Reply to Please tell me it’s ok to switch to formula

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP here - thank you all so much for your thoughtful and encouraging replies. DH and I have been talking this through the last few days, and I’m like 99% sure we’re going to switch. The pain is less than it was, but I tried nursing without the shields yesterday and we were back to square one with pain and friction blistering. The thought of continuing to do this for months on end fills me with dread. We’re also considering combo feeding, but it feels complicated to figure out how to balance the convenience of formula with the need to maintain supply.

It has been both depressing and fascinating to me that I feel so much resistance internally to doing this. Like others on this thread, I was exclusively formula-fed. I’m a really healthy person and, yes, I went to an Ivy! I know that there’s very little (no?) evidence that, for the vast majority of people, whether they were formula or breastfed matters in the long run. But the “breast is best” mentality, both from the medical establishment and other UMC women, is so pervasive.

Thanks again to all. Really appreciate your kind words. If anyone has tips on formula feeding, I’m all ears… [/quote]

I’m one of the previous posters who recommended stopping and switching to formula. I have a theory on this!

Before quality formula was invented (less than 100 years ago, which is nothing in the grand scheme of things), if you stopped nursing, there was a really good chance your baby would die. It was incredibly dangerous. And because of the way supply works, even stopping for a couple days might be a death sentence for your baby. So, evolutionarily, mothers have this incredibly strong emotional, non-logical, drive to nurse, even through pain and awfulness.

But, better living through science! I’ve found, with myself and others, once you’ve stopped for a few days and your baby is thriving on formula, that urge quiets down. And so many moms turn around and say “jeez, I should have stopped weeks ago!”

Basically, that internal resistance is evolutionary. You have a safe alternative, you can safely ignore it. And you should![/quote]

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