If you WEREN'T breastfed... - Page 2

[onlyboys]

My husband was not breastfed for even a second and was put on fat-free evaporated milk at 4 months.

While he survived, he does have weight issues, major issues with ezcema, dermatitis, chronic ear infections, and he's at a msjor risk of type 2-diabetes. He also has high blood pressure, high triglycerides, etc. He simply craves saturated fats. (He's gotten better, but is still on his BP meds.)

All this and he's only 29. :

I wish he had been nursed.

[Camellia]

i wasn't bfed and i had strep throat very often as a child and then chronic brinchitis as a teenager. i have seasonal allergies during spring and summer. i remember missing big chunks of school and feeling hopelessly behind when i returned.

my mom wanted SO badly to nurse all us kids. she had no support unfotunately and gave up after a couple days of us screaming in hunger and not latching.

We were also shoved into independance very early and finally, at 27 years old i feel like i can stand on my own two feet

my ds was nursed for 14 months (wish now i had bfed him longer). my dd is nursing currently (7 wks old) and i will let her wean when she is ready. my son already has allergies, although his bio - father is allergic to his own skin, lol. i hope his being bfed will help his allergies not be as bad as they could have been.

[TiredX2]

I have horrid allergy problems. They are under control most of the time, but as soon as I have problems, I'm a mess.

DD was nursed over 4 years and now at 5 she is showing the same symptoms that began for me at 3. (This is actually her second year of allergy problems). It is really discouraging for me. I feel very guilty about it, but with two parents with allergies (DH was nursed for 15 months, btw) she's pretty stuck. Hopefully DS will avoid them (I guess we'll start finding out next summer or the one following ).

[jayayenay]

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[Bethla]

Neither my hubby nor I were breastfed. He has allergies to just about everything and skin problems too. I nursed all three of our kids. I large part of chronic conditions are due to a mother's nutrition during pregnancy and of course whether or not a baby is breastfed. It's amazing any of us turn out normal!

[Kari_mom]

I was not breastfed and I was raised in a house of heavy smokers. I give primary credit to the secondhand smoke for my chronic colds and sore throats as a child, but being breastfed would have helped.

As an adult, I had major reconstructive jaw surgery to repair a high palate coupled with lots of orthodontic work. I think that bottle feeding and thumbsucking made my jaw problems worse, as my palate did not expand properly. My chronic sore throats were probably due to inflamed tonsils and adenoids, which blocked nasal passages and turned me into a mouth breather, also keeping my upper palate from expanding as nature intended.

This is really one of my motivations for breastfeeding my kids 3+ years. That and it is easier than weaning!

[nancg]

I was nursed, but my sister, born in 1959, was not. My mom believes at least some of her health problems are a result...

Mom asked about nursing, but doctors discouraged her, saying "Why would you want to do THAT?" My sister was allergic to dairy formula. It took mom and dad 6 months to figure it out, in the meantime my sister was extremely colicky (I think at first they thought it was "just" colic) and apparently cried a LOT. Then they finally switched her to soy formula, and she did better (though mom wonders about the soy formula, after reading last month's Mothering).

Anyway, my sister is schizophrenic. My mom and I have both read articles saying that early childhood trauma (such as unresolved colic) and hours of crying can reduce a person's ability to deal with stress. Therefore, even though we'll never know - mom has always wished that she had nursed my sister.

I have a friend with Crohn's disease who was adopted (and not nursed); she is definitely nursing her son, in hopes of preventing this illness for him.

Nancy

[yeah yeah yeah]

I was nursed for 1 week, "because that's all they need, really, and it's icky."

Same with my sister. We both had chronic ear infections, bronchitis, the works.

My little brother was nursed for about a month. He didn't have the allergies. Now mom's convinced that she should have nursed us girls for 3 more weeks.

But, she had the nerve to tell my sis that six months was "too old" for my nephew to nurse.

Some folks just don't learn.

[zealsmom]

Yes, I do. My mom has apologized for my health problems many times and wishes she had nursed me. Both my siblings were breastfed and are very healthy. I spent much of my childhood VERY sick. Just getting it all worked out now that I am 30.

[zealsmom]

oh yeah, and I was allergic to everything under the sun as a child. You name it, I was allergic to it. The list was literally 3 pages long (typed) of things I was found to be allergic to.

[Evergreen]

I was weaned to formula at 3 months. I blame my childhood health problems on it (a few bouts with pneumonia and I had chicken pox twice) as well as my adult allergies. My family is an extremely allergic one here is how it breaks down (though it could be coincedence)

Me- breastfed 3 mos, a very sickly child, allergic to everything and a picky eater

Brother- breastfed 15 mos, healthy child, only allergic to neomyocin, will eat anything

Sister #1- breastfed 5 months, healthy child, allergic to mites, pollen and animal dander, will only eat bland startchy foods even at age 14

Sister #2- breastfed 7 months, healthy child, allergic to pineapples and animal dander, not a picky eater