Were you BF or FF? Explain please too... - Page 3

[Smithie]

I was also born in 1977, and we were soooooo poor that nutrition was a concern, so I was breastfed for over two years. I don't think my mom really wanted to go that long though, she weaned my little brother (born ten years later) when he was around one, with mimimal protest from him as he was already deep into his lifelong love affair with solid food

I do not have the allergies that both my mom and my brother have, but I think that's coincidence.

[Starflower]

I was born in 1970 and my mom had a terrible doctor. Mom really wanted to breastfeed and when she asked him about it, he deliberately steered her into the dark. He actually told her that it all just comes naturally and advised not to worry about it or waste any time reading about it.

Unfortunately, she was gullible and mousy then - and was not able to BF me without me falling asleep. Therefore she wasn't able to establish her milk supply. She felt very disappointed. (This is the doc that knocked her out for my birth against her wishes and was infamous for using forceps all the time. Luckily for me, I came too fast for his props at least.)

I imagine I was "on time" for solids and all that stuff according to the medical people at the time. I was fairly sick on and off during childhood, but a lot of that ended up being due to anxiety issues & depression and living with an alcholic father.

Mom was afraid to even try to breastfeed with my younger brother because of her failed experience from before with me, even though she said she had a ton of milk and now regrets not trying.

And here's something really scary - my brother was born with a double hernia which required surgery to fix. He cried all the time because he was in pain! The docs and nurses didn't know what was wrong with him so they assumed he was hungry and fed him cereal when he was just a few days old. No one asked my mom about this either. They just did it.

My brother has had numerous health problems, both physical and psychiatric. He is obese and was recently diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 32. While I am sure everything is very complicated, my parents are sure that the hospital people feeding him solids so early added to his weight problem.

So I knew mom would be cool about me BF'ing. But I was amazed that my dad was my biggest BF advocate. I hadn't realized that my mom was so disappointed about her experience before I started nursing. I think she may have even written a letter to the editor in response to something she'd read in the paper that was negative about BF'ing back in the early '70s. (This would've been a very bold step for her. Way to go, Mom!)

I think if Mom had been more informed and more confident and if society had not been so out of touch with nature and mothering.... well, I think she would've been a granola mama and probably would've liked to have hung out with MDC-type moms.

[turtlewomyn]

My mom bf'd my two older brothers (one was from her first marriage) and then ff'd me. When I was born her MIL came to stay and expected to be waited on, so she didn't have time to sit down with me and relax, plus she was taking care of my brother too.

[Llyra]

I was given soy formula from day one. Isomil. My mom briefly entertained the idea of bfing, but her ob told her that she would never have enough milk because her breasts were too small . Mine, by the way, are smaller, and I had plenty of milk.

I don't think my mom was really all that interested in bfing in the first place, though. My aunt breastfed her kids well into childhood; my cousin was 5 when she weaned, and my mother used to say my aunt was a "freak." But I think that if it weren't for that doctor, I might have gotten three or four months of breastmilk, at least. I have had chronic gut problems my whole life, and I blame the stupid Isomil.

I never sucked my thumb, and gave up my pacifier easily at about a year. Also, other than the gut problem, I have always been stunningly healthy. I got very few colds, never had an ear infection as a child, and I've had the flu once in my whole life and that was as an adult. So I guess it could have been worse.

[Past_VNE]

I was born in 1977. My mom nursed me for about two weeks. She talks all about the pain and the engorgement and the leaking......and that she didn't have enough milk. So, I promptly went on formula. In my baby book, it says, under doctors orders, "3 weeks, growing well, give cereal."

So, from about two weeks old, I was on formula. I was allergic to cow's milk until I was one year old, so they switched me to soy formula.

I was fed cereal from three weeks old.

My mom really thought she was doing the best for me, too. Too bad medicine and 'science' was so f'ed up. :

I'm allergic to wheat, I'm pretty sure. I'm in the self-testing stages right now.

[zaner'smama]

I was breast fed for about 6 weeks and it seems that I was started on formula and some solids at this point. My mom also passed away about 5 years ago, so I'm getting this information from notes she kept at the time.
I don't think I was sick really frequently, but I did have a lot of problems w/ my ear (tubes 3 different times, repeated ear infections).
Amazing how things have changed, even with mainstream doc recommendations...

~Betsy

[bri276]

my sister and I were both bf for 18 months. a lot of it was thru the bottle b/c my mom was doing her pediatric medical residency when I was born. my sister is 19 and STILL sucks her thumb (I think that relates to the fact that my parents abruptly divorced when she was 7 yrs old, probably led to her needing the thumb security more instead of less and sort of missing the window of when developmentally she should have been able to wean off of it).
my mm said one time she left me w/ her mother and a bottle of soy formula and never did it again because I spit up or had reflux or something.

[lactationmom]

I am 34 so at that time, breastfeeding was very rare.

I was only given formula and have major allergies and asthma and pretty much a crappy immune system. I eat wonderfully, take care of my body by working out with weights, but my overall 'health' is never wonderful. I feel confident that my health is like this because during my MOST important period of growth, my first year, I was fed a chemical concoction of oils and sugars. My brother was breastfed for 3 months and his immune system is ten times better than mine, although not wonderful.

My hubby was never given a drop of formula and was breastfed for at least one year and his immune system is wonderful, he makes me so mad he never gets sick!!!

[mahogny]

I was bf for about 3 months or so, and not exclusively, according to my older brother's memory, which is excellent.

I was very healthy as a child - as were my brother and sister, who were never bf at all - only ff. We just have healthy genes, I guess. No allergies among us, no ear infections, colds out of the ordinary, etc. We're all slender.

I was the only one of the 3 of us, however, who sucked my thumb. I sucked my thumb until I was 5. In later years, I've wondered if that's b/c of the early weaning, but that's only guessing.

[MountainLaurel]

You know, I have no frickin' clue whether or not I was BF: My mother doesn't talk about things like that. Offhand, I would have to guess that the answer is no. I was born with fluid behind my lungs and spent a couple weeks in an incubator in the hospital after I was born. Which must have been hella funny, because I was a long baby born almost two weeks past term, and the incubators were built for preemies. Actually, my mom did say once that she was trying to give me a bottle one day, and I bumped my head on the top of the incubator. On a side note, this was a military hospital, and I remember my mom talking about how happy she was because the nurses had me sleeping through the night before I came home at about 2 weeks old. :

As for side effects, it's hard to tell what might be related to FF and what is related to the fact that my child-care providing grandmother was a chain smoker.

[earthcore]

I nursed til I self-weaned at 3.5 years old!

[amyjeans]

I was formula fed- because back in 1973- it wasn't decent or ladylike to breastfeed.
shame- I got sick a lot!

[elmh23]

Pretty much formula fed from the start. My mom tried to breast feed me but had an extreamly low supply due to the fact that her doc was a big fudge up and she didn't deliver her placenta until I was 4 weeks old (when she went to the ER because she was really pale, mom ended up with a full body blood transfusion.) Either way, my mom wouldn't have breastfed for long. She had to go back to work when I was 8 weeks old (she was a single mom with no help from my "dad.")

I was always sick. I had reaccuring ear infections starting at around 2 months and was completley deaf from 6 months to 9 months (when I finally got tubes.) My hearing was damaged enought that no one could understand what I said until I was about 3. I also had strep throat all the time and I have seasonal allergies.

ETA that I also had reflux and was given cereal to thicken up my soy formula from about 6 weeks on.

[Patchfire]

I answered that I was formula fed, but my mom did intend to nurse and I nursed for about a month. At one month, I hadn't even regained my birth weight. When I was reading in preparation for dd's birth, I made a connection between a statement about high palate and breastfeeding problems, and my mom's difficulties feeding me. I've always had problems with my teeth and swallowing and such, because of a really high palate, and high palate can make it difficult for the baby to stimulate the breast enough to get the hindmilk. No hindmilk, little weight gain. I think my mom was glad to finally know what had happened.

[True Blue]

I was ff. Bfing wasn't very common in my mom's circle in the late 70's. I had a lot of ear infections (many they didn't know I had til I went to the dr for a well visit....is that even considered an infection? lol) but am healthy overall. However, I did start getting cereal at 2 weeks old!!!

[MelKnee]

I was formula fed for 6 wks, then put on whole milk and soilds in 1967.

[Drummer's Wife]

I was born at 31 weeks and weighed 2 lbs 12 oz. I was an identical twin but sadly my sister was stillborn. My mom had a emergency c-section and I was in NICU for several months. My mom was still able to manually express breastmilk and once I was off an iv I was able to drink from a bottle and then learned to nurse... but I never had a drop of formula. I continued to breastfeed until age 2 1/2 and tandem nursed with my bro for 6 months. I my mom and I think she overcame a lot (including grief of losing a baby) to be able to successfully breastfeed me! YAY MOM

ETA: This was 1979

[trmpetplaya]

I was bf for 6 months and then ff. Dh was bf for 3.5 years and never had formula.

I chose a combination of bf and ff...

love and peace.

[3 Little Monkeys]

I was exclusively FF - and mom started me on cereal at 3 weeks She tried to BF when my brother was born, she lasted about 2 months but had a horrible time with cracked, bleeding nipples - when my brother spit up blood after a feeding, that was the end of her BFing.

[Ellien C]

Mom had 4 children from 1957-1969, all through Cesarian birth. At the time, mom was hell bent on BF and refused the "dry-them-up-shot" for 10-days while my sis was in an incubator. This is her resolute parenting story where she mustered up the courage to defy authority.

The first was BF for 9 months.
The next was BF for 6 months.
The next for 3-4 (sis in the incubator)
and me for only 6 weeks before she went to work.

The oldest has always had some allergies and suffers from fibromyalgia. But has never needed an inhaler or anything. She just sneezes a lot with dust.
The second oldest and I have headaches - pretty severe.
The third has had some addiction troubles.
I suffer from no allergies or aches, no one has had earaches or tonsilitis or anything severe.

DH was BF for 6 months and has no allergies but suffers from earaches to this day. He just got a tooth pulled though, so we're hoping the infection have been starting there.