Breastfeeding exclusively vs. breastfeeding and formula/cereal?

I am currently 28 weeks pregnant with my first. I was planning on exclusively breastfeeding until around 5/6 months, but lately I have been having second thoughts about it. I still plan on breastfeeding, but I have been thinking about formulas and cereals as well. Anyone have any thoughts?

I would not recommend the formula/cereal because eventually it will take over and you will give up breastfeeding altogether..I suggest exclusively breastfeeding until the child self-weans. A baby doesn't need anything other then breast milk until 6 months old.

While I was pregnant I thought I would only breastfeed til my daughter was 6 months or so, but my out look on BF has changed and Ive decided to BF until she self-weans at whatever age that might be..

But I would steer clear of formula and cereal if you plan on breastfeeding at all...

I work full time (8-5 mon-Fri) and my daughter is exclusively breastfed..I pump 2 times at work and I go home to feed her at lunch..so it can be done

as soon as you start feeding bubs on anything but breast, you will start producing less milk, but you could still feed say, twice a day?
however, baby may then decide it does not want the breast anymore. And baby will be sick more often when it is not getting your antibodies anymore. However, if you just HAVE to go back to work, that's what you need to do.
And don't give it any cereal till 6 months of age!

Formula itself carries risks. Why use it if you have perfectly good breast milk to offer. Also, It will most likely compromise your supply. Breast milk is perfectly made to fit your child needs.

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/milk/i...

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids...

exclusively breastfeeding is the best, obviously. why are you having 2nd thoughts?

i exclusively breastfed with the exception of when someone babysits and i didn't have enough milk pumped, then she gets formula. maybe once a week (i HATE pumping)

do you have any specific reason why you dont want to breastfeed exclusively?

Why don't you start out with breastfeeding and see how it goes? By 5/6 months it is usually pretty easy, especially if you don't have to go back to work and bother with a pump. Doctors recommend not starting cereal until 4-6 months old.

Don't start cereal until the baby's Dr. says to. If you start to soon you increase the chances of food allergies. Breast feeding is the best but there may be a time when a bottle is needed. You can pump you breasts and freeze the milk for bottle feeding. Once babies get started on BF or formula they will not take the other. They are extremely picky, it taste different. BF has many benefits (mother's antibodies are passed along in breast milk) and I encourage you to start out breast feeding for as long as you can.

When my baby was about 2 or 3 months, I briefly thought about switching him to formula at around 4 months. I researched it and quickly found that I just couldn't justify it. Breastmilk is so much better. Now that he's older (5.5 months) breastfeeding so easy and quick I'm having a hard time making the effort to start him on solids.

I love breastfeeding my baby. Aside from the bonding and the wonderful feeling I get to experience when my baby unlatches and give me a huge smile or gurgles to me, I also can rest easy knowing that I'm giving him the best possible nutrition.

Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy!

Edit: My baby sleeps through the night, even though he is breastfed. Obviously he didn't sleep through the night right away, but by 2.5-3 months he was. A poster above made it seem like breastfed babies can't sleep through the night. Every baby is different. My sisters' babies all slept through the night after they were a few months old and they were all breastfed exclusively.

I have also been able to go out to dinner parties and other fun things by pumping and having the baby-sitter give my baby a bottle of breastmilk. It's a great system that works well for me.

"I have been thinking about formulas and cereals as well. Anyone have any thoughts?"

Baby "cereal" is basically fortified wallpaper paste. It's a hangover from the days when formula was homemade; cow's milk + sugar + water. Then, you needed iron-fortified pap... Now, it's useless.

And as for the cow's milk + sugar + water regimen? Commercial infant formulas have NO demonstrable benefit over the homemade deal.

I breastfed exclusively -- no bottles -- until about 6mo, when I started letting baby self-feed; I will continue to nurse until she self-weans. I would have a lot of regrets about choosing any other path.

There is some suggestion, too, that the benefits of breastfeeding are _under-reported_ because some studies of 'breastfed' babies included babies breastfed and fed formula as well.

An exclusively breastfed baby is a lovely-smelling baby with no digestive complaints, buttered-popcorn-scented poop, soft skin, a virgin gut... Babies are just meant to be breastfed, period.

The truth is, formula can NEVER compare to breastmilk!! Absolute bottom line. Babies deserve the best. Many serious diseases (such as colitis, respiratory infections, leukemia, and diabetes) are less likely to occur in breastfed babies, and our bodies make antibodies to germs EVERY time our babies nurse, keeping them healthier!! It's wonderful for moms as well, reducing our risk of breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancers, diabetes, and osteoporosis.
So really, once the facts are exposed, I see no reason to even consider formula (as long as you have no medical issues preventing you from breastfeeding, that is!). Less than 1 in a million women CANNOT produce breastmilk; not really a figure to worry about! :)
You can do this, and every mother should at least try, for the sake of their child.
**Rice cereal is very unimportant, just bland starch. Even if you decide to offer it, wait until 6 months.
Here are some great links for you!

It's great that you are planning on breastfeeding. Don't over think it. You shouldn't be having second thoughts before you even start! You'll see things differently once your baby arrives. Your whole life changes and some of the concerns that you can think up in your head right now won't apply to the situation then. Once you start breastfeeding you will see that it is a natural process and your baby will thrive. Once you get going are committed to it, you'll find that 6 months of exclusive breastfeeding will go by quicker than you think. Good luck!

I exclusively breastfeed my baby (now 9 months old). The benefits to her health is unparalleled. But it hasn't been a smooth ride because breastfed babies (exclusive) don't sleep as long as formula fed babies and also there is no one to swop duties when you want a break. I've talked about this to my friend who also exclusively breastfed her baby and we both agree that a middle ground is not a bad idea - meaning, if the baby is willing to take a bottle once in a while, that would be ideal. Unfortunately, my baby refused to take the bottle at all - even once when she hasn't had milk for 6 hours at 3 months old, she refused the bottle offered by my husband.

My suggestion is to go with the flow. Get a few bottles, samples of formula (cereal is too early), a bottle/teat brush. Just in case on nights when you can't take it anymore, ask your husband to help feed a bottle or two. Not necessary to buy steriliser until you are sure you are bottle feeding. Sterilise the old-fashioned way, i.e., boil the bottles and teats in hot boiling water for 5-10mins in the pot. That's it.

i formula and breast feed my 4 month old and he's perfectly fine!!
i had to go to work, so formula is what he gets while i m gone.
ive also started him on cereal and has had his first veggie.
his doctor said it was fine. and has no problem with it.
dont start solids until at least 4 months.
at least give breastfeeding a shot, and if you decide its not for you, then go with formula.

I breast fed my daughter for the first two weeks, after that she was formula fed. There is absolutly nothing wrong with formula. Yes, breast is best, but it doesn't mean formula is bad.

My daughter is now 16 months old and is at the exact weight and height that she should be. So if you feel that you still want to start formula feeding, then go ahead. You are the mother, you do what is right for your child.

The cereal is fine too.

I would wean at doing half one and half the other at 4 months. Cereal can usually start at 2 months whether breastfeeding or formula feeding as the baby will start to desire something with substance to it but only start out at a couple teaspoonfuls of cereal and then add either breastmilk or formula or diluted juices (1 part to 1 part) to a thin consistancy to get the baby used to its consistancy and what to do with it, gum and swallow. Then as time goes by you will add more cereal according to the baby's need and desire for more. 6 months is a good time to gradually wean off the breastfeeding completely and goes to formula and juices exclusively.
Good luck with your new baby when the baby gets here,
Congrats to you!
I'm due anytime now at 2 centimeters with my 4th and my 19 year old daughter, Mary Katherine, is due right after me, with my first grandchild, a boy, Achilles Giovanni Panizza. Can't wait to see him and have my 3rd girl, Angelina Veronica De Bellis.
Gina