Well, I had all intentions of breastfeeding.
I remember early on in my pregnancy with Aden, I was so excited to know more. I would ask friends, family, my mother – my BF idol. I bought books, read blogs, and developed a game plan for feedings and pumping in between. Everyone told me about perfecting the latch and being prepared for the good, the bad, and the ugly – like, thrush and mastitis. I’m an overachiever by nature, so a challenge never threatened me. I was ready for it.
What no one could prepare me for was a pregnancy. A second pregnancy just shortly after my son turned 5 months that severely diminished my supply and his ability to get an adequate meal. I didn’t know I was pregnant until I was around 8 weeks along. I started to notice how much we both struggled with it and I watched his numbers drop on the scale day by day. I didn’t know what was wrong and his pediatrician suggested we supplement. I was super skeptical about supplementing, mainly because I felt like I had failed. The one thing I was made to do, I couldn’t do. Mothers were born for this, but clearly I was not. After some hard few weeks, I completely lost my supply. We sat down one day and it was just gone. I cried like I never cried before.
My pregnancy with Hudson was such a blessing as much as it was a curse. When he was born, I was excited for the chance to try again. We breastfed exclusively for 5 months when the same thing happened, but this time I wasn’t pregnant. For some reason, no matter how much I ate, no matter how many supplements I took to up my supply, I still lost everything shortly before my kids hit the 6 month mark. It’s absolutely devastating. But through it, I learned I could do hard things and I learned that my babies were happy babies as long as they were fed. My shortcomings with breastfeeding had no weight on their growth or development. In fact, they were almost better for it. Formula wasn’t as terrible as I made it out to be and my preconceived notions about how I fed my baby were just silly. In my heart, I would have loved to go long-term BFing, but it just wasn’t in our cards. And you know what? I’m okay with that. Instead of spending all my time worrying about breastfeeding and allergies, I was able to feed my babies until their bellies were full. They were happier babies because we were able to choose a formula that was easier on their little tummies and the days of excessive spit-up were long gone.
I will be the first to tell you that the cost of formula is a tough pill to swallow. It’s an absolute necessity, but it can really kill a budget. With Hudson, we used to go through a tub of formula every 3 days. It also can take months to figure out what works best for you and your newborn.
But regardless of whether your breastfeed or formula feed, that’s what you want for your baby – the very best. So, how do you go about picking one?
Luckily, after much trial and error, we found an affordable, premium infant formula that’s made with nutrients found naturally in mother’s milk. It helps support the baby’s immune system, as well as brain and eye development. Comforts for Baby meets or exceeds the FDA requirements, and is virtually identical in nutritional values to the other big name formulas. It still provides complete nutrition that compares to the nutrition of the leading national brands, but at a fraction of the cost. They offer a wide range of high-quality infant formulas for different sensitivities and allergies. Comforts for Baby now offers non-GMO infant formulas that are produced using ingredients that have not been genetically engineered. The NON-GMO varieties include: Gentle, Sensitive, Soy, along with a toddler formula for older babies. They even have an organic one.
Comforts™ for Baby Infant Formulas can be found at Kroger family of stores, including Ralph’s.
Meanwhile, just when we thought we mastered formula, they grew before my eyes. Babies don’t keep, y’all!
This post was sponsored by Comforts™ brand.
I love your positive attitude. Not all moms can nurse and all that matters is the baby is getting fed.
My friend just had a child and I wanted to gift her for her newborn I’m going to check out Comforts for baby. I love it’s non-GMO.
I was a mother who had to do both breast feeding and formula. My baby wanted more than I could give. Thanks for sharing your story
I used Enfamil with my babies when they became hungrier when I stopped producing enough milk to keep up with their demands. It’s a great choice.
I was only able to nurse my son for 6 weeks before going back to work. This was 20 years ago and I was in the Army. I never knew pumping was even an option. It’s wonderful how breastfeeding has become such an open topic now!
The best way to feed your baby is the way that works best for you and your family! I formula fed all three of my children and they are now all happy and healthy.
I love it when the babe is full. Life is easy then!
Happy to know you found the right one for your child. I agree that as long as they are fed, of course with the right milk or food, they are happy and healthy. No need to be hard on self if breastfeeding didn’t work out.
This is so important. I’m not a mom myself but moms get shamed so much for not being able to nurse or choosing not to nurse and I think that’s really messed up.
I am an advocate for breastfeeding, but definitely appreciate that formula is available for women who are not able to breastfeed. I also feel women should not feel guilty about doing what is best for their babies.
I was set on breastfeeding and did ALL the preparing, including buying nursing pads, bras, gel soothers etc. then my son was born and my milk never came in. Despite tea, supplements, medicines, and a rigorous pumping schedule, I never produced more than 1/2 oz at a time. So formula it was with comfort nursing. I. Was. Devastated. But , as you said, we learn as mamas her we can do hard things, and we adjust and adapt for the sake of our babies. Thanks for sharing!!