# Breastfeeding vs. Bottle feeding Breast Milk



## azzuranotte (Dec 18, 2004)

I am in the process of getting a job in the evenings after my husband gets home from work. DS is 8 months old and has never taken a bottle. DH wants me to stop nursing him and pump all the time. He says he has no problem with ds continuing to get breastmilk, just with him getting it straight from the tap. I have the utmost admiration for all the exclusive pumpers, but I can think of no reason I should become one because of my husband's issues. So ultimately my question is: What are there benefits of the actual act of breastfeeding?


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## Benji'sMom (Sep 14, 2004)

If you BF, you don't have to take time to fix a bottle, warm anything up, clean bottles, clean pump parts, assemble the pump, disassemble the pump, pump while your child is clingy, tired, crying, complaining, hungry, or find time or a place to pump if you happen to be out of the house during pumping time. I can't think of any advantage to EPing if BFing is possible instead.


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## elmh23 (Jul 1, 2004)

Also, no matter what pump you get, it's not as efficiant as your baby. It's also just easier to pump.

As for your child not taking a bottle, have you tried a sippy cup? Might be easier.


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Correct mouth position encouraging proper jaw development
transfer of saliva allowing mom to produce antibodies
proper supply/demand system
pumps do not keep up supply as well as babies

there are a few to start with. I'd tell dh to stuff it. Pumping is a LOT more work.

-Angela


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## rmzbm (Jul 8, 2005)

I'd be interested in hearing what his reason might be for not wanting baby drinking "from the tap."
I am sure the novelty of bottle feeding will wear off for him.
I have a DD the same age as your DS & the thought of never nursing her again would devistate me.
Please don't agree to this, I can tell you think it's a bad idea & it really is.


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## luv my lil pearl (Oct 10, 2004)

I EPed for the first 6 wks with DD#1 -- and boy, is it hard!! Thank goodness we resolved her latch issues and she took to the breast because every day I felt like I wanted to quit EPing -- but my heart wanted to give dd the best, so I didn't. Sitting down with a pump for 15 mins at a stretch is BOOOOOOORING...not to mention that you'll have to attend to a baby (when you're not at work)...nursing takes care of the latter -- and holding baby to nurse is definitely time better spent.

Pumping is so much WORK...not to mention all the bottles and nipples you'll have to wash and cart around with you. I tip my hat to those mamas who EP for months and months...I don't know how they do it!

Oh yes, also, when I EPed I got painful plugged ducts ALLLLL the time...it's true, a pump isn't nearly as efficient as a baby







-- and I had a hospital grade Medela Lactina -- apparently superior to the Pump in Style.

Breastfeeding is such a great tool to have around when a baby isn't feeling well...nothing soothes an unhappy baby like warm mama's milk in mama's warm arms. I wish my almost 3 y/o still nursed...I have a heck of a time getting her to fall asleep. Nursing always got down in an instant.


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## azzuranotte (Dec 18, 2004)

I have no intentions of agreeing to it and pretty much told him to stuff it. His reasoning is that it will make it easier on him if ds is exclusively bottlefed and I'm too attached to both kids and if other people could feed ds I'd have more time to myself.(Can you say, "Run on sentence.") He's going off when I went to work when dd was a baby. I just kind of left dd with him to figure it out himself, because he wasn't stepping up to his responsibilities. It wasn't easy on him. He now thinks that breastfeeding is a "crutch" and I'm just taking the easy way out.

DS is eating solid food, so I'm not really worried about him not taking a bottle for a couple of hours. He will drink water out of a sippy cup. My sister watched him for a couple hours friday night. He took a little milk from a sippy cup but decided it didn't compare. He cried for 10 minutes in 5 hours. He was fine.


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## CathMac (Jan 10, 2006)

Unless you already have a double pump then you will need to buy one and exclusive pumping requires a much better (much more expensive) pump, upwards of $150.00 to $300.00. So, if you have a cheap one you'll probably still need to get a really good double pump.
~Cath


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *azzuranotte* 
I'm too attached to both kids and if other people could feed ds I'd have more time to myself.

Sounds like he doesn't understand how it works. If someone else is feeding baby- then you have to be pumping. Often women who pump need MORE pumping sessions than feeding sessions to keep up their supply.

-Angela


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## spughy (Jun 28, 2005)

Nothing beats a boob for comfort.

And if that doesn't sway your DH, thousands of dollars in orthodontists' bills might. Babies who are fed at the breast have mouths that develop normally.

Here's some info on that from an official-type source - print it out and give it to your DH. http://www.brianpalmerdds.com/bfeed_oralcavity.htm. It's important to note in this article that it's not just that breastfeeding HELPS oral development, but that bottlefeeding actually HARMS it by encouraging a V-shaped palate which leads to crowded, crooked teeth.


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## sunnysideup (Jan 9, 2005)

Many great benefits have already been mentioned. Another huge one is the benefit of immunities. When you nurse your baby he passes germs he has been exposed to to you, so that your body can sythesize antibodies and pass those to baby through your milk. Your body produces antibodies for things you have never been exposed to before to help your baby fight off illness. It takes years for a baby's immune system to be fully developed, so I think this is especially important.


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## bauchtanz (Nov 15, 2005)

At 8 months my DD was starting to take a straw (like the nuby kind). Also - DH would often feed her milk by holding the glass and letting her drink it herself. That seemed to work best, it took her until 11 months to really master the straw.


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## melikahiwa (Oct 10, 2006)

And by pumping your are risking contamination of your milk somewhere along the way.
DH has been bugging me to do this too. He thinks I use nursing as an excuse to sit and cuddle with the baby. She's only 4 months and still really needs it!
I did pump the first time around since I was a working mama, and it is a lot more work than EBF.


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## 2tadpoles (Aug 8, 2004)

I had to work when both of my kids were babies, so I never got to EBF. I used a hand pump with the oldest, and manually expressed with the younger one. Manual expression was much easier; no pump to lug around and nothing to wash other than hands and bottles.

Anyway, I think your DH is being silly and has "breast issues." There is no reason for your baby to NOT drink from the tap when you are together.


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## Momtwice (Nov 21, 2001)

It can be very difficult to keep up a supply by EP, and not something I would ever choose if it were optional, and certainly not to keep someone else happy who hated bf...I applaud those who do it!

Some links for you
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/b...xcpumping.html


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## saraann (Dec 1, 2006)

breastfeeding "from the tap" is way easier. If you've already done it for 8 months, you know that there is a very real bonding aspect to it that would be different with bottle feeding.


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## Sandstress (Sep 21, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sunnysideup* 
Many great benefits have already been mentioned. Another huge one is the benefit of immunities. When you nurse your baby he passes germs he has been exposed to to you, so that your body can sythesize antibodies and pass those to baby through your milk. Your body produces antibodies for things you have never been exposed to before to help your baby fight off illness. It takes years for a baby's immune system to be fully developed, so I think this is especially important.

The transfer of "germs" during nursing is only one of the ways that mom is exposed to baby's antigens. And it's not really the most efficient. Being exposed to the same things your baby is exposed to, either from the original source (like your other children or the kid at daycare who sneezed on you) or directly from your baby, is the way that you synthesize the antibodies to secrete in your breastmilk. The places that deal with antigens and prepare B cells to secrete antibodies are in your upper respiratory and digestive tracts- not in your breasts.

There are many reasons not to pump- I'm thinking of the constant washing of bottles and nipples and pump parts, the hospital grade pump rental, and the cost of the pump-in-style that I bought for work, so I wouldn't have to lug the Symphony back and forth. Some women cannot keep up their supply (yes even after a year of EPing, my supply is starting to go.) even with a hospital grade. I'm not fond of the "bonding" argument- my claws tend to come out when I hear it. As for "time to yourself" I really can't do much besides surf the internet or read when I'm pumping. It's not like I can haul that thing to the mall and try on jeans or get a haircut with the horns in place...

Azzuranotte: it sounds like you have your head in the right place, and your son can function with a sippy cup or something else when you're away. Stand your ground, woman!


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## jillmamma (Apr 11, 2005)

If you agree to that, then HE has to wash all bottles/pump parts every day!









I agree with what everyone else has said.


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## MOM2ANSLEY (May 19, 2003)

I haven't seen it mentioned, but isn't there a link between how long you bf and decreasing breast cancer???


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## TxMominCT (Nov 23, 2006)

Just tell him too bad! You don't have time to pump for 30min every two hours to keep up the supply AND watch the baby AND keep up with household responsibilites AND work! SO by continuing to bf you just might have a chance of time for you!







:


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## gossamer (Feb 28, 2002)

Not to mention the fact that when you breastfeed, your milk changes according to the needs of your baby. As your baby gets older and his nutritional needs change, so does your breastmilk. I pumped while at work, but if I am home, my baby gets it from the tap.
Gossamer


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## azzuranotte (Dec 18, 2004)

Just wanted to say thank you for all the support. This really is a great community to be part of.


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