For all the mothers who formula feeds there babies,What would u say when..?

Question

Hey to all the sweet mommies out there,i'm a mother of one of h**l of a cute baby beautiful gurl ,she is 5 month old and i formula feed her since she was 2 weeks old,i couldn't breastfeed her cuz she had to go under phototherpy in the hospital for jaundice and she was formula fed there( i couldn't breastfeed her there) cuz i had a sick husband then and i had to take care of him,anyway when she came back she refuse my breast and i tried to give it back to her for 2 weeks but she didn't want it and she was dropping weight so i had to go for formula

anyway my question is what do u say when some one (rude) asks u .WHY THE h**l DO U FORMUAL FEED UR BABY and calls u a bad mother who don't care much for ur kid ,i have this situation a lot ,and i don't know how to answer them back,those ppl get me really down and even makes me cry,i know breastmilk is the best for ur babies but wt if u had to formula feed..i'm a not a bad momma and i know that ,but how can i answer them back??? thanks :)

Answer 1

Tell them to mind there own business what the h**l is it to do with them not all women are able to breastfeed evan if they desperately want to I breastfed my daughter but was not able to do it with my son and I was gutted but at the end of the day he is healthy tell them to keep there opinions to there self and carry on being a good mum to h**l with them.

Answer 2

I tell them exactly why and the whole long story.  They sit there for 3 min listening and by the end they are like why did I even ask that question.  They usually don't know what to say after all that!

Answer 3

I wasn't able to breastfeed my daughter either. Whether a baby is bottle or breastfed is no one's business but yours.

I've found that when I doubt my own decisions, other people seem to sense it and are quick to criticise, but when I'm confident in my parenting, others seem to respect my choices.

Be confident and know that you are doing what is best for your child. What anyone else thinks is totally irrelevant.  

Answer 4

i would ask them if they are a mother cause if they arent then i would tell them to keep there opinions to themselves and until you have kids of your own and experience what ive been through then you have no right to question me on how to raise my girl  

if they were a mother then i would tell them my little one was jaundice and she couldnt be breast fed as she was put under phototherapy and because of that they cant come out of it to brest feed and then when she was ready she didnt want the breast and started dropping weight because of that

my little girl was jaundice also and had to spend 2 days under the lights i dont know where you are but i was able to bring her out and feed for a short time but i had to pump my milk and give it to her in a bottle and then top up with formula shes a big bub (11lb)and at the end of the day i just wasnt producing enough for her so from i think 1 month old we went onto the formula

i myself havent been verbally abused about this but you dont have to be ,as just the other day i was asked if she was breast or bottle fed and i said bottle and they went oh ok but then i was asked again (by another person) and they said they said wow thats great well done

you could just tell everyone thats she is breast fed as your the only person whos gunna know,but why should you

just keep your head up at least we can say we tried

  

Answer 5

Hi love

It's nobody else's business how you choose to feed your child. You do not have to justify your choice to anybody.

I formula fed my little boy from four months because I was returning to work and this was the best option for me. My son is now 15 months and a healthy, happy little fella. I was also bottle fed formula from birth and I am perfectly okay as well.

We know breast is best for babies. But in countries with a clean water supply and access to a range of fresh and healthy foods, women can actually have a choice.

I know it's hard sweet, but it's a case of your damned if you do and damned if you don't. I got equal amounts of disgusted looks when I breast and bottle fed my bub in public.

Try to ignore the mad Lactivists as best you can..... This will all be over soon as babies go on full cream milk at 12 months.

Answer 6

I don't answer people who are ignorant and self absorbed.

I don't need to justify myself to them, I am a fantastic mum - Ask my kids.

I don't even give reasons to why I stopped breast feeding my children. It's got nothing to do with Strangers, and to be honest nothing to do with my extended family. That's between myself, Husband & Doctor - that's it.

Don't let them get you down. Pity their Ignorance instead.

Answer 7

i would chose to ignore them.

i got abused because i chose to bf my son till he was 3.5.

it seems like no matter what you do, someone will point out the negative side of it.

just stick to your guns and continue to raise ur child.

Answer 8

I have had 4 children and have formula feed all of them simply out of choice. All of my family and friends have breastfed and I know how judgemental they can be but whenever they say anything all I would do is smile and ask them hows your baby been sleeping and generally that would shut them up; because formula feed babies generally sleep far better then breast fed babies. Your not a bad mother and you have every right to feed your baby which ever way suits you. Formula is perfectly fine for babies and all my children are healthy with very high IQ. On the other hand I have several nieces and nephews who were exclusively breastfed that are obese; have asthma and eczema and allergies something none of my 4 children have ever had an issue with.

Answer 9

I had a similar situation with my now 2 month old.

At first he wouldn't latch on so was given bottles in the hospital while I pumped milk.

I just say to people that it unfortunately didn't work out as I had hoped with the breastfeeding, and that usually shuts people up.

Answer 10

Try humor. I had BF my last child  for the first 5 days, then I went into heart failure and could not continue BF because of the meds. I would get the same stuff which I found hilarious because I had BF the other 6 before him! I started telling people my milk never came in because of all the crack I smoked. Its worth it just to see the looks on their faces. If its family, tell them because it was the best choice for the baby and why would would you want anything other than the best! Enjoy her! She'll be so grown before you even realize how much time has passed!

Answer 11

Just laugh at them.  Say something like "there's no milk in these suckers - the silicon ate it all".  That should shut them up!

Answer 12

I ignore them.

I formula fed my first daughter because she was chewing on me and I couldn't get the hang of it and didn't have anyone to help me and while my fiance encouraged me he knew it was painful and did the best he could to help and the other person I thought I could turn to for help (my mom) was saying to give up.  I also didn't have any access too LLL (who could have helped you with your baby at 2 weeks, any baby can learn to breastfeed again, just takes time, but formula is still okay).

Now here with my second I was more determined to do breastfeeding because I didn't have WIC to buy the formula and couldn't afford formula.  This time my nipple bled and cracked but I kept with it and finally got it.  I get c**p from a few people, like how long do you plan on breastfeeding.  Don't you want your life back?  Along with dirty looks from other people (like at the children's museum while my three year old was playing in the water I just covered myself up because Gabby was hungry, other moms were giving me dirty looks, it was actually a DAD who saw them and saw I didn't feel so good and was about to just unlatch her and forget about it and try to get her to take a paci for a little bit more who leaned over and said just ignore them that his wife went thought the same thing) or even my mom who EVERYTIME I go to her house gets mad because I didn't PACK A BOTTLE (HOW MANY TIMES do I have to SAY she DOESN'T GET A BOTTLE WHEN I AM AROUND??????)!!!!

Believe me you are damned if you do and damned if you don't!!!!

Answer 13

Hon, you're gonna have to learn to ignore them. The Breast Is Best Brigade is everywhere and hey, that's fine, but why many of them seem to think they have the right to comment on, criticize and look down upon other people's choices is beyond me.

If you let it get you down, you'll drive yourself nuts.  You have to learn to ignore them. When they ask why you are formula feeding your baby and call you a bad mother you need to learn to walk away without answering. If it's family or close friends whose opinions you care about, then you need to sit down with them and have a serious heart to heart talk and explain to them why you are formula feeding and tell them that you are hurt by the things they say.  

Answer 14

They don't deserve an answer from you. I hate that some people think anything other than breastmilk is like a poison to your child. If it were such a bad thing then it wouldn't be available to mothers. I didn't breastfeed and I don't see the need to explain my reasoning to people. He's my child and I make the decisions for him. Don't let those kind of people get you down. You tried and that's all you can say on the matter. But I wouldn't even tell them that. You can be polite, but just tell them " I feed her formula because that's the way it is".  

Answer 15

i could give you a list of what to say, but as i know only too well, when you are actually confronted by the situation, you are just so gobsmacked that you cant think of anything!

just be confident in yourself. you know you are a good mum and that is the main thing!  

Answer 16

If you must answer, think of a short sentence to summarize your reason for not breastfeeding. i.e.

"I had to have therapy shortly after my baby was born, was unable to breastfeed, when I was ready to begin again, she refused."

People should mind their own business, but they aren't going to.  It is unfortunate, but true.  Stick to your guns on whatever you decide to do with your little girl and she will love you for it.  Isn't that what matters?

Congratulations on your new little one.