Posts Tagged ‘breastfeeding’
Parent’s Choice Baby Formula
We’ve all heard that breast is best. Trust me, it’s been drummed into our heads from other mothers, media, etc. However, not everybody can breastfeed. I happened to be one of those mothers. I am sure I’ve talked about it before on this blog, but for my newer readers, I’ll clue you into my story. Madison (my 5 year old) wouldn’t latch. She wouldn’t latch for me or the lactation nurses. Once we were out of the hospital, I kept trying but to get someone to come to the house would have costed us money we didn’t have. When we went for our first checkup, we found out she had jaundice to the point we were almost admitted to the hospital. I had to make the choice to continue to breastfeed and have her end up in the hospital or pump and supplement with baby formula. Needless to say, I picked the later. With Will, we had the same problem with the added problem he was tongue tied. I ended up pumping for 4 months with Madison and 2 months with Will. When you only pump, it is hard to maintain your supply (at least it was for me) and I did end up supplementing with formula. When I quit pumping, my kids were 100% formula fed.
Nothing is more frustrating for a new mom who can’t breastfeed for whatever reasons (you know mine). Money also tends to be tight, so it is great to see brands making an effort (like Parent’s Choice) to make it more affordable for moms. If you feed with formula, you definitely need to check out this baby formula savings calculator. It made me ill seeing how much I could have saved on formula with my kids. This falls under baby stuff they need, so every cent you can save helps (especially in this economy). I mean I was looking at saving around $60 a month! Crazy, I know. Consumer Reports has even looked into formula for us and recommended:
“We found that the store brand of formula at a local Wal-Mart (Parent’s Choice) cost 50 percent less per ounce than a leading national brand (Enfamil). According to the FDA, all formula marketed in the United States must meet the same nutrient specifications, which are set at levels to fulfill the needs of infants.”
Now, Consumer Reports is pretty unbiased, so that’s a great statement coming from them. I was able to try this formula out, and it was just as good as the Enfamil that we had used. Having spent hundreds of dollars on formula myself, I can only advise that you try this out with your little ones.
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Breast Is Best . . . Or is it?
The other most common question I seem to get asked since I have had Will is whether or not I am breastfeeding. Well, here’s the story of both Madison and Will on this topic.
Madison’s Breastfeeding tale
Madison would never latch on. I met with lactation consultants and everything, and she would not latch on. We had decided that breastfeeding was the way to go. We continued to try and breastfeed when we brought her home. However, she started to become very jaundice. When we brought her in the doctor, we had a blood test done, and her billyrubin (sp?) count was 14.7. Once that number hits 15, they have to have a billy blanket. I was given 3 choices: keep trying to breastfeed and she’d probably end up in the hospital, give her formula, or go buy a breast pump.
We did the later of the three. I ended up pumping for 4 months with her. I quit when I started resenting pumping. I have to think it works, because Madison hardly ever gets sick. She never has had an ear infection. She’s had a few colds and the flu, but that’s it.
Will’s Breastfeeding tale
Well, we are running into some of the same problems with Will. Once we get him latched on, he will eat. However, we have had major problems getting him to latch. Last Sunday, we made the decision after trying to get him to latch for an hour and half at 3 am, that this is not working. I would literally feel myself tense up when I had to feed him, since we were having some many problems. Needless to say, we decided that I should again pump. He will get all the benefits of breast milk, and somebody other than me can feed him. Again, not a perfect solution, but it is the best we can come up with. He also started becoming jaundice, but when we brought him in last Monday, it was already going away.
Where do we go from here?
Honestly, I don’t know. I am not sure if I can do this for 4 months again. However, I have been pumping and freezing what I can. For those of you who have pumped before, how much should I be freezing in each bag? I have been only doing 2 oz in each bag. I do know once you thaw it, you have to use it, so my theory was to do small amounts. However, I now have a ton of bags in my freezer.
Let me know your thoughts!
