Its whatever makes the mom comfortable, with my son I tried breastfeeding him, but it just hurt way to much for me, so i gave him formula. When my daughter came along, I chose to breastfeed her no matter how much it hurt, but its a choice for the mom.

Theres nothing wrong at all with my son and he wasnt a breastfed baby, so theres nothing wrong with formula.

I also have done both.  My first child I gave formula.  The other 4 I breastfed.  To be honest the only reason I didn't with the first was fear.  I was a young mom, it was my first child, and there were not the resources then that there are now for help and information.  It of course is the best, if you can do it, because that is the way God intended.  However, there are other factors to consider.  It is cheap!  Free in fact.  Formula is expensive...VERY expensive!  It is portable!  You don't have to remember to take it with you!  You don't even have to clean up afterward.  And if you want need to have a bottle because you are going on a much needed date with your husband, there are hand pumps, electric pumps or you can even hand express the milk.  And it is not hard to do.  I do realize that some people have issues which prevent them from breastfeeding.  But I encourage people to try it.  You can always go to a bottle if it doesn't work for you, but don't give up too quickly either.  With each of the 4 that I breastfed, I went through a rough patch where is was painful.  But I used the remedies recommended in many books on the subject and in a week or two I was through the rough patch and there were no more problems.

Well that is my 2 cents!

I have done both and I love breastfeeding! It's free, even on WIC it doesn't cover enough formula for the month after the first few months. It's easy and portable. With formula you have to drag around bottles and such, with breastfeeding you have what your baby needs all the time and at the right temperature. I don't even carry a diaper bag, all I need is a diaper and wipes and that easily fits in my purse.

It helped me drop all my baby weight in 9 months, it reduces risk of breast cancer and of course, it's best for the baby. It is difficult at times. My son wouldn't latch for the first 3 weeks and I've had a plugged duct and mastitis (breast infection) twice. But I would do it again in a heart beat. I just wish I would have breast feed my older boys.

I do feel that the mother needs to decide what is right for her and her baby. I feel breastfeeding is best but that's just me.

Neither of my kids have ever had formula.

I breastfed my firstborn daughter for 19 months.  It was so hard at first, she took 3 days to learn how to latch and eat properly and she lost a lot of weight, my nipples were cracked and bleeding for 3 weeks, then I had mastitis, then thrush...  I don't think I had a feeding that didn't hurt for the first four months, which is a LONG time when you are feeding 6-10 times a day (and through the night too).  My daughter also had reflux which made eating a painful experience for her and she was not a happy baby, nor did she gain much weight in her first 6 months.  She didn't smile until she was four or five months old, and didn't laugh until she was six months old.  I was devastated that this experience which was supposed to be "bonding" was actually a battle.  I was an emotional wreck, being bombarded with post-partum hormones and the overwhelming feeling of failure as a parent.  But I was determined to persevere.  We couldn't afford formula, and I knew breastmilk was infinitely better anyway.

Once my daughter was 5 months old it finally got better.  Her reflux wasn't as bad, and my nipples finally toughened up.  I nursed her into toddlerhood, when she decided for herself she was done.  I am so happy that I stuck with it!  You know, in retrospect, the fact that we persevered together was an incredible bonding experience.  We did it, TOGETHER, and now I feel much more able to conquer anything that comes our way.   

At first breastfeeding was awful, and I don't blame anyone for giving up.  I might have if it was an option.  But we persevered together, and honestly it taught me so much.  I learned to be patient and selfless, and discovered that motherhood was HARD and often painful, but so worth it.  It broke me as a person, but like a seed, in doing so made room for much personal growth.  I think all mothers probably experience this no matter how they feed their babies, but for me the trials (and eventually triumphs) of breastfeeding was my 'make AND break' experience of motherhood.  My sense of failure at first has now become a very satisfying sense of accomplishment.

Now I am nursing my four month-old son, and totally enjoying it.  It didn't hurt at all this time around, and even though it took him a while to catch on and at first I had to pump to feed him, it was so much easier knowing in my heart that I could do it.  He is a very happy baby, and in the 97th percentile for weight!  I plan on nursing him as long as he likes as well (although personally, I hope he weans around the age of 2). 

Both of my kids are exceptionally healthy and smart.  Other people notice this often as well.  I am in awe of how amazing breastmilk is.  Not only is it perfect nutrition, but it lets me feel as though my kids are still a part of me for their first tender months (or years) of life.  Breastfeeding has been an amazing and foundational experience in my journey as a mother.

I'd just like to encourage anyone out there who is struggling with breastfeeding or is pregnant and thinking of breastfeeding, that it is truly worth it!  The hardest part is the very beginning, but it does get better.

I recommend it to every mother.  I felt so close to my baby when I breastfed.  It was also so much easier to do than carrying around bottles, water, and formula everywhere.  My son was healthier and I was too.  Not only is it good for baby, but it helps your body get back to it's prebaby shape more quickly too.  Since breastfeeding is what God intended for you body, it actually helps your uterus return to normal more quickly and it also helps you drop the weight that you gained.  I recommend that if a mother can breastfeed, she at least try it.

Breastfeeding.  Moms who automatically formula feed without ever trying breastfeeding annoy me.  Their reasoning is usually something lame like they were formula fed and they came out just fine so they're going to formula feed their babies.  Or worse yet, they don't want their breasts to get "messed up."  Yeah, hello, that's what they are there for!  Get over your vanity.  I understand some women (very few) are able to BF, for medical reasons or whatever, but women who simply don't try at all or give up after a day, grr.  Babies are naturally supposed to be breastfed! 

Aside from all the health benefits, for mom and baby, it is so much easier!  The milk is always available, always the perfect temperature, and there's nothing to clean or sterilize or lug around with you.  You don't have to worry about forgetting to pack it or make sure it's being stored properly or running out when the stores are closed.  It's cheap and you know what's in it.  

Breastfeeding! Honestly, it's a very, very small percentage of women in the world who physically cannot breastfeed. (If I recall correctly, it's somewhere around 3%, and that percentage includes women who have lost breasts to trauma or surgery. I'm not sure if that includes women on medication not approved for nursing moms... If I find a link to that percentage, I'll come back with it. )

I had a very difficult time nursing my first daughter at the beginning, but we got through it and are just now, at almost 20 months, starting to nurse less often. The only reason we're backing off now is that I now have a newborn, and, while tandem nursing and nursing past one are great, my older daughter tends to want to nurse whenever the baby does, and I haven't gotten the hang of nursing them simultaneously. My older daughter has to wait until the younger one is done, and that cuts down on the amount of time she can nurse.

Now, breastmilk is more than just food, and I do feel that every mother should give it a shot. However, sometimes combo feeding or 100% formula feeding are necessary. Formula is not poisonous. I think that everyone works as hard as they can to give their children the best that they can, even if their personal best isn't necessarily the best thing out there. 

I tried breastfeeding my daughter, but she had trouble latching on (not to mention my belly hurt for about a month because of a C-section).  So we used a breast-pump and gave my milk to her in a bottle, which worked out great.  Although she later learned to latch on to me, I had to keep giving her the bottles of expressed milk because of my work schedule (Active Duty Air Force).

At about 9 months, my supply tapered off, so we gave her formula up until her first birthday, when we switched her to whole milk.  She's now 18 months old, completely healthy, and weaned off bottles all together.

So while I'll admit it took a lot of work to express the milk for her (and the dissapointment of not being able to feed her directly), I'm still happy knowing I did the best I could for her.

Hopefully the next one we have will go a little smoother!

I breastfed by daughter. It was a lot harder than one would think it to be, and even through an infection (and trip to the ER) I would still recommend it. Even if you don't plan on continuing, something is better than nothing...even if you can nurse your baby for a few weeks, that would be great. But of course, during my parents' time everyone was doing formula, and we're all okay...I think. I liked not having to warm up formula, and the nighttime feeding wasn't all that bad. My sister didn't want to breastfeed, and they used formula and there were problems with what kind the baby could drink, and he spits up a lot. Don't know if that's true for other formula-fed babies. I notice that it stains more than breastmilk spitup.

I believe that it is a mother's right to choose but I think that every mother should at least give breastfeeding a try, unless her doctor tells her not to. Breastfeeding was a great experience for my son and I. He did refuse to nurse at three months so he had to go to formula but I am thankful that he did breastfeed for as long as he did.

@ReneeBrowning@xanga - Amen!  I struggled with guilt for a long time as well, at least the first time around.  I wish someone had told me back then that I wasn't a failure.  I knew it the second time around and still felt like a capable mother when I switched my daughter to formula.  I have nothing but respect and admiration for nursing mothers, but I really appreciate nursing/non-nursing mothers who are supportive and understanding when a new mom chooses formula instead.  Yay for your comment!  :)

Breastfeeding is not only best for baby, but it is also best for the mom.  There has been research that shows that moms who breastfeed for a certain amount of time actually have a lower chance of breast cancer.

Here is a link that talks about this:

http://tinyurl.com/5jbm3g