When your baby is finally born, you will be receiving a lot of advise from various parties, especially when it comes to breastfeeding your baby. Most mothers come under immense pressure and scrutiny on their choice of method for feeding their baby. So much so that when a mother is unable to or unwilling to breastfeed, there are usually regarded as failures or not giving their babies what they need. However, is formula milk really that bad? For all those moms who can’t or choose not to breastfeed, here are some points on why feeding your baby formula milk isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
1. You get your body back
Breastfeeding means that you are at the beck and call of your baby’s stomach. Every time they are hungry, you have to be close by and ready to go. If you feed formula milk, you get your body autonomy back. Meaning, you get to have your body to yourself, and be able to better control your life instead of having your baby dictate your schedule. Say goodbye to pumping schedules too. You don’t always have to be there and even dad can take turns to bond and feed your little one too.
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2. You can give your baby what they need easier
When you breastfeed, what you eat greatly impacts what kind of nutrients your baby is getting from your breast milk. This can cause problems, especially when your baby has adverse reactions like lactose intolerance or allergies to a certain food that you had consumed. By feeding formula milk, you can easily eliminate what your baby is unable to consume without having to change your diet or go through the process of elimination. No more stressful guessing games.
3. Less time spent feeding
One thing about formula milk is that it takes a longer time compared to breast milk for your baby to digest. What does that mean for moms who feed formula milk? You get to spend more time bonding and doing other things with your baby instead of working on filling their bellies. It also means that you get more sleep at night! It will also be easier for you to get into a good feeding routine with your baby as it’s easier to predict when your little one will get hungry again. Babies who get formula milk need to feed every 3-4 hours, whereby breastfed babies need to feed every 1-2 hours.
4. Easy to monitor milk intake
One of the major problems that many moms face while breastfeeding is that you cannot monitor how much your baby has had to drink. There has even been cases whereby the baby starved to death because though the mom was breastfeeding, the baby was unable to drink enough milk! With formula milk, you will be feeding your baby from a bottle. This means that you are able to monitor the amount of milk your little one is drinking to make sure that they don’t go hungry.
5. It’s more comfortable for all parties
Say goodbye to sore or cracked nipples. No more heavy boobs or risk of leakage. You and your partner can now enjoy being intimate without having to worry about milk leaking out too. You need not have to worry about your baby biting your breasts and nipples, and it’s just overall a much more pleasant journey through motherhood. Your baby would not have to face any trouble getting the milk to express, and the both of you can just enjoy the feeding experience together. A win-win in my books.
6. Feeding in public is a breeze
No need to bring out those nursing shawls when your baby gets hungry. Especially in warmer countries like Malaysia, it can be quite uncomfortable underneath the shawl for your baby. Also, not many moms are comfortable with breastfeeding in public. When you feed your baby using formula milk, all you need is to prepare the milk and you’re good to do. No need to worry about offending the public’s eye or your decency being compromised.
7. It has all the nutrients your baby needs
For many moms, breastfeeding is not an option. Therefore, in order to ensure that bottle-fed babies are getting the same nutrients that breastfed babies are, researchers have worked tirelessly in order to ensure that formula milk is as close to breast milk as possible. Not only that, with the various options out there, you can easily find one that best suits your baby too. This way, you are also able to eat and drink whatever you want without having to worry about your baby not receiving the nutrients that they need. There are also some added supplements in formula milk that is not found in breast milk to help your child grow up healthy.
8. Meds are no longer off the table
So is caffeine, alcohol and pretty much everything really. When you are breastfeeding, there are various things that need to be heavily monitored, including the type of medication you are ingesting. Though there are many medication out there that are suitable for breastfeeding women, many mothers are still hesitant in consuming them, which means that it could affect their recovery rate and so on. Since what you eat or drink does not affect your baby when you feed them formula milk, this is another worry off your chest altogether.
So if you’re a mom who is unable to breastfeed, or has chosen formula milk to feed your baby, don’t feel bad! Own your choices and know that everyone’s motherhood journey is different. After all, only you know what you and your baby needs, not anyone else. For new moms who want to try their hand at breastfeeding, check out this article about solutions for common breastfeeding problems.
For all those moms out there who are currently feeding their babies formula milk, we also have a special deal for you now at Motherhood.com.my. From now till the 5th of December, whenever you purchase a minimum of RM200 in formula milk, you get a special gift! So, not only will you be able to enjoy the best prices for formula milk in town, you will be rewarded for it too! So what are you waiting for? Click here now to start browsing!