Does EBF mean not eating food

[Penny4Them]

Does EBF mean BM only, or does EBF mean no formula? I'm confused as my DS is BF but now eating a little bit of table food: Does that mean he is no longer EBF?
Thanks for help!
Penny

[PatioGardener]

I think here on MDC it can mean both. When used medically or in research it means that baby is only getting breastmilk - no water, juice, formula, tea, food etc. Just mama milk and any needed medicines/vitamins.

[WindyCityMom]

I've been wondering this as well.. what about bottles? If you give your LO a bottle (of breastmilk), are you still EBFing? We don't use bottles and I have no objections to anyone that does, I'm just curious

[CherryBombMama]

i say my 10month old is EBF even though he eats a ton and has BM bottles.

when talking to someone i usually say, "yeah, is he EBF and he eats a *ton* of food too. he is such a hungry bubba!"

[ElliesMomma]

i don't know... to me exclusively breastfed, is just that... "exclusively" meaning *only* [ie, not as a "status symbol" to denote having no formula]. so, while my 5 month old has only fed at the breast, he is EBF. when i start him on solids (when? TBD)... he will no longer be only breastfed; he will also be eating solids. As he is currently EBF, i can look at him and say to myself that every bit of nutrition he has received to grow to where he is today, has come from me. [if he had had bottles of expressed breastmilk, i would still be able to say the same, so i would "count" pumping breastmilk in EBF.]

[EviesMom]

I have seen EBF used to mean "exclusive breastfeeding," which I believe means no bottles of pumped milk or food. That's a criteria for lactational amennorreah, or not ovulating due to exclusive breastfeeding. I know bottles of pumped milk can throw that off because of a change in timing.

I have also seen EBF used to mean "extended breastfeeding." Then it means nursing a child older than is typical in one's society. I usually see it meaning beyond 1 year.

[CherryBombMama]

i guess i was the odd one out =\

i tend to think people say EBF to point out that they dont supplement w/ formula cuz some parents do supplement. nothing bad about that ...

but i guess when youre talking medical-wise ... exclusively breast fed would probably mean no formula/no food.

so many ways to take it!

[Sk8ermaiden]

Yes, Exclusively means to the exclusion of everything else. So even when my baby was getting nothing but pumped milk, and later nursing and getting donor milk, I considered her EBF - as soon as we started food she was not anymore.

[texmati]

In my mind it's to mean nothing but breastmilk for food in his tummy.

This comes up every now and then, and someone posted a good definition they had found somewhere... llli maybe? Something about having only breastmilk for a certain time period.

[ein328]

llli says, "Exclusive breastfeeding is defined as feeding an infant only breast milk, in contrast to mixed breastfeeding, defined as the feeding of breast milk along with complementary foods, other milks, and/or infant formula."

[noobmom]

Usually I take it in context...when someone is talking about a young baby, I assume BF only. When they're talking about a 1 year old, I assume it means BF + solids. However, I know that often people mean BF only. It's a little odd to me, kinda like the definition of weaning. I know weaning starts whenever you introduce solids, but to me, I'm not really weaning until I actively try to get the baby to cut out feedings.

[Carhootel]

I always took EBF to mean no formula and not no solids