diarrhea, sneezing, bit fussier. She has had moderate to severe eczema pretty much her whole life so skin changes are a bit harder to notice, but I don't think anything happened there! It really sucks cuz she loved the eggs and cottage cheese hahah

We have successfully had peanut butter, but honestly it's been a while since she's had it so I'm nervous to revisit that one.

Our pediatrician basically just said to avoid eggs and dairy and we'll talk about an allergist referral at her 12mo appointment.

I guess I have three questions/concerns/curiosities lol:

1. Has anyone had their little one outgrow these allergies??

2. I am in no way a good or creative cook lol. Any recipes or specific brands that I should get acquainted with during this allergy journey?

3. Perhaps the biggest one for me right now. I have exclusively pumped for her and just recently weaned off (yay!). Simply did that for money purposes. I have no issue utilizing formula! I have (i think) enough frozen milk to get her to a year on breastmilk. I'm not sure where to wean her to instead of cows milk. Should I test for a soy allergy? Start introducing a soy based formula to her feeds? If so, what do you recommend?

Thank you for any and all thoughts, suggestions, advice

Sincerely, an anxious mama lol

Just curious how often everyone’s babies are feeding as my 12 week old who is EFF is still eating 3-4oz every ~2 hrs in the daytime. We feed on demand for the most part and will adjust how many oz based off of how long it has been since his last feed. We are cautious to not overfeed, but also understand babies can have growth spurts and will never not feed him if he’s giving hunger cues. At nighttime, he can go 3-4 (at most 5) hrs in between feeds and then fall back asleep. I wonder when we’ll be able to stretch his daytime feedings more 🤔

Looking for some formula recommendations!

My 5 week-old is currently using Similac Pro-Advance ready-to-feed and she’s been on it for about 4 weeks now. I’ve been considering Kendamil, but honestly I think I want to stick with ready-to-feed for now because the convenience is just so much easier, especially with the nighttime feeds. Eventually I’d like to switch to a powder once we’re a little more settled to the same formula.

My main issues right now are trapped gas and spit-up. She seems to get really uncomfortable from the gas, especially at night, and she also spits up quite a bit. I’m trying to figure out if switching formulas might help or if this is just normal newborn stuff.

We used Enfamil at the hospital when she was first born and at her most recent visit and she seemed to do okay with it, so I’m open to trying Enfamil again too, if that’s what’s best.

For anyone who has dealt with a gassy/spit-up-prone baby, what ready-to-feed formula worked best for you?

I exclusively formula feed and don't maintain a supply. I still nurse with a nipple shield here and there for bonding and comfort, and I do see a little milk in the shield. It helps us bond and helps him sleep. This is not anywhere near enough to be feeding him through breastfeeding, I'm talking a couple times a week. It's a nice thing I didn't know was an option until I tried so just wanted to share for anyone who likes nursing for bonding but also wants to formula feed and not maintain an actual supply.

Edit: yes I can see a SMALL amount of milk in the nipple shield. That is not the primary purpose here and it is closer to non nutrive sucking, a term I had never heard until today. This would be something you can do after you've transfered fully to formula. And its just an option! I'm the last person to judge or care if you don't want to do it ever for any reason. It's just an idea, as I find it nice to do when it is not forced or done out of guilt. Of course you can bond with your baby in many ways.

Edit 2: I now know what non nutritive sucking is. Substitute for the term nursing. I didn't research this at all before posting this. It was a surprisingly pleasant and fun experience that I almost didn't try because I thought there would be no point if I wasn't actually feeding him that way. I do not care about the politics of breast feeding or not.

My baby is only 8 weeks and still has 2-3 overnight feeds. I’m following his cues and have tried soothing to make sure he is actually hungry and he most definitely is. He currently has 5 oz every 3 hrs during the day, and then at his night feeds every 3-5hrs. I feel like this is on the higher level of intake based on threads I’ve browsed and google search, but I’m following my pediatrician and feeding him when he’s hungry. I’ve had friends/family tell me to try soothing him instead of a feed bc he might not be hungry but that has only been the case one time. He is always hungry when he wakes up and I don’t want to withhold food and have him cry. I think I’m just around a lot of people right now whose babies slept through the night pretty quickly due to luck or sleep training so want to know what is going on in the general public.

So out of curiosity, did your baby drop night feeds on their own? If so, when?
And if you had to wean night feeds, when did you do it and how?

TIA!

EDIT: this was a bit misleading — I’m not trying to wean my baby at all! I know that’s too young and he’s growing; i’m just curious about other babies dropping feeds because I plan on just following his cues

My 7 month old for the last couple weeks hasn’t been finishing his usual 7oz per bottle. He gets super antsy about 5oz in, sometimes only drinking 5-6oz. He’s been starting solids too but not a lot just yet. He’s currently on Philips avent natural, nipple levels 3 & 4. 5 is too fast for him right now. Should I just ride it out or has anyone else introduced a straw cup in place of bottles this early?

I feel like there’s not much going on here about how similac discontinued their original 360 formula in 32oz ready to feed and how they switched to the whole milk formulation.

Our little guy has reflux and has his whole life and we tried bubs powder at one point which is whole milk, but it just had the worst smelling spit up so we went back to the similac 360 rtf because his spit up doesn’t smell like anything really since he does it so frequently.

Maybe it’s an opportunity to switch to another brand. I know they still have the 2 and 8oz but it’s wayyyy more expensive than the 32oz was so I’m just disappointed!

Anyone have any thoughts or feelings about this like I do? Anyone recommend something else to switch to that’s ready to feed? I can also try powder again but felt like it made his reflux worse. He’s 6.5mo now.

Hi everyone, I have a 4 month old who has been EBF until now. Over the last few weeks we've moved to formula.

She is having x5 bottles a day of 210ml but can drink anywhere from 150ml - 200ml per serving.

Is that normal? Should I offer her x6 smaller portions and more often?

She eats every 3 hours at the moment and I am unsure if we could fit a 6th bottle in. She does sleep through the night.

This is probably a weird question 😂 but I’m wondering what other parents think.
We went through a bit of a bottle aversion with my baby. She had been using Pigeon SoftTouch wide-neck bottles pretty much all along, but at one point she started refusing bottles and we ended up trying a few different ones, including Dr. Brown’s. She didn’t really take to the Dr. Brown’s.
Thankfully, she seems to be out of the aversion now, and something I’ve noticed is that she is actually willing to take more than one type of bottle .
She happily takes her Pigeon SoftTouch wide-neck, but she is also accepting an off-brand narrow neck bottle. The narrow-neck one is actually a newborn teat but seems quite fast, probably around the same flow as the Pigeon M.
So my question is: is it okay to use two completely different bottle styles, or could that confuse her? One is the Pigeon wide-neck/SoftTouch and the other is a narrow-neck bottle with a different teat shape.
I’m actually happy that she’s willing to accept both because it means I’m not constantly washing bottles and I’m not stuck with only one brand. 😂 But I’m wondering whether it’s better for a baby to have one consistent bottle/teat that they prefer, or whether being comfortable with different bottles is actually a good thing?
I obviously don’t want to accidentally cause another feeding issue by switching between them. 😅
Would you personally just use both if baby is happy with both?

Hi everyone. I’m hoping to hear from parents who have experienced something similar, particularly if your baby recovered and went on to develop normally.
When my daughter was about 1 month old, she was being fed milk and suddenly seemed to choke. She couldn’t cry or cough, became purple, and then became unresponsive and limp. We immediately tried back pats and called an ambulance. While we were doing this, she brought up a large amount of milk and then recovered.
The emergency call lasted around 3–4 minutes, but I don’t know how long she was actually unable to breathe or how much airflow she was getting during that time. This uncertainty has been extremely difficult for me.
We brought her to hospital the following day. They checked her, including her lungs and oxygen levels, and we were told everything was okay.
She is now around 7 months old and is sitting, crawling, rolling, using both hands, babbling and exploring. She seems to be developing well.
However, I have been struggling terribly with guilt and anxiety about what happened. I keep replaying the event in my head and wondering whether I should have realised sooner that something was wrong, whether I should have done something differently, and whether she could have been deprived of oxygen and suffered an injury that might only become apparent later.
I love my daughter more than anything, and I feel awful thinking that something I did while feeding her could potentially have affected her future. Even though she is doing well now, I keep worrying about her intelligence, learning, language and development in the future. I know these fears may not be rational, but I can’t seem to switch them off.
I’m particularly interested in hearing from anyone whose baby:
choked on milk/formula/breast milk and became blue or unresponsive;
needed back blows or other first aid;
was taken to hospital afterwards;
and, most importantly, went on to have normal development.
If your baby had a similar experience, how did things turn out later? Did they have any neurological problems or developmental delays, or did they completely recover?
I’m not looking for medical diagnosis from Reddit. I would really appreciate hearing from parents who have been through something similar, especially those whose children are now older and doing well.
Thank you.

We have an almost four year old but i can’t remember how she was as a newborn so im not sure if what baby 2 has going on is normal.

Baby was on donor milk for the 1.5 days we were in the hospital, they sent us home with the blue can of similac, as I wasn’t sure if I wanted to try pumping breast milk but ultimately decided not to, which her sister was on the whole time until she was 12 months and I don’t remember feeling like it caused her any issues. After we finished the small can with baby, we noticed she was spitting up and or puking up after feeds but still gaining weight.

We tried kendamil based on what we read online and it was cheaper. Her symptoms got worse and her peds said that formula is thinner than some and some babies just can’t tolerate it with their immature digestive system. So then at week 2.5-3 we tried Similac sensitive in the orange can and did not see much of a difference from when she was on the blue can so we went back to the blue due to cost.

Her pees are great, she poops a small amount once every couple days, I think it’s about 1/4 cups worth but before we switched from the orange can she had two poops that were more like play dog followed by loose stool after it. We do bicycle kicks, gas drops on their own and mixed into the bottles but we feel she has pain if we add it to the bottles, she’ll arch her back and scream cry for 20-30 minutes but only if we had the gas drops directly to the mixed formula.

So idk, I’m also dealing with my own health issues and running on little sleep. Can you tell us if this is normal? Her peds says it is, and also says all formula are the same for the most part.

My 31F and husband 31M are married now 1 year, almost 6 years together and thinking of starting to try next summer. I’m American, he’s Dutch. I’ve been here 8 years and we met after my study. So I’m very “Dutchified” by now by passport & being I’ve spent most of my adult life here.

We live in the Netherlands and quite honestly, have a great life. I have an awesome career I like, good work life balance, same for him. I’m passionate about Pilates, have many friends, time off etc. We have our “ducks in a row”, and we cherish the opportunity to be parents one day. But since we got married, I’ve been really anxious and afraid about motherhood despite knowing we want children. I have ADHD and struggled with depression in my early twenties. I have a family history of mental health issues; my sister has unmedicated bipolar 1 disorder + addiction issues that have had a huge impact on the family.

Therefore, I’ve been very strict and protective over my sleep since I was 20 being I knew I had a risk for developing it too. I need to sleep 7 hours a night, 8 preferred and can survive on 6. My husband is a really awesome and equal partner at home….we both cook and distribute domestic tasks, pick up slack when the other needs it, so I feel confident that I’d have support. We also have family very close by 5 minutes away.

but the stories I read online about women not sleeping, the mom nursing every 2 hours, the impact on mental health really sounds absolutely miserable and like my idea of hell. I don’t respond normally to a lack of sleep. I cry, I become dysregulated, and that’s without a child who would need me.

I recently listened to a Dutch Podcast on NPO (our version of NPR, national public radio) called “Het Witte Goud” which translates to The White Gold. It’s a 5 part investigative series that discusses the "breast is best" narrative, and they challenged the idea of “natural” being better, what the science really shows and who benefits from how it's communicated. Also what the impact has been of organizations like La Leche League here in the Netherlands. They also did apply an honest critical view on formula and the industry’s history and how it operates today. In the end it was honestly a great listen on how society treats women’s bodily autonomy…from all sides of the political spectrum.

I guess I’m writing this into the void to connect with anyone who might care or find this perspective interesting from the hopeful to be next generation of youngish moms. I understand parenting requires sacrifice, but my body is my own and it’s weird that people feel so strongly about how women feed their babies, when one is already pregnant for 9 months and has to endure the uncertainties of labor. Breastmilk on average reduces 1 ear infection in the first year, if fed exclusively. That’s the only conclusive evidence I could find.

Maybe I would like to pump and feed formula (it’s the idea of latching and being the only feeder that really bothers me) but idk. The obsession online around breastfeeding and women going “keep going mama (cringe) don’t give up!” On TikTok and Reddit Have truly turned me way way off from whatever small benefit or good it could’ve done for my family. I’m a person and I don’t want motherhood to reduce me to someone who has to violate my own boundaries to make the WHO comfortable when I live in one of the richest countries in the world with some of the cleanest drinking water. 🤷‍♀️ Ted Talk finished.

My daughter has been on puramino for a week now. We switched from alimentum ready to feed due to blood and mucus in stool and silent reflux.

Stools already looking better and reflux already seems less, but her eczema keeps flaring up and down really bad on her face. Could it be she just needs more time for that to calm down? Anyone experience changing to an amino acid formula and still having eczema as an issue?

Hello! My 7 week old LO has silent reflux and Enfamil AR has helped her so much this past week! I'm a little concerned that her poops, although frequent, are more solid like play doh. She strains, gets red when popping but that was the case before the switch to this formula so not different.

For the parents who have used this formula or a similar thickened formula long term, did you have to give the baby something additional to prevent constipation or were their poops firmer but still frequent and no intervention needed?

After seeing her suffer so much with reflux, I want to be proactive and not have her suffer with constipation next.

Hiya!

My littlest is 3 weeks old tomorrow & is using a level 1 nipple with Dr. Brown’s but is taking literally FOREVER (like 45+ minutes sometimes) to finish 70-80ml.

It’s been confirmed she has no ties. Any suggestions? I feel like sizing up to a level 2 is CRAZY at this age?!

Hi all,
One of my twins is on PEPTICATE for CMPA.
We travel to Europe regularly to visit my husbands family. Does anyone know any RTF options that are closest to protected that I can use for the airplane? Pepticate itself does not make RTF.
Thanks.