We talked about women who breast feed in public, but what about breast feeding vs. bottle feeding? Where do you stand on that? My daughter wasn't breast fed, but when her mother and I were still together, she said that if we had another baby she'd try it. Never happened though. Where do you stand on this?

There are many reasons why it's beneficial, especially linked to the baby's health. If you check on line for "disadvantages of breastfeeding" it looks like all the reasons have to do with convenience or avoiding sore nipples. The Human race got all the way to the 20th century without baby formula.

When my twins were born they were breast fed for 10 months. Then they were weaned off of it to standard formula. It was really up to their mother....I let her decide how she wanted to handle that. I'm not a fan of breastfeeding, but it's the healthiest option so I couldn't argue against it.

It's beneficial for both baby and mother. Breastfeeding helps you drop the baby weight. I'll definitely breastfeed when I have kids.

Babies are born to be breast fed IMO and I really can't understand why a woman would give birth to an infant, see her breasts swell up with milk and then turn around and bottle feed.

Breat feeding is preferred, but sometimes it's not an option. When I was born, I lost almost a poud and the health nurse recommended formula, as for some reason I wasn't gianing weight. The ironic thing is that I'm the one with the stronger immune system, while my brother was the one who caught the colds and whatnot while we were growing up.

I think there are times when bottle feeding is good, but not always. SOmetimes it's nice for mommy to be able to sleep and for daddy to have a chance to feed the baby.

Breast milk is far superior, and is the way to go if it is right for the mother and child. A baby will be healthy on formula too, so it is not as if the breast is the only way to go.

TSJFan4Ever wrote:

Breat feeding is preferred, but sometimes it's not an option. When I was born, I lost almost a poud and the health nurse recommended formula, as for some reason I wasn't gianing weight. The ironic thing is that I'm the one with the stronger immune system, while my brother was the one who caught the colds and whatnot while we were growing up.

I think there are times when bottle feeding is good, but not always. SOmetimes it's nice for mommy to be able to sleep and for daddy to have a chance to feed the baby.

Right. Which is why I'm sort of partial to a baby being bottle and formula fed. How can anyone else feed them if all the know is their mothers breast, and what if she's one day unavailable for whatever reason. If women are going to breast feed then I think they should do it via a pump so that the baby can experience being fed manually.

I think whenever possible, though, breast feeding is the best option, but it's not always the best option for babies. It's nice to have the Dad included in feeding the baby, though.

Dad can still feed...most breast feeding moms pump extra, so there are bottles to be made.

Yeah - but I've also had friends who don't pump and don't want to. One of my friend's tried and found it really painful and another just had no interest. Others began supplementing with formula around 6 months and that's when the dads began feeding.

I'm not all that adamant on breastfeeding, but I would nurse my first baby for at least a little while just to experience what it is like.