A Babes Gotta Eat!

Some peace of mind when trying to decide how to feed your newborn.

There is a lot of pressure on new mothers to breastfeed their newborns. Nursing has been touted as the best way to provide your child with the nutrients they need in those early months, but what if you can't or don't want to nurse? Or what if you want to feed your baby the best way you can comes at the cost of your mental health? Is bottle feeding or formula feeding bad for your baby? The answer is no - as long as you are providing them with healthy food, they will be just fine. (Trust me I did with both of my kids.)

 This blog post will explore the different options for feeding your child and offer some advice for mothers who are feeling overwhelmed and perhaps paralyzed by this decision and maybe even pressured by society, midwives and other Mom's.

So, you're a new Mom and you've just welcomed your beautiful, perfect baby into the world. Congratulations! The first few weeks with a newborn are amazing, but they can also be really tough. One of the things that can add to the stress during this time is figuring out how to feed your child. This blog post is meant to offer some guidance and support to new Mothers who are feeling overwhelmed by this decision.

There are a few different options when it comes to feeding your newborn baby. You can breastfeed, you can bottle feed with formula, or you can give them a combination of both. Nursing has been shown to be the best way to provide nutrients to your child, but it's not always possible or desirable for Mothers. If you can't or don't want to breastfeed, that's okay! You can still provide your child with everything they need by bottle feeding with formula and this avenue also allows for Dad's or partners to help during night feedings and who can be mad about that?

There are a lot of different formulas on the market, and it can be really overwhelming trying to decide which one is best for your baby. Talk to your pediatrician about what they recommend and maybe even try a couple of different kinds to see what works best for you and your baby.

I really wanted to nurse both of my kids and had every intention of doing so until about 3 days after their birth my post-partum anxiety kicked in, in full force. I literally could not stop crying until my OB finally mentioned that there is an influx in hormones that come rushing in while milk is trying to develop and I needed to decide between feeding my baby, and my mental health. (Why don’t we educate new parents on this in parenting class?) I think it was a midwife that finally said “Look, we need a fed baby and a happy Mom.”  Hearing that was all I needed. The validation that my decision was ok. Babies must eat, and Moms and or birth people must take care themselves so they can give to their child. Even if that means from the shelf on the Target Isle 10.

Whatever you choose, you are doing the right thing for your baby. You got this!