Release the "mommy guilt," cut yourself some slack and take a little "me" time. I'm hoping to combine a cup of fact, and sprinkle in just enough of my own experience along with a dash of my failures to help you see that no matter the recipe you are a better mother than you give yourself credit for! If you have come looking for perfect punctuation and spelling, well then you are in the wrong place. In fact I am totally one of those people who use punctuation as an accessory. Ya know? Like hair bows.



If you need REAL advice from REAL working and stay at home mom's on pregnancy, childbirth and everything from the newborn to teenage year's. You have come to the right place! Sit back, relax, contribute your comments and......don't forget to take time to smell the baby lotion.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Oh yes I did!

I know, y'all are gonna think, "Oh NO she didn't!" Well, yep, yep I did or am. Lol. I wanna get controversial. That's right! I wanna talk about. . . . .(drum roll please) BOTTLE FEEDING. May I be struck by lightening for the rest of this post, but, after caring for a mom with twins today, who....you guessed it, is supplementing her twins with formula and a mom who had a C-Section and was soooooooooo sick but insisted on Breastfeeding even though her baby needed her to feed it and she was NOT capable. I wanna discuss newborn feeding.
Why does it matter how you feed your child? I have watched mother after mother in those early days, their babies are obviously STARVING, cause the milk isn't in. Baby is fussy and unsettled but the thought of formula much less formula from a bottle is appalling to some parents. What? You'd rather your kid starve and cry? Fine.
SO, with my obvious side taken in that bottle feeding is and should be acceptable, let me say this, "there is NO real substitute for breast milk. It is simply the best food for your baby. It provides all the nourishment they require and builds immunities protecting your baby against developing certain infections to which they will be exposed."
Bottle feeding vs breastfeeding is a personal choice and as all things that go with parenting you MUST stay flexible. Educate yourselves. Most infant formulas now days contain the right blend of vitamins, including vitamin D, for a baby, so supplements are usually not necessary. Iron-fortified formula is recommended for a baby's first year and should contain up to 12 milligrams of iron per liter. Be prepared to do what will be best for you AND for baby. If you do anything, just one thing. Be open minded. Regardless of what you may think. the hospital staff doesn't actually care how your baby eats, we just want it to eat. Take any and all advice you can and then make your OWN decision. That's right! You get to decide for yourself how to feed your child! Crazy hu? So whether you choose to exclusively breastfeed, nurse and then top off, bottles through the night/breastfeed during the day, bottles only, whatever your choice make an educated one and a selfless one.
Thank you and.....good night!

J/K

Thanks for hearing me out. Snuggle your littles cause they don't stay that way long and no matter what side of the controversy you are on, be accepting of others and open to suggestion. :)

Happy feeding!

(Check out our facebook page http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Time-4-Me/118744968210566 for a great link to information on bottle feeding)

3 comments:

  1. I am all for bottle feeding. When I had my second child it gave others the chance to help me and my daughter time to bond with her little brother. I'm all about getting as much sleep as possible, and the bottle allowed my husband and I to take turns at night feeding the baby. I'm pregnant with my third and plan to bottle feed him as well.

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  2. OMG! Tawna, congrats! I hope all is going well with you and the baby. Thanks for following our blog and especially for sharing your experience with all of us!

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  3. I think there are pros and cons to both ways. I have five kids and bottle fed the first four and then with this last one I decided to breastfeed. It has been SO hard but for me it has really been awesome to know that I can do it. She is a tiny little 7 month old so I've had to supplement with formula but that's fine with me. And with my first four kids I always made sure I held them while they had their bottles. I just feel like feeding time is bonding time weather you are breastfeeding or bottle feeding.

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